Changing the 3-x led circuit board in the auxiliary brake light on a 2013 Ford B-Max

I have a 2013 Ford B-Max – yes, I know, I can feel the gasps of dismay already; not one of Ford’s most popular models – however, as a concept vehicle, it serves me very well. I pay monthly for a service contract and always take it to the main dealer, from whom I originally purchased it new, to have it maintained. 

Recently the third or auxiliary brake light in the middle of the tailgate at the top failed. To supply and fit, Ford want £150.00 for what, to me, is little more than a bulb change – i.e., from a light that doesn’t work to one that does. Of course, they will only supply the entire unit hence the extortionate cost – £80.00 for the unit and £70.00 to fit.

I have the unit out of the car – very easy to do without even the use of tools, and it is now dismantled into its 4 basic components: the red transparent part, the lens housing, the lens and the 3 x led Valeo circuit board (B003611-C). It would be the easiest thing in the world to re-clip a new circuit board back into the lens, the lens into the housing, the housing into the red transparent part and, with the simple connection of one small 2 pin plug and the washer hose, the whole unit back into the vehicle; it would take a few minutes at most.

You know what I want to know by now I’m sure, but it would so gratify me if I was able to source the led circuit board and, apart from any other consideration, to save the wanton waste of 3 perfectly serviceable plastic parts which, heaven forbid, may end up in the Pacific. 

Actually, it’s not about the money, it’s not that I can’t afford it, but sometimes a sense of reality overwhelms a person, or a matter of principle raises its head as it has with me.

I wouldn’t expect Ford personnel to work this hard for me, but if there is anyone that can help me in my quest to beat the system, I would be so pleased – there must be a kindred spirit out there