An auxiliary spare tire brake light is provided for a vehicle having a spare tire with a rim that has spokes and openings and that is secured on lugs at the back of the vehicle. The auxiliary spare tire brake light includes a support disc having a central portion and a peripheral portion. An array of openings is formed in the central portion of the support disc and the openings are positioned to fit over the lugs at the back of the vehicle for positioning the support on the lugs behind the rim of the spare tire. An annular race extends around the peripheral portion of the support and a plurality of lights in the form of LEDs is disposed in the race. The LEDs are arrayed in a closely spaced substantially continuous array around the support to form a ring of LEDs. A wire and electrical connector electrically connect the plurality of LEDs to the brake circuitry of the vehicle so that the LEDs are illuminated when the vehicle's brake pedal is depressed, A first portion of the ring of LEDs align with and project light directly through the openings in the rim of the spare tire to be seen from behind as an indication that the vehicle is braking. A second portion of the ring of LEDs aligns behind the spokes and reflects off of the backs of the spokes to silhouette the rim against the glow of the reflected light.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a swing away support assembly that can be installed on a tailgate of a vehicle, such as on a bumper and/or rear panel of the vehicle. The swing away support assembly can provide additional structural support for spare tires and/or other heavy mounted objects. Advantageously, the swing away support assembly is compatible with existing spare tire carriers, backup cameras, and rear lights.

An auxiliary brake light system has a middle light bar, a left light module, and a right light module for being mounted on a back of the vehicle. The left light module has a right part extending upwards and a left part. The right light module has a left part extending upwards and a right part. The middle light bar is above the left light module and the right light module and has a left part extending downwards and a right part extending downwards. The left part of the middle light bar and the right part of the left light module are separated from each other and opposite to each other. The right part of the middle light bar and the left part of the right light module are separated from each other and opposite to each other.

An auxiliary third brake light which is installed on a truck bed enclosure or frame is disclosed. The auxiliary third brake light is not physically secured by adhesive or mechanical fastener to the truck bed, cab or body or any part of the truck. The parts of the auxiliary third brake light mounted to the truck bed cover and contact the truck bed, cab or body is pressed into contact. When the truck bed cover is collapsed or removed, the user can have full use of the truck bed. The parts of the auxiliary third brake light that contact the truck bed, cab or body are pulled off therefrom. When the truck bed cover is deployed to the erected position, the parts of the third brake light that contact the truck bed, cab or body are properly repositioned back into position.

A computer includes a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to select a scanning rate for a first sensor of a vehicle based on at least one of data related to a current time or data related to a location of the vehicle; instruct the first sensor to run at the selected scanning rate; in response to receiving data from the first sensor indicating a newly present object, turn on a second sensor; and then record data from the second sensor. The second sensor has a higher power draw than the first sensor.

An illumination device for a vehicle includes: a light source configured to emit a first light forward; and a transmission type surface emitting device that is disposed in front of the light source, that is configured to transmit the first light and that is configured to emit a second light forward.

Multiple pairs of substrate-guided wave-based holograms (SGWHs) are laminated to a common thin substrate to form a transparent substrate-guided wave-based holographic CHMSL (SGWHC) that diffracts playback LED illumination over a wide angular range. This device is made pursuant to a technique that includes the steps of recording a first set of SGWHs with one setup, that upon playback, will couple and guide the diffracted light inside the substrate, and a second set of SGWHs recorded with another setup, that will diffract and couple the guided light out.

An auxiliary third brake light which is installed on a removable or collapsible truck bed enclosure or frame is disclosed. The auxiliary third brake light is preferably not physically secured by adhesive or mechanical fastener to the truck bed, cab or body or any part of the truck. Rather, the parts of the auxiliary third brake light that are mounted to the truck bed cover and contact the truck bed, cab or body is pressed into contact. In this way, when the truck bed cover is collapsed or removed, the user can have full use of the truck bed. The parts of the auxiliary third brake light that contact the truck bed, cab or body are pulled off therefrom. When the truck bed cover is deployed to the erected position or put back on the truck bed, the parts of the third brake light that contact the truck bed, cab or body are properly repositioned back into position.

A homogenous light-emitting diode (LED) lamp for an automotive vehicle is provided that includes multiple LEDs configured as a LED array and a diffusion sheet. The diffusion sheet has a curvature aligned with the LED array for smoothing and bending light emitted by the LEDs for the purpose of creating a lighting appearance substantially lacking hotspots. An automotive vehicle lamp for producing homogenous light is provided. The vehicle lamp includes multiple LEDs each positioned a first distance apart from one another to form an array of LEDs, and a diffusion sheet positioned a second distance from the array of LEDs for smoothing light emitted from the array of LEDs. The first distance and the second distance are arranged for the purpose of providing a substantially homogenous light output from the vehicle lamp when viewed through the diffusion sheet.

A combined rear exterior lamp and cleaning system including: a lens for the rear exterior lamp of the vehicle, the lens has an inner surface and an outer surface, a cleaning arrangement for providing a cleaning fluid to an exterior surface of the rear window, an inlet connectable to a cleaning fluid hose for providing cleaning fluid to the cleaning arrangement. The cleaning arrangement includes a channel generally parallel with at least one of the lens inner surface or the lens outer surface, and an array of outlets in fluid communication with the channel. The channel is attached to the lens and is adapted to transport the cleaning fluid from the inlet to the array of outlets located on the outer side of the lens for providing the cleaning fluid to the rear window.