Hey all - I've replaced all my interior bulbs with LEDs. The one behind the transfer case lever has begun to flicker pretty bad, and now two in the instrument cluster have started too. I turned the dimmer on the headlight switch down a bit, and the ones on the dash stopped flickering - of course that doesn't affect the transfer case or the other LEDs. I've replaced battery, alternator, starter, and power cables/grounds in the past year, and voltage has been high since (14.5v at the battery) but apparently that is OK. Any ideas? LEDs came from superbrightleds.com - maybe they're just not good enough LEDs to handle 14.5v?

Sure appreciate the help!

 

I have always been under the assumption that LEDs cant handle the high voltage and therefor need some kind of low voltage source, not 14.5v. I tried some LEDs in my camaro and they wouoldnt even turn on. I needed a special module for them to work properly. That module was referred to as a "no load" module, meaning very little voltage is sent to the LED so it can come on and not flicker. I'm thinking between 1 and 5 volts or a little more. Maybe its 5-10 volts... But I honestly dont know. This just comes from what ive heard from other people a long time ago

 

I should add that the reason they stop flickering when you dim the lights is because there is less voltage going to the LEDs then. But you dont know what that magic voltage number is unless you pull out the trusty multi-meter.

 

Yeah, I was afraid that higher voltage might be the culprit, since "dimming" (which LEDs really don't do), aka decreasing power, sorted at least the ones on the dash out. It would almost be simpler to figure out how to get the XJ closer to 14v than to figure out this mess! It's always something, isn't it.

Interestingly, it doesn't happen unless the jeep's been running for 10 or 15 minutes - at first all is well.

 

Update! Replaced all the LEDs (cheap eBay ones) with good ones from superbrightleds.com that are rated for 10-30v. All good so far! I actually had to replace the two I got for the 4wd shifter and the gauge for my air compressor because they were TOO bright. Anyway, crisis averted!

 

Care to throw up some pics tonight? I'm real interested in LED replacement also. Just worried about bright spots ..

 

Well sure thing! Sorry for the delay. I 1000% recommend it - it's not difficult at all. The hardest part was just figuring out how to get the plastic bezel off the dash - you swear it's going to break. I've had mine out maybe 10 times so now it's easy. Just get good LEDs from a reputable source - the eBay ones I got, in addition to not being able to handle the XJ's 14.5 volts, had crappy contacts on them, so you had to get them in JUST right or they would flicker or not work. AND they were polarity-dependent - if you got everything back together just to find out that you had one in backwards, you had to get it all out again.

 

Looks nice. I dont see any bright spots like I was worried about. That'll be on my list of projects this spring!

 

No bright spots! You'll be glad you did it.