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Has anyone done the flush mount cube leds in the back bumper? Thinking about doing this and wanting to see some pictures and if you could wire them to the reverse lights. Thanks in advance.
Haven't done it myself, have no pics to show you, but I've seen many people do it, and yes, you could wire them to the reverse lights. Just splice into the wires feeding the stock reverse lights.
Has anyone done the flush mount cube leds in the back bumper? Thinking about doing this and wanting to see some pictures and if you could wire them to the reverse lights. Thanks in advance.
I planned to do this, ordered the lights and they were too big to fit nicely in the rear bumper. I ended up just putting a light bar on the back of my roof rack. If you use the reverse lights for power, I suggest replacing those with LEDs also so there is less draw on the wiring.
I installed a single LED cube light on my rear bumper, not in it. It draws 1.37 or so amps. I was told that I can safely wire to a reverse light for power, which I did, though I grounded the light directly to the body. Works fine, none of the wiring or connections warm up when the light is left on. I'm not sure what the factory wiring can handle, but if your lights are in the 2+amp range, consider running independant wiring, with a manual switch and relay.
Though it's not installed in the bumper, here's mine mounted under the tire carrier latch:
Originally Posted by SatiricalHen
...If you use the reverse lights for power, I suggest replacing those with LEDs also so there is less draw on the wiring.
Many automotive LED bulbs have resistors in them which cause them to draw as much power as the incandescent bulbs they replace. If you're concerned about current draw, just pull the factory bulbs out. Your aux LED reverse lights' output will deem them obsolete anyway.
Last edited by ElMartillo; 03-19-2016 at 10:25 AM.
I installed a single LED cube light on my rear bumper, not in it. It draws 1.37 or so amps. I was told that I can safely wire to a reverse light for power, which I did, though I grounded the light directly to the body. Works fine, none of the wiring or connections warm up when the light is left on. I'm not sure what the factory wiring can handle, but if your lights are in the 2+amp range, consider running independant wiring, with a manual switch and relay. Though it's not installed in the bumper, here's mine mounted under the tire carrier latch: Many automotive LED bulbs have resistors in them which cause them to draw as much power as the incandescent bulbs they replace. If you're concerned about current draw, just pull the factory bulbs out. Your aux LED reverse lights' output will deem them obsolete anyway.
this is not necessarily true. My led reverse lights did not have resistors built in neither did any of my turnsignals LEDs interior LEDs or brake light LEDs.
this is not necessarily true. My led reverse lights did not have resistors built in neither did any of my turnsignals LEDs interior LEDs or brake light LEDs.
I find this surprising. In any case, I said "many", not "all", and it's true; many do. It's a valid consideration if one is concerned about the current draw of an incandescent bulb over it's LED replacement.
I still say pull 'em for minimal additional draw, as long as it's legal in your area.
I find this surprising. In any case, I said "many", not "all", and it's true; many do. It's a valid consideration if one is concerned about the current draw of an incandescent bulb over it's LED replacement. I still say pull 'em for minimal additional draw, as long as it's legal in your area.
I personally ran a light bar for a reverse light. I used a relay. I had it wired to a 3 position switch left: on with reverse light, middle: off, right: on as long as the key is turned.
Figured I'd breath new life into this thread with the LED reverse light upgrade I did to my daughter's XJ last night.
Between the whimpy stock reverse lights and a bit of blocking with the new Smittybilt bumper, she really needed something better. I picked up some cheap single row LED lights from O'Reilly's, wired them into the existing reverse light wiring (disconnected the OEM bulbs), and mounted them to the bumper. HUGE difference, and pretty cheap and simple. The LED lights came with little in-line resistor boxes that I assume reduce power draw, so hopefully all is well amp-wise with the original wiring.
Not as slick as some of your more built-in solutions, but she's delighted (or I suppose that would be "lighted").
I did these on my JCR Rear bumper. I had to bore out the holes for them to fit and quickly ran them to a switch in the cabin. Ideally this winter I'll run them to the reverse lights but for now they come on when I hit the switch.
Plan on doing the same LED lights in the rear bumper as in the front. The grommets to make flat lights fit the contour of the bumper are leather reinforced black silicone. The lights are vibration free and the aim is adjustable.
on when i want--for when parked closing the gate as example
off always
on when in reverse
we have a gate with a chain and a electric fence wire on top of it (dogs) so wanted to be able to switch the lights on when parked and doing up the gate...has solar lights, but not working 100% of the time, these solve that
03-16-2016, 04:54 PM
Led reverse lights.
