Ralph77

EDIT: 11/18/20
See my last post with that date.

So I finally got around to purchasing LED's for my parking lights, turn signals, back up lights, and stop/brake lights.

This resulted from me putting white front lenses on my black Jeep. I like the look. Then my OCD kicked in and purchased the taillights that do away with the amber too.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/97-01-Jeep-...-/142377078619

My problem was that regular amber 3157's and 194's showed through the white lenses, especially the one on the front, kind of destroying what I was going for.

Now my state laws say I can run white or amber up front and red or amber in the back. Now I just could have used white 3157's and 194's up front but having white up front and amber in the back also made my OCD kick in.

Somebody recommended the chrome/stealth bulbs. They are just regular bulbs with a mirror coating. Problem was the only place I could really find them was at Amazon and Ebay. Nobody really seemed to care for them. Said they were not bright, makes sense cause of the mirror coating, and they seemed to not last.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/112433722016

Then somebody suggested LED's. Now please realize I could careless about LED's. But did want to get rid of the amber showing through the white lenses.

I googled around about it and came across this:




Seemed pretty cut and dry. The Sylvanias are available anywhere. The ones he used are the cheaper ones and can even be bought at Walmart. I decided to use this style instead.




Little more expensive but come with a lifetime warranty. Something I was not able to determine of the cheaper Sylvanias had.

I purchased all mine through Ebay but figured if I needed a quick replacement could get one almost anywhere.

So go to put them all in. Now as we know LED's have polarity. Also it is best to put the same color bulb behind the same color lens. Now you would think for a Jeep with factory tail and parking lights you could just put white everywhere. But best to put a red bulb behind the red lens. Etc.

So all the 3157's when in without a hitch. The amber ones did not show through my white lenses. I did have the hyperflashing issue. It appears hyperflashing happens because LED's draw such little watts that the flasher thinks the bulb is blown. Just like in the video you buy the LED flasher and all is good. I used the EP27L from Napa.

Problems started with the 194's in the side markers. Remember that LED's have polarity.

So putting it in one way resulted in this:
Would go on with headlights.
Would blink when using the turn signals when the headlights were on.
Would not blink when using the turn signals with the headlights off.

Putting the bulb in the other way resulted in this:
Would not light up when you turned on the headlights.
Would blink when you used the turn signals with the headlights off.
Would not blink when you used the turn signals with the headlights on.

So my buddy checked with a meter. There are only 2 wires going to the connector for the 194. Depending on what you have on or are turning on determines which wire is ground and which wire is power. One wire could be power for one application but the exact same wire could be ground for another.

Now since a regular bulb can flow in both directions it does not matter. This is where LED's having polarity cause a problem.

So at the moment I gave up on the LED 194's and put back in the regular 194's. Now I am thinking that the regular 194's are not as bright as they would be with all the other bulbs just being regular and a non LED flasher.

Also I have discovered that when you turn on your headlights the turn signal indicators in the cluster glow. Not bright like when you turn your turn signals on but visible none the less.

Googling led to a couple things.
Appears the turn signal indicator issue is something you have to live with.
They make something called Non Polarized or Switchback LED's. Which I am guessing would solve the polarity problem with the 194's.

Dumb idea I had was to get a couple side marker 194 connectors with as much wiring as possible and splice them into one of the front parking light wiring. The thinking being it would solve the polarity problem, make is so I could use the Slyvania 194 LED's that I can buy locally, and because LED's draw such little power should not be a burden on the wiring.

No idea if this is a good idea.

Still have some more research to do. Will post as I figure more things out. Just wanted to give people a heads up about this not being so cut and dry as it might appear. At least not for me.

If anybody as any thoughts, ideas, is the splicing in the connector a good or bad idea, etc please chime in.

I posted a few shots just to show you how the LED's solved most of my amber bulbs showing through the white lenses issues.

Ralph77

Forgot to add that I did not put an LED in my brake light on top of the hatch. Reason being I have a Spoilerlight spoiler that I have to put on and that has an LED third eye. But all the brake lights operate as they should. If anybody has put an LED in the factory third eye could you post a part number?

99XJ93YJ

What are those deflectors in front of the headlights/amber lights? THOSE look useful for those of us who opt to go with cheap plastic covered LED headlights.

Ralph77

I picked them up a couple weeks ago off Ebay from England. Little over $30 including the shipping. They are used. I am assuming they are aftermarket because of the EGR logo. I could not find any info on them anywhere. My curiosity got the better of me and I bought them. I wanted to see them up close and personal. Fortunately they were for an XJ, you can never be sure that people know what they are talking about when the list the application on Ebay, and I liked them so at least I did not blow $30 for nothing. LOL.

tech

I have clear front turn / park lights I run LEDs in them and all the 194 bulbs in the side marker lamps I used a non polarity 194 and there are a lot of different LED bulbs to use . if you are using a clear or a white lens you can use any color LED light but if you are using a colored lens then you need to use the same color as the lens , Because LED light put out almost all one color light and the lens will act like a filter and you will see almost no light though the lens .

Ralph77

Thank you for posting about any color bulb behind a white lens. Was wondering why the amber bulbs behind the white lenses did really seem to be dim. I ordered some of these non polarity bulbs.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...t-car/206/923/

Over the years I am pretty sure that people here have posted about this site being good for LED lights. So will give them a try. Will update with the results when I do.

RacerX

Wow, Nice... I see they even have UV 194 LEDs :-)
I'm tempted to get those and just paint the inside of the lenses with florescent Amber or Red (UV) paint -- so the Glow instead of light up the normal way (look light Neon lights - the size of whichever lens)
Mmm... wonder if too bright for dash .... ?
- - I had been making up 194 size PC-board mount soldered lamps for dash ... but now ?
- - PS. - where u get tail light guards? any idea if they make early style (the fatter ones)? :-)

Ralph77

You won't find the tail light guards new anymore. This was a Craigslist find about 4 years ago maybe. $25 shipped to me.

restoring

I think you can still get them from Westin, but they're damned proud of 'em!

Ralph77

I don't think so. If you can find a link for an XJ that can still be bought there are a few people out there that would probably be interested in this.

restoring

They showed up in a google search, but once I went to the Westin site, it appears that they are NOT available. My bad.

Ralph77

No worries. I tired to find some new for awhile before I scored those on Craigslist. You would have made a few people happy if they were available. LOL.

99XJ93YJ

Could you share the description used? CO is rough on cheap materials. lol.

Ralph77

Sorry I don't understand what you are asking.

99XJ93YJ

For the headlight cover/defector thing. Going to have to scour the internet for this.