Tut

I'm interested in a set for 2000 Limited. Like the green option. Please PM me here or at tuttleg@rocketmail.com if you still have available.
Thanks

EM98XJ

Hey man interested in a set for a 98. No OHC and no gauges, just all the interior stuff. Thanks!

Snajo

I registered a domain name and am working on setting up a store to sell lights. I'm not going to have it finished until the summer though, as I don't want to register a business right before I move states.

I'm still looking for a replacement for the 97-01 dome light and I'm keeping an eye open for any other improvements I can make.

Again, if anyone has any feedback on their lights, I'd love to hear back.

Khyren

I have but an update on mine. All 3 of the reds in the rocker switch illumination spots have given up the ghost. Still love the rest of them as they work wonderfully. Just need to give those ones you told me about for the hvac a try so they can be red as well.

Snajo

Thanks for the update. I wish they lasted longer, but it's really hard to test. I could probably get a good relative durability if I had a test that involved temperature fluctuations, voltage spikes, and vibrations and impacts. I have a feeling that temperature is the biggest factor and overcoming that would just be a matter of getting components that are designed better... and more expensive.

CherokeeJon

Interested in a full interior and instrument set for a 98 with the OHC and I'd like blue cluster lights. I'll have to order after Christmas, but I wanted to post so I remember to come back here lol. Thanks!

ILRob

Same as CherokeeJon...98...OHC...instrument panel...interior...please pm me a price to 60431

iluvmud

full set for me, 99 cherokee- green pm me your paypal,

Snajo

I'm in the process of contacting all PMs and thread posts.

All instrument light sets (gauges and such) are currently reduced by $5. 97-01 sets are $15 shipped and pre-97 are $20 shipped. Also, combined sets are also reduced by $5 to $45 for 97-01 and $50 for pre-97.

I'm doing this to clear out my stock of instrument lights until I can put together sets that last longer. I'm not happy with lights that only last a year... my goal is to sell lights that will last at least three years, but can be expected to last even longer.

Everything below is just my rambling about lights and some future plans/ideas.

Update on instrument sets (gauges and such):
I'm clearing out my stock of these lights and won't be restocking until I can put together sets that are confirmed stable at 150 degrees Fahrenheit. That's around the upper limit of how hot a vehicle can get while sitting in extreme summer sun. As LEDs get hotter, their resistance goes down and they draw more current, which in turns causes them to produce more heat.

Ideally, I'd have a temperature chamber that cycled between 0-150F and varied humidity. Since equipment made to do these types of things costs in the $20,000+ dollar range, I'm going to need to be creative. I'm thinking more along the lines of setting up a toaster oven in the garage and running a dozen or so lights at a time. I'm not sure what a successful test would be, but I imagine and light that could survive in temps between 150 and 200 for a week should be reasonably stable in a vehicle. It doesn't solve the issue of temperature cycling, but it's a start.

As far as a temperature cycler, I have a concept, but I'm not sure when I'll have the time/motivation to build it. Basically, I would construct two insulated chambers and set up a peltier plate (or many) such that while one chamber heated, the other cooled. By changing polarity, the hot side would cool and the cool side would heat. I'm not super familiar with peltiers, but I understand they draw quite a bit of power and aren't so great below freezing. In addition to the chambers, I'd probably need a way to vent to prevent them from getting too hot and I'd also want a way to count cycles and record the number of cycles at which an LED failed. Moisture buildup is another concern, but it would be easy enough to throw a desiccant packet in the chambers. Heat sinks and fans would be useful to reduce hot spots.

Lastly, I registered a business name and domain name, but I'm stuck in the process until next week when the IRS system is back online. I need to figure out accounting requirements and get with a lawyer to make sure I'm not doing anything illegal. I'm still not expecting to have a website up and running until this summer, but we'll see.

Snajo

If you are expecting a message from me and haven't received one, please send me a PM or post here. I believe I got everyone, but just in case-

Snajo

Stock


Direct LED replacement


Custom LED Install (test only - final install would be cleaner)


Stock results


LED direct replacement results


Custom LED install results

The three light source photos were taken with the same camera settings.
The three result photos were all taken with the same camera settings, but the amount of ambient light did change between the different shots. I did the custom first, the led replacement second, and the stock third.

For example, the direct replacement LEDs are closer to white than the blue hue shown here and the custom LED faceplate blues are more saturated than shown.

The only issue I have with selling the 'custom' HVAC panel solution is that it would require soldering. If I can figure out a way to put leads on a stock socket, I could sell these as as an easy replacement item.

Some other changes from the photos here are that I'd use a smaller white strip on the bottom. I'll have to do more testing with and without the red strip on the side, but I think it helps with the color. Also, since this is so much brighter than stock, I'd have to do some in-use testing to determine if it needed toned down or the other lights just need to be brighter to compensate.

I think this looks great in blue and red. I tried this with blue and green strips and I don't think the results are nearly as good, but there's no reason they couldn't be used in place of white. I would suggest the red be used regardless of the theme color, because otherwise it won't show much of anything.

These parts cost me around $10 on ebay. I figure the actual costs in bulk are maybe half that or less. If I were able to fabricate and produce sockets for an easy install, it would probably add $5 to the price I would sell at, so probably $12-15 by the time it came to resell.

I covered up the "recirculate" option because it's pretty messed up from the time I tried to see if I could chemically remove the dyes that create the blues and reds in this panel. It did remove the dyes, but unfortunately, it removed the black dye as well.

-ND4SPD-

Many years ago I used to have custom made PnP LED light strips made in China (just as you've shown here) for the HVAC on a different vehicle platform. It was the only way to get them to be bright & have less hot/ cold spots.

I'd certainly buy a set of these from you. Nice work

Snajo

Thanks for the info and pics. The toughest part right now is finding the twist style adapters for the stock T4 / T4.2 sockets. If I have them made special for me, I'm going to have to cough up a few bucks, so I'd need to find a market that's larger than 97-01 XJ owners that have the desire to rip into their dash for purely aesthetic purposes. It's possible, but I don't have it figured yet.

-ND4SPD-

I always had to order like 30+ at a time so I would just set-up a Group Buy for like 20 of them before I placed the order. Everyone pays in advance so really I spent little to nothing out of pocket to make it happen.

You can always order the components individually & make them yourself as well.

ksrummel

How much would the vanity lights and front dome light be shipped to 47302?