LED Headlights and Wipers in snow?

[nerubi]

Yep you're right. Didn't do my research. I guess some after market LED's I had before were heated so I assumed Jeep would have done the same with their OEM. And especially when I've read in this thread that people claimed the lights were heated.

And to add, no, not 'everybody' knows. Don't have to be an ass.

Didn't mean to be mean just thought with the prevalence of LED lights over last few years everyone knew about color temperature, lower wattage draw, heat sinks in back of many auxiliary lights, etc.

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[DanW]

I've felt them after being on awhile in subfreezing temps. They were cold to the touch. I've driven through two snowstorms and they have not frozen over, but the snow conditions have to be just right. The Trucklites on my JK have been through dozens of heavy snow storms, but they only froze over once. That once was enough. They were worthless. I've recently thrown a cheap ($70) pair of Hella 500 Black Magic lights on the bumper of the JL. They give off better light in a better pattern than the OEM JK headlights did (that isn't saying much, but it is certainly adequate). I'll post a couple pics when I get home. I do think freeze over will be rare, but it really sucks when it happens because you can clear them and they will do it again. Another very slight preventative move is putting Turtle Wax Ice on the LED lenses whenever I wash it. That might (emphasis on might) help keep the ice/snow from establishing a beachhead in some conditions.

Since it happened once in about 6 or 7 years on the JK, I've not wanted to fork over the money to upgrade to heated Trucklites on my JK. Should my daughter change her mind about driving a manual, then I'll go ahead and make that upgrade to the JK. It does at least still have incandescent fog lights.

 

[nerubi]

I've felt them after being on awhile in subfreezing temps. They were cold to the touch. I've driven through two snowstorms and they have not frozen over, but the snow conditions have to be just right. The Trucklites on my JK have been through dozens of heavy snow storms, but they only froze over once. That once was enough. They were worthless. I've recently thrown a cheap ($70) pair of Hella 500 Black Magic lights on the bumper of the JL. They give off better light in a better pattern than the OEM JK headlights did (that isn't saying much, but it is certainly adequate). I'll post a couple pics when I get home. I do think freeze over will be rare, but it really sucks when it happens because you can clear them and they will do it again. Another very slight preventative move is putting Turtle Wax Ice on the LED lenses whenever I wash it. That might (emphasis on might) help keep the ice/snow from establishing a beachhead in some conditions.

Since it happened once in about 6 or 7 years on the JK, I've not wanted to fork over the money to upgrade to heated Trucklites on my JK. Should my daughter change her mind about driving a manual, then I'll go ahead and make that upgrade to the JK. It does at least still have incandescent fog lights.

When I've had it happen on my JK KC LED headlights it was heavy, wet snow that stuck. Dry snow didn't stick at all. But my windshield and wipers were covered in snow so I had trouble seeing anyway. With the solution on the forum for the defective defroster design hopefully taking care of that I just need to keep an eye on the headlights.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Sounds like a good question for the ladies from Jeep Cares. Are the JL LED lights heated? I'll post it up and see what they say.

They produce heat like all headlights, but are not heated.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/leds-not-hot-enough-to-melt-snow-while-driving.18440/

 

[DanW]

My cheap solution. They look black when off, which is pretty cool.

 

[Levi8than]

I just hit this issue over the weekend. The LED headlights do not melt the snow and its dangerous to drive through a snowstorm in the dark.
Here's some photos, you can see the snow buildup over the lens. It cast a shadow on the road and I couldn't see anything. Clean headlight photo for comparison.

 

[EZMFE]

I don't really want to beat a dead horse but this happened to me today so I'm going to rag a bit about it.

The drive home was 6 miles in light snow @ 35-40 mph. When I pulled into the driveway I could tell the headlights were dispersed and when checked they had a nice layer covering the entire face of each. Honestly, I'm leaning towards a safety issue here. Not for me necessarily but for anyone that doesn't know any better. How many thousands of JL owners are there with LED's that drive in areas where it snows? The LED's were covered to the point of being useless in less than 15 minutes with light snow. Some of this might be from vehicles in front of me flipping crap up but the roads were more wet than anything. Once I turned the Jeep off the snow on the headlights melted fairly fast so there is some heat but just not enough to keep them clear of any consistent snow. Who knows.. that might of been due to engine heat at that point :|

They truly need to have some sort of way to heat the area around them or directly on them. I'm not sure of the solution but this cannot be that hard to solve. I would say something that went over the original light that has a defrost type element on it. Like the heated headlights you see but just the lens and heat element. This would allow the stock light to stay blemish free for years and would melt any snow when needed...

I know it has been discussed many times and that they are "LED" lights but 6 miles in light snow... no flippin way.

In my opinion this is a flaw and something that needs to be addressed. I have purchased quite a few vehicles and this is the only one that has had LED headlights and the only one that has had this issue. The regular every day Jeep buyer isn't going to think about the headlights not melting snow since every vehicle they have owned their entire life did melt the snow... at least that is my excuse.

Why did the mfg not address this? Why would Jeep put you and your family in danger like this?

In my opinion the ball was dropped on these and Jeep needs to do something to correct it. It could be as easy as a warning label but at least one would be informed that the vehicle, while well equipped for off road use, isn't really made to be driven in the snow.... since you cannot use the LED headlights.

 

[shacdaddy]

Fuckin' A do y'all really try to find something to complain about.

 

[shacdaddy]

I just hit this issue over the weekend. The LED headlights do not melt the snow and its dangerous to drive through a snowstorm in the dark.
Here's some photos, you can see the snow buildup over the lens. It cast a shadow on the road and I couldn't see anything. Clean headlight photo for comparison.

Ok, so pull over and fix it.

 

[Levi8than]

Ok, so pull over and fix it.

I'm glad you bring that up. While that sounds like an easy solution, it's pretty scary in the dark with other vehicles continuing to pass and very little room on the side of the road due to the snow plows leaving behind walls.

I did pull over and clean off the headlights twice. But I don't want to have to do this again. When I put on my four ways and stepped out, other vehicles (most not 4 wheel drive with serious fishtailing going on) just kept passing. Getting out of the safety of my vehicle where I'm likely to be crushed by another driver who is seeing snow for the first time in his life is not my idea of a work around. Some sort of aftermarket heater I can switch on in cold weather, that I can get behind. Or maybe adding a pair of trail lights to the front bumper could work, like I saw above.

This photo was what accumulated between the second cleaning and me getting home. Not the worst from the trip.

I also had to clear the buildup off of the stock wipers, but I can fix those with a new $30 pair of snow blades. The LEDs are not so easily fixed. There are aftermarket heated bulbs for the JK available (around $600 for the pair). But nothing for the JL. It's not like Detroit is snow free. They should have experienced this during testing.

I asked my local service manager and all he had to say was "There are no bulletins". So the best option here is for everybody who has had this issue or is afraid of having this issue to bring it up and make sure it gets run up the flag pole. They need to get feedback on this, or they're not going to even know it's an issue.

 

[shacdaddy]

I'm glad you bring that up. While that sounds like an easy solution, it's pretty scary in the dark with other vehicles continuing to pass and very little room on the side of the road due to the snow plows leaving behind walls.

I did pull over and clean off the headlights twice. But I don't want to have to do this again. When I put on my four ways and stepped out, other vehicles (most not 4 wheel drive with serious fishtailing going on) just kept passing. Getting out of the safety of my vehicle where I'm likely to be crushed by another driver who is seeing snow for the first time in his life is not my idea of a work around. Some sort of aftermarket heater I can switch on in cold weather, that I can get behind. Or maybe adding a pair of trail lights to the front bumper could work, like I saw above.

This photo was what accumulated between the second cleaning and me getting home. Not the worst from the trip.

I also had to clear the buildup off of the stock wipers, but I can fix those with a new $30 pair of snow blades. The LEDs are not so easily fixed. There are aftermarket heated bulbs for the JK available (around $600 for the pair). But nothing for the JL. It's not like Detroit is snow free. They should have experienced this during testing.

I asked my local service manager and all he had to say was "There are no bulletins". So the best option here is for everybody who has had this issue or is afraid of having this issue to bring it up and make sure it gets run up the flag pole. They need to get feedback on this, or they're not going to even know it's an issue.

It's not an issue, at all.

Every vehicle I've had has done this exact thing in a snow storm.

Can't see? Pull over and clear your lights instead of blaming the manufacturer.

 

[GreyFox]

I'm glad you bring that up. While that sounds like an easy solution, it's pretty scary in the dark with other vehicles continuing to pass and very little room on the side of the road due to the snow plows leaving behind walls.

I did pull over and clean off the headlights twice. But I don't want to have to do this again. When I put on my four ways and stepped out, other vehicles (most not 4 wheel drive with serious fishtailing going on) just kept passing. Getting out of the safety of my vehicle where I'm likely to be crushed by another driver who is seeing snow for the first time in his life is not my idea of a work around. Some sort of aftermarket heater I can switch on in cold weather, that I can get behind. Or maybe adding a pair of trail lights to the front bumper could work, like I saw above.

This photo was what accumulated between the second cleaning and me getting home. Not the worst from the trip.

I also had to clear the buildup off of the stock wipers, but I can fix those with a new $30 pair of snow blades. The LEDs are not so easily fixed. There are aftermarket heated bulbs for the JK available (around $600 for the pair). But nothing for the JL. It's not like Detroit is snow free. They should have experienced this during testing.

I asked my local service manager and all he had to say was "There are no bulletins". So the best option here is for everybody who has had this issue or is afraid of having this issue to bring it up and make sure it gets run up the flag pole. They need to get feedback on this, or they're not going to even know it's an issue.

And do your fog lights do the same? I have not heard any one complain about them yet. So why aren't you guys driving with the fog lights on also?

 

[Eloib]

It's not an issue, at all.

Every vehicle I've had has done this exact thing in a snow storm.

Can't see? Pull over and clear your lights instead of blaming the manufacturer.

Still better than living in Vegas doe.

 

[ZEN357]

I never realized the headlights were heated to begin with, huh???

 

[tcari394]

It's not an issue, at all.

Every vehicle I've had has done this exact thing in a snow storm.

Can't see? Pull over and clear your lights instead of blaming the manufacturer.

It may not be an issue in the land of flat, straight roads... but here in PA if you pull over on a rural road in the middle of a storm you will most likely get hit. Most of our roads are steep, twisty and 2 lane.

That being said, I don't blame the manufacturer. LED lights are mostly all the same-- I knew what I was signing up for when I placed my order.

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