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Adding and programming LED Rubicon fenders to my Willys
blink9cd
Well-Known Member
Sorry if this was covered later in this thread, but I mainly just used your great directions for JSCAN settings for switching to DRL LEDs. When I finished all the settings everything was working, but I didn't have an option for my DRLs on the radio despite it being labeled as "Optional".I really liked the look of the high top painted rubicon fenders, especially with the LED turn signals to match the LED headlights that come on the Willys. So, I added them. Here’s what I did.
First, I sourced a used set of painted fenders off a Rubicon. They were $400 on Craigslist, in good enough shape. What I sadly didn’t see until I got them home was that whoever removed them was an ape and cut the turn signal wiring about halfway back inside the fender. Bummer.
I figured I’d go the DIY route for painting the fenders using the Mopar rattle can paint and SprayMax 2k high gloss clear coat. I am not sure I recommend this method, as it ended up taking 13(!!) cans of the Mopar paint to get the job done. The Mopar paint says it does not need clear coat, but that’s a lie. It does not have a very nice finish. So I also used 6 cans of really nice clear coat to finish it up. The final product is pretty damn good, but it was about $225 in paint. Still, cheaper than what body shops were quoting me for the job, though, which was $200 to $300 per fender.
Mounting on the car was dead simple, just like any guide out there for removing and replacing the fenders.
Wiring to make the LEDs work as expected was pretty easy too with the right components. I did have to buy a programmer. I did not want to spend the money for a Tazer, so I went the iPhone App route. I got the JSCAN app (free app to view, $18.99 license in-app purchase to save changes), vGate iCar Pro BLE 4 ($29, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071D8SYXN?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title) and the Chrysler 12+8 cable to get around the OBD security gateway ($37, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07W4YF2H7?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title). All in, $85 for a device that seems to be functionally similar to the tazer, you just use your phone to change the settings. More money saved for more Jeep toys!
Since my wires were unfortunately cut, I spliced them into my existing halogen harness. If your turn signal harness is the complete Rubicon harness, and you have five wires on the body side of the fender harness - this is plug and play. In my case the halogen fender harness was missing one wire, the wire that goes to the DRLs. Now, my car had the wire on the body harness side for the DRL, white/yellow on the left, white/blue on the right. I am not sure if a normal sport or sport S has the wire on the body side, it would be interesting for someone to confirm. If not, then the Willys has it because the Willys has half the LED package (headlights, not fenders). But, since I had the wire on the body side, I just tee spliced into it and ran a wire along side the fender harness to the proper wire at the turn signal. I also tee’d in the yellow/brown wire (bulb fault wire) into the side marker wire, from all my research it seems like that’s how it is on the Rubi harness. If you have a cut rubi harness too, PM me and I can give you more detail on how I wired it up if you need help.
At this point, the fender LEDs worked for blinkers and the dim white LEDs would come on when the park lights or headlights were on. The lights were off when the headlights were in off or auto. Also, without programming, the blinkers would work for about a minute and then the system would report a bulb out and the hyper flash would start, and interestingly the computer would fully disable the whole front fender light assembly (amber and white lights) until the computer was cycled.
Onto programming - with the JSCAN app open, and the bypass cable plugged into the wires under the dash and above the OBD plug, and the iCar adapter plugged into the bypass cable, you’re ready to go. Press the ignition button until the car is in run, but don’t turn it on. In the app, connect to the car.
When you’re done setting all those, you’re going to be like me and jump out of the car super excited to see the bright white lights on! Only to be disappointed because they aren’t. But the headlight halos are. What the fuck? Oh...turns out, the bright white fender DRL lights only come on when the engine is running AND the e-brake is off. So I disconnected the app from the car, turned the car off, unplugged the bypass and plugged the wires back in under the dash, and had to jam a brick behind a wheel and start the engine and take the brake off and voila - the bright white LEDs were on.
- Go to adaptation
- Go to LED Lights Settings
- Go to LED Front Park/Marker Lamps settings and change to activate
- Go back, and go to LED Front Turn Lamps present, change to activate
- Go back twice, go to DRL Daytime Running Lights configuration. In here, there’s multiple things you have to change:
- DRL Configuration: Optional DRL
- DRL Dropout Enable: Active (turns off bright white lamp when amber is flashing)
- DRL Lamp Location: Dedicated
- LED Dedicated DRL Present: Active
- Left Dedicated DRL Lamps Output Present: Active
- Right Dedicated DRL Lamps Output Present: Active
Sweet!
I hope this helps some of you other adventurous Jeepers out there.
I tried setting DRL -> DRL Customer Setting On/Off to On, but that still didn't add the option to the radio. Still seemed good to turn on.
Yesterday I was playing around with JSCAN and found another option: Radio User Settings -> Day Time Running Lights Settings On/Off. I turned that On, restarted the ECU, drove around for a while, and in a couple hours I finally got an option on my Radio for DRLs (under Lights).
PeterKH
Active Member
May i know what kind of OBD did you use with the JSCAN? Because as i know all JL will need a security gateway bypass cable to even have a chance of making changes in a JL.
LiVinIt
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You did a great job on paint/install! Looks good.
May I ask, you or any of the others that did the Rubi fender swap, did you do a before and after measurement? I’m curious how much higher the Rubicon fenders actually are.
Iv’e seen different claims of 2 to 2 1/2” but that doesn’t seem right to me. I was thinking 1 1/2 or so??
May I ask, you or any of the others that did the Rubi fender swap, did you do a before and after measurement? I’m curious how much higher the Rubicon fenders actually are.
Iv’e seen different claims of 2 to 2 1/2” but that doesn’t seem right to me. I was thinking 1 1/2 or so??
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geolchris
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- Thread starter
- #37
Actually, while we wait for me to do a measurement - here’s a good compare photo. Same lift (mopar) same wheels (stock willys) and close enough to the same angle. You can see the gap above the wheel is pretty big, and goofy looking. They’re also about two inches wider too, wide enough that they stick out further than stock wheels and I needed spacers to not look dumb until I got my aftermarket wheels. The 1st rubicon fender pic here is with those spacers, the second is without
LiVinIt
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Oh yeah, they do stick out a lot further than I thought they would. I was under the impression they only stuck out 3/4 inch more.
The final setup looks great though.
The final setup looks great though.
blink9cd
Well-Known Member
Covered in other threads better, but I think the most modern approach is to buy the ECRI bypass module (Amazon), a OBD reader recommended by JSCAN (see their site, buy on Amazon), and a Z-Automotive SGW extension cable (go on their site). That was the combo I used.
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blink9cd
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately I didn't do any specific measurements. The best comparison pictures I have from the front and side are in this post. The only thing I changed was the fenders, everything else was the same:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...bumpers-only-lets-see-them.68595/post-2021442
jmr
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Thanks for the info.
I enabled both of those settings in JScan and the DRL item now shows on my Uconnect 4 (7" screen) under Settings -> Lights there were only 4 items in the list and now there is 5.
DRL -> DRL Customer Setting On/Off to On
Radio User Settings -> Day Time Running Lights Settings On/Off.
I have halogen turn signals (for now) so these other DRL settings are needed too.
DRL -> DRL Configuration: Optional DRL
DRL -> DRL Dropout Enable: Active
DRL -> DRL Lamp Location: Turn Signal DRL
DRL -> Daytime Running Light: Active
Last edited:
Mopar19
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Thank you -Chris!
I just purchased a 21 JLU used with 16K on it. It came with the factory LED package including the fenders. From day one, the fender DRL and turn signals did not work correctly. The Jeep service department spent 3 hours with it and could not fix it. I used your instructions below with the JSCAN and it repaired everything. Thank you.
With the JSCAN app open, and the bypass cable plugged into the wires under the dash and above the OBD plug, and the iCar adapter plugged into the bypass cable, you’re ready to go. Press the ignition button until the car is in run, but don’t turn it on. In the app, connect to the car.
I just purchased a 21 JLU used with 16K on it. It came with the factory LED package including the fenders. From day one, the fender DRL and turn signals did not work correctly. The Jeep service department spent 3 hours with it and could not fix it. I used your instructions below with the JSCAN and it repaired everything. Thank you.
With the JSCAN app open, and the bypass cable plugged into the wires under the dash and above the OBD plug, and the iCar adapter plugged into the bypass cable, you’re ready to go. Press the ignition button until the car is in run, but don’t turn it on. In the app, connect to the car.
- Go to adaptation
- Go to LED Lights Settings
- Go to LED Front Park/Marker Lamps settings and change to activate
- Go back, and go to LED Front Turn Lamps present, change to activate
- Go back twice, go to DRL Daytime Running Lights configuration. In here, there’s multiple things you have to change:
- DRL Configuration: Optional DRL
- DRL Dropout Enable: Active (turns off bright white lamp when amber is flashing)
- DRL Lamp Location: Dedicated
- LED Dedicated DRL Present: Active
- Left Dedicated DRL Lamps Output Present: Active
- Right Dedicated DRL Lamps Output Present: Active
Rhinebeck01
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@Khost7
I suggest /strongly encourage you, NOT to buy the old way, 12+8 Chrysler cables. Spend the few extra $ and buy a dedicated security gateway bypass module. NO WAY would I recommend 12+8 Chrysler cables.
ECRI Dedicated SGW bypass..
https://ecri.app/products/ecri-secu...OgRhPDv9fRE2FfWLyBfbmjcqYb0uIWDikTq11iP0NLJZY
Vgate vLinker MC+ Bluetooth OBD2 Car Diagnostic Scan Tool..
https://www.amazon.com/vgate-vLinke...d8-b550-592ea775714d&pd_rd_i=B088LW211V&psc=1
Security gateway extension cable https://www.zautomotive.com/product/z_sgw_ext/
If you can handle spending more $, this OBDll Bluetooth Scan Tool is the pick of the litter.. It sells for $111 once in awhile.... follow Amazon for a few days the price will drop to $111 for a day or so.
https://www.amazon.com/OBDLink-Blue...33-8b95-aedba8ba0711&pd_rd_i=B07JFRFJG6&psc=1
After your first encounter with the 12+8 Chrysler cables and the security gateway connections..... you will understand why I strongly encourage guys/gals to install a security gateway extension cable and to go with a dedicated security gateway bypass module instead of the iffy, clunky/large footprint, old school, 12-8 Chrysler cables.
Should also mention that with a dedicated bypass module it is easy to leave the bypass in place.... you can buy a holder for it or just Velcro it to a support member. Yes, remove it for dealer visits.
There are valid reasons why you would want to leave the bypass module in place.. One being to use live features offered by JSCAN and other tools... also, leaves the bypass in play should you need to quickly clear a code, etc..
As for me, these days I would not use.... bother with, deal with, 12+8 Chrysler cables if you gave them to me for free..
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