Aux Switch wire loom assistance

[wandererxp]

Hi All,

I am new to posting on this forum but have been reading in the forum for a while now. I bought a used 2020 JLUR Diesel with the Tow package 2 years ago and love it. Being in New England I have run into a few winter storms and fell victim to my lights being covered in snow / ice due to the LED headlight & Fog lights not being hot enough to melt snow & ice while driving. To solve this problem, I decided to buy aftermarket Yellow Auxiliary lights to mount to the bumper and connect them to one of the Aux switches that came from the factory.

So, I started the install today and went looking for the wire loom next to the battery. I found only 3” of wire sticking out of the main wire loom (2 pictures attached) covered in tape. I stripped back the tape to confirm the wire colors but didn’t see the ruber shrink tubing like in other photos. After, reading in a few other posts I thought I would find a lot longer wire. So, I have a couple of questions

• Is there more wire hiding in the main wire harness?
• If so, any ideas on how to approach getting it out? I tried pulling it and it wouldn’t budge.
• Is it possible that the previous owner had used the Aux switches, and just cut the loom off before he sold it and what I have left is all I have to work with.

Wires with the tape removed

Closeup of the wires, Interesting that the blue / purple wire looks to be spliced together.

Thank you in advance!

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[RatZero]

They look cut from what I remember when I last pulled mine out. This isn't my photo but that's what they should look like.

 

[azjl#3]

yeah, PO did you no favor those are about 2 ft in length.

 

[Nokones]

Maybe you can tap into the Aux circuits from the wire loom inside on ghd passenger side under the dash and route through the firewall.

Also, maybe you can look into connecting your new lights to the Fog Lamp circuit at the front bumper if you can't get to thd Aux circuits.

 

[au176]

Yeah, somebody cut those WAY back. If you pull the battery out, it should give you the room to connect accessories again. Even better, lengthen them all again. Match the wire gauge (2 different sizes), do a good splice (solder and shrink-wrap), and mark the new ends as to which switch they go to. Tessa-tape the whole thing the way it is in RatZero's post to protect it all.

I had the same snow problem you did, and handled it roughly the same way. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...kage-is-dangerous-in-snow.107027/post-2956799

 

[Terrymo]

Try here for replacement wire. I had to repair a harness in my Dad’s truck because of rodent damage and found most of what I needed in one place
https://4rcustomswire.com/

 

[SBLACK502]

Should look like this in the engine bay. The passenger footwell should look the same but you should have a total of 6 wires not 4

 

[au176]

Try here for replacement wire. I had to repair a harness in my Dad’s truck because of rodent damage and found most of what I needed in one place
https://4rcustomswire.com/

Nice!

 

[wandererxp]

Thank you guys for your help and confirming what I feared!!!

I will put together my plan for this weekend to pull the battery to get some additional space to work to extend all 4 wires so I don't have to revisit this later. Then I will complete the install of the Aux lights.

Au176, how did you setup work this past winter? I looked at a bunch of options including the heated Oculus but decided to take it step by step. Are you happy with the choice and if I go that route in the future I love the idea of wiring the heater to the Aux switch in an attempt to prolong the life of the heating mechanism.

I will update everyone with some pics after the install or some additional questions if I run into any issues this weekend. Thank you again for the support and recommendations.

 

[au176]

Thank you guys for your help and confirming what I feared!!!

I will put together my plan for this weekend to pull the battery to get some additional space to work to extend all 4 wires so I don't have to revisit this later. Then I will complete the install of the Aux lights.

Au176, how did you setup work this past winter? I looked at a bunch of options including the heated Oculus but decided to take it step by step. Are you happy with the choice and if I go that route in the future I love the idea of wiring the heater to the Aux switch in an attempt to prolong the life of the heating mechanism.

I will update everyone with some pics after the install or some additional questions if I run into any issues this weekend. Thank you again for the support and recommendations.

I didn't get a chance to try out the lighting set-up this year in the kind of snow that was a problem in the past. The heated Oculus work well in normal snow, but I haven't driven in the heavier snow that caused me to set things up this way. Funny thing is, I don't drive the Jeep very much in the winter, although it will tow a small trailer that I need to use sometimes, so it does get used. Otherwise, I have a "winter car".

The amber Hella halogens work really well at melting snow, and the color doesn't blind me like the bright white of the LED's, which I would shut off in heavy snow. They don't shine down the road as far as headlights, but if I'm driving in those conditions, I won't be going that fast anyway. I don't use them for normal driving.

The Oculus' first generation had issues with the heating elements burning out, so I waited until they "fixed" it on what I'll call "Generation 1A", which included a remote thermostat. Unfortunately, one of my heating elements burned out within a minute of turning them on. Oracle was good about sending me a replacement, though it took a while, so I had to put my OEM's back in, and put the front end back together.

Connecting the "heaters" my way was as simple as moving the wire from the fuse box to the Aux 3 wire. FWIW- the Halo lights only work when there is power to the heating elements, because they are now "switched" by Aux 3, but I don't really care about having the Halo's...

Out of the box, the heating elements come on when the outside temp is below 40F, whether it is snowing or not. As I'm sure you know, just because it's cold doesn't mean it's snowing, so now I can turn them on only when actually needed. (On a personal note, I prefer the OEM LED's to the Oculus for normal driving...)

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