Backup Lights

[jawest12]

When buying the supplies, I bought extra. And I’ve spent much money on crimping tools for open barrel Molex connectors and crimpers for Powerpole connectors. And I’ve ruined a few connectors learning how to crimp them.
So if I can save others the expense and headaches of trying to do it themselves, and instead provide these to them, I’ll do it.
Notice the striped wiring I’m using to match the factory wire colors.
Let me know if you want Right or Left side, and for the 5 pin and 6 pin (backup light and ground), let me know if you want me to leave them unstripped, or I can crimp either a butt connector or Powerpole Connector Like in the pic.

I'd be interested in a driver side,6 pin. Unstripped. I have powerpoles already :-D. Just PM me price when you have time.

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[beammmer]

I'd be interested in a driver side,6 pin. Unstripped. I have powerpoles already :-D. Just PM me price when you have time.

Not sure @Abramovich is still doing this, I had asked for one in Mid January, the last communication I received from him was February 1st. No request for payment has been received to date. Hopefully he is okay.

Don

 

[dpike]

I'd be interested in a driver side,6 pin. Unstripped. I have powerpoles already :-D. Just PM me price when you have time.

Not sure @Abramovich is still doing this, I had asked for one in Mid January, the last communication I received from him was February 1st. No request for payment has been received to date. Hopefully he is okay.

Don

i don't think he is either which is why i ended up picking up the Curt harness.
@jawest12 DM me if you're interested in the driver side of that Curt harness, you'd just need to tap the wire at pin 5 (i think) i can even give you a tap for that with some wire if you're interested. i'm happy with how the Curt harness worked for mine, kept me from having to tap those smaller than expected wires directly to the light harness.

 

[beammmer]

i don't think he is either which is why i ended up picking up the Curt harness.
@jawest12 DM me if you're interested in the driver side of that Curt harness, you'd just need to tap the wire at pin 5 (i think) i can even give you a tap for that with some wire if you're interested. i'm happy with how the Curt harness worked for mine, kept me from having to tap those smaller than expected wires directly to the light harness.

The last email from @Abramovich was-
"Don, I am printing shipping labels...what is your last name?
Once packaged and ready to ship, I will let you know for payment."

I would be interested Curt model number if you would share.

Don

 

[dpike]

ETrailer Curt Harness
i have the side with the yellow and brown tap wires available, but you'd just clip those and shrink tube over them and use the reverse lights pin. since this side has the 2 tap wires i'm assuming it's for turn signal and brake light, so you can use it to add a hitch brake light or spare tire ring too.

if @jawest12 doesn't respond to the harness in the next day or two i'll let you know.

also from another thread Oracle Lighting is making a rear tail light tap harness for the JLs, it's not out yet, but if iirc it would be released in May.

 

[rockadile]

also from another thread Oracle Lighting is making a rear tail light tap harness for the JLs, it's not out yet, but if iirc it would be released in May.

It is slated to be released April 10th. Here's their post about it in the other thread:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...egrated-led-reverse-lights.55888/post-1426951

 

[Quinn99]

Thanks for sharing that info on the oracle harness. I will definitely be interested in that. In the meantime I ran the reverse light wiring into a curt 7 pin trailer plug connector from Amazon. Cost about $5 and easy to wire and i didn’t have to cut any factory wiring. I have to unplug if I’m towing but I wouldn’t need reverse lights then anyway. It looks pretty clean:
View attachment 435587

View attachment 435583

 

[TJP]

Really nice write up and install.

I joined the backup light club yesterday and it took about 4 hours (really took my time to do everything right). I connected the lights to Aux #4 and to the backup light lead for the 7 pin trailer connector. I could not justify the cost of the Rigid branded lights (for something that may be torn off) so I used two ADZOON 2'' 27W Waterproof Mini LED Cube lights.


I ran marine 14/2 wiring inside 3/8” split loom tubing from the engine bay to the rear using a ¼” 25 foot fish tape (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Southwire-25-ft-Steel-Fish-Tape/50114239). This particular tape is great and when I initially ran it through the frame, it hit an obstacle very quickly. I thought -great, this is what everyone has struggled with, but when I began tracing it, I was pleasantly surprised to find it hitting the bumper—totally painless, but I think the ¼” blade versus the more common 1/8” blade made the difference.


All wiring was ran inside split loom tubing and taped at appropriate intervals. All connections were either covered in heat shrink tubing or siliconed and taped. The crimper I bought does a much better job than my Thomas & Betts crimpers (https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Betts-WT111M-Insulated-Terminals/dp/B0018LD2PU) which have a tendency to cut through the insulation.


I installed a diode in the engine bay for the wiring running from Aux #4 to the rear and installed a second diode at the top of the rear passenger taillight cavity. All in all, I am very pleased with the results and the increased light at night. Jeep seriously needs to do something about the OEM LED backup lights—they suck to the point of being dangerous.



Major parts and tools:



Lights - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JD8P1VV


Wire - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0799JDF5K


Posi-Taps - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EINQXEG


Heat Shrink Butt Connectors - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B518GCJ


Diodes - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007HRO4X8


Heat Shrink Tubing - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075WR9FVL


Crimpers - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0069TRKJ0

 

[viper88]

I have a question? I wonder if there is any correlation between dim back-up lights and glitchy head units. Problems like back up camera blue screens, locked up touch screen controls, etc.

My old '19 JLR had pretty dim back up light. You could not really see anything without a really bright light source. It was very difficult to see anything on the back up camera screen if there were no bright street lights. Even with street lights it was very dim. My UConnect radio was plagued with back up camera problems and radio-head unit problems. I wonder if there is any correlation?

How many of you have poor back up lights and have had issues with your radio? Issues like back up camera lines disappearing randomly, blue back up screen, problems with radio and UConnect functions through the head unit screen?

I only ask because some JL owners report their back up lights are very bright and they don't understand why someone would need auxiliary back up light. Are there a lot of defective back up cameras out there? Are these cameras causing the problems with the head units and UConnect?

 

[CarbonSteel]

I have a question? I wonder if there is any correlation between dim back-up lights and glitchy head units. Problems like back up camera blue screens, locked up touch screen controls, etc.

My old '19 JLR had pretty dim back up light. You could not really see anything without a really bright light source. It was very difficult to see anything on the back up camera screen if there were no bright street lights. Even with street lights it was very dim. My UConnect radio was plagued with back up camera problems and radio-head unit problems. I wonder if there is any correlation?

How many of you have poor back up lights and have had issues with your radio? Issues like back up camera lines disappearing randomly, blue back up screen, problems with radio and UConnect functions through the head unit screen?

I only ask because some JL owners report their back up lights are very bright and they don't understand why someone would need auxiliary back up light. Are there a lot of defective back up lights out there?

The two are not related. The fact is the LED backup lights on the JLs are terrible and do not have enough output to make them useful (or safe). I added auxiliary lights (as many have here) and I have full visibility when backing up at night.

 

[viper88]

The two are not related. The fact is the LED backup lights on the JLs are terrible and do not have enough output to make them useful (or safe). I added auxiliary lights (as many have here) and I have full visibility when backing up at night.

My old '19 JLR had the 8.4" and LEDs. I was interested in better back up lighting early on. I bought everything to install aux back up lights but never got around to installing them before selling it. My back up screen had a lot of issues also. Missing back up lines, blue screen, and a lot of other UConnect issues. I just wonder if any is related to possibly a bad back up camera?

I only asked because some JL owners say their back up camera screen is very bright even in darkness? Others report their newer JL has a much better back up camera performance than their older JL. I wonder if there are upgraded or different back up cameras? Did Jeep have different suppliers?

I had a 2021 Grand Cherokee with the 8,4" infotainment and the back up lights, camera. or screen was 1000% better than my '19 JLR. It was a night and day difference. Pun intended.

Here is a link to a thread about back up cameras flaking out.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/backup-camera-suddenly-stopped-working.7452/

 

[FLECK-5]

I just received these backup lights from Quadratec last week but I haven’t had a chance to install them yet.
https://www.quadratec.com/p/oracle-lighting/rear-bumper-led-reverse-lights-wrangler-jl-5874-504

 

[viper88]

I just received these backup lights from Quadratec last week but I haven’t had a chance to install them yet.
https://www.quadratec.com/p/oracle-lighting/rear-bumper-led-reverse-lights-wrangler-jl-5874-504

The bumper-reflector back up lights are a very elegant solution. You installing them into the plastic bumpers?

#Rhinebeck01...Curious, what don't you like about the Oracle reflector lights?

 

[FLECK-5]

The bumper-reflector back up lights are a very elegant solution. You installing them into the plastic bumpers?

#Rhinebeck01...Curious, what don't you like about the Oracle reflector lights?

I am installing them in the steel bumpers. I haven’t had a chance to install them yet so I don’t have any feedback yet on the product.

 

[CarbonSteel]

My old '19 JLR had the 8.4" and LEDs. I was interested in better back up lighting early on. I bought everything to install aux back up lights but never got around to installing them before selling it. My back up screen had a lot of issues also. Missing back up lines, blue screen, and a lot of other UConnect issues. I just wonder if any is related to possibly a bad back up camera?

I only asked because some JL owners say their back up camera screen is very bright even in darkness? Others report their newer JL has a much better back up camera performance than their older JL. I wonder if there are upgraded or different back up cameras? Did Jeep have different suppliers?

I had a 2021 Grand Cherokee with the 8,4" infotainment and the back up lights, camera. or screen was 1000% better than my '19 JLR. It was a night and day difference. Pun intended.

Here is a link to a thread about back up cameras flaking out.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/backup-camera-suddenly-stopped-working.7452/

I cannot comment on the differences on the infortainment screens, both of the 8.4" screens I have seen were the same as were the backup light dimness. I rented a 2019 Sahara (https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ve-2-0-turbo-regret.17142/page-29#post-773758) before buying my Rubicon and both have the same lighting issues with the backup lights as noted in my review. Sadly, there is no way to upgrade the lights, so I added the lights under the bumper which totally solved the issue.

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