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HELP!! 2021 Willys Fender Light / DRL Questions

a23persaud

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Hi,

I have a 2021 Willys JLU, which came with LED headlights with DRL halos and the LED Fog lights. I wanted to upgrade the lights in the fenders to be LEDs and to work as DRLs.

I opened up my fenders and was surprised to find one orange bulb. I called Oracle Lighting and they were convinced that I should have 2 bulbs, since the bumper on the Willys is a version of the Sahara bumper.

Iā€™m even more confused because this person with a Willys from Canada posted that he has 2 bulbs in his ā€˜21 Willys:
2021 Wrangler Willys Fender Light HELP!

Could anyone with a 2021 Willys in the U.S. confirm if they have 1 or 2 bulbs on the inside of their fenders? Iā€™ve attached some pictures of what the inside of my fender looks like.

Also, if it is supposed to be one bulb and Iā€™m all good, does anyone know if this style of single bulb acts as a DRL or a parking light? When is it supposed to come on?

Canā€™t seem to figure it out.

Thank you!!

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jludave

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You have stock US halogen side markers/turn signals. They are not the same as what is on a Sahara. Willys are based off the Sport. One amber bulb is correct. You can use the JSCAN app or a Tazer to set them to DRL and they will be amber when the vehicle is running and in drive without the parking brake engaged.

You can get a set of LED switchback bulbs, if you want the lights to be white when on. These will flash yellow as the turn signals. Unfortunately these are not good as DRLs, since when the DRL mode is activated and set to the turn signals they light up amber. This is because the turn signal circuit is being used. Iā€™ve tried various switchbacks and the amber portion is not meant to be constantly lit and will overheat and cause bulb out messages.
 
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a23persaud

a23persaud

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You have stock US halogen side markers/turn signals. They are not the same as what is on a Sahara. Willys are based off the Sport. One amber bulb is correct. You can use the JSCAN app or a Tazer to set them to DRL and they will be amber when the vehicle is running and in drive without the parking brake engaged.

You can get a set of LED switchback bulbs, if you want the lights to be white when on. These will flash yellow as the turn signals. Unfortunately these are not good as DRLs, since when the DRL mode is activated and set to the turn signals they light up amber. This is because the turn signal circuit is being used. Iā€™ve tried various switchbacks and the amber portion is not meant to be constantly lit and will overheat and cause bulb out messages.
Thank you so much for confirming I do indeed have the correct bulb setup for the Willys.

As a quick follow-up, if Iā€™m running my headlights in the ā€œAutoā€ position (as I do 100% of the time), will the LED DRL switchback bulbs be white during the day? Or will this not occur unless I activate the DRL setting with a Tazer or JSCAN as you mentioned?

And what do you mean by ā€œ...and set to the turn signals they light up amber.ā€ Are you saying that with the switchback LEDs, even if I turn on the DRLs using a Tazer or JSCAN, it will be a constant yellow amber as DRLs (not a white LED DRL)?

Thanks for the help Dave :)

-Andrew
 

jludave

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if Iā€™m running my headlights in the ā€œAutoā€ position (as I do 100% of the time), will the LED DRL switchback bulbs be white during the day? Or will this not occur unless I activate the DRL setting with a Tazer or JSCAN as you mentioned?
They will be lit up white when your lights are on at night. This is how they normally function. There are not lit during the day. Remember, by default you donā€™t have DRLs.

And what do you mean by ā€œ...and set to the turn signals they light up amber.ā€ Are you saying that with the switchback LEDs, even if I turn on the DRLs using a Tazer or JSCAN, it will be a constant yellow amber as DRLs (not a white LED DRL)?
Correct. As mentioned, this is because when you set DRLs to turn signals the turn signal circuit is activated turning on only the amber portion of the switchback.
 
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a23persaud

a23persaud

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They will be lit up white when your lights are on at night. This is how they normally function. There are not lit during the day. Remember, by default you donā€™t have DRLs.



Correct. As mentioned, this is because when you set DRLs to turn signals the turn signal circuit is activated turning on only the amber portion of the switchback.
Dave, youā€™re the best thank you. I guess I can refer to a few threads where they discuss routing the power to a different fuse to get the switchback DRLs working correctly.

I wonder if thereā€™s a way to tap into the current OEM LED headlights that already have the white LED DRL halo for the switchbacks to get the DRLs working correctly šŸ¤”
 

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jludave

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I guess I can refer to a few threads where they discuss routing the power to a different fuse to get the switchback DRLs working correctly.
I didnā€™t want to go that route and hack up any wiring while still under warranty. I gave up on a marker light DRL. I have halos on my Oracle headlights as DRLs and thatā€™s good enough for me.
 
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a23persaud

a23persaud

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I didnā€™t want to go that route and hack up any wiring while still under warranty. I gave up on a marker light DRL. I have halos on my Oracle headlights as DRLs and thatā€™s good enough for me.
That makes a ton of sense. Thanks again, Dave. Iā€™m going to order my Oracle switchbacks tomorrow :)
 

wantingtobuyonetouch

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Yeah I'm confused on why you pay the LED premium but don't get full LED like a Rubicon....
 
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a23persaud

a23persaud

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Yeah I'm confused on why you pay the LED premium but don't get full LED like a Rubicon....
I went with the Oracle switchback bulbs and they are fantastic. Just canā€™t have them on as DRLs, but thatā€™s okay. They still look great at night! And no need for a resistor is a HUGE plus!!!
 

wantingtobuyonetouch

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I went with the Oracle switchback bulbs and they are fantastic. Just canā€™t have them on as DRLs, but thatā€™s okay. They still look great at night! And no need for a resistor is a HUGE plus!!!
Do you have a picture? So you can't keep your light on auto?
 

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wantingtobuyonetouch

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You absolutely can, thatā€™s where my lights are set 24/7!

Will try and get a pick later!
That's what I thought.... DRL are always on when in auto. I was confused by your previous message. I'm interested in the mod though if it's what I want.
 
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a23persaud

a23persaud

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That's what I thought.... DRL are always on when in auto. I was confused by your previous message. I'm interested in the mod though if it's what I want.
So hereā€™s what I meant:

if you drive a Sport or Willys, you donā€™t have a setting in your UConnect system for fender DRLs. Thus, if you have the LED package on a sport based wrangler (e.g. the S or the Willys) the only LEDs that are on during the day are the halo lights around your headlamps. Your fenders donā€™t come on as DRLs.

These Oracle bulbs for the fenders will not miraculously make the fenders work as DRLs. You would have to do some rewiring, and @blnewt has a post on that I believe. What these Oracle bulbs do is light up a bright LED white when your headlights are in the ON position or automatically at night when in the AUTO position. They switch back and forth between amber and white automatically so you can use your turn signals in the exact same manner.

They are super bright and give a nice finished look to wranglers that have the LED package but not LEDs in the fenders. And NO NEED FOR RESISTORS.

In summary: you get these, so that when you your headlights are ON or at night when you headlights are in AUTO, all the front lights on your Jeep will be white LEDs. The stock halogen in the fenders are so dim, I didnā€™t even know they were on at night (very very faint).
 

wantingtobuyonetouch

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Do you think this is a better alternative than finding Rubi LED lights for the fenders and changing them out?
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