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Jeep JK LED Headlights Installed for $174!

RJC_III_92

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Rich
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2021 Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel
I am from the Gladiator forum but figured I would share here too:

Like all of us with halogen headlights, I have been on the hunt for a pair of quality LEDs since I first drove my Gladiator at night. Before my Gladiator, I had a JK with the upgraded LEDs from the factory and they were amazing! I don't think I will ever be able to go back to halogen lights moving forward. After exhausting all aftermarket and obviously factory options that I liked due to price - I had an idea.

I remembered that it is not uncommon to find a pair of the awesome JK LEDs on Facebook marketplace for around $200. So that go me thinking. What if I picked up a set of those and mounted them using some adapter brackets similar to what everyone is using for their aftermarket 7" LEDs? Then, all I would need to figure out is the different plugs and my Tazer programmer would handle the Jeep's computer. PLUS! PLUS! PLUS! The JK headlights are a one piece design and the mounts are easily broken in minor accidents. SO, my goal would be to find a pair that were 100% functional but had broken mounts and could not be re-installed in a JK. Therefore, I could negotiate an even lower price for both lights!

Well, after some thought and a little research - I pulled the trigger.

I got a set of JK LEDs with a broken mount for $100 on Facebook (awesome deal). Quadratec makes a harness specifically to go from the JK connection to the JL connection. As for the headlight adapters, I went for the Amazon specials but you can get yourself a really nice set for more money. (Which I might do in the future)

What you'll need:
  1. Headlight adapter brackets ($45): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KJZNM7P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  2. Quadratec ($29): https://www.quadratec.com/p/quadratec/h13-jl-adapter-harness-jeep-wrangler-jl
  3. 2017 - 2018 Jeep JK LED Headlights (100): Facebook Market place
  4. You will need an LED headlight programmer or programming but I already bought mine for tire size, etc so for me: $0
As of today - I have all the parts and have confirmed that the lights are plug and play with the quadratec wiring adapters. I will need to trim the JK light housing in certain areas to get them to fit inside the adapter rings. The trimming will only include removing plastic that was originally part of how they mounted to the JK. Should be a simple job for a dremel. The purple taped off area in the below pictures is the area the rings will cover. I will be trimming the raised plastic areas up to that point.

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I completed the install tonight. Had to do a lot of cutting and sanding on the JK light housing to get it to fit in the adapter brackets. Overall install was about 3 hours including the cutting and sanding.


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See pictures below of how to remove the old mounting locations on the housing. You then need to remove the tapered outside diameter of the housing so they slide into the adapters.


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After that, the rest was easy. Mount the light in the adapter - mount the adapter/light on the Jeep - plug in the adapter wiring harness - adjust the beams and flash the computer.

Overall, so far I am very pleased with the look and the functionality of the lights. The beam cutoff, spread and brightness are almost the same as my brothers Jeep JL with factory LEDs. See for yourself below.

Low Beam: (JL Factory LED left - JK LED in Gladiator Right)

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High Beam: (JL Factory LED left - JK LED in Gladiator Right)

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Low Beam at ~15 feet:

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Low Beam:

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High Beam:

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DavidArmen

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David
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awesome! Quality factory LEDs for cheappppp! Great job!

I agree, after HIDs and/or LEDs, it’s very difficult to go back to low power halogens.
 
 



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