JL Cargo Area Lighting Upgrade

[dshark1]

This was easier than I thought. I got the idea from another owner and I'd like to give him credit, but I can't remember his name. It may have been on one of the Brawlee cargo light threads.

I ran the wire for the light inside the cover... pry it off gently with a panel-tool thingy. Don't He-Man it off... you can snap the tabs. No exposed wire.

I used a fish tape starting from here... it slides in & up and pulls the wire through fairly smoothly...there's a little bit of resistance on the way back down, but don't yank it. I wouldn't recommend a wire hanger... it's too rigid & certainly not flexible when you push upwards.

Secured to the existing harness

Plenty of room for the additional wire

View attachment 311916

@Hogzilla

Just got my light in today. What’s the secret on getting that plastic molding off without snapping the tabs? Tried earlier, even with a plastic prying tool. End up snapping one tab & gave up. Any tips much appreciated gentleman…. Thx

p.s did U guys have a hard time getting the backing off the sticky tabs? Those things drove me nuts!

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[melendez69]

@Hogzilla

Just got my light in today. What’s the secret on getting that plastic molding off without snapping the tabs? Tried earlier, even with a plastic prying tool. End up snapping one tab & gave up. Any tips much appreciated gentleman…. Thx

p.s did U guys have a hard time getting the backing off the sticky tabs? Those things drove me nuts!

Be gentle... The plastic pry tool works with some tender-loving care. Start towards the end & work your way back... it gets easier. I didn't have to remove any adhesives.

 

[dshark1]

Be gentle... The plastic pry tool works with some tender-loving care. Start towards the end & work your way back... it gets easier. I didn't have to remove any adhesives.

Thank u ,, gonna give it another try today after a shot of tequila! Lol … was talking about the sticky clips that u would use to the window to hold the cable which no longer applies if u are running thru the molding. Please disregard. Thx so much for replying

 

[Jeepeto]

Has anyone tried to bypass the oracle switch or swap for a latching switch? I've got one on order, and I would like to use a relay to turn the oracle light on automatically with the interior cargo lights. A user mentioned that the Oracle switches weren't latching and reset when power cycled, that would make this impossible to do.

@ORACLElights

 

[ORACLElights]

Has anyone tried to bypass the oracle switch or swap for a latching switch? I've got one on order, and I would like to use a relay to turn the oracle light on automatically with the interior cargo lights. A user mentioned that the Oracle switches weren't latching and reset when power cycled, that would make this impossible to do.

@ORACLElights

They are technically latching switches with a momentary switch feel to them. Its a standard 2 position setup so you can indeed change them out.

 

[terebi]

@ORACLElights Does this also fit/work for the 4xe?

 

[JP_Oracle]

@ORACLElights Does this also fit/work for the 4xe?

To my knowledge, there's nothing different about the cargo hatch for the 4xe. I believe this will also work here with no issues.

 

[blink9cd]

Has anyone tried to bypass the oracle switch or swap for a latching switch? I've got one on order, and I would like to use a relay to turn the oracle light on automatically with the interior cargo lights. A user mentioned that the Oracle switches weren't latching and reset when power cycled, that would make this impossible to do.

@ORACLElights

While there's a ton of great ideas in here, I didn't want to do a lot of wiring, so I bought a right-angle 12V splitter from Amazon that had on/off switches. Not sure if this helps answer your question, but I can confirm that once power cycled from the 12V splitter, the Oracle light always goes back to an "Off" state so I now have to press two buttons to turn on. I do wonder how fast the standby lights would really drain the battery though...is there any idea how much draw they really have? (vs what people are speculating?)

 

[Jeepeto]

While there's a ton of great ideas in here, I didn't want to do a lot of wiring, so I bought a right-angle 12V splitter from Amazon that had on/off switches. Not sure if this helps answer your question, but I can confirm that once power cycled from the 12V splitter, the Oracle light always goes back to an "Off" state so I now have to press two buttons to turn on. I do wonder how fast the standby lights would really drain the battery though...is there any idea how much draw they really have? (vs what people are speculating?)

Yep, ordered the light and realized the same. It’s NOT latching, and once power cycled needs to be turned on again.

 

[blink9cd]

For anyone who's installed the @ORACLElights Rear Cargo lights, does anyone have any pointers to get the screws in? I'm ashamed to admit I only got one screw in so far (thankfully it seems to hold it all for now). I watched an install video of a guy doing it and it clearly did a jump cut there where he was trying to figure it out.

It's been a huge PITA for me to install for what it is. I'm not sure why it's designed this way, but the holes are so recessed while the screw is so short so I can't hand thread the screw. But you're also doing this upside down, so with the opening being so wide, trying to do this with a screwdriver means it's been really hard for me to line up with the hole because there's almost no visibility, and because it's upside down the screw is basically falling out the whole time.

So I'll take any general tips on how to line the screw up in the giant hole, or how to thread a screw with just the driver upside down, or maybe what replacement longer screw that could work.

 

[blink9cd]

For anyone who's installed the @ORACLElights Rear Cargo lights, does anyone have any pointers to get the screws in? I'm ashamed to admit I only got one screw in so far (thankfully it seems to hold it all for now). I watched an install video of a guy doing it and it clearly did a jump cut there where he was trying to figure it out.

It's been a huge PITA for me to install for what it is. I'm not sure why it's designed this way, but the holes are so recessed while the screw is so short so I can't hand thread the screw. But you're also doing this upside down, so with the opening being so wide, trying to do this with a screwdriver means it's been really hard for me to line up with the hole because there's almost no visibility, and because it's upside down the screw is basically falling out the whole time.

So I'll take any general tips on how to line the screw up in the giant hole, or how to thread a screw with just the driver upside down, or maybe what replacement longer screw that could work.

After a ton of persistence I got it. One of the tricks that made it easier to install was pulling the glass down and sitting half out of the trunk so I wasn't doing it upside down. Also after pushing the screw in I loosened the other side a little bit and pushed the plastic body to force the screw to the hole. Overall I still don't like how this was designed.

I read it before and I'd say I agree that there's nowhere near enough clips if you want this to look remotely clean and following their install process (i.e. without going the more hardcore route of pulling the other wiring off, installing your own buttons, etc). Not to mention one of my clips came broken. Luckily I had an Amazon pack of clips I was able to use to supplement the install.

After it was pointed out, I did notice the original had rubber end that touched the window where this had plastic straight on. The rubber does seem nicer. It's still a bit disappointing that it defaults to off when the power is plugged and not state.

Overall I don't regret buying it as I enjoy the extra lighting, but I can't help but say it feels like this was designed as a light first, and a lot of the other aspects of the design/experience were a bit of an afterthought.

 

[ORACLElights]

After it was pointed out, I did notice the original had rubber end that touched the window where this had plastic straight on.

The rubber feature must be something on newer Jeeps. I noticed it on the 2021 392 we had at SEMA in our booth. The older models are just plastic for the factory part.

 

[m3reno]

Remember that the power to the rear power socket is "programmable" to be hot all the time (default from factory) or hot only with ignition on. This may impact one's decision to install a separate on/off switch for the auxiliary light.

Programming this function is by swapping fuses between F43 and F45, per the manual:

F43 20 Amp Yellow PWR OUTLET (CARGO) BATT
F45 20 Amp Yellow PWR OUTLET (CARGO) IGN*

* Customer can select to switch the Cargo Power Outlet
from F43 battery fed power to this position F45 which is fed
when the ignition in ON.

How do you switch fuses? do you need to remove the fuse box?

 

[mllcb42]

How do you switch fuses? do you need to remove the fuse box?

Pull the fuse out, move it over, put it back. It's as trivial as it sounds.

 

[Wraith]

They are technically latching switches with a momentary switch feel to them. Its a standard 2 position setup so you can indeed change them out.

Just placed my order! Any chance you could provide the specifications/dimensions for the switches? I would like to change them out for non-illuminated ones as I really do not want to run a separate switch to turn the switch illumination off. Thanks in advance!

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