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LED Lights and the cold.

JeepAdmin

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Hi Guys,

Finally getting ready to put down a deposit on a JLURD and I had seen in a video someone say that LED's should be given second thought in the northern climates because the LEDs don't produce enough heat to keep the snow from accumulating on the lens when driving. Has anyone experienced this? I own a Tesla Model 3 and know of a couple times I have seen ice build up on my headlamps, but that was just the right conditions. I guess I never thought of that. What say you? Thanks.

PS: What, in your opinion, is anything I should probably know before plopping down $60K? Thanks in advance.
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MrMischief

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The headlight thing is real. I have LEDs on my car and now on my Jeep, both will get snow covered within minutes in the right conditions (typically heavy wet snow). In my experience going faster or slower doesn't seem to change the result, the snow doesn't blow off or fall away it just builds. There was a vendor here who was making LED lights with built in automagic heaters, but I forget who. There is a post about it though if you are strong with the google. I want to say they replaced the standard lights and not the LEDs, but I may be wrong.

For me, I went with the LEDs knowing the problems I have with it in my car. I had hoped Jeep had thought of it and addressed it somehow, but even if they hadn't I felt LEDs were still the right choice for me. My reasoning is A) I live in Denver Colorado, it doesn't really get cold and snowy here that often. Mountains sure but I don't go up there much in the winter. B) the conditions required really do seem to be a heavy wet snow and that's fairly rare here, even more so that I'm driving at night in those conditions. C) the improved lighting the rest of the time is greatly appreciated D) I just really hate how the non-LED JLs look, specifically the halogens in the fenders.

Reason D is pretty dumb, I'll admit that, but I'll also say it was probably the biggest factor if I'm being honest. I had looked at doing some LED swaps in the fenders before I bought mine, at the time everything I saw seemed to be unreliable, like the turn signals wouldn't work reliably. If I were made of money and didn't mind replacing parts on a brand new jeep, I would look into those heated lights I spoke about and what LED swaps are available for the fenders now. Maybe everything is improved enough now that I would make a different choice if presented with it today.

EDIT: here is the thread about the heated lights I was thinking of. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...n-a-heated-oculus-led-headlight-option.62996/
 

dapipp

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I have the LED lights and would order them again even though the headlights and fog lights get packed with snow. I will probably replace my headlights at some point with a third party heated headlight. For now I just carry a cheap silicone bowl spatula to scoop out the headlights with when necessary (which can be often depending on your environment).
 

am1978

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Or add a set of non-LED lamps to your bumper for the few occasions that the headlights get covered, which has not happened to me in three years with my JL in the DC area and up in Maine.
 

MrMischief

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which can be often depending on your environment
I think "often" understates this a bit. It's going to vary a lot depending on what conditions you're in. Worst case for me was actually in my car, which has thinner more pointy lights, I would suspect they build up slower than the Jeep's design by I could be wrong. This is just for comparison, but crossing Wyoming one winter night I stopped to clear the lights, then two miles later I stopped again, then two miles later I stopped again this time digging out my rain-x hoping it might do something, within a mile or so my lights were blocked again and I should have stopped but I figured Wyoming, interestate, late at night, nobody is really going to be coming at me so I just found someone to follow to keep me on the road. So yeah it can be "often" but in my experience it can also be constant.
 

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AMC_CJ

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I'm in Colorado, and in similar circumstances with concerns over the snow accumulation. Since I'm looking at the 4xe which comes standard with the LEDs, I'm actually looking at some 10"-20" light bars made for snow plows that are DOT approved, have built in heaters to melt snow, and I could add to front bumper (aftermarket) above the fairlead.
 

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I put halogen fog pattern lights on my grill guard for when my LED head lights get snow covered. I'm in Ohio, it does happen, not frequently, but it happens. I would still order LED lights again though. Much better light than halogen.
 

nU7OuxIx

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Interesting, as I never thought about LED lights not melting the snow. I have LED's and haven't driven yet through snow.

I am wondering if rain-x would help with preventing snow from sticking... The other thing, is that the lights can always be replaced with some that have heaters in them. It's not cheap, but at least there's an option.
 

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Boatbuilder88

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It is a real concern since LEDs don't give off much heat. Jeep headlights sit in a large cavity and it's easy for snow/ice to accumulate in this area. The headlights on most other vehicles are flush with the body and follow the the natural aerodynamics of the car so ice buildup is not as big a deal.
 
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JeepAdmin

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I'll be opting for the LED package as I'm just a guy who would rather fork over hard earned money knowing it's done from the moment I take ownership. I'm in West Michigan where wet, heavy snow it usually the norm so heated replacements might be the way I have to go in the future.
 

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JW Speaker does have a heated model, but the light brightness is not as good as other LED. I live in Calgary, and like the post from Denver, wet, heavy snow is relatively rare. Even when it does build up, it still seems to throw off better light than the halogens until it gets very packed.

I have the Oculus and the improvement over the OEM Halogens is staggering.
 
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JeepAdmin

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JW Speaker does have a heated model, but the light brightness is not as good as other LED. I live in Calgary, and like the post from Denver, wet, heavy snow is relatively rare. Even when it does build up, it still seems to throw off better light than the halogens until it gets very packed.

I have the Oculus and the improvement over the OEM Halogens is staggering.

I thought I read somewhere in these forums that Oculus is testing a heated headlight....
That should be nice.
 

LarryB

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I thought I read somewhere in these forums that Oculus is testing a heated headlight....
That should be nice.
I think the Lumen output drops dramatically, as I recall. Something like 25-35%, maybe less. If you drive mostly in a city, not a big deal, but I like all of those lumens driving in the country at night.
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