New Headlights Damage BCM?

[OffDutyPRU]

Again, your particular situation being unique.

Your dealership is taking a hard stance because they simply refuse to fix your particular issue. Many people on this forum, and others, have installed aftermarket headlights (and other parts/items) without issue.

I agree with you. They advised Jeep tech support and they agreed with the technician. Picking up my Jeep today with a large bill.

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[OffDutyPRU]

So an update for those who are following. Paid a large bill, they replaced my headlights with the stocks one...... and they disconnected my FOG led lights I had installed MONTHS ago with my front bumper.

Asked them why my fog lights are disconnected and they said as a precaution. They don't want to damage the BCM with my fog lights too.... So now I am driving around with two disconnected fog lights... lol

@JeepCares no they don't....

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

I am curious; how many watts does each MOPAR OEM LED headlight consume?

The Crees are listed as each drawing 75 watts over a range of 10-30vDC, which means the pair can demand anywhere from 5 to 15 amps of current.

Assuming the Jeep's system is maintaining 12 to 14.5 vDC the current draw for a pair could be 10.3 to 12.5 amps.

LED arrays are designed to run at constant current. With LED "bulb" replacements, the constant current circuit is most often built in to the package. It is not inconceivable that a computer monitoring a system that the lights are tied in to might be sensitive to deviations from the current draw values that are expected.

It would take a deep understanding of the function of the BCM to understand why this might cause the car to not start, but it seems easy to accept that some of the new aftermarket LEDs might trigger a response from the BCM due to misunderstandings and unanticipated conditions, and report events which are listed, for lack of a better word, as "shorts".

Of course, none of this may be germane to the cause of the problem, but if the BCM is spitting out error events that point the technicians in errant directions this would certainly could make the diagnostic process more difficult, less exact, and ineffective.

I tried to look up the power consumption of the MOPAR LEDs but could not find a figure. It would be interesting to make a comparison if someone could find the information.

 

[OffDutyPRU]

I am curious; how many watts does each MOPAR OEM LED headlight consume?

The Crees are listed as each drawing 75 watts over a range of 10-30vDC, which means the pair can demand anywhere from 5 to 15 amps of current.

Assuming the Jeep's system is maintaining 12 to 14.5 vDC the current draw for a pair could be 10.3 to 12.5 amps.

LED arrays are designed to run at constant current. With LED "bulb" replacements, the constant current circuit is most often built in to the package. It is not inconceivable that a computer monitoring a system that the lights are tied in to might be sensitive to deviations from the current draw values that are expected.

It would take a deep understanding of the function of the BCM to understand why this might cause the car to not start, but it seems easy to accept that some of the new aftermarket LEDs might trigger a response from the BCM due to misunderstandings and unanticipated conditions, and report events which are listed, for lack of a better word, as "shorts".

Of course, none of this may be germane to the cause of the problem, but if the BCM is spitting out error events that point the technicians in errant directions this would certainly could make the diagnostic process more difficult, less exact, and ineffective.

I tried to look up the power consumption of the MOPAR LEDs but could not find a figure. It would be interesting to make a comparison if someone could find the information.

I hope someone can answer that.
They returned my lights to stock.
I had LED fog lights as well which was installed months before I installed the headlights. The fog lamps were installed a week after I got my wrangler when I got new front bumpers installed.
When the technicians “fixed” my Jeep by replacing the BCM and return headlight to stock, they also disconnected my fog lamps. When I asked them why they did that they said “as a precaution to protect the BCM” and “we recommend not reconnecting the fog lamps.”
so now I’m driving around a new wrangler with fog lamps that don't work...
Still happy I got my Jeep back though hahaha

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

Yes, I noticed that at the end of the thread, you mentioned that you had fog lights installed months ago, and wondered if this was before the first instance of trouble.

I wanted to ask "what kind of fog lights?" but it seemed like a can of worms.

In my opinion, the systems have become so complicated that I believe only a very few of the factory engineers have a comprehension of what is going on. It has become unlikely that any highly trained and naturally skilled technician will ever again be able to employ a holistic understanding of what is encountered while attempting to troubleshoot problems.

 

[DaltonGang]

Do you know how a vehicle warranty works?

You can add aftermarket parts to the vehicle. There's nothing that says they are "un-authorized". Your warranty cannot be voided simply for doing that.

Go through all the build threads and you can see what others have added to their vehicles.

There are tons of people on here, including me, who are running Oracle headlights without issue.

Oh, yes it can. If you install anything, Non-Mopar on your jeep, that part or whatever it causes to break will not be covered under warranty. If the dealership wants to put these on, and cover it under warranty, it is usually that dealership only that will warranty it, most others wont. Also, installing Mopar items on your Jeep, yourself, can be grounds for warranty denial. Since they require a certified mechanic to do the work. But, all of this is subjective, and depends on the individual dealershils, and how they present the claims to FCA.

 

[Badbear0416]

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3. So an update for those who are following. Paid a large bill, they replaced my headlights with the stocks one...... and they disconnected my FOG led lights I had installed MONTHS ago with my front bumper.
   
   Asked them why my fog lights are disconnected and they said as a precaution. They don't want to damage the BCM with my fog lights too.... So now I am driving around with two disconnected fog lights... lol
   
   @JeepCares no they don't....

   Unfortunately most dealerships from chatham to windsor are exactly like this. I have a few frienss and family that use work for fca and all said same thing "can't stand they way they treat and lie to customers" as they make way more off cash work done if not under warranty. So a lot of these so called mechanics WILL SCREW you over as they can for cash work. Mainly 99% of people have no choice especially on a newer vehicle or they will void the rest of warranty already paid for in the excess of 5 plus grand. So you have to bite the bullet and they know this. I honestly can say none of them work for fca anymore because if so many reasons like this in ontario mostly.

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