Oracle LED back-up lights wiring harness question

[ArmyRN]

I've got a 2023 JLU Willys XR 2.0T with the factory LED lighting option (love the bright headlights!) and the factory plastic rear bumper.

I wanted some better back-up lights, so I ordered (actually my wife got them for me for Christmas) a set of the Oracle LED back-up lights and the optional wiring harness. I removed the rear bumper, installed the lights (they fit fine), and then ran the wiring using the optional wiring harness to the driver's side taillight and plugged it in.

What happened?

No taillight on the driver's side when the headlights are turned on (although the taillight's side marker lights up). Passenger side still works

And... When put in reverse, the "R" on the gear selector starts blinking.

And... The new LED backup lights flash on then off, there's a couple second pause, then they flash again (and cycle repeats).

When I unplug the harness (remove it from being in-line with the regular taillight plug) and reconnect the two factory plug ends everything is back to normal.

Now I know folks have issues when putting LED lights into a JL without the factory LED lighting package, but that's not what I've got.

I think the wiring harness is defective (why would the taillight stop working?). I really don't want to be splicing into the thin factory wiring (especially with the Jeep still under warranty). That's why I got these lights and the harness in the first place - should be plug-and-play.

So (long story short) has anyone put a set of Oracle LED backup lights in their JL using the plug and play harness with the factory LED lighting system and had issues (or had this happen to them)?

I put in a claim to Oracle, and their response was (remember, I've got a JLU with the factory LED lighting package):

Some Halogen Equipped Gladiators may require Bumper Reverse Lights to be wired into the 7-Pin Trailer Tow Harness. This is a common issue that happens because some Halogen Equipped Gladiators are set up from the factory to read the wattage coming from the reverse light circuit. With the added load of the bumper reverse lights, this pushes the wattage out of the programmed range and the BCM shuts the circuit down. The solution is to unplug the plug and play harness and t-tap the bumper reverse lights to the 7-Pin Trailer Tow Harness.

Gratuitous picture of my other Willys:

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[ArmyRN]

Ok... I got it working. Some things to consider if you're going this route:

1. Don't put on your parking brake, put it in reverse, and open the door to see if the backup lights are working. The Jeep will go crazy; the gear indictor will start blinking, reverse lights will do a slow blink, etc. I guess it is a safety measure to not open the door when in reverse. Have someone else sit in the driver's seat, put a window down, and give them instructions (start Jeep, turn on headlights, turn off headlights, put foot on brake and put in reverse, etc.).

2. Seems like when you unplug the taillight harness from the taillight and then plug in the plug and play harness between them, the Jeep somehow needs to reset itself (it did for me anyways for the taillight to work). The taillight may not work initially. When you plug in the plug and play harness, you might have to start the engine, turn it off, let it sit for a minute or two, and then restart engine and check the taillight. It was only the driver's taillight that did this (this is the one I was using for the plug and play harness).

 

[rohdawg]

I used the plug and play harness on my ‘21 JLUR when installing the same Oracle reverse lights and had zero issues.
It was 100% plug and play for me.
The biggest pain was having to remove the entire bumper just to get the red reflectors out.

 

[Take57]

Is anyone aware of an alternative product to the Oracle 5879-504 P&P Reverse Light Harness?

I sent an email to Oracle yesterday to confirm their product would work on a MY2024. I got a reply that wasn't much of a confidence booster.

"If you have a 7 pin trailer harness, we have a harness that plugs into that for the taillights as well and that is currently what we are recommending."

OK, but that isn't really the question I asked. Also, I didn't equip my Jeep with the trailer package, so does that mean Part# 5879-504 is not really a recommended product at least in terms of those of us that don't have the 7 pin trailer harness?

I know there are a lot of folks that are very happy with their 5879-504, but there are also a lot of folks that are not very happy with it as well, both here on this website but reviews on resellers websites.

I'm really loth to physically tap the factory harness especially knowing is an alternate solution exists albeit with a seemly questionable execution. Perhaps there is an adapter that is a pass-through that I could do the tap on it without getting into to the factory harness wiring?

Thanks in advance, I'd like to get this out of the way before I start dropping cash on goodies to beef up the illumination when in reverse.

 

[ORACLE Terry]

Is anyone aware of an alternative product to the Oracle 5879-504 P&P Reverse Light Harness?

I sent an email to Oracle yesterday to confirm their product would work on a MY2024. I got a reply that wasn't much of a confidence booster.

"If you have a 7 pin trailer harness, we have a harness that plugs into that for the taillights as well and that is currently what we are recommending."

OK, but that isn't really the question I asked. Also, I didn't equip my Jeep with the trailer package, so does that mean Part# 5879-504 is not really a recommended product at least in terms of those of us that don't have the 7 pin trailer harness?

I know there are a lot of folks that are very happy with their 5879-504, but there are also a lot of folks that are not very happy with it as well, both here on this website but reviews on resellers websites.

I'm really loth to physically tap the factory harness especially knowing is an alternate solution exists albeit with a seemly questionable execution. Perhaps there is an adapter that is a pass-through that I could do the tap on it without getting into to the factory harness wiring?

Thanks in advance, I'd like to get this out of the way before I start dropping cash on goodies to beef up the illumination when in reverse.

I am looking into this for you. I'll let you know when I hear back.

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