Oracle lighting rear bumper LED reverse lights do not fit

[calemasters]

I purchased the Oracle rear bumper lighting for my 2021 JLUR with steel bumpers. These are the LED lights that replace the red reflectors in the rear bumper on Sahara and Rubicon JL vehicles. The right side Oracle lamp fit well, but the left side did not fit into the steel bumper indentation where the factory reflector used to fit. The left side Oracle lamp housing was too large to fit into the bumper indentation.

My experiance is that Mopar accessories generally fit and work well. However, with aftermarket accessories, such as these Oracle lamps, you are rolling the dice.

I am disappointed that Oracle sells these lights that are not suitable for the vehicle for which they are intended.

Buyer beware.

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[JasonInDLH]

Geez…I’ve never even noticed those red deflectors until I looked just now. ??

Would it be possible to enlarge the hole to make the light fit?

 

[calemasters]

Geez…I’ve never even noticed those red deflectors until I looked just now. ??

Would it be possible to enlarge the hole to make the light fit?

I suppose. But what would be even better is for the vendor to produce parts that fit. The red OEM reflector on the left side fit, so why does Oracle sell lights that do not fit?

 

[AFD]

I believe this has been a known issue with those particular lamps and a reason I personally avoided them myself, even though it's a clever solution (in theory).

Iirc, Oracle has blamed Jeep/Mopar for inconsistency in their steel bumpers that are causing the issue, but if that was the case, then why aren't they having major fitment problems with the red reflectors when installing those on at the factory?

 

[Rhinebeck01]

I suppose. But what would be even better is for the vendor to produce parts that fit. The red OEM reflector on the left side fit, so why does Oracle sell lights that do not fit?

This fitment issue and also the moisture related issues with this offering have been talked about lots on the forum since the offering became available.

I installed a few sets for other's and soon realized that the offering was problematic. SO, I stopped installing the product.

Consider @Diode Dynamics Stage Series HitchMount LED Pod Kit offering if you want a decent offering that installs easily and quickly.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...unt-led-pod-kit-the-best-5-minute-mod.103255/

 

[ChuckQue]

Getting it to fit is a chore but well worth it in my opinion. I had to grind off a decent a mount of the casing on the one light as well as some of the bumper metal. I used RTV to seal up the light and hit the bumper with some rust preventative, installed the light and then ran a bead of RTV around the light, sealing it in the bumper. So far so good. They are super bright and make backing up at night much better. The water intrusion issue I think could be solved with again using RTV around the edge and where the harness enters the light.

 

[Jgc650i]

This is a well known issue and has been covered in multiple threads across various forums. It’s a PITA I agree, but it’s a simple fix. If you use a Dremel (or similar) to grind down the outside perimeter of the light a little bit you can get it to fit. Once you grind it down, paint the edges for rust protection and install. I did it and am very happy with the lights once installed. Agree Oracle should handle it better, bit it is what it is I guess.

 

[TX_Ovrlnd]

They warn steel bumper owners on the product page, but it's always the companies' fault when customers do not adhere to warning these days.

 

[calemasters]

I believe this has been a known issue with those particular lamps and a reason I personally avoided them myself, even though it's a clever solution (in theory).

Iirc, Oracle has blamed Jeep/Mopar for inconsistency in their steel bumpers that are causing the issue, but if that was the case, then why aren't they having major fitment problems with the red reflectors when installing those on at the factory?

The bumper is stamped steel, so like any other manufacture's stamping process, there is some build varibility. Therefore, every component that is bumper related has to account for the acceptable amount of the varibility in the stamping. Apparently, the red OEM reflectors accomplish this. Maybe Oracle could revise the dimentions of the LED rear bumper lights to match that of the OEM reflectors.

Jeep does not build vehicles to accomodate every third party vendors crap. There, I said it.

 

[calemasters]

They warn steel bumper owners on the product page, but it's always the companies' fault when customers do not adhere to warning these days.

This note was not part of the purchase process and was not provided to me. If they know this, why not fix the fitment issue with their lights?

 

[TX_Ovrlnd]

This note was not part of the purchase process and was not provided to me. If they know this, why not fix the fitment issue with their lights?

It is on the official product page where you go to buy it, just scroll down. Amazon is a third party market place, if that is where you bought it, but there are reviews stating it will not fit correctly in the steel bumper.

 

[AFD]

The bumper is stamped steel, so like any other manufacture's stamping process, there is some build varibility. Therefore, every component that is bumper related has to account for the acceptable amount of the varibility in the stamping. Apparently, the red OEM reflectors accomplish this. Maybe Oracle could revise the diamentions of the LED rear bumper lights to match that of the OEM reflectors.

Jeep does not build vehicles to accomodate every third party vendors crap. There, I said it.

Yeah, I wasn't at all suggesting that Jeep adjust their bumper tolerances to better suit 3rd-party accessories (because they have no reason to), just that it might be in Oracle's best interests for Oracle themselves to consider more closely following the red reflector's dimensions by allowing for these slight variations in tolerance (if that's possible with their design).

 

[K-nuk]

+1 for it being a PITA but worth the pain. It is such a clean install and makes the reverse lights super bright. Below are before and after pictures of how the backup camera visibIlity is impacted

 

[Rock Hopper]

Yeah, I wasn't at all suggesting that Jeep adjust their bumper tolerances to better suit 3rd-party accessories (because they have no reason to), just that it might be in Oracle's best interests for Oracle themselves to consider more closely following the red reflector's dimensions by allowing for these slight variations in tolerance (if that's possible with their design).

I believe on one or more of the threads here on the forum, this is discussed at length along with input from Oracle. If memory serves me correct, the issue only applies to the steel bumpers (the plastic covered ones are fine).

Apparently, only on the steel bumpers the one side of the reflector opening is actually smaller than the other. It must have to do with the manufacturing process at the factory, as it would serve no purpose to have it fractionally smaller.

Since it doesn't affect the reflector application, Jeep has no reason to clean it up.

Again, it doesn't seem to be an issue on the rest of the Jeep factory bumpers, as the cut outs are the same spec on each side.

I can somewhat understand why Oracle doesn't want to retool their lights because Jeep's steel bumper is out of spec, and the other trimmed Jeep bumpers are not.

Many (most?) aftermarket parts I've purchased and installed on my Jeeps over the years have to be "modified" slightly to get them to work.

At this point I think it goes with the territory and I'm just glad to have so many aftermarket options to personalize our jeeps.

Just my .02

 

[AFD]

I believe on one or more of the threads here on the forum, this is discussed at length along with input from Oracle. If memory serves me correct, the issue only applies to the steel bumpers (the plastic covered ones are fine).

Apparently, only on the steel bumpers the one side of the reflector opening is actually smaller than the other. It must have to do with the manufacturing process at the factory, as it would serve no purpose to have it fractionally smaller.

Since it doesn't affect the reflector application, Jeep has no reason to clean it up.

Again, it doesn't seem to be an issue on the rest of the Jeep factory bumpers, as the cut outs are the same spec on each side.

I can somewhat understand why Oracle doesn't want to retool their lights because Jeep's steel bumper is out of spec, and the other trimmed Jeep bumpers are not.

Many (most?) aftermarket parts I've purchased and installed on my Jeeps over the years have to be "modified" slightly to get them to work.

At this point I think it goes with the territory and I'm just glad to have so many aftermarket options to personalize our jeeps.

Just my .02

Yeah, that's totally their call if they don't want to modify their already very specific application to cover a larger market. And likewise, it's also the customer's prerogative if they're not willing to spend their money on something that needs grinding for proper fitment.

Not that the risk of ruining a $100 part is all that much of a financial risk or anything, but personally, I was already a little hesitant after hearing of fogging and water intrusion on that particular light as well as some of their others. Grinding material away from the lens and/or housing just seemed like it would only increase the chance of that happening.

Certain things I fully expect will need a bit of modification or adapting it to your particular setup, while other parts that are tailor-made for a very specific application shouldn't need much if anything done for a proper fitment.

But now that Oracle has the steel bumper warning, that's a fair enough solution for now. What I personally want and what's a current reality are often two very different things. Just because I think they should tweak their design to guarantee fitment on both definitely doesn't equate to them thinking it's a feasible idea for whatever reason. And that's.. okay

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