The OEM LED light package is dangerous in snow.

[Rusty Shovel]

Let's not confuse 'approved' with 'safe.'

The stock headlights, mounted in recessed cavities that pack with snow during even mild snow driving, are not 'safe' merely because they're 'approved'. This is not a 1% problem.

Accessory lights that allow me to drive safely, because of the failings of the stock headlights, are not inherently unsafe merely because they lack a DOT certification.

I've exercised personal responsibility by ensuring that the lights don't pose a blinding risk to other drivers. I've tested them to ensure that the accessory lights are FAR less blinding than the DOT approved headlights.

If I wanted the government to spoon feed 'safety' to me, I'd move to Massachusetts.

'Merica!

...and I'm not whining; let's keep it classy.

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[Rusty Shovel]

Finally got some decent snow! You know how you can end a drought by washing your car? Turns out, installing storm lights has the opposite affect. All that ended on Tuesday/Wednesday: 30” snowstorm here on thebenches.

I know it says 28”, but it added another couple inches overnight. It was a bitch clearing the driveway and making a path for the mailman.

the storm lights were a roaring success!

Here’s another pic taken facing a wall. You can clearly see the pencil beams. The headlights are on, but projecting 0 light.

Mission success!! BTW, none of the local cops gave me a hassle, and I was never flashed by other drivers.

 

[UncleJimmy]

Thanks for the thread. I just had the same situation happen to me twice this week driving home at night in the snow storm. I couldn't see at all. No place to pull over on the HWY unless you want to be rear ended on icy roads or drive into the ditch from the snow plows. I waited until I got off the HWY and pulled over on a side street and the lenses were iced over. I have never had this problem before on other vehicles I have driven. I think the biggest factor is the cup shaped headlamp which collects the snow and doesn't let it slide off as the snow flakes hit. On my Tundra with aftermarket LEDs the housing is flat and angled so any snow flakes that approach the lamp just fly off to the side. It would be great if there was some sort of plastic insert I could get that would fit in the recessed lamp section but be flat and angled away so that the wind and snow deflect off it. The halogen hack is an ok solution but not the most elegant. I have a set of Rigid diffused that I may try instead. They are LED but seem to get warm. Also, I think it would be very difficult to blind oncoming drivers because by definition the snow is blocking the light from penetrating. In fact, I think it would be the opposite in that the extra ambient light would be reflected off the snow falling and scattered/diffused to where it helps drivers around and behind you to see the road. That's the reason high beams don't work in a snow storm, you just reflect all that extra light right back and end up blinding yourself more. I agree amber and mounted low would probably be the best, but I would still prefer some sort of plastic shield that would simply divert the snow in the first place.

 

[roaniecowpony]

For those that are concerned with using only "approved" lights, look at some of the SAE/DOT compliant fog/driving lights. The big name makers such as Hella, JW Speaker, etc., all make DOT compliant lights.

For LED lights, it really boils down to the wattage and lens area. Since LEDs tend to be low power (wattage) consumption, there is less heat. Some LED lights, such as the Baja Designs Squadron SAE/DOT compliant lights, have very small lenses and that heat energy is concentrated in a small area, making the local temperature hotter.

 

[Mikester86]

I 100% agree the factory LED’s are useless in the kind of snow that is wet and packs in every nook and cranny.

 

[DadJokes]

There are lots of things that indicate Jeep doesn't fully consider how its Wrangler model is truly used:

1. Non-IP-rated keyfob
2. Heated seats but not cooled
3. Lack of vinyl-flooring option (until 2023)
4. Lack of heated LEDs (tbh, the fact that we have to pay extra for LED headlights on a $40K+ vehicle in the first place)

The list goes on.

I’m hoping the vinyl flooring is backwards compatible.

 

[rcadden]

I’m hoping the vinyl flooring is backwards compatible.

It is - it's just factory-installed Armorlite

 

[DadJokes]

It is - it's just factory-installed Armorlite

Ah, I’ve heard of them. So is it rubber flooring directly against the floor pan?

 

[roaniecowpony]

Ah, I’ve heard of them. So is it rubber flooring directly against the floor pan?

Armorlite (goarmorlite.com)

 

[BDinTX]

@Rusty Shovel I appreciate you adding a summary in the first post. You mentioned tinting the KC light covers yellow, did you say how you did that somewhere in these 19 pages?

 

[Rusty Shovel]

@Rusty Shovel I appreciate you adding a summary in the first post. You mentioned tinting the KC light covers yellow, did you say how you did that somewhere in these 19 pages?

probably, but yeah, that’s a lot of wading!

i purchased yellow tint film on Amazon.

the instructions were less that useful. They suggested using spray bottles and and keeping everything wet during application. Some trial and error revealed that it’s easier to get a smooth application by sticking it on dry, smoothing it out, then peeling off the protective top layer, then smoothing it again.

The micro bubbles worked their way out once the headlights heated up the coating.

et voila!

 

[DadJokes]

Armorlite (goarmorlite.com)

Thanks. I found a second to go look and watch their install video. Man, these should have been available from the factory!

 

[rcadden]

Thanks. I found a second to go look and watch their install video. Man, these should have been available from the factory!

100%. This is probably my next mod, but I'm waiting for them to release the full kit - right now they just cover the front/rear, not the cargo area.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Thanks. I found a second to go look and watch their install video. Man, these should have been available from the factory!

I recall (from the 70s) my neighbor's 1971 Bronco having something like this from the factory.

 

[COJeeper]

This was a concern of mine when I bought the Diode Dynamics Elite Max. I haven't been out in a heavy snow storm yet but I'm assuming I'll have the same problem. Oracle has heated lenses, maybe I should have went with them? Time will tell.

The Diode Dynamics have this huge heat sink, they should have engineered a way to transfer that heat to the lens.

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