No Blinking LED Lights - Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine

No Blinking LED Lights - Randy’s Electrical Corner

I know I was just going on and on about LEDs last month. I promise to stop— no, no, really. But this came to me, and I know that Jp has a lot of readers with the ’07-up Wranglers, so at the risk of LEDing you guys out, I thought I should bring them to you sooner rather than later. And don’t give me no back talk neither, ’cause I know where your mama parks your house. Some guys with JKs are having problems with their new aftermarket headlights flickering when they are turned on. I am not sure what does that, some trickery in the JK with a little wizard controlling the smoke in the wires, I think. I have had people ask me many times how to slay the wizard, and I have been looking for a little dragon to send in there after him, but until now I have never found one.

The newer LED headlights from Truck-Lite are great. Sure, they are a bit pricy, but the light output and beam pattern are both great. They are the last set of headlights you’ll ever need. No more changing those dang bulbs out two or three times a year, just put ’em in and forget ’em. It doesn’t matter if they are the rectangles or the round ones, these new lights work. Except for sometimes in JKs when they don’t. So when Truck-Lite contacted me to tell me about both the problem and their easy plug-and-play fix, I figured I had to tell you guys about it.

PhotosView Slideshow While I am just talking about the round headlight here, Truck-Lite also makes a rectangular LED like this that fits XJs, YJs, and Grand Wagoneers as well. As of this writing, the best price I found online was $185 per light—so that makes $370 for a pair. This isn’t cheap, I know. Especially when you think that you can get an H4 conversion setup for less than half of that. But, I tell you from experience, the factory lights have a better beam pattern than any H4 I’ve messed with, and you will be replacing those $30-a-pop bulbs more often than you want. So, if you want to upgrade headlights, spend the money now or spend it over the next few years. The 7-inch round LED headlight uses the more common three-prong plug. That’s great for TJs and CJs, but for the JK it just doesn’t work too well. The old-style connector can lose tension on the prongs over time, it isn’t even a little bit water resistant, and there is no locking tab so it can come loose easily. So, when Jeep built the JK, they stepped it up to an H13-style connector that fixes all those problems. However, more of the vehicles on the road are still using the three prong setup, so Truck-Lite built their headlights with that connector. Got a JK? You’ll need two of these $8 connectors to plug the new lights in (PN 96630). I don’t know why some JKs flicker and some don’t. I’ve heard that the problem is more common on the newer Jeeps, but not a lot of people let me play with their new Jeeps. I have put these lights in two ’13 JKs that were similarly-optioned and judging by the serial numbers came off the line not too far apart. One Jeep flickered, one worked fine. Basically, if you put the lights in and they work, cool. If you put them in and there are any weird problems, you are going to want to pick up this part. This little fire-breathing dragon (PN 96830) will slay that wizard and make your flicker go away. It will probably also work for HIDs too, but I haven’t had the chance to test it yet.