Gladiator without LED lights

[BAT]

Oh, I get that - it's constant road construction here and a couple of roads those lanes are so narrow with concrete barriers on either side - I'd sure not want to be pulling my trailer through there! It's bad enough in the day.
I don't know what the JT non-LED lights are like so can't comment on them, but I can say the non-LED lights on the OTHER Jeep models (meaning Compass, Grand Cherokee, etc.) are pretty good - I've never felt the urge to change them.
So on the JT - only you know how things compare.
Safety first - getting tangled up with walls and around here, trees and deer, ain't no fun. I've already had a run-in with Bambi's aunt a few years back - killed her, didn't do my Eagle much good, either. But lights wouldn't have mattered - the trees were almost right up to the road in that area, it's a hill and a curve. My wife is good at spotting deer and she said "Look out!" just as that sucker landed on the road almost dead-center not 10 yards in front of us. That car has great brakes, but not THAT good at 40 mph.

Never owned other jeep stuff so all I could do was try to compare it to the CRV cause I just kept thinking dang these lights are so dim. We just sold the CRV and my wife got a highlander but it came with LED Lights. With the wife getting laid off of her job of 19 years jeep stuff gonna have to go on hold for a while

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[BAT]

Hello!
First time Jeep owner here! 53 y.o, and having owned mostly cars and a Chevy Trailblazer, never have owned a Jeep or Chrysler/Dodge product before. I started watching Goonzquad on YouTube, and they did a rebuild of a wrecked Gladiator Rubicon. Wow...I was impressed.

I've owned 2 68 Firebird convertibles...a 67 Chevelle, and a 79 TransAm. So, I decided to jump into the Jeep and got a 2020 Jeep Gladiator Sport-S. The dealer had made a bunch of mods to the vehicle, in-line with an Overland model. LED brake/taillights, 18" rims and tires...everything about on par with the Overland Except heated steering wheel and leather seats.....

And LED headlights/marker lights/Fog Lights. This is where I'm asking for help...

I bought a pair of Oracle Occulus Bi-LED lamps, 9", and installed them last night. LOVED THEM! But...now the factory front turn signals/side markers look PATHETIC. And the fog lights...same thing. But I know that there are replacements for those....

What can I do about the Sport-S weak front marker/turn signals? I mean, they look like crap now compared to the LED lights! Thoughts?

Those are the headlights I was looking at but on hold for now. You can use the replacement bulbs from the thread on this site to replace the turn signal and DRL. They are quite an improvment until you come up with something else. They are very easy to change. I haven't done the fog lights yet cause well seems you have to dismantle a good bit of stuff to get to them and haven't had time. Not sure if anyone has found any good Reverse bulbs that are working as a replacement

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Never owned other jeep stuff so all I could do was try to compare it to the CRV cause I just kept thinking dang these lights are so dim. We just sold the CRV and my wife got a highlander but it came with LED Lights. With the wife getting laid off of her job of 19 years jeep stuff gonna have to go on hold for a while

Man that sucks. Sorry to hear that about your wife.
I was laid off with about 80 other IT staff from Principal Financial Group back in about 2002, one gal had been there something like 27 years and she was literally in tears. By that time I'm sure she was making about as much as her position there would ever pay. And I think that was the issue - PFG wanted to save money. 2 weeks later I saw some of those jobs advertised in the Des Moines paper, PFG was looking to fill some of those same positions at entry level.
It was tough but we made it........ and in the end did better, better benefits, better pay, better retirement. I was lucky, off only 22 months.
Most places didn't hire me because they said with my skill level they figured I'd not stick around. So I did consulting. PFG ended up hiring me back as a consultant/contractor, same desk, same team, doing the same work. They eventually had to get 3 people to do what I did! but I got 2 or 3 months out of them at a higher rate LOL.

Good luck with things - tough time to have that happen.

 

[BAT]

Man that sucks. Sorry to hear that about your wife.
I was laid off with about 80 other IT staff from Principal Financial Group back in about 2002, one gal had been there something like 27 years and she was literally in tears. By that time I'm sure she was making about as much as her position there would ever pay. And I think that was the issue - PFG wanted to save money. 2 weeks later I saw some of those jobs advertised in the Des Moines paper, PFG was looking to fill some of those same positions at entry level.
It was tough but we made it........ and in the end did better, better benefits, better pay, better retirement. I was lucky, off only 22 months.
Most places didn't hire me because they said with my skill level they figured I'd not stick around. So I did consulting. PFG ended up hiring me back as a consultant/contractor, same desk, same team, doing the same work. They eventually had to get 3 people to do what I did! but I got 2 or 3 months out of them at a higher rate LOL.

Good luck with things - tough time to have that happen.

That is the funny thing the talking about wanting to hire her back as contractor. They forced her to move to a different department (Business Development) which said they needed the best graphic designer the company had to bolster their stuff. She didn't want to go but they kind of told her well it won't look good on you if you don't take it. 6 weeks ago they gave her a glowing review about how she had upped their game and 6 months since they transferred her they called her up and told her they didn't need her anymore and best of luck. Now her old department wants her back on contract cause they filled her old position. She is not sure if she wants to do it or not. I told her look its business and not good to go around burning bridges. Take the money if they want to give it to you while you look for something else and maybe they will create your old position again which I know is what she really wishes would happen cause she like working with the other group. She got good severance and we don't have a lot of bills monthly since things like the house, etc are paid off. I just gotta put getting some more stuff for the Jeep off for a while.

 

[eaglerugby04]

I personally like the stock headlights in the Grand Cherokee. In fact, I almost prefer them to the LED in the JT. Her GC headlights are great. Sure, the LED lights are a bit whiter, perhaps more usable lumens for the human eye, but not really better.
If I could get the same light output and pattern her GC has in the JT, I'd do it.

The LEDs in the JT are over-rated, IMO.
They ice up and pack with snow (due to SHAPE and the fact they don't get hot) while we've never had such issues with any other vehicle. We get a LOT of ice here, and a lot of snow that's less than dry and fluffy. I've had to stop more than once to clear headlights - can't recall the last time I had to do that before the JT.

There are tons of threads out there in hundreds of places on using the correct "bulb" in the correct housing. People may THINK or believe they are doing well (it's human nature - I made a great choice and the proof is in the fact that I like it) but often are actually doing less than 100%. No one "flashing you" doesn't mean right. Some people these days simply don't - fear is part of it, seriously, I've read things from people saying they had heard about all of these "stories" of how someone flashing headlights got them killed and so on (YES, people do believe that BS) so they won't flash their headlights any more. Ah, the internet and crap emails..........
On the other hand - when I updated the wiring on my SX4 and powered my headlights through relays and got rid of almost ALL voltage drop to the lamps, I adjusted them with my Hoppy headlight aimers and STILL get flashed - simply because now those stock type halogen lamps are SO BRIGHT with full system voltage to them compared to only about 11.6 volts through the old factory wiring. Those things light up street signs a block away, even aimed correctly.

I know the people around me will. Got flashed twice after going onto the road into town just to test it. After that fixed it and everything was fine. Now I do get those people that love to drive with high beams on, I really hate them.

I will gladly trade you my halogens for your LED, I don't have any ice problems here.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I know the people around me will. Got flashed twice after going onto the road into town just to test it. After that fixed it and everything was fine. Now I do get those people that love to drive with high beams on, I really hate them.

I will gladly trade you my halogens for your LED, I don't have any ice problems here.

Thanks but I'll keep 'em - I may end up with a plow on the front and extra lights.....
on the other hand being retired it's not too often that I MUST go out in that weather. If I do, I'll live with it like I did last winter.
I can always take my WJ out if it's nasty but those old headlights need improving, too. the JT headlights are definitely better than 16 year old lights, the advantage of the WJ is they don't ice up as readily, or at least don't get snow pack because they are not scoops like the JT lights.

 

[eaglerugby04]

Thanks but I'll keep 'em - I may end up with a plow on the front and extra lights.....
on the other hand being retired it's not too often that I MUST go out in that weather. If I do, I'll live with it like I did last winter.
I can always take my WJ out if it's nasty but those old headlights need improving, too. the JT headlights are definitely better than 16 year old lights, the advantage of the WJ is they don't ice up as readily, or at least don't get snow pack because they are not scoops like the JT lights.

You need to be like a southerner, buy all the milk and hide inside. LED problem solved. lol

As you can tell my bulb swap works and is better, but leave so be desired like a true swap.

 

[PuRGE]

looks great.
Are those works as DRL?
sorry for the question im newbie

Thanks!

No worries, yes, they are tapped into the DRL's. It was a fairly easy install once you realize the instructions needed to be swapped (left brackets for right & vice-versa) & I didn't know exactly which wires were what, so I had to do some trial & error. To be fair, instructions were for the JL & not the gladiator & the wires were different colors as well as locations. All-in-all, they're super clean & are amazingly bright. Well worth it!

 

[WXman]

I found a pretty good deal on a Gladiator. It has everything I'm looking for except the LED light group. I've never owned a Jeep but from reading around it seems there are quiet a few complaints on the standard headlights. I don't do a ton of night driving, but I do prefer quality lights for the safety of my family. Are there after after market bulbs I can buy to improve the lighting if I end up picking this one up?

There's 50 threads on this. You need to go over to headlightrevolution.com and pick up some quality LED bulbs, not the eBay or Amazon junk. They'll give you intense light output and perfect beam patterns.

 

[Deleted member 24880]

I just went this route and I can say for the $$$ these LEDs are really well made. Before and After

 

[j.o.y.ride]

I'll never pay extra for lights. Part of that is situation, living on the SF Peninsula everything is lit. And I rarely drive at night anyhow.

Every car I've driven with LED or HID the extreme cutoff really bothers my eyes. I much prefer the more natural fall of on the standard lights.

And if I'm in the woods or something that's what auxillary lights are for.

YMMV

My neighbor is going to buy a Wrangler with LED just because he likes the look of the headlight housing itself.

 

[Dqban]

I thought the factory halogens were a joke. I upgraded to the oculus from Oracle and I have been much happier. Nobody flashes me after aiming the headlights. The improvement in the light output is phenomenal. I could hardly see the road with the crappy halogens that came stock. I've done many headlight upgrades over the years on cars and motorcycles. And I genuinely feel these I have been one of the better ones

 

[Yallaen]

I totally agree with Dqban; these Occulus 9" headlights were complete plug/play with just a minor issue. It took about 45 minutes of casual work time to get them all swapped over. If you were in a hurry, you could knock them out in 30 minutes.

They plug/play and also have the DRL's built/in (the round LED is the DRL). Also, side note, they work with the automatic headlight dimming option.

Now...again...about those yucky marker/turn signal lights....??? I can't find an LED that seems to fit. I see "fits Gladiator blah blah blah "EXCEPT SPORT S", or something similar.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Wonder if they have a package for my aging 04 WJ......... I've had to polish and clear-coat the factory headlights on it and they still aren't as good as those on my 82 SX4.

 

[BombshellJT]

The stock lights without LEDs are garbage. That being said a $60 replacement bulb fixes the issue, that's what I did. One thing I don't like about the JL/JT is the headlight housing is different. You can no longer get a decently priced set of headlights because it has to come with a whole new housing. So full headlight replacement runs in the $300-400 range (and more). But you can now simply replace the bulbs, which makes a world of difference.

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