LED Headlights are dangerous in snow/ice storm

[Marx]

We Canadians invented those long ago.

Actually scratched the windshield on my fiat using a hockey stick to clear the ice.

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[Climbhigh]

I had this last night too, but not to the extent that I had to stop. By the time I got home (2 hour trip) my fogs were completely covered and headlights were half way covered.

In my opinion the issue is more the recess nature of the lights, which allows the snow to sit and cake in. Just to have a simple lense cover, that was flush with the grill would be extremely helpful.

I'm still glad I got the LEDs, but may explore other options. Definitely planning to get some aux driving lights (halogen etc), that I can turn on if things get bad.

 

[Oscar Indy]

pro tip. Rain X the hell out of the lens. it helps.

 

[noside85]

pro tip. Rain X the hell out of the lens. it helps.

Might as well hook up the rear and trail cam while you're at it!

 

[canyonrat]

Waiting to see aftermarket 9" heated LED headlights. So far I only have seen heated 7" from JW Speaker and Quadratec, and some have commented about the gap if you install a 7" headlight in the 9" sized opening. Until then, sticking with my stock halogen buckets with upgraded bulbs. Quite a bit brighter and whiter than stock with Silverstar Ultra bulbs but not like a typical LED.

To be fair, I did have my old JK halogen headlights build up with snow driving in a storm once in 7 years of owning it in Colorado. Had to get out and clean off headlights twice. So the round-sunken design of the Wrangler lights is prone to that a bit. The halogen heat overcomes it in most circumstances.

 

[TrailHiker]

Sounds like there is money to be made in the aftermarket for an ad-on system to heat the LEDs . If any electricians and engineers want to make some easy side money, this would be a good route as it is a huge market with everyone buying LEDs these days .

Or add an clear cover over the light wells to prevent snow for building up in the rings (CJ style flush bits).
Cheers

 

[Cmp8254]

I am from MD too and that wet, fast falling snow quickly covered my headlights and fog lights. Driving on the highway I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I could not see the lines. I finally pulled off the highway and both were covered with an inch plus of packed, wet snow. They headlights were reduced to mere glowing snow on the front of the JT. Definitely dangerous, count me in for whoever develops the first plug and play heater.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

In Iowa we have frequent times of "rain changing to snow" and "freezing drizzle" and freezing rain - sometimes it accumulates to the 1/4 to 1/2" level.
I wrote recently about my experience with LED headlights - the freezing drizzle covered the entire lights. It's NOT due to the bucket shape of the lights at all. If it was, my other vehicles I've owned with round recessed lights would have done the same. Snow, maybe, but not the stuff we get. Even then warm lights will warm and melt the snow to some extent.

It's not the shape - it's the cold. My Javelin headlights sit back in the bezels, my first car had recessed lights, I've had other vehicles where the light was in almost a cup. Not as big a problem, the heat melted ice most of the time. I could see snow build-up being worse because of the shape but then my other vehicles with lights shaped in recesses like that didn't build up this bad.

LED run cold in the front (not in the back)
I had to stop and scrape ice of the headlights. Not the first time.

I can't say these JT LED lights are far superior to the lights on my wife's GC or what I had on my Chevy - the JT LED are nice, even better, but not far superior IMO.
I've had to scrape ice off of the lights of our other Jeeps now and then, but not nearly as bad as this one. WJ will build up some- because the lens is not that close to the bulb.
The JT is just plain the worst I've ever had as far as ice building up.
I'm not panicked about it, but it's concerning and I'll be watching for, or even building, a solution at some point. Having to stop in freezing rain or drizzle to clean lights off so you can see the road ain't exactly safe.
I'm still glad I have them, but I also could accept the others and live without the ice build-up.

Tell me these round headlights don't sit back in a hole - they never built up ice or snow to the extent LED does -

 

[Climbhigh]

In Iowa we have frequent times of "rain changing to snow" and "freezing drizzle" and freezing rain - sometimes it accumulates to the 1/4 to 1/2" level.
I wrote recently about my experience with LED headlights - the freezing drizzle covered the entire lights. It's NOT due to the bucket shape of the lights at all. If it was, my other vehicles I've owned with round recessed lights would have done the same. Snow, maybe, but not the stuff we get. Even then warm lights will warm and melt the snow to some extent.

It's not the shape - it's the cold. My Javelin headlights sit back in the bezels, my first car had recessed lights, I've had other vehicles where the light was in almost a cup. Not as big a problem, the heat melted ice most of the time. I could see snow build-up being worse because of the shape but then my other vehicles with lights shaped in recesses like that didn't build up this bad.

LED run cold in the front (not in the back)
I had to stop and scrape ice of the headlights. Not the first time.

I can't say these JT LED lights are far superior to the lights on my wife's GC or what I had on my Chevy - the JT LED are nice, even better, but not far superior IMO.
I've had to scrape ice off of the lights of our other Jeeps now and then, but not nearly as bad as this one. WJ will build up some- because the lens is not that close to the bulb.
The JT is just plain the worst I've ever had as far as ice building up.
I'm not panicked about it, but it's concerning and I'll be watching for, or even building, a solution at some point. Having to stop in freezing rain or drizzle to clean lights off so you can see the road ain't exactly safe.
I'm still glad I have them, but I also could accept the others and live without the ice build-up.

Tell me these round headlights don't sit back in a hole - they never built up ice or snow to the extent LED does -

Those are definitely sit back, but appear to have a lot smaller of a flat ledge for snow to sit and build up on.

Definitely seems that ice and/or heavy wet snow are the main problems. Ice on the lenses itself, and snow on the recess ledge.

 

[Climbhigh]

Hmm. Maybe get something like this and put it under/on the light bezel.

https://www.amazon.com/12V-Polyimide-Heater-Film-25mmx50mm/dp/B06XR9YZDH

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Those are definitely sit back, but appear to have a lot smaller of a flat ledge for snow to sit and build up on.

Definitely seems that ice and/or heavy wet snow are the main problems. Ice on the lenses itself, and snow on the recess ledge.

Once the snow is in there, it's trapped, it may be pushed around to the edge - but where does it go? The black bezel is sort of cone or cup shaped. The whole light sits back a couple of inches. So in a real sense, it's like the JT lights, they sit back in a hole. It's the fact they sit back in a hole, and not like a WJ or other sleek Jeep where the snow can literally slide off the light and onto the body or into the air.
These headlights, JT, Javelin, other cars I've owned, the headlights are not flush with the body lines, so snow gets trapped. The heat of the other lights melts the snow and let's it run down - the JT lights are cold so the snow packs in there and never melts off.
In my case it wasn't snow - the entire lens of both headlights was totally covered in ice and I had to scrape the ice off.

The problem with any sort of stick-on heat is that it's going to disturb any light pattern or block light.
Allowing a way to blow warm air in will soon cover the inside of the light with dirt and dust and a film.
The LED lights I put on my wife's big sewing machine are too hot to touch when running. The LED lights in my shop generate a lot of heat, too - well over 100 degrees, approaching 200 degrees on the heat sinks on the top. The supporting circuitry of LEDs run hot even if the diode itself doesn't run that hot - so there may be heat available to re-route internally?

 

[MarineHawk]

Halogen lights are more dangerous than LEDs under most conditions because they do not illuminate the road or potential hazards nearly as well.

So it's a trade-off, but halogens are not necessarily safer over the life of your ownership.

I do agree that the LEDs should have a heating element.

I've been using halogen lights for 40 years, and they are not "dangerous." I can see everything I need to with them.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I've been using halogen lights for 40 years, and they are not "dangerous." I can see everything I need to with them.

Frankly, I don't see as huge a difference between the LED of the JT compared to the stock lights my Silverado had, or even my wife's JGC - in fact, her Jeep lights up the road just fine.
If I thought it was second best I'd not exactly be ok with my wife driving it out and about at night.
My JT LEDs are "whiter" but not really more light at all. I like them but if they blew up and I had to put the standard JT lights in, I'd not scream about it. They aren't that much better for driving in our hills and curves and wooded rural areas.

 

[Sorbs]

 

[noside85]

I never knew it was an Australian product!

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