Replacing halogen bulbs with LED

[Bradl70]

Hi everyone, this has probably been asked a hundred times but here it goes. Just want some clarification's. I have just purchased a 26 Gladiator Sahara. It came

with LED taillights but not LED headlights, running lights or fog lights. Can i just add LED bulbs to the headlights or the running and fog lights without as i am reading

having to go back to the dealer for programming. TIA

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[ChrisNLA]

Hi everyone, this has probably been asked a hundred times but here it goes. Just want some clarification's. I have just purchased a 26 Gladiator Sahara. It came

with LED taillights but not LED headlights, running lights or fog lights. Can i just add LED bulbs to the headlights or the running and fog lights without as i am reading

having to go back to the dealer for programming. TIA

Yes, you can, without programming. Headlights and fog lights for sure, anyway.

I ran LED bulbs for three years. Aimed my headlights down slightly. Never got flashed. No light errors.

One of them burnt out and I went back to regular bulbs. Sylvania Xtra Vision. That's been several months ago now.

 

[DiehardTory]

Been running LEDs for 5 yrs . Oracle makes a conversion kit for headlights.. Interesting LED taillights and not all the others.. Thought the LED pkg from the factory included ALL. Might have to Jscan and set Headlights to LED & the others too.

 

[Pat Witt]

Oracle or Diode Electronics both make a excellent bulb replacement version. I personally have been running the diodes for 4 years and have never had a burn out or any errors.

 

[DiehardTory]

Went on Jeep.com - build and price and....Found that the Active Safety group package offers only LED Taillights. The LED package offers headlights but not Taillights..

 

[Pat Witt]

Our 21 mojave only had led taillights not headlights or floodlights I'm not sure on the reasoning behind this, but I made it work with bulb replacements

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

You can, however halogen reflectors typically have a different beam patten than LED. You won’t have the correct cutoff and other drivers will hate you.

My wife’s JLU Sport came with halogen fronts and LED markers and tails. I replaced the headlights with Oracle Oculus heated LED units and they are amazing. Pretty comparable to the factory LED headlights in my JTR. I haven’t compared them side by side, but they were a direct drop in and she loves them. The only extra wire I had to run was for the halos.

 

[ecidiego]

Our 21 mojave only had led taillights not headlights or floodlights I'm not sure on the reasoning behind this, but I made it work with bulb replacements

It's the safety group with backup parking assist and blind spot monitoring that requires them. The BSM radars are in the LED taillight housing.

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

You CAN, but you SHOULDN'T.
- Why? Because the reflector style housing is designed for the light output to be at a certain location within the reflector bowl. When you swap an LED this light output location changes, thus scattering the light differently and most people say "aim them down" don't realize the usable light output actually is marginally better if at all after aiming them down. It may LOOK corrected, but the light is still scattered in a different pattern than intended, causing glare to other drivers. To each their own, but this is the engineering behind Reflector vs Projector style housings.

There's a JT in my town with cheap 5500-6000k (color temp) LEDs in the halogen (aka reflector) housings...I flash him every time because they didn't even try aiming them down.

There's a reason the quality LED headlights ALL use Projector style housings for HID/LED bulbs. They collect the light more effectively and direct the output correctly. Even a decent $250-400 set of LED housings from Amazon will prove this when paired with quality LED/HID bulbs.
- For the record, skip HIDs, modern LEDs create similar light output while consuming significantly less startup current than HIDs do. 10 years ago, you couldn't beat the output of a good HID. Today, many quality LEDs output the same or better light for the money, and generally last longer too (can take more abuse than a HID ever can).

 

[Idlethunder]

I ran LED headlight bulbs in my first Gladiator for 2 years and mine worked great in the oem reflector housings. As ChrisNLA mentioned, aim them down a little. You won’t blind oncoming traffic and will love the improvement. My first set came from Amazon and only lasted a few months. After that I bought bulbs from Oracle and they lasted over a year and a half until I upgraded to Diode Dynamics elite max headlights. The DD lights were definitely an upgrade but for the money the bulbs were the better value.

My current JT came with the LED headlights and they are the best I’ve had. If/when you decide to go full LED, my recommendation is to find a set of oem if possible.

 

[ecidiego]

I'd recommend buy once cry once. OEM LEDs.

 

[bluemoon110]

I changed my fog lights to Oracle LED 6 months ago with no problem to date.

 

[Chance575]

$30 Amazon bulbs since day one, first set lasted 3 years.

dont listen to the nay sayers, put them in , put your truck 25 feet back from something. Measure up to center of headlight. Measure that distance on the wall and put the beam pattern under that mark , no one flashes me


https://www.lesemled.com/blogs/news...udFbqj0mBwkdv7Isl6COhBA-h6Zu-V34aAksaEALw_wcB

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

Most people also don't live in a freezing environment, otherwise grab Oracle's heated LED headlights. That's another huge reason NOT to swap LEDs in the halogen/reflector housings.

I've had mine freeze over in the snow to the point I've had to get out to wipe them off and there was a thin layer of solid ice covering a portion of the lens, I can't imagine running a colder headlight in those conditions.
- I go out in storms to see if anyone is stuck, then offer to help recover them if I can. Been able to save people a few hours from waiting on AAA or spending $$$ for a tow. I know there aren't too many people that go out of their way to do this anymore. Plus I'm already out snow wheeling and having a good time so why not? (Don't actually answer that, idc about insurance drama as I know whether I should or shouldn't).

 

[agoldxj]

I went with Morimoto headlights, tail lights, and turn signals. The came with the needed resistors and work perfectly without the need for a programmer or dealer update to enable them.

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