LED Tail lights concept

[Teddyyo]

LEDs have not come in. 14 days of processing/shipping so far.....damnit. Still falls in the 10-20 day expected range. Definitely doing faster shipping for the rest of the LEDs should this all work out.

[Teddyyo]

I am sad to report, as I hate disappoint, that physical separation is heavily time consuming, unreliable, and has to be very meticulously. The plastic parts are unfortunately fused together, though this comes as no surprise. The bonded area is a single, 1/4"-ish band around the edge of the light. Taking a dremel to it is not only difficult, but the result is about as sightly as a Porsche Panamera. Significant sanding would probably mitigate that effect, however. A person doing it that is very experienced with dremel (ie uses on a daily basis) could do it well, I suppose, and in such case is probably preferable to other methods. Just a warning though, the lens is very prone to fracturing under stress.

The only reliable method could be heating. Does somebody have any in-depth information about how it was done previously? I'm a bit worried about its effect on the rest of the housing, of course, because any warping would render the taillight unusable.

The most reliable way of replacing the lights with something custom would be to try to insert them through where the current lights are. Cutting the back of the housing could help, though of course it would not be reversible and there would need to be electrical planning with anything custom.

[jeep5253]

As far as I know, no one here has baked a tail light. However, a few have baked the headlights. Check out post #56 here---> http://www.jeepcommander.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11746&page=5

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[Kansas1230]

I baked my taillights at one point- looks weird, feels weird, and confirms to to your wife that you are weird. General consensus that I found for light baking was ~10 minutes @ ~275*F, and if that didnt work go longer. The idea is just to soften the goo that holds the lens and housing together. As stated before, whatever Chrysler used on their lights in the last 6 years is reportedly more stubborn than others. I was able to separate the lenses, and the heat did help, but the time and temp it took to make any difference in the goo really softened the lense so that it was hard to pry without warping. Manvan37 on here had good luck cutting the housing out from behind to add Trucklite LEDs. "The Trucklites sound awesome, but my biggest concern would still be getting them to fit. Looks like the model you are considering measures 4.3" in diameter at the outermost housing; the alcoves on the OEM lenses barely make 4.25 (and the top one is actually a little smaller. Unless you are planning on cutting a decent chunk out of the old housings or striping the Trucklites down to bare bulbs, I really think you're going to run into fitment issues trying to mount from the front. However, (just thought of this now) the chrome ring with the fake bolts in it measures 4.25" from outside to outside. If you trimmed off the "bowl" portion of the lights, I bet you could mount the Trucklites from behind, framing them just a little and looking fully integrated. Since the OEM housings are not full circles a little bit of each light would hang off inside, but nobody would ever see it and even under close inspection I would bet the mirroring of the multiple LEDs would camouflage the seam."

This was way better when it had pictures:
http://www.jeepcommander.com/forums/...ad.php?t=16771

[Teddyyo]

Sounds reasonable. I'll make sure the headlights are fused in the same way, then give it a shot. Thanks again to jeep5253, you've been key to the whole process.

Edit: Thanks for the tips Kansas. The headlight thread was 220 for 8 mins, guessing the higher time/temp is for the taillights specifically? Thanks for the additionally help too!

[Teddyyo]

The LED light came in. I made the novice mistake of ordering the incorrect size, however I am aware of all of the correct parts needed to get the correct one this time and am looking around for the good deal on it. Expect another update in a week or so when this one comes in. The taillight baking will be done then too.

[Teddyyo]

Wired up, but acting funky. Will update with concrete info.

[USMCMP]

Acting funky meaning the rate at which they flash? LEDs need resistors. Most common when you see motorcycles switch to LED signals they flash really fast.

[Teddyyo]

Yep, it turns out I blew the fuse early on, which knocked out interior center stack lights and right taillight. Replaced it and now am going to actually do this the right way in regards to matching the resistance. Expect something in the next few days!

Also, finally got an email back from Jeep - pretty expected response - not made to be separated, the fixate was unavailable or would not be released.

[Teddyyo]

Needs 3W+, 50-70 ohm resistor. Gonna drop by Radioshack for some today.