I watched video after video on how to install these. None of them actually showed where to mount the resistor. I dropped mine down like you did. Took me about 15 minutes to do it. Thanks!!
Nice, yeah people have a lot of different thoughts on how they should be mounted, my thinking is that if your electrical connections are good, it's fine to let it hang and then it can dissipate heat easily being in air rather than stuck up against the car or bumper etc.
Thanks! Yeah, I definitely like that they are brighter and light up faster, especially since my mom drives in the commute a lot anything that can prevent her getting rear ended gets a 👍🏻 from me!
Yes, incandescent bulbs take a few milliseconds to heat up to the point of producing light. It is enough time to be noticeable as the video shows. So in the case of Brake Lights, that is arguably a safety improvement switching to LED's. You might note that just about every 3rd (high mount) brake light is LED from the factory. While we're on Safety, you might also note that LED packaging warns the bulbs are for off road use only. Even the Sylvania and Philips LED bulbs. This is because light bulbs have to be DOT certified, and mostly because to ensure they make enough of the right light, but also the light is cast on the road in the right pattern and intensity so they don't blind other drivers. Since LED's can't cast light just like an incandescent bulbs, they can't guarantee they will cast their light in existing fixtures in the same pattern or intensity that the original configuration was DOT certified. If you have a rigorous yearly safety inspection in your state, you very well might fail the inspection, cause the inspection and inspector will look to make sure the bulbs used are DOT certified, and to the best of my knowledge, not a single aftermarket LED bulb is DOT certified. Some of the lesser known brands are really playing fast and loose, and advertising their bulbs are many times brighter than incandescents, which might lead to blinding other drivers and being a hazard to others on the road. Especially the Headlamp and driving/fog lamps LED replacements, just amateur tests show they do not cast in the pattern the incandescent do, and some that are at intensities that exceed the DOT limit, would be a hazard to other drivers. As well, more than a few LED headlamp bulbs do not cast as bright or far as stock incandescent head lamp bulbs. But Sylvania and Philips are working to get their LED's DOT certified, and IMO are the closest to the DOT certified bulbs, i.e. the safest to use that would be the least likely to blind other drivers would be the Sylvania and Philips. That still won't get you too pass your Safety Inspection, if the bulb is NOT DOT Certified, you fail the inspection, its that simple.
Rick Anderson Thanks for all of this good info, thankfully in California we don't have any safety inspections for typical registration, but that is definitely something people who reside elsewhere should take into account! So far, I've really been impressed with how bright these lights have been, even out in bright daylight.... when I put no-name LED's on my mom's old 4Runner back in the day, I actually removed them after a short while because the blinkers were just too hard to see during the day (even though they looked awesome at night!)
Let me comment your sentence: "Since LED's can't cast light just like an incandescent bulbs, they can't guarantee they will cast their light in existing fixtures in the same pattern or intensity that the original configuration was DOT certified." It's correct, but it's not the reason why those bulbs are not certified. The real reason is that THERE'S NO regulation about LED bulbs for automotive usage. With the red bulbs installed on tail/brake luminaires I can tell you that there's a very high probability that the light pattern is even better than the traditional.
In the past, there was a "Flasher Unit" that looked like a relay, it would mechanically open and close the circuit using heat from the current flowing through it going to the bulbs. If a bulb burned out, it would cause the "Flasher Unit" to switch open and closed twice as fast (hyperflash), which was a nice indicator to the driver they had a burned out bulb. The mechanical opening and closes of switches in these units made noise (and were usually installed under the dash. With Flasher Units and LED's, since the current load is much lower, the incandescent "Flasher Unit" won't work right (hyperflash), but you can buy a replacement Flasher Unit designed to work at the current loads for LED's. Today, a lot of the Manufacturers of gotten away from the Flasher Units and instead use one of the Vehicle Computers to switch the Turn Signal Bulb on and off. In the Jeep Grand Cherokee its the TIPM that is inside the Fuse Box under the hood, that controls all the electrical power distribution to the car. So in Jeep's case, and more than few other manufacturer's, while they were at it, since it was just a few extra lines of codes, they designed the software for the Computer controlling the Flashing, to recognize if the bulb was burned out and then mimic the old warning that has been in cars for nearly a hundred years (the hyperflashing), and send a message to the display. The low current draw of the LED's will fool the computer into thinking the bulb must be burned out. The car electronics mimic the clicking noise the old flasher units made as well, sending the sound through a speaker under the dash. Why the factory LED indicator on the side mirror hyperflashes? My guess, since the led's current load is so low, they wire the side mirror LED's directly to the indicator on the dashboard, and thus the TIPM mimicking the hyperflash as a warning, causing the dash indicator to hyperflash does the same for the side mirror. TIPM's are very expensive and they are not making "special" TIPM's just for LED's. Could you reprogram the TIPM to work with LED's sure. But the automotive computer software standard has a lot of safeguards to prevent tampering, rewriting software is way beyond most auto enthusiast, but even more difficult is getting your hands on the electronics that can "flash" the ROM's chips with the new software into the modules. So we haven't seen someone come up with a software fix yet.
Rick Anderson wow, thanks for all of the info! :) Okay, that would make sense about why the mirror LEDs hyperflash... yeah, I remember back when you could just change out the flasher-not quite so simple now haha
I just purchased a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit which comes with the LED/Bi-Xenon headlights package by default. Everything up front is LED and the rear tail light trim around the housing is also LED. The brake + turn signal is incandescent. I watched another video where this person had a 2015 Grand Cherokee where they didn't need the resistors. I tried contacting them but no response. Do you think I will still need resistors for my brake + turn signals in the rear since my blinkers up front are already LED?
Hi Spencer, yeah our vehicle (Overland) is basically the exact same setup as yours in regard to the factory LEDs up front and the incandescent “bi-level” bulbs in the rear and we absolutely needed the resistor. The only way I think you could get around it is if a bulb manufacturer had some type of bulb where the resistor was built in, but it would most likely make the bulb insanely too large and hot. As for why the current LEDs function fine, it seems as though FCA engineered the factory wiring system and computers to accept the current draw based on factory spec, so when we replace with the LEDs and they draw less power, we fall out of the acceptable range they set and the hyper flash symptom occurs. :/ Hope that helps and feel free to reach out with more questions!
@@1Brain4Wheels ...thank you so much for that info. I did find a company that promises no resistors with their bulbs because it comes with built-in resistors. I might give them a try but just trying to justify the cost of these bulbs. www.mhfautolighting.com/collections/2014-2019-drl-boards/products/complete-reverse-led-kit-for-the-jeep-including-including-srt-overland-laredo-limited
Don't forget guys this resistor gets hot and keeps getting hot in some cars, you can actually cook an egg on it, it gets up to about 145 degrees and keeps Rising. You can burn your carpet or burn wiring so be careful. I recommend using 80 watt 8 ohm resistors but every car is different
Hi, I have a 2011 Grand Cherokee and looking to do this but curious if you had any issues with the left rear light hanging below the light with heat or melting anything. Thanks for the video!
Hey there James, it’s funny you ask this, I actually just checked on this right before Christmas... I’m happy to report no damage at all 😎 I guess the resistor gets pretty warm while the blinkers and brakes are engaged, but since they aren’t on for too long at a time it seems to be good so far. :) Good luck on the install, it’s pretty straightforward and definitely worth the improved function!
So, I have a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and switched out my rear indicator/brake lights with LEDs. I also installed load resistors, but here is the problem I am facing. They work great during the day, but at night, when my the headlights are turned on, I will get the error that my turn signals lights are out and it will hyperflash. Any suggestions?
Hi Steve, I was honestly stumped with your problem, but I did a little searching online and found someone else with the same issue and their solution ended up being that the connection to the resistor was loose. I don't have a lot of knowledge when it comes to electronics , but maybe when the headlights are on, there's just enough less draw going to the blinkers that sets off the alert that the blinker is out? I would just confirm that all connections are solid and go from there if you haven't already done so. Here's the thread I was reading: www.coloradofans.com/forums/201-2nd-gen-electronics-audio-lighting/338065-hyperflash-but-only-when-headlights.html
I have an 18 grand Cherokee. Just bought the led lights and resistors. No issues for you? I was wondering where to put the resistors bc as you said there’s barely any room behind the tail light to put them.
What I ended up doing was dropping the resistor down below where the taillight housing mounts, kind of behind the corner of the bumper - from there it will get good air flow (resistors get hot), but it is protected well enough from the elements. Hope that helps! :)
You dropped them both or just the one? I have no problems doing whatever you did lol I just know there isn’t much room behind the lights! I got the led flashing brake lights but wasn’t sure where to put the resistors 😩😩
Oh haha, yeah on the right side the resistor was able to fit on the body of the car, fitting kind of below where the socket of the housing is (there should be a gap on the housing underneath this where the plastic bends in, allowing for the space required to fit the resistor) it’s tight, but it can work if you don’t want to have it hanging. :)
On the right taillight, where you mounted the resistor isn’t touching any plastic from the housing. That location won’t cause any plastic to melt from the heat the resistor is giving off ??
Ajay Nair I did actually go back and check on it a few months after doing this install and everything looked good so I’d say it’s okay! :) What I’ve found is that with normal use, these resistors don’t really get “hot”, just warm... maybe if I had the blinker or brake held down for hours it might get hot enough to cause damage but I think for most people it’s alright!
Thanks Rod, hopefully the video was able to help you along the way! :) So far we've had this setup on the Jeep for a little over 2 years and no problems!
Don't use double sided tape as you will lose all the heat transfer that is required to keep the resistor cool. If you must use the infamous 3M connector as seen; load it up with dielectric grease and wrap well to keep the elements out. You would be surprised the moister that finds it's way into these "sealed" lamp housings.
What if you change your low beam and high beam and reverse lights the only visible hallogen lights and dont mess with the turn signal blinkers will you still have hyperflash?
As long as you’re not messing with any of the bulbs on the turn signal circuit, you shouldn’t have hyper flash 👍🏻 One word of caution though, if you’re doing this on a newer vehicle, you might get other warnings that pop up when you engage those lights, telling you that they’re “out”... it just depends on if your car can tell the circuit isn’t pulling enough juice when on.
I want to do this to my mom’s 2018 Grand Cherokee Limited 25th Anniversary since all other turn signals are LED. I feel as if it will be a lot cleaner look! My dad is worried bc the car is so new but should he be worried? I really want to do this.
Haha, that sounds literally like my family! I did this to my mom's Jeep over two years ago now and the lights and resistors are still running strong so I'd say do it! Plus, it does look way better and you can tell Dad it's safer because LEDs are brighter and activate quicker :)
I strongly advise to NOT JUST LET RESISTOR DANGLE !! The resistor as stated will get very hot & specifically says to MOUNT TO METAL TO DISSIPATE HEAT. Leaving it dangling can definitely melt the wires, bumper & anything else plastic that in comes in contact with. DO NOT DO WHAT HE DID!! MOUNT ON METAL IN A GOOD SPOT OR MARK MY WORDS YOU’LL WISH YOU WOULD’VE UNLESS YOU OF COURSE DON’T MIND REPLACING MELTED BUMPER, WIRES, ETC...
Hey there, first off I completely agree - you're technically supposed to mount the resistors to metal for the exact reason you stated... however in the case of this particular vehicle, I got lucky and it actually worked out solely because there's a huge void in the bumper (so it's always away from any plastic even when just hanging) and it actually gets pretty good air flow that way. So, I guess I'm saying that it's possible to do it my way and have no negative effects, but tailor whatever you do to your specific vehicle and use good judgement because they definitely get toasty.
@@1Brain4Wheels That’s awesome that you’ve had gotten Real lucky it hasn’t done any damage. I can easily see how convenient it would be to just let allow it to dangle in that pocket although I’ve had Jeep’s & if you know the deal with them is they always have a electrical issue (Usually a faulty ground somewhere) & when you connect that resistor it’s connecting into the feed & the ground that’s why they insist on mounting onto good metal surface to not only help to dissipate heat but also getting good ground plus by doing this way will help last longer I know to each there own but I just trying to save others alot of money & possible grief & frustration if perhaps the it melts through bumpe or the ground causes the famous phantom electrical issues.
There are some on the market, but leds with built-in resistors for automotive use haven't become mainstream yet :/ To dissipate all of that heat requires a bulb "body" that is too big for a lot of applications.
DO NOT I repeat do not just let the resistor dangle by the bumper like that. It’s an expensive lesson I’ll have to pay for. Resistor heated up and melted the bumper bubbling the paint. Mount to metal and don’t be an idiot like me.
Oh no, that's not good! So it was pushing up against the inside of the bumper? Ughhh, now I need to check the inside of mine, so far no problem after 2.5 years, but I want to check and see if there's any mild melting on the backside... thanks for letting everyone (myself included) know!
