[TX-WJ]

The quad tail light / brake light mod

I know others have done this mod. I decided to go for it after some kid rear-ended me few months ago (somehow that doesn't sound right), just a little unoticeable dent on my bumper cover; his minivan's hood look pretty bad though , and worse, my neck was sore for a week.... I may also add one of those 3 blink modules to the third stop light down the road...

Real easy mod, went to vato-zone, picked up a couple of 3157 sockets and bulbs, pulled a 1-1/8" drill hole saw, tested then spliced the wires and voila.

Passenger side stock for comparison:









Then both sides:





This is the write-up I followed, great info:

http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=883391&highlight=quad+tail+lights

[Darthteddy]

Looks Cool Bro. The blinker would by fly tho.

[indept]

Did the rear end collision leave that big black hole where your license plate should be

[Darthteddy]

No No No...Thats standard Equipment on 04' WJs. . . Its a portal to Narnia.

[table]

Originally Posted by TX-WJ

... went to vato-zone...

bwhwhahhaaaa! Awesome.

Got one for Advance Auto Parts?

[madrabbitt]

I'm doing this soon... I'm upgrading the top bulbs to high flux LED's, and i'm concerned about there not being a large amount of brightness difference between dim (tail) and bright (brake) so i'm going to drop some additional high flux leds in the bottom section wired to JUST the brake section to make the brake more obvious.

PS. I've dropped a LED in my center brake section as well. I'm pretty impressed with it. Got it from v-leds.com

[TX-WJ]

Originally Posted by madrabbitt

I'm doing this soon... I'm upgrading the top bulbs to high flux LED's, and i'm concerned about there not being a large amount of brightness difference between dim (tail) and bright (brake) so i'm going to drop some additional high flux leds in the bottom section wired to JUST the brake section to make the brake more obvious.

PS. I've dropped a LED in my center brake section as well. I'm pretty impressed with it. Got it from v-leds.com

I know what you mean, but honestly the pics don't do justice and IMO, the difference is much more evident in real life. I also thought about this, and one option is to wire this only to the brakes and not the tails, that way it will be more obvious change in light while braking; but then I like the fact that an extra tail makes you more visible while driving.

That's the reason I'm considering the 3-blinker for the 3rd brake light (I guess 5th now ); I've seen those on the road and they really do catch your eye. LEDs would be nice too

[Crookster777]

That is a cool mod man! Nice work and writeup!

[Bear13]

This might be something worth trying, though, I don't think it will stop idiots from rear-ending anyone. I've been rear-ended twice so far with my WJ. First time by a hydroplaning TJ, Second time by a Cable company van. People don't seem to relize how quickly you can stop a Grand Cherokee on wet pavement...

[5.9 ANDY]

i like that.... looks great, at least the A-hole that hits you next time cant say he didnt see your brake lights.


i wonder if i can do this to my ZJ?

[CMARJEEP]

another way to make this even easier is to buy little splicer things from radio shack. i used them when installing my roof lights. you put the two little wires in the splicer and then you use pliers to push a metal piece down. then you just shut the cap and they are magically spliced together with no soldering or anthying. they worked very well for my roof lights and would make this brake light mod even eaiser. i think this is my next project for the weekend.

[madrabbitt]

Originally Posted by TX-WJ

I know what you mean, but honestly the pics don't do justice and IMO, the difference is much more evident in real life. I also thought about this, and one option is to wire this only to the brakes and not the tails, that way it will be more obvious change in light while braking; but then I like the fact that an extra tail makes you more visible while driving.

That's the reason I'm considering the 3-blinker for the 3rd brake light (I guess 5th now ); I've seen those on the road and they really do catch your eye. LEDs would be nice too

i meant, in each individual LED bulb, at least on older technology ones, there is not a major diff between the dim circuit and the bright circuit. So its not too obvious when you hit the brakes.

I ordered two pairs of LED's today from www.v-led.com
I'm going to test them out and see which has the most obvious diff in brightness in the two circuits, and put those on the top, and the other set on the bottom.
I have my 3157 sockets now, and I might do the wiring tonight, and drop some incandescent 3157's in there now for the time being.

Also, theres a new 8-led third brake light on ebay that I might consider getting as well... The more lights to make the brake obvious, the better... and since its all LED, less draw even with additional lighting.

[gcjeeping]

This is a great mod. Did it 5 or 6 months ago. Have ya thought about de-ambering the turn signals too. Did that the same time I did the quad tail lights.

[madrabbitt]

I actually prefer amber turn signals. Higher contrast against the red turn signals, so i feel its safer.

Going to do LED's in the turn signals as well later, but I need to swap out the flasher with a led capable variable rate one first.

[gcjeeping]

Originally Posted by madrabbitt

I actually prefer amber turn signals. Higher contrast against the red turn signals, so i feel its safer.

Going to do LED's in the turn signals as well later, but I need to swap out the flasher with a led capable variable rate one first.

Fair enough. I had all LEDs in the back. I don't think you'll find a electronic flasher. I searched hi and low for one. I ended up putting a resistor at each turn signal bulb to get them to flash normally. The flasher relay for the WJ is different than most cars. Its an integrated unit that does other functions. That was a year ago, so maybe someone has made one now. Good luck. Still like the quads though.