Reproduction Tail Light Assy'

[Sir Sam]

1 hour ago, HOrnbrod said:

 

 

A third brake light helps........

 

 

 

Typing on an iPhone and dual went to fuel for some reason 

[PCO6]

On ‎2018‎-‎02‎-‎02 at 6:45 PM, RAH66 said:

If this came to fruition I'd be very much on board. This is just kind of a weird personal thing, but I really prefer vehicles to have orange / amber turn signals. If someone could reproduce them in clear and then tint a red + orange + clear section I'd be all over that. I will put down the cash immediately if anyone needs pre-orders to make it happen.

I agree with you, amber turn signals all around ... not weird at all.  I've never got how on the MJ, like the XJ, the front turn signals are amber (clear lens / amber bulb) while the rears for the MJ & XJ were different.   I've wondered if on the MJ you could replace the back up lights with a small light or 2 under the bumper (LED?) and rewire the original back up lights to be turn signals with an amber bulb/ clear lens.  Apart from the added back up light(s) which is often done any way the taillights would look original but function differently. 

[RAH66]

1 hour ago, PCO6 said:

 I've wondered if on the MJ you could replace the back up lights with a small light or 2 under the bumper (LED?) and rewire the original back up lights to be turn signals with an amber bulb/ clear lens.

 

I've had that exact same thought. I have other mods I want to do first, but eventually I want to get around to lighting upgrades, and that was on my list.

[Eagle]

1 hour ago, PCO6 said:

 I've wondered if on the MJ you could replace the back up lights with a small light or 2 under the bumper (LED?) and rewire the original back up lights to be turn signals with an amber bulb/ clear lens.  Apart from the added back up light(s) which is often done any way the taillights would look original but function differently. 

 

I plan on doing exactly that. I think if I use the wiring diagram from the XJ (Cherokee, not Wagoneer), it should work.

[Sir Sam]

I think part of the issue with turning the reverse light into a turn signal is how it projects. Reverse lights are meant to be seen from the rear and turn signals are meant to be seen from the back and the side. 

 

If you make a reverse light light into a turn signal it won't have the correct side visibility. 

[Eagle]

6 hours ago, Sir Sam said:

I think part of the issue with turning the reverse light into a turn signal is how it projects. Reverse lights are meant to be seen from the rear and turn signals are meant to be seen from the back and the side. 

 

If you make a reverse light light into a turn signal it won't have the correct side visibility. 

 

Interesting observation. I hadn't considered that.

 

Back to the drawing board ...

[tugalo]

If you spliced the factory back-up lamps into the original turn signal wiring in parallel, seems to me that the original turn signal lamps plus the factory back-up lamps would flash at the same time.

this would maintain the side view as required.  Only problem might be increased current draw............

[HOrnbrod]

^^  This would work just fine using amber LEDs in the backup light sockets wired in parallel with the turn signals. Then add an external backup light(s) under/in the rear bumper and extend the existing backup light wiring to them.

 

Example:

[Sir Sam]

I'd point again that a dual filament bulb in LED would allow the brake light circuit and turn signal circuit to come on at the same time. This doesn't solve the seperate amber issue, but does allow for both turn and brake. 

 

Would be sweet if if we could customer make our own with a dual bulb for parking/brake, amber for turn, and reverse. That would be like the XJ application. 

[HOrnbrod]

Right you are Sam.   

 

HOWEVER, I do have a possible solution: a third brake light logic module. I used one years ago when I installed a third brake light on my bed cap. It's used with combined turn signal / brake light bulbs (dual filament bulbs) to filter out  the unwanted turn signal and only pass the brake light signal.

 

It can also be used to filter out the brake light signal and pass only the turn signal. For this you would need two logic modules, one for the left side and one for the right side turn signals. They are very small and could wired in and installed behind the left and right tail lamps on the inputs to the L & R backup lamps. With these wired in the left turn signal would flash both the left red turn signal bulb and left backup light bulb on the left side, and vice-versa.

 

 

 

 

http://www.centurydistributing.com/electricallogicboxes.html

[Eagle]

8 hours ago, tugalo said:

If you spliced the factory back-up lamps into the original turn signal wiring in parallel, seems to me that the original turn signal lamps plus the factory back-up lamps would flash at the same time.

this would maintain the side view as required.  Only problem might be increased current draw............

 

No, current draw is not the problem. The problem is that the factory turns, brakes, and hazards all use the same bulbs and the same wires. If the hazards are supposed to be flashing and you step on the brakes, the brakes override and the hazards freeze. Not only don't they flash in the rear, they also stop flashing in the front. What's needed is to separate the hazard light circuit from the brake light circuit. I'm not terribly upset by the way the factory brake lights and turn signals work, but I don't like that if I step on the brake peddle I can't have hazard lights flashing.

[Sir Sam]

3 hours ago, HOrnbrod said:

Right you are Sam.   

 

HOWEVER, I do have a possible solution: a third brake light logic module. I used one years ago when I installed a third brake light on my bed cap. It's used with combined turn signal / brake light bulbs (dual filament bulbs) to filter out  the unwanted turn signal and only pass the brake light signal.

 

It can also be used to filter out the brake light signal and pass only the turn signal. For this you would need two logic modules, one for the left side and one for the right side turn signals. They are very small and could wired in and installed behind the left and right tail lamps on the inputs to the L & R backup lamps. With these wired in the left turn signal would flash both the left red turn signal bulb and left backup light bulb on the left side, and vice-versa.

 

 

 

http://www.centurydistributing.com/electricallogicboxes.html

 

Yup, thats a good little device, and necessary for trailer setup at times. To do what I am talking about with the dual filament bulbs for the turn signals would require a device like that to power the second filament for the turn signal.

 

This is a little bit moot for me though, I have XJ wiring that provides the parking, brake, and turn as separate filaments.

[NC Tom]

Just a thought about reproduction or new production covers. If someone had access to a vaccuum former, could you just create a shell or cover to fit over the existing covers? This way, you could hide age-related wear and kind-of spiffy them up on the cheap. 

[gogmorgo]

That could work. 

I think a few members here have used headlight restoration type stuff with reasonable success, and then hit them with some clear coat for a finished shine. 

[Eagle]

On 2/5/2018 at 12:12 PM, Sir Sam said:

At at some point I plan to get the other type of bulb socket to make the MJ use the fuel filament bulbs, and switch to led bulbs. 

 

 

They already are dual filament bulbs. That's how they combine tailights and brake lights.