FZJ80 LED reverse lights (2 Viewers)

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rc51kid

rc51kid

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May 31, 2010
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Anyone have any experience with FZJ80 LED reverse lights? I what lights that have more light output when reversing. I could mount a extra LED pod flood. But i like to keep things simple. I havae seen some plug and play LED bulbs that install in the factory revers bulb location. Do these bulbs put out engh light to really improve vision? Do they make any extra heat that could melt reflectors or lenses if left in revers for a while? I could see trying to negotiate a tricky trail might have me in reverse longer than normal street driving. I would like to make sure that the bulbs dont get hot enough to melt anything.
 
I replaced my backup lights with LEDs. While brighter, they really don't make a huge difference in visibility. LEDs produce much less heat than normal bulbs so heat in the light housing is not an issue.
Some people have replaced that backup lights with halogen bulbs - 50 watts comes to mind. But I don't think that is smart because the extra amperage draw on the wiring can cause some serious wire heating/melting/fire issues. Plus, halogens generate much more heat than a normal bulb.
A solution I am working on is the replace the standard reverse bulbs with LEDS which have a lower power requirement and give a bit more light. Then depending on how often once needs the additional lighting, either tap into the backup light power wire to trigger a relay and power some rear flood lights or manually activate the rear floods from a manual switch as needed.
You will make that choice based on your needs.
If your are not sure of your electrical abilities, get professional help. Sometimes, safety is not simple.
 
I got PFran's reverse LED's. Much brighter than stock

Adding another 12" led bar on the rear of the rroof rack for mo light.

APounder had a pretty sweet post in his build thread with 2 flush mount LED's built into the tailgate.
 
I run short light bars above each spare wheel, just off a relay using the reverse light to trigger:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1430032952.277782.jpg


If you want smaller a mate runs some 10in cube single led's that are pretty subtle and they work pretty well, tucked under the rear bar.
 
Also running PFRANS LED reverse bulbs here, love them. MUCH brighter than stock incandescent bulbs, the projector style LED is perfect for these housings.
 
While not an 80 series... I switched to LED reverse lights like PFRANS projector style and LED tail lights. I kept the turn sig bulbs the same as I didn't feel like dealing with resistors to make the blinker still flash correctly. While I was at it I also installed a couple of 10Watt LED driving lights, tucked away safe from rocks on my tow bar, $25 on EBay.

The Philips website said the original incandescent reverse light bulbs drew 26.9 watts each. The New LED projector bulbs draw 7 watts each. So I figured I could safely add a couple of additional 10 watt lights to the factory circuit and still be under the amount of draw the original bulbs had.

The result is fantastic reverse lighting without having to deal with an additional relay...









 
i was thinking of adding one or two 10w led floods to my roof rack facing the rear. it seems like the factory wireing should handle it fine. i am not a expert with wiring but i dont think i need a relay for 10-20w. what does Mud think?
 
rc51kid said:
i was thinking of adding one or two 10w led floods to my roof rack facing the rear. it seems like the factory wireing should handle it fine. i am not a expert with wiring but i dont think i need a relay for 10-20w. what does Mud think?
Click to expand...
If you replace your existing reverse bulbs with LEDs, they will draw less than 1/3 the power of your current factory incandecent lights leaving you with plenty of room to add two 10 watt LEDs. You will have 10 times the amount of back up lighting while drawing the same or less current than the two factory bulbs did. See above.
 
Has anyone tried mounting to (or in place of) the spoiler? I hate drilling into the body, and this seems like a good spot to mount some if you can't afford a roof rack yet. I'd like to see what you've done if any of y'all have!
 
Luke84 said:
Has anyone tried mounting to (or in place of) the spoiler? I hate drilling into the body, and this seems like a good spot to mount some if you can't afford a roof rack yet. I'd like to see what you've done if any of y'all have!
Click to expand...

Replacement reverse LED lamps suck. I went with a 18w LED using the spoiler mount. Even with tinted windows I see fine backing up at night.

img_2261-jpg.1112565
 
you need to make that bracket for sale. I just added the Gobi ladder and would love to cover the other thee holes with a light mount like you did. maybe the factory plastic "spoiler" mount could be modified?
 
rc51kid said:
you need to make that bracket for sale. I just added the Gobi ladder and would love to cover the other thee holes with a light mount like you did. maybe the factory plastic "spoiler" mount could be modified?
Click to expand...

Is pretty straight forward, just a triangular sheet metal plate, through in some camber to match the roof line, and weld it to the bracket that comes with the light. I must admit every time I put it in reverse I smile. Great entertainment at stop light with friend behind you:hillbilly: Next is to wire in a button to turn it on while moving forward or stopped for all the right reasons:grinpimp:
 
Phil's looks mighty clean of course. You could just mount it on the ladder too. I never had a spoiler. I think a Gobi ladder might be a little narrow though. image.jpg
 
Luke84 said:
Has anyone tried mounting to (or in place of) the spoiler? I hate drilling into the body, and this seems like a good spot to mount some if you can't afford a roof rack yet. I'd like to see what you've done if any of y'all have!
Click to expand...
image.jpeg

image.jpeg
 
Here is an excerpt from my build on what I did for the extra reverse lighting. Hope it helps.....

With the YODAteq backup brackets installed I contact him to see what lights he was using. It was difficult to size LEDs from pics.
He informed me that they were 10 watt Cree flood lights and I ordered 3 from Amazon. They arrived in 4 days (a record for me receiving items) and I installed them this weekend.
The location of the lights is a no brainer. The second questions was how to wire it? Separate circuit? Relay triggered or straight to the reverse lights?
The answer required a bit of electrical measuring.
The stock reverse bulb takes about 1.75A @13V to shine
The LED replacement uses about 0.15A
The 10 Watt Cree floods uses about 0.7W.
Solution, wire the additional lighting straight into the reverse light circuit. This involved drilling two holes in the body and a bit of soldering. Nothing difficult. I used 2 pole plug instead of directly wiring it to the reverse circuit so that the light can be swapped out if anything goes wrong or disconnected if the local vehicle inspection guys prove to be a pain.
EDIT - I did a vehicle inspection shortly afterwards and there was no comment from the inspector. He just wanted to make sure that the lights worked
HINT - install the flood bracket before you bolt YODAteq's bracket to the body. It is easier when they are out then when installed into the body. The second hint is to use a flat washer between the nut and the light bracket when installing the lights. The holes are fairly large especially when the light uses 6mm bolts. But your setup might be totally different to mine.
But the results are absolutely worth it!

Light installed and cable run along rear door channel. I used 1x1 adhesive cable tie bases with zip locks to locate and keep the wires along the body and away from harm.

reverse3-jpg.1103439


Through body and into the rear light compartment (passenger side). I used a PVC hose because the metal is a double thickness in this area - to thick for a grommet.
reverse2-jpg.1103438


Electrical connections to reverse light. They were soldered then sealed with liquid electrical tape. After it had dried, I then covered the liquid tape with normal electrical tape as a redundant covering. The red with blue trace is the power wire for the reverse light (on both sides). I used the white with black trace that goes to the reverse bulb for ground. All grounds are white with black trace so be sure to use the relevant one for the reverse light.
reverse1-jpg.1103437


I tested and everything works like it should. Just need to take some pics at night to show the huge light difference
 
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