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WK2 rear fog lamp Install w/Pictures

77K views 127 replies 61 participants last post by  carbuff 
#1 · (Edited)
A few weeks back I came across the WK2 video many of you have seen recently of the new fog lamp kit which mimics the tail lights, put out by Taillight Solutions. I contacted Ken at Taillight Solutions and was able to get my hands on one of the first kits available. It arrived in the mail Monday but I wasn't able to get around to installing it until today. It came packaged very well, I think better then it had to, but better to be safe then sorry as the housing can be fragile if thrown around in a box, especially during the postal holiday rush!




The instructions are a PDF, printable if necessary. Here's a link for the instructions from Taillight Solutions... CLICK HERE... They are detailed with pictures. I think they are over the top, then again I am mechanically inclined so even though "simple" for me, it may be more difficult for someone else. I think even if you haven't the slightest clue, this MOD is still able to be accomplished by you.

Here is the kit before the install- Very simple- 4 pieces. 2 housing and 2 harnesses.



I thank Ken at Taillight Solutions for the great craftsmanship. I feel the quality of work is high and it should last me the life of the Jeep. The connections are done properly, and all split loom/ shrink wrap tubing is professional looking. If I was given this kit by someone without knowing anything, I'd say it was done by Mopar. That's how good it seems.


There is a total of 6 steps to get this kit installed in the instructions but I'll break it down a little further and with just a quick jist of what needs to happen. *** I have used a few pictures from the install manual to fill in for pictures that I did not take.. **


1) Remove tail lamp

*Courtesy of Taillight Solutions Install Manual*




2) Remove Bumper Reflector

*Courtesy of Taillight Solutions Install Manual*




3) Run new pigtail harness down the taillight cavity, keeping two plugs up top and one down by the bumper

Heres a pictures of the harness coming out of the bumper reflector




4) Connect the female plug to the OEM male plug of the tail lamp wiring

*Courtesy of Taillight Solutions Install Manual*




Heres a picture of the new harness connected, the OEM plug tucked into the cavity and just the two necessary connections in the tail lamp area exposed.. (Reverse is the small grey and main tail is the larger connector)



5) Connect the plug coming from the mopar fog housing/socket to the new harness you just ran to the bumper

*Courtesy of Taillight Solutions Install Manual*




6) Push the new mopar housing back into the bumper by doing the reverse of how you took it out, insert the tab closest to the center of the vehicle first, then push in the outer edge closest to the corner of the bumper

Here is the new mopar housing containing the light installed in the bumper




7) Reconnect the Reverse and new Main tail connector from the pigtail harness to the tail lamp




8) Secure the tail lamp with the two push pins, making sure the new harness wire isn't in the way of the tail lamp housing.

As simple as that. Total install time ~20 minutes. 15 for the first side and 5 for the second.. :lol: It goes much quicker once you do it once.

Here's a picture of them installed and hooked up. The driver side has an LED bulb, the passenger side has a halogen. I will get some night pictures and possibly a video to show people if there is a difference and which looks better. Based on the daylight scenario, halogen matches the stock halogen main tail lamp better. Else your going to run resistors on the main tail lamp to change it to LED, I would recommend a halogen kit.


Below picture showcases the new MOPAR housings installed and operational. Please be aware they are tinted in that picture, so they are not as RED as the the stock color. Without tint they match the rest of the lamps, however ALL of my lamps are tinted which is why it all looks the same in this picture below. Refer to step 6 to see the housing NOT tinted






Some TIPS: Push the all of the harness into the tail lamp cavity where the OEM wiring comes from, leave only the two plugs which will connect to the tail lamp visible. This makes it so there is no wiring conflicting with the installation of the main tail lamp.

Behind the mopar fog lamp housing it is a tight fit between the socket/housing/wiring and the frame of the Jeep. Don't be afraid, it fits, snug, not overly tight.. There is black split loom and high grade shrink wrap covering the wires, I forsee no issues. You do need to room the housing to change a bulb, but this is very simple, just like removing the stock bumper reflector you push out the tab and it goes.


To sum of my experience with the kit I ask myself a few questions

1) Was the kit reasonably priced?
2) Were instructions included?
3) Was craftsmanship and quality high?
4) Was installation relatively simple?
5) Would I purchase the kit again?
6) Would I recommend the kit to others?

My answer is YES to all those questions. Without a doubt will I recommend others looking to do this MOD to not hesitate. Its unique, yet not outrageous, affordable for the amount of labor put into the kit, aside from the MOPAR parts being used to construct it. I also am probably the only WK2 on Long Island with my bumper reflectors working! haha
 
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#4 · (Edited)
For the Bumper Kit---LED bulb in the driver side, and Halogen bulb in the Passenger side.. I want to see at night if there is a difference between the 7443 halogen and 7443 LED...




For the rest of the vehicle in the picture...LED's are in the tailgate. Halogens are in the Main Tails (dont want to do resistors yet)
 
#6 ·
Looks great J13, nice work and great writeup!
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thanks for the feedback J. Another advantage to LED's is that you can easily control the light output based on the overall quality of the bulbs being used. For example, those LED's I provided you are only 18 smt. If you were to go with a 2 watt HP designed 7443 pair you would probably double the light output.

Thanks again for the write up. Enjoy and let me know if you run into any problems or need anything else.

Ken
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the feedback J. Another advantage to LED's is that you can easily control the light output based on the overall quality of the bulbs being used. For example, those LED's I provided you are only 18 smt. If you were to go with a 2 watt HP designed 7443 pair you wod probably double the light output.

Thanks again for the write up. Enjoy and let me know if you run into any problems or need anything else.

Ken
Ken: What if I want them to function only as turn signals (not tail lights, not brake lights)? Is that possible?

This looks like a very nicely designed kit.
 
#14 ·
I wasn't able to get a video tonight however based on my visual it doesn't appear to blink any different when comparing to the stock taillight.. If anything, the halogen seems to "last" longer which makes the blink visibly brighter.. LED's turn on and off, there is no dimming period that the halogens have if that makes any sense. But I think the LED blinks just like the halogen, its not delayed if thats what you mean...
 
#16 ·
How are they activated? Do they simply come on with the front fogs?
 
#18 ·
They mimic the taillight on the rear of the Jeep, there is no switch to activate them, they are not purely a "fog" light as per the mopar kit. These are turn/brake/tail lights...
 
#19 ·
Thanks, I think you'll do fine, just following his instructions and if you have any questions during the install feel free to send me a PM.
 
#22 ·
BUMP! Just want to let others who havent seen it yet get a chance to read. I know there isnt much availability yet but Ken should be able to get some together probably soon! I know 4 came and went already.
 
#28 ·
Thank you bigjgcfan and welcome to JeepGarage too!
 
#30 ·
Get the mopar kit. Which, then also needs to Export switch to be operable as an individual feed vs the front, else your okay with the front and rear fog being operated at the same time. Check out the other mopar thread, the instructions for installation seem like a headache. lol

http://www.jeepgarage.org/showthread.php?p=539597#post539597
 
#33 ·
Just installed this on my WK2 and I think it's one of the best upgrades to the car so far. It makes the useless reflectors actually useful now. It took me about 30 minutes with the longest time removing the taillights since they were stuck on pretty good. You have to wiggle them out a little bit since the front of the taillight is held in by 2 ball joint looking things that slide into rubber holders. Once the taillights were removed everything else was easy. It came with some black zip ties but I didn't use'em.

Thanks Taillight Solutions for a great product and thanks J13ntv for the installation write up!
 
#35 ·
If the 2013 GC comes out with the LED taillights and they turn out to be plug and play with the 2011-2012 GC's do you think they'll play nice with this kit? What I like about this kit is that everything is plug and play.

A friend of mine had an audi q7 and when the LED taillights come out he was able to do a direct swap since they were plug and play. I'm hoping it'll be the same for the Jeep.

I guess my biggest worry is that the connectors will change, resistors will need to be added, or a fuse/relay will need to be changed. Unless the resisters are something that's typically integrated into the taillight housing.
 
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