To start off, I have been a long time lurker and finally got my 2015 JKU in October of 2014. I have been able to find answers to many of my questions by just searching, but this particular issue I have not been able to figure out.
I got the ACE license plate re-locator with the rear bumper black friday deal that they ran. I hooked up the license plate light to the passenger side tail light (running light and ground) and I hooked the brake light up to the factory brake light plug. Ever since hooking it up, my license plate light has had a strobe effect to it, but the brake light has had no issues. I tried tying a resistor into the circuit, but it didn't change anything.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix the strobe effect that I currently have for my license plate light? Thanks!
I'm just speculating here...have you tried running the license plate light to the original wire that was used OEM?
I would take out the load resistor. There's no flasher to trick with it. And wire it into the original license plate wiring, and see if that clears it up.
I haven't tried that yet. Honestly, I was trying to avoid running the wire all the way across the back of the Jeep, but I am starting to think that it may be the only way to stop the flicker.
I have the same problem . Mine is hooked into the harness properly and still does it . I contacted ACE and they suggested a resistor . I had one other issue I contacted them about and both times the response was similar to sucks to be you .
Yeah I have kinda had the same experience. I feel like I am just going to have to live with the flicker/strobe or install a relay so that the light is powered straight off the battery and switched off the parking lights. :facepalm:
If that is the case, it would be strange that weldporn and myself are both having the same issue. Also, before I installed it on the Jeep, I hooked it directly to a 12v source and there wasn't any flicker at all. So I don't think that there is an issue with the light itself.
If that is the case, it would be strange that weldporn and myself are both having the same issue. Also, before I installed it on the Jeep, I hooked it directly to a 12v source and there wasn't any flicker at all. So I don't think that there is an issue with the light itself.
When I first installed mine there was no flicker. After a few weeks I noticed it. This past weekend I did some troubleshooting. When power is applied, the LED will light solid for about one second then start flickering. When connected to an independent 12v the result is the same. When testing the vehicle side of the harness plug my test light stays lit continuously. Thinking I will try to find a higher quality replacement from Lifetime LED. As a side note, I'm already noticing some rust developing in the welds.
Well I gave up trying to make that light work . I went to autozone and picked up a universal LED license display light . I wired it in with a small custom tab to mount it and it works fine . I hate to say it but ... well I`m not going to say it . I`m just letting you know that another LED light fixed mine . I wish the one from Ace would have worked but it just doesn`t for me . Happy trails , M
I spoke with AJ from Ace Engineering regarding this when I went in to get couple Lava jackets a couple months ago. He figured they must have that a bad lot of LED lights. I supplied him the part number that I use to replace my light and he stated he was going to check them out.
Oh good grief. I love when vendors just throw darts at the wall. Resistors will not solve this problem. Don't put them on your circuit. This is PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). Just like on the headlights and some of the fog lights.
Go to radio shack and get a 600uF or greater capacitor. Install that on the circuit as close to the LED as possible. Problem solved. The capacitor smooths the PWM. This is just like what you have to do if you were putting a relay on a circuit with PWM.
Oh good grief. I love when vendors just throw darts at the wall. Resistors will not solve this problem. Don't put them on your circuit. This is PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). Just like on the headlights and some of the fog lights.
Go to radio shack and get a 600uF or greater capacitor. Install that on the circuit as close to the LED as possible. Problem solved. The capacitor smooths the PWM. This is just like what you have to do if you were putting a relay on a circuit with PWM.
No these were bad LEDs. Even when removed from the Jeep and connected to a stand alone battery mine would strobe on and off. Replaced with a SuperbrightLEDs light and problem solved.
I could see a bad batch, but from the original post - and maybe I'm reading this wrong since it's 5am - I see I few wiring issues possible too.
I remember some previous issues I came across when moving the license plate to the spare. Someone else I was helping had issues too. He had finished this huge and expensive mod on his JK, he took the spare off completely and had the tailgate body filled and painted smooth with a spot for the plate to relocate. After all that work, I asked him why he was using a old school bulb in the plate light (yellow tint gave it away). He said he tried the LED but it flickered and he gave up.
He was trying to tap it through the tailgate and into the right running light wire. That doesn't work. The PWM will mess with it - or something - at any rate it's no good.
I asked him why he didn't just use the OEM wiring for the plate. He said he didn't want to pull it from the left side. Well, guess what I got to do. I took an 18 gauge black wire and tapped the OEM plate harness that was pulled back into the opening behind the left tail light. I dropped it out the bottom, and ran it along the inside or the rear bumper - keep it away from the muffler.
I drilled a hole in the plastic cover that 'seals' the passenger side opening behind the tail light and fed the wire back up into that space. From there you will fish it through the same hole where the harness comes out at the top, and into the rear cargo area by the roll bar.
Carefully remove both plastic pieces from the inside of the tailgate. I fished the wire through the braided harness as well, it was tight but it does fit. You'll see the harness feeds into the tailgate from behind the plastic cover. I fed it into the tailgate and then tapped a hole to connect the light to the wire.
Yes, it's a long process - but it's done right and it works right too. I moved my plate to the spare, and you get a little break in the last step. I poked a hole in an empty rubber gasket on my tailgate and pushed the wire through that. I also added a male/female connector in the wire behind the tire carrier where I can reach it with the tailgate open. This way I can unplug it if I need to remove the spare (the plate comes off first).
The wire I used was double stranded, two wires with a coating, so I ran one wire and it had both hot and ground using the original plug configuration.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Ask a question
Ask a question
Jeep Wrangler Forum
9M posts
468K members
Since 2005
A forum community dedicated to Jeep Wrangler owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about reviews, performance, trail riding, gear, suspension, tires, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, for all JL, JT, JK, TJ, YJ, and CJ models!