I have always liked the looks of the LED tail lights, but
I didn't want to drill holes in the back of the jeep. I also didn't
like that you would loose the side marker light. I decided that it
wasn't worth it to lose the stock lights just to drill 3 holes in the
body. Off Road Only came out with these great LightPODS the
incorporate a side marker light, a brake light/ turn signal, and a backup
light. The greatest part is that they bolt right into the stock
mounting holes. Perfect.
| Installation: |
| Here
is what came in my box. The production kits will include a flasher
unit and some conspicuous tape for the rear outer corners of the
vehicle. I'll update the picture when these become available. |
 |
| 1. Remove the factory
light by removing the 4 phillips screws that hold the lens on.
You may need a flat tip screwdriver to carefully pry the lens out
of the housing. |
 |
| 2. Remove the 3 bolts holding the housing to the body. This
will require a 10mm socket. |
 |
| 3. Disconnect the wire that comes from the tail light. The connector
has a small clip that you need to press before you pull it apart.
On the Driver side you maybe able to pull the connector through the
body, but on the passenger side you will need to reach up under the
plastic fender liner to get to it on the '03's and up. |
 |
 |
| As you can see the ORO LightPOD is much thinner than the factory tail
light. Your more likely to back into a rock with the bumper
than with the light. |
 |
| 4. Cut the OEM harness on the tail lights about midway between the housing
and the connector. |
 |
| 5. Strip back about 2inches of the plastic shroud to expose the 3 wires.
Strip about 3/8-1/2" of wire. |
 |
| 6. Now connect
the LightPOD wires to the cut harness. On the TJ's the wires
should be coded as below. The OEM Tail Lights ground through
the mounting bolts. With the anodized coating on the LightPODS
you will need to attach a separate ground wire. Wrap the Black
wire around one of the mounting bolts and then secure it to the body
will provide this ground. You may need to strip some additional
wire. I stripped it to about 1". |
Left
Side:
Tail -- Black with Yellow Tracer
Brake/ Turn -- Green with Red Tracer
Back-up -- Violet with Black Tracer |
Right Side:
Tail -- Black with Yellow Tracer
Brake/ Turn -- Brown with Red Tracer
Back-up -- Violet with Black Tracer |
| 7. Solder the wires
together and heat shrink the connections. I further wrapped
them with electrical tape. |
 |
| 8. Insert the two socket head cap screw into the LightPOD and hold it
up against the Driver Side. You will need to mark the license
plate holder where you will need to cut it. Cut below this marked
line. |
 |
 |
| 9. You will need to remove the factory license plate holder. Remove
the 4 bolts holding the license plate on, and the 4 bolts below to
remove the the holder. You will need a 10mm socket for the license
plate and an extension to reach the holder bolts. |
| 10. Install the LightPOD by first ensuring that the mounting surface is
smooth. The factory mounting may have raised lips due to the
OEM bolts. Tap these flat. |
|
| 11. Use the the provided thread cutting machine screw to cut threads
for the socket head cap screws. Lubricating the screws will
ease installation. The Screw requires a 3/8" Socket. |
 |
| 12. Now feed the connector through the opening in the body. On the
'03 and up you have the evaporative canister in the passenger rear
corner, that you will need to thread the connector down along side. |
|
| 13. Insert 1 screw through the LightPOD and wrap the black
wire around the screw. Screw into the body. Don't screw
all the way down. Insert the other screw and tighten down evenly
until light pod is seated against the body. |
 |
 |
| 14. Reconnect the harness. |
 |
 |
| 15. Fit the license plate holder up underneath the LightPOD. Check
for clearance and trim as necessary. Bolt back in with the original
bolts and the 10mm Socket. |
 |
| Finished
Product: |
 |
 |
 |
| 16. You can modify the flasher unit if you want to slow down the flash.
You need to remove the housing from around the steering column |
 |
| 17. Remove the 2 phillips screws from the underside of the housing.
Its the 1 holes on the top of the first pic. Then undo the clips
on each side. Then gently remove the housing. |
 |
 |
| 18. My flasher was covered by a white label. I just peeled back
the label and removed the flasher. |
 |
 |
| 19. There is an aftermarket flasher that you can buy that will slow down
the flash of the LED's but if you were to hit the emergency flashers
it will blow a fuse under the hood immediately. The flasher
is #EP-27. I decided to wait until Off Road Only succeeds in
having a flasher made that doesn't blow fuses. The fuse that it blows
is #27 MFSW in the box. |
|
| 20. The alternative is to modify your Flasher with the directions found
on the Mesa4x4 Site. |
Flasher
Mod |
