Electrical system in Australian TJs

AdelaideTJ

AdelaideTJ

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2023
Messages
97
Location
Adelaide, Australia
Hi all, new member here from Down Under.

Probably a dumb question, but does anyone know if there are substantial differences in the electrical circuits or other components in RHD Jeeps manufactured for other markets (specifically Australia)? I am looking to do some upgrades on my 05 TJ Wrangler Renegade, specifically LED lights throughout, sound system, etc. and often the best parts are located in the US.

Just curious if there is anything to keep in mind when ordering US electrical components for Australian Jeeps, or if everything ordered from the US (such as components from Superbright LEDs, turn signal flasher, etc.) should be plug 'n' play here.

Cheers
 
By and large the electrical systems are pretty common across both RHD and LHD. The biggest challenges we tend to face with US imported parts are things like the AC/HVAC and some of the piping and cabling associated with brakes etc. I would make sure you thoroughly do your research before adding LED globes into your system though.

For headlights, the overwhelming majority of 7" LED headlight replacements sold are NOT ADR compliant and will produce a pattern that is completely wrong for RHD vehicles. You will wind up blinding oncoming drivers and risk a defective vehicle notice. One of the few that is compliant is https://autoelecoz.com.au/product/stedi-7-inch-iris-led-headlight/ - don't skimp on the headlights - buy once cry once. Those $99 eBay specials are not worth it esp in a RHD Jeep.

For indicator and brake lights be cautious about just adding an LED globe and assume you are good to go. Those lights are designed to work with a halogen globe of a specific size and if you replace them with LED the beam shape may not be preserved for cars behind you. Yes, I know that lots of online sources will say "they are brighter and therefore OK" but you need to ensure that you still meet ADR compliance as the placement of the globe in the reflector is what delivers the correct brightness. There is a great explanation for this on the Youtube channel "Technology Connections" - great channel by the way! I don't know whether you need to add a resistor to the LED circuit for your TJ as I don't have them in mine, someone with more experience than me can probably advise there.

One last tip - if you are ordering parts from a site like RockAuto, make sure you enter the correct year for your Jeep - that's not necessarily the same as the year marked on your rego papers. My TJ was manufactured in '99 but is listed on the rego as a 2001 due to the long delay in shipping them to Aus and the sale process - at first I ordered lots of 2001 parts only to discover many of them don't fit a 1999!
 
Cheers Bammo68 for your detailed response, very helpful. I have a pair of STEDI's lined up, so should be all good for the headlights, definitely wasn't going to skimp there. Indicators and other exterior lights I may do a little later down the line after some more research. I would probably replace the entire exterior light assemblies with compliant units, rather than straight globe swaps.

My initial project was going to be replacing the interior lights with LEDs from Superbright LEDs to make the cab experience nicer, and brighten up the soundbar lights, but have heard of people having some trouble with the draw of a halogen globe vs LED. Wondering if its worth doing at all if it will just cause trouble down the line. But the idea of brightening up the cluster, switches and cab lights is very tempting.

Curious about the AC/HVAC issues you mentioned? Do you mean with the electrical blower motor switches burning out? My switches all seem to be ok at the moment, but the vacuum line in my engine bay needs replacing. Have found one from a wrecker fortunately, so didn't have to order from US. Might be a discussion for another thread anyway.
 
I swapped out the Halogen for an LED globe in the overhead light that's in the soundbar and it worked perfectly and provides *heaps* more light than the Halogen so well worth doing. I also swapped the globe in the Auto transmission bezel (the one that lights up the PRNDL bar) and that is also very bright but is far too focused as it makes one letter 10x brighter than the others - so don't recommend doing that one.

https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B07KMXX4YF/?tag=wranglerorg-20 fits perfectly

The HVAC issues I mention are that some components of the A/C are specific to RHD - including the HVAC box itself and some of the AC pipes. For the RHD specific parts it can be hard to purchase new ones and the service manuals and parts lists available elsewhere on this website don't always correctly identify the RHD components.

In terms of indicators / brake lights - my advice would be not to change them unless you are forced to. If they aint broke don't fix em...
 
Ah cool, thanks for that. I didn't like Iris either, but hadn't seen homage. I was about to pull the trigger on Carbon, as my TJ is black and the darker look goes alright.
 
Hi bammo68, wondering if your homage lights were plug.n.play or if you had to deal with the separate circuit for ths parking light? Mine is an 05 and the parking lamp seems to be split from the low and high beam circuit. Wondered if you had encountered this and what you did?

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