Replacing the interior lights of your Jeep Wrangler TJ with LEDs

DaveC said:
@Not_Invented_Here_

That really looks great. You said you ordered cool white accidentally for the shifter. Do you remember which one you used for the HVAC panel? Wondering if it's cool like the shifter or natural like the instrument cluster?
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Thanks man. Those should be natural white. I looked at my order receipt and it looks like I went natural for everything except 2 cool white LEDs
 
Chris said:
Thanks to @nk24 for all this information!

Below you'll find a guide to replacing all the interior lights on your Jeep Wrangler TJ with LED bulbs. There's links to the bulbs you'll need, and you should find it's a pretty straight forward job.

Depending on what model of Jeep you have (i.e. Rubicon, Sport, etc.), you may need more or less bulbs for your rocker switches. I say that because an automatic Rubicon with a hardtop has 4 rocker switches, whereas a Sport model with a manual transmission and no hardtop may only have 1 rocker switch. It just depends on your model and factory options.


Parts Required (1997-2002)


Parts Required (2003-2006)

Tips
  • Rocker switch lights: You'll need 4mm LEDs for the switch light illumination bulbs, and 3mm LEDs for the switch indicators (the lights that come on when you turn the with to the on position). The number you need of each depends on how many your particular model has.
  • If you have a Rubicon model, don't bother trying to replace the axle locker switch unless you're experienced with soldering, as those bulbs require soldering.
  • Remember that the cluster and the rocker switch lights are polar, meaning that they have to be oriented in the correct direction. Make sure you test them before you button everything back up.
  • LED replacements are much brighter than the stock bulbs. If you're going to do one switch with LED, I would recommend doing them all.
  • There are a few differences for the '97-'02 models. Cluster and rocker switches are the same as above. There is only one light in the soundbar, and that is the same as the footwells/shifter as shown above. There is a separate light in the rear of the hard top, and that is the same as the lights in the sound pods as shown above.
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The footwell lights in my 98 are #89 bulbs. There are adaptors on Amazon to the 194 bulb. I am going to use those because I want the lights to be uniform. My HVAC lights are the same as the cluster and only use 2 bulbs. The fog light switch “on” indicator has a green lens so my blue bulb there doesn’t really change anything. It will also need to be a 3mm as stated further along in the thread. Since I used two of my cluster lights on the HVAC i haven’t pulled the cluster pending getting the other 2 bulbs delivered. Will post pics when done. Also what I did on the shifter was use a 1/2 inch bit and drill out the socket. I then used heat shrink wire insulator to secure it. Be very careful if you do this because it leaves the socket wall very thin and you will crack it. Love the look with the blue so far. Some of my bulbs were getting dim and this has given my dash a great new look. I also like being able to match my aftermarket HU.

Link to adapters
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AFSI4HW/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Pics as promised
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No idea. I bought it used but it was only a couple years old. Some searches call for a 921 wedge bulb. Thanks
 
Not sure if these have been posted up.
Probably my favourite model of all time.
Replaced the dome and the drivers footwell bulbs and added an extra to the passengers footwell.
Can see everything in the TJ at night , without a torch
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Just finished the update on my 05. Went with Cool White. I should’ve taken a “before” pic, but hindsight is 20/20..... Pics don’t really do it justice, but this is a great interior update for pretty cheap! The dimming function still works too!

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Not_Invented_Here_ said:
Not sure if anyone else ran into this but for my '04 Sport, the 4mm's I ordered for the rocker switches were too big. It looks like they need the 3mm's for sure. If anyone else can confirm, we should update the OP. Everything else went pretty smoothly!
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Can you tell me what bulbs you used for your cluster and hvac lights. I have an 04 Sport too. Thank you
 
nk24 said:
Since I just bought a new to me 2004 Rubicon, I decided to do this mod again. I also wanted to verify that everything I said above was correct.

Here are some photos for the lights in the rocker switches. Once you pull out the frame for the switches (and power outlets), you'll see this:

View attachment 32888

To get to the main switch light, you need to pull each switch from the frame. It is much easier to do if you unplug each of the switches and outlets. There are clips on both top and bottom. Pry the clips carefully with a very small flat screwdriver or a thin trim removal tool. Be very careful as these clips are easy to break. Once you get a switch out, you'll see this:

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On the bottom is the main switch light bulb. This bulb is illuminated any time the parking lights or headlights are on. Turn the bulb a 1/4 turn with pliers or a very small screwdriver to remove. The replacement light on the bottom is the 4mm (from post #2).

I made a mistake in my earlier post that the bottom and top bulbs are the same. Unfortunately, the top light (for the indicator) is a different bulb and I'm not sure what size it is. My best guess would be a 3mm size in the same style as the 4mm bulbs.

View attachment 32890

As you can see from the first photo, the indicator bulbs are accessible without removing the switches from the frame.

If you have a Rubicon model, the Axle Lock switch is a tougher one to swap to LED. The inside of the switch looks like this:

View attachment 32891

I didn't attempt to swap these bulbs, as it appears there would need to be some soldering. I'm sure someone with the right expertise would have no problem.

The finished product:

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You can see that the Axle Lock switch is a touch dim compared to the other switches (since I didn't swap it), but it isn't drastically different. I can definitely live with it. Also, I wanted to show the indicator light on the rear defrost switch because I didn't change that one either and it still looks pretty good. I'd be curious to see how bright it is with an LED if someone were to determine the bulb.
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Which type of white is this?
 
So, was trying to wrap up my interior LED lighting swap by replacing the 5 instrument cluster lights on my 04' Wrangler. It was all going well...until it didn't.
I have all my interior lights swapped out, along with my relay. I changed the 5 cluster lights and went to re-connect the negative battery terminal cable to test them. When I did, I got a very rapid "Clicking" like noise. It would shut off and start up again when I depressed the Emergency Flasher button on my steering Colum. I removed the negative cable again, checked the connections I had on all the new bulbs, and connectors, and tried again. The 5 new cluster lights work, as well as everything else I tested, but I have no blinkers or emergency flashers. I checked all the fuses. and they look good. I obviously whacked something-Any ideas: New LED flasher, ...Thanks.
 
jdgmbi1 said:
So, was trying to wrap up my interior LED lighting swap by replacing the 5 instrument cluster lights on my 04' Wrangler. It was all going well...until it didn't.
I have all my interior lights swapped out, along with my relay. I changed the 5 cluster lights and went to re-connect the negative battery terminal cable to test them. When I did, I got a very rapid "Clicking" like noise. It would shut off and start up again when I depressed the Emergency Flasher button on my steering Colum. I removed the negative cable again, checked the connections I had on all the new bulbs, and connectors, and tried again. The 5 new cluster lights work, as well as everything else I tested, but I have no blinkers or emergency flashers. I checked all the fuses. and they look good. I obviously whacked something-Any ideas: New LED flasher, ...Thanks.
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The flasher is not required for interior LEDs, only for exterior. Try putting your regular flasher back in.
 
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