PDA

View Full Version : 97-2001 JEEP Cherokee XJ steel taillights



1butcheredTJ
04-28-2011, 11:24 PM
My buddy had been beating me up for a while now to come up with this design cause it seems that cherokee lights break too easy. I finally got time to to burn out all the parts and weld a set together. Will fit 97-2001 XJ cherokees. All cnc cut from 1/8" plate and I would consider them almost indestructable. Holes cut to accept any 4" dia rubber mount taillights , leds , backups, or amber markers. Fit the body lines great , bolt up in stock holes and work with stock bumpers. Probably going to start making them on a regular basis for the bay, and was just wondering if there is any intrest in them here. I just shoved two led tails in them to see how they look. Pic is lousy.. sorry Any likes or dis likes?

http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h474/BIGJEEP269/DSC00694.jpg

1butcheredTJ
04-28-2011, 11:26 PM
http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h474/BIGJEEP269/DSC00681.jpg

ridgerunner97
04-29-2011, 07:47 AM
Them being angled to the side is not good for visibility in extreme weather conditions since the light is being cast to the side instead of directly behind the vehicle where it is needed. I like how you thought outside the box though and did cant them to the side even though i'd change it to point straight back. How much would you charge for a set that pointed straight back, and had oval holes for oval grommet mount lights, or a blank panel I could cut to suit my needs for lighting?

cityslicker
04-29-2011, 10:20 AM
It don't look like that bad of an angle.. I think people will see em fine, they are LEDs after all.

1butcheredTJ
04-29-2011, 01:15 PM
Them being angled to the side is not good for visibility in extreme weather conditions since the light is being cast to the side instead of directly behind the vehicle where it is needed. I like how you thought outside the box though and did cant them to the side even though i'd change it to point straight back. How much would you charge for a set that pointed straight back, and had oval holes for oval grommet mount lights, or a blank panel I could cut to suit my needs for lighting?

There is not enough room to tuck 2 4" lights in pointing straight back . Plus , A factory cherokee light is visible from the side too. They are 100% visible from the side and the rear at this angle, and if you use LED lights they would be almost blinding compared to the stock ones. If you use the oval lights ,there is only enough room for one light , which would not serve the purpose of all the lights needed on the back. We designed them with the idea of using a Three wire led tail up top ( tail, stop and turn in one ) and a 4" LED back up in the bottom. . Also , if you point them straight it kinda defeats the purpose of tucking them back up in the corners to eliminate breakage. Ill throw up some more pics when i get this set all wired up with the correct lights.

1butcheredTJ
04-29-2011, 01:19 PM
http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h474/BIGJEEP269/DSC00678.jpg

2002wranglerX
04-29-2011, 01:38 PM
I want to like em... But the gap at the hatch kinda bugs me

ridgerunner97
04-29-2011, 02:02 PM
You can run an oval/rectangle, JCR's are setup this way with a small round turn in the bottom. If you would want to make a set with a flat uncut panel in them that I could cut myself, that isn't angled to the side lemme know how much you'd want for something like that. I crushed my pass. tailight and never fixed it so this is something that is kinda on my list of things this summer.

we3jeepers
04-29-2011, 02:23 PM
I just bought a new passenger tail light..... my woman likes hitting things

XJchris98
04-29-2011, 04:09 PM
There is not enough room to tuck 2 4" lights in pointing straight back . Plus , A factory cherokee light is visible from the side too. They are 100% visible from the side and the rear at this angle, and if you use LED lights they would be almost blinding compared to the stock ones. If you use the oval lights ,there is only enough room for one light , which would not serve the purpose of all the lights needed on the back. We designed them with the idea of using a Three wire led tail up top ( tail, stop and turn in one ) and a 4" LED back up in the bottom. . Also , if you point them straight it kinda defeats the purpose of tucking them back up in the corners to eliminate breakage. Ill throw up some more pics when i get this set all wired up with the correct lights.

This is definitely an interesting twist to the standard "steel tail lights" for an XJ. While maybe not a big concern to you or your buddy, you might want to grind your welds down smooth though if your planning on selling them on Ebay (for cosmetic purposes). You are correct in that 96 and older style lights you could fit 2 4" lights going straight back, but the 97+ wouldnt work. There IS however room for an oval light and another small light below it on the new body styles....

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k161/JeepinXJchris/IMG_0866-1.jpg

If you used 1/8" steel to make those, I dont think I would worry about them breaking from sticking out like the factory lights lol.
Did you get the wiring figured out? If not, let me know and I can point you in the right direction to make that STT light work.

1butcheredTJ
04-29-2011, 09:43 PM
This is definitely an interesting twist to the standard "steel tail lights" for an XJ. While maybe not a big concern to you or your buddy, you might want to grind your welds down smooth though if your planning on selling them on Ebay (for cosmetic purposes). You are correct in that 96 and older style lights you could fit 2 4" lights going straight back, but the 97+ wouldnt work. There IS however room for an oval light and another small light below it on the new body styles....

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k161/JeepinXJchris/IMG_0866-1.jpg

If you used 1/8" steel to make those, I dont think I would worry about them breaking from sticking out like the factory lights lol.
Did you get the wiring figured out? If not, let me know and I can point you in the right direction to make that STT light work.




The wiring is no problem wit a four wire to three trailer module I ran into that issue before. That is a nice set you have there, Im assuming there on your jeep? If you dont mind me asking . What brand are they or are they homemade? I wasnt aware anyone made them for the newer body style. The one i have posted was kinda a trial and errror part it was by no means perfect. It was a real pain to get it to match the body lines and quite a few pieces made it to the scrap bin before i got all the parts to fit together correctly lol .

highpsi
05-02-2011, 09:04 PM
I like them ......I break a tail light everytime i go out....

cityslicker
05-03-2011, 10:33 AM
i like them ......i break a tail light everytime i go out....

hey man, where you been?

highpsi
05-05-2011, 09:49 PM
Just doin the family thing......I will be out this year.

What's the price on the tails?

ridgerunner97
05-05-2011, 10:32 PM
I still haven't got an answer on that either...

1butcheredTJ
05-05-2011, 10:38 PM
Im workin on some minor changes......... And ill TIG the next set together so the welds are a lil nicer. New pics to come:103: Lemme work the bugs out and ill come up wit a price

ridgerunner97
05-05-2011, 10:41 PM
Schweet

cityslicker
05-26-2011, 12:42 PM
I want a set when you figure this all out.. I digs it..

ezmoney063
09-28-2011, 03:10 AM
Ill buy a set also I like the way they look.
let me know when i figure out a price

village_idiot
09-28-2011, 04:17 AM
I dig 'em...even if this thread is elderly....

DixieJeeper
10-09-2011, 04:30 PM
I am in for a set if they look like the above later body style- I wet myself on the JCR site all the time dreaming of full side panels and tail lamps-

I would be interested in a set- any price/availabilty yet?

XJchris98
10-09-2011, 11:18 PM
The wiring is no problem wit a four wire to three trailer module I ran into that issue before. That is a nice set you have there, Im assuming there on your jeep? If you dont mind me asking . What brand are they or are they homemade? I wasnt aware anyone made them for the newer body style. The one i have posted was kinda a trial and errror part it was by no means perfect. It was a real pain to get it to match the body lines and quite a few pieces made it to the scrap bin before i got all the parts to fit together correctly lol .

Wow, I just saw this post now...nothing like 6 months later haha.

Anyway...Yes, these lights are on my Jeep. I made them off the "THOR" design back before JCR came out with their own version. I spent WAY to much time trying to get them perfect (i.e 3D laser scanning the factory tail light, modeling it in pro/Engineer, etc.) from a design stand point, only to cut the metal out with a jigsaw and metal blade lol. They turned out OK, but two years later and a lot "better" tooling, im confident I could make a nicer pair. I've even considered making a set that out of aluminum that included corner panel guards to cut down on weight and rusting.

I guess the only downside to these is the cost of the lights, all the LED's and wiring converter add up pretty quicklly. There's cheaper ways around this, but my OCD came into play and I wanted them to work/look a certain way.