Extra taillight

greenday9d1 · May 3, 2004

I recently replaced one of my taillight housings ('92 XJ) and I noticed that there's an extra hole for another light bulb. There isn't a connector there though... a friend of mine has an audi that has rear "fog lights" that seem similar to this setup, anyway if anyone knows what they're for and how i can hook them up, let me know. Thanks!

Eagle · May 3, 2004

I don't think there are any extra holes, but your XJ, especially if bought used, may have been tampered with to eliminate one of the stock bulbs.

Can you describe the location of this "extra" hole relative to the others? For starters, how many bulbs does yours have? (Including the side marker light, which is the smaller one on the ... ahem ... side.)

Sarge · May 3, 2004

My '93 two wheel has the same thing. No clue what it's for but it's definitely for a bulb just due to the shape of the hole.

Sarge

greenday9d1 · May 3, 2004

Well I haven't had a chance to pull the housing off again, but just from memory I have 3 bulbs in currently, one top and two lower, with the missing bulb being just below the top bulb, possibly that side one you mentioned. I took the taillight housing off another XJ in a junkyard so I don't know what year it was, and I've never taken off the driver's side so I don't know if it's the same over there. I'll pull them both off and check as soon as i have a chance.

Eagle · May 3, 2004

Going from memory, my '88 has four "regular" bulbs, plus the sidelight. From the top down, there's one in the amber section for turn indicator, two in the red area for brakes/taillights, and one in the clear section for back-up lights. (I'm not going outside to confirm at the moment because it's raining hard, but that's what I recall from taking housings off parts heaps.)

greenday9d1 · May 3, 2004

I checked both housings, they both have three large bulbs and the one smaller side bulb. The missing bulb on both is the 2nd to the top. There's no wiring present for an additional bulb. As far as i know the driver's side housing is oem for '92, the other one could've been anything but I believe it had the same setup as mine. I took a few pictures, but I wasn't able to figure out how to stick them up here, let me know if you want me to email them or something.

cheapgenerikee · May 4, 2004

My 95 has the same extra mount for another bulb. Might have something to do with export models with different lenses? I think it would be a great place to stick a couple of 1157 bulbs and run an independant harness for flat towing your XJ.
-Matt

GSequoia · May 4, 2004

Eagle, you're more aquanted with the earlier models, aren't you? My '89 is just like yours.

Hole Lamp
O <- Tail & Stop
O <- Tail ONLY (Single filiment bulb)
O <- Turn (Amber)
o <- Small side marker
O <- Back Up

From what I'm reading here I think the second one, the tail only, was seen as useless for later models, so they deleted the wiring perhaps? I haven't checked this as I've never taken one out before...

Personally I want to to get some Euro spec XJ tail lamp lenses, just 'cause I think they look cool (I mean the real Euro style, not clear BS).

Sequoia

Eagle · May 4, 2004

GSequoia said:
Eagle, you're more aquanted with the earlier models, aren't you? My '89 is just like yours.

Yeah. I have an '85, an '86, an '87, an '88 and an '89, and a 2000. Had an '84 Waggy until recently. Nothing in the '90s.

Hole Lamp
O <- Tail & Stop
O <- Tail ONLY (Single filiment bulb)
O <- Turn (Amber)
o <- Small side marker
O <- Back Up

From what I'm reading here I think the second one, the tail only, was seen as useless for later models, so they deleted the wiring perhaps? I haven't checked this as I've never taken one out before...

Sounds reasonable. Chrysler's too cheap to use anything even slightly redundant. That's why they eliminated the knock sensor from the engine electronics.

Personally I want to to get some Euro spec XJ tail lamp lenses, just 'cause I think they look cool (I mean the real Euro style, not clear BS).

Likewise. Crown used to offer them, but since they revamped their on-line catalog I haven't been able to find them.

aspera · Jan 22, 2005

This old thread reminds me of something to look for at the junkyard. I figure that I can pull the taillamp harnesses off of an older XJ and use them with newer '90s XJ lamp assemblies.

Wait. I bet Chrysler removed all of the wiring, so the 'brake only' light won't light up. Maybe not.

scoobyxj · Jan 22, 2005

Probibly did remove all the wiring. You could get the turn [or back up] light socket, and wire it to the stop wiring. Then eather cut the wires to the stop/park socket for the stop, or have two stop lights.

Eagle · Jan 22, 2005

Yeah, apparently the "extra" light was a taillight only. It would be easy to buy a pair of replacement sockets from an auto parts store and just splice into the existing wires to add the extra bulbs. You could make them tail-only, stop-only, or both.

For Euro-type rear fogs, one solution would be to add aftermarket backups under the bumper, and then replace the stock backups with amber bulbs and wire to a toggle switch and relay.

small pederson · Jan 23, 2005

GSequoia said:
Personally I want to to get some Euro spec XJ tail lamp lenses, just 'cause I think they look cool (I mean the real Euro style, not clear BS).

Sequoia

theyd be cool right up until the point you bash em on a trail obstacle.

ChiXJeff · Jan 23, 2005

I've been told that part of the lens can be replaced with a clear, used for rear facing fogs in Europe.

JEEPZZ · Jan 24, 2005

ChiXJeff said:
I've been told that part of the lens can be replaced with a clear, used for rear facing fogs in Europe.

Rear facing fog lights are red not clear. When illuminated, they are as bright as the brake light bulbs but they are located at the opposite ends of the housing so they can be distinguished from the brake lights.

Euro on the left, US on the right.

CaptTrev · Jan 24, 2005

very interesting thread....

although FWIW, i HATE those rear facing fogs on euro cars!!!

they are only ANY good in THICK THICK fog.

other than that, I feel (around here anyway) people abuse them

they put on both front and rear fog lights on clear nights.
the rears are obnoxious, and can give you the impression that the person is on the brakes (but the right light is out).

they can be really annoying.
I have no idea why people turn them on on regular, clear nights.

sorry for the rant, but it drives me crazy!

Darky · Jan 24, 2005

I concur, it'd be way too confusing for other drivers to have red fogs in the rear. Most people aren't going to say, oh wait, that light is on the wrong end, its not brakes...

Sarge · Jan 24, 2005

That's cause Americans are too damn lazy to engage their brains. It works for everyone else who uses them but "it wont work here". I can see those lights being a good thing having gotten real close to someone in the fog and the regular taillights making little to no impression. He stepped on the brakes and was much more visible from the rear.

Same reason some folks want those spinning rims outlawed. "I thought the car was moving so I slammed on my brakes and caused a wreck."

Sarge

Darky · Jan 24, 2005

I think a better solution to rear visibilty might be using hazards or something. Maybe some color other than brake lights. I've come real close to hitting people that were riding their brakes because when they actually slowed there was no difference. Besides I think its more a matter of its not something that's common here. If cars had had them from the get go, we'd be used to seeing red fogs on the rear and know the difference.

iBran · Jan 24, 2005

It's pretty easy to discern a rear fog lamp from the brake lights.

Usually the rear fog is a SINGLE lamp, installed on the driver's side. For example, the Audi A4 has a setup like the Euro XJ (with fog lamps integrated in to the tail light unit), but only the driver's side fog lamp lights up. Plus, the fog lamp always has a bulb separate from the brake light, so if you had any question about what that light was, you'd see more light when the brakes were applied.

The problem here is that we're used to seeing the stupid, cheap tail light design that most American companies use -- a single bulb that's used for stop, tail, and turn functions. Everything is red, and when it gets bright, you have to think for a second (and look at the other tail light) to see if it's stopping or turning. If they switched to a typical european setup, which has seperate bulbs for each function (and amber turn signals), it would be easier to tell what's going on.

And please, NEVER DRIVE WITH YOUR HAZARDS ON, regardless of the weather. Not only is it illegal in most states, but your turn signals don't work when your hazards are on.

Extra taillight

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