My Reverse Lights Are So Dim!!! This is How I Fixed Them on a Budget

by Her Jeep Life January 24, 2020

The Jeep’s reverse lights, also known as "backup lights," are intended to serve two essential purposes. First, the lights warn others that the vehicle is about to move backward. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the backup lights are designed to illuminate the rearward path of the Jeep. They come standard on every vehicle and are generally white in color.

Unfortunately, the standard reverse lightbulb in the Jeep Wrangler is often lacking in fulfilling its second purpose. At night, I was unable to see behind my Jeep as I reversed out of my long driveway.

A few nights ago, it was so pitch-black outside that I almost backed off the pavement and into a tree. I needed an immediate fix but didn’t want to spend the extra money on new, expensive tail light assemblies, nor waste my hard-earned cash on budget-friendly tail lights that might not last very long.

I’ve heard of Jeepers replacing interior and exterior stock lightbulbs with LED bulbs, and I wondered why I hadn't thought of doing this to my tail lights ages ago?

JDM Astar Reverse Light Bulbs for Jeep Wrangler

When it comes to finding replacement bulbs on Amazon, there is a veritable potpourri of options to choose from. With so many choices available, I found it almost overwhelming to figure out which ones might be best.

After pouring over reviews for a few days, I settled on these bright replacement bulbs: JDM ASTAR 1200 Lumens with Projector for $16.99. I chose these for their high lumen count, built-in projector, and light beam distance. It didn't hurt that the price point was budget-friendly too!

Wow! Not only do these bulbs significantly brighten the path behind my Jeep, but they also illuminate out to the sides of the rearward path of travel. And best of all, the installation is 100% plug-and-play.

After removing a few screws, it's as easy as unplugging one bulb and plugging in another.

Is the price too good to be true? I certainly hope not. I'll keep the old stock incandescent bulbs for a while, just in case. If they don't last long, it's only a few dollars gone. But another option is to purchase a pair of Vividline LED Reverse Light Replacement bulbs with just 510 lumens and no projection lights for *only* $98 (for JK) through ExtremeTerrain. They are $60 for the JL.