So I've been noticing that my tailights have been slowly sinking right around the bulb area after I tinted them. I was doing some research online and noticed that someone with a 2009 Grand Cherokee was having the same issue. They then stated that all 08+ Grand Cherokees, if tinted, will slowly begin to sink no matter what. This is due to the heat not being able to escape from the taillights causing it to warp. Anyone else with tinted tails having this issue?

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** 2008 KK ** Daystar 2.5" lift ** Tinted Tail Lights and Turn Signals **

what do you mean by 'sink' i dont get it.. lol..

tail lights shouldn't generate much heat as it is.. wheres a link to this 2009 GC having the issue?

the tint on the tails shouldnt keep in much more heat either..

http://www.cherokeesrt8.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32620

I'm in a class right now but when we take a break I'll run downstairs and take a pic of it and post so everyone can see what I'm talking about.

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** 2008 KK ** Daystar 2.5" lift ** Tinted Tail Lights and Turn Signals **

wow.. that seems extreme.. seems like a simple enough fix though.. using LED bulbs instead of the stock style.. or were they saying to use those replacement LED tails?

either way LEDs will generate a LOT less heat than the stock style and you should be fine.. thanks for posting this.. i woulda been pisssed if i had to replace my whole tail light because of them melting..

another possible fix: specially with DARK tinted tails

"i drilled a 0.5 inch hole in the top and bottom of my tails to let the air circulate , ive had these for over a year now and had no probs with warping or condensation" from the GC forum..

obviously it would work with the heat issue, but I would think in certain climates the condensation would get to the bulbs and/or the wiring.. obviously you would drill some sort of hole in the housing so you couldn't see it..

I would probably just pick up some cheap LED replacements for the bulbs if yours arent to bad already.

Well I thought that maybe when I was wet sanding with the 3m headlight lens restorer kit, that I was just sanding too hard on them. But this isn't the case as it was only appearing on my passenger side light at first but now my drivers side is doing it. So I thought I'd do some research and that's what I found. But now my concern is that if I switch to an LED bulb, since I went so dark, am I going to be able to see the light during the day? I know at night it won't be a big deal but. I may have to sand them down, respray and then put LED lights in.

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** 2008 KK ** Daystar 2.5" lift ** Tinted Tail Lights and Turn Signals **

check my above editted post..

yeah, LEDs will probably be BRIGHTER than what you have now.. so no worries there.. and with tint spray, even when its really dark, you can still see the light in almost any condition.

Well the other issue to worry about is the wattage issue. I know that when I put LED's in my 2004 GC, it through the wattage off and would say that my bulbs were burnt out and I needed resistors placed on all the bulbs.

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** 2008 KK ** Daystar 2.5" lift ** Tinted Tail Lights and Turn Signals **

did you just put LEDs in, or buy an LED bulb? most LED bulbs should be equal to what you find in the store, so they work the same.

I bought LED Bulb's all around

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** 2008 KK ** Daystar 2.5" lift ** Tinted Tail Lights and Turn Signals **

odd, ill have to look into it before i tint my tails, definately don't want them melting, and definately don't want issues with bulbs

Here's a pic:

https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/myalbum/photos/photo06/2c/5b/921d66f06c76__1285324539000.jpeg

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** 2008 KK ** Daystar 2.5" lift ** Tinted Tail Lights and Turn Signals **

It's hard to tell in that pic, but I see what you're saying.

If you buy LED bulbs you will have to put resistors in line to regulate the wattage. (search this site, or the12volt.com . that's a great site about anything electrical wiring)
If your tail light lens is RED, you will have to buy RED LED's. If you buy white LED bulbs, they won't be as bright.
I also believe LED bulbs are not as bright as the factory bulb.

You want SMD LED's like this one.


Don't get one like this, it won't illuminate anything.


Good luck!

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-dbk
SOLD2007 6 Speed - Projector Retrofit -Custom LED Tail Lights - Lights on Cowl & 130w 8" ProComps - Full Skids-RockLizard Super Skink Sliders-Front Hitch
Frankenlifted-Al's A-Arms-Goodyear Duractracs 31x10.5R15x7 Cragar D Window 4"bs-Cobra 75WXST - 4' Firestick
4.10s sitting in a box - 3
Sold-1988 Suzuki Samurai
2002 Jeep TJ

Here's another pic:

https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/myalbum/photos/photo11/9f/2d/479e57544c85__1285325330000.jpeg

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** 2008 KK ** Daystar 2.5" lift ** Tinted Tail Lights and Turn Signals **

It would seem that we might able to avoid this issue, or at least lessen it if we were to only apply a light coating of the tint. Giving it more of a smoked red look as opposed to the total black out. Drilling the hole would seemingly help cool things down but I've had issues in the past with fogging so I'm a bit weary to go that route. I was planning on getting started this afternoon on mine but I'm gonna sit back and take another look at this now.

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08 Black Sport
Black Cragar Soft 8s
Bridgestone A/T Dueler Revo2s 245/70/16
Blacked out headlights/turn signals and smoked tails

"I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape"- Miles Straume

Wow. I never would have thought that tiny bulb could melt that plastic. I was a week away from doing this myself and im glad i didnt. I wouldnt drill any holes on the outside for waterproofing purposes, maybe try drilling some holes on the inside part of the housing for more ventilation.

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2010 KK 4WD BRILLIANT BLACK
Fox/King/Bilstein ATH BUMPERS ATH RACK GY DURATRACS

ATHFAB.com

i have a question what state or province do you guys live in that that is not against the law any way. but yes the paint will insulate them that much more. i would try to clean that paint off clean them up and take it back to crysler if you still have warranty
the other issue is with darker lights the sun is even going to make them hotter

So I put 3 more coats of clear on last night. I had to make a store run and after I got back I felt the lights and they were very hot to the touch. I'm going to get led lights this afternoon and try to disable the daytime running lights to help reduce the heat even more. So this is what my problem is at least. I live in florida and everyone has them done down here. I'm from michigan and I know they don't allow them there. When I was up there this summer for 2 weeks I didn't have any problems with the cops. You can see the light still through them so it shouldn't be a problem.

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** 2008 KK ** Daystar 2.5" lift ** Tinted Tail Lights and Turn Signals **

get LED's it will take away the heat but when you do make sure you put a resistor or you will be smoking out those LEDS cause there is less resistance in them

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08 Revenge- Rock Lizard (Skink Sliders & Gecko Roof Rails), High Clearance Trimmed Front Bumper, Mopar skids, Riddler Diff Cover, JBA (5.5 Arms, 6" rear Springs, Front Adjust-A-Struts), 32" DuraTracs, Superior 4.56's, Front & Rear ARB Lockers, Fastman Throttle Body, AEM Intake, Hypertech Tune, Custom Ram Air, RunCool Louvers

has anybody tried installing the after market LED tail lights that are made for a Dodge Nitro? that would be cool.

HAHAHA i got these:


they blow.. i am going to upgrade to the other style soon. There is still a decent amount of light that comes out with the parking lights, and the brake light is enough, specially with the 3rd brake light not tinted.. I tinted mine DARK, just need to add some more clear next weekend.. i made a mistake by putting to light of a coat on first so it never got really glossy..

I don't have lights on during the day, I only turn my parking lights/headlights on when it starts to get dark.

I kept the stock bulbs in the reverse and turn signal portions, as they are hardly on to generate any heat.

with my parking lights off during the day, heat will only be generated (hardly any from the LEDs) at night.

I am just going to pick up the SMD bulbs as I would like a lot more light to shine through. The only reason I picked up the others is that they were at my local auto zone.

JEden8, you haven't installed the LEDs yet? or were they hot with the LEDs in? that wouldn't make much sense as LEDs hardly give off heat as far as i know.

heres some pics of mine, as they stand.. they are a bit dirty from this weekend and pardon the cell phone pics.. haha and like i said, i need to wetsand them and throw a nice wet coat of clear on them.