http://ct.weirdnutdaily.com/ol/wn/sw...ctures/184.jpg
If she can do it so can you.

Me too.

It depends on what is drawing the current. The relays draw very little current compared to the actual headlights. Its like when you plug too many items in at home and pop the circuit breaker. When you just have a lamp plugged in, its fine and only draws a little current (like a relay does). Then if you plug in a hair dryer, electric heater, mini fridge, etc you draw too much current and pop the breaker. (like the actual headlights might). You are correct in that installing this harness creates 2 circuits that never touch each other, eliminating the heavy load from the long under rated headlight switch circuit and transferring it to the short, heavy gauge one that the harness supplies. You have 2 relays. one for the low beams and one for the high beams. It seems like youve figured it out and just needed the clarification.

x3. Seemed the ideal location. Bimmer, I'm impressed. you're learning something. My screws were rusted to hell too, I did the back-and-forth method with PB and they all came out.

But, you forgot two things...

1. Adjusting the headlights. Torx T20 on the newer Jeeps, IIRC. I had to adjust mine afterwards because they were so much brighter. People hated me.
2. If your 97+ XJ has factory fogs, you'll run into an issue with lows staying on with highs. The best fix I've found is to simply pull the factory fog relay and make your own harness for the fogs.

YAY! There are three things we're dealing with here:

1.) Voltage
2.) Amperage
3.) Watts

Voltage is constant based on the electrical system (12v) and has no effect on the switch until a load is applied. Amperage and watts work together to create a load on the circuit. Amperage is equal to total watts divided by voltage so in the case of your headlights which are typically 55/65 watts each (x2) the total load from your headlights would be 110-130 watts which would result in a ~10 amp load.

Remember that picture prcherokee posted of the Jetta with a bunch of lumber on the roof? In that scenario, the Jetta represents your headlight switch and all the crap on the roof represents the load. You have to get that lumber to your house (think headlights) but as you can see, the Jetta isn't really equipped to carry that load to it's destination. Now imagine a flatbed truck named Relay shows up and you move the load from the Jetta to the truck. All the Jetta has to do now is give the truck directions to it's house, the truck carries the load.

Awesome analogy! :icon_cool:

X2.

1) I didn't forget this. However, my passenger side headlight's Torx got stripped. Yup, with a Jeep, even adjusting your headlights is a project! I will get someone to try to drill out the hex screw, and I'll try to get a new one from the dealer. I think it's part number: 55054621 http://www.jeep4x4center.com/headlam...-55054621.html

2) No fogs.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

BJ, the reason you're having so much trouble is not the Jeep's fault. It's a rust bucket!!! Any rusty vehicle is gonna be a PITA.

There are 2 sizes of torx that will fit in this screw I believe. One will fit loose and strip fairly quickly (wrong size) and the next size will fit nice and snug. These screws are only screwed into a plastic lug so they should turn fairly easily once unstuck. Its possible that you used the smaller torx that stripped and the larger one might still work. I believe you can buy the whole adjuster assembly off the Help rack at Advance auto or in the lighting section. The dealer will probably charge an arm and a leg for a tiny little part. If the plastic lug is not broken you can probably just replace the screw from a cheap one from advance. You need number 4 in this auction.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JEEP-OEM-55054621AB-Headlamp-Sealed-Beam-Adjuster-/121211463626?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3AJeep&hash=item1c38c427ca&vxp=mtr

Just ordered a harness for myself. Looking forward to actually working on this heep, I mean Jeep. Is this theory the same reason my power windows are slow?

Good call on the harness!

Nah the powet windows are from lubricant drying up and getting thick with dust and dirt. Cleaning and regreasing of the assemblies will bring them back to life.

What year? Fill out your profile/signature etc.

I've been waging war on Torx bolts on my Jeep. If possible, I'd like to find NORMAL fasteners to replace the headlight adjustment torx. I've stripped, drilled, cut, drilled, swore, ground out with a dremel, swore a lot more, and probably shed some blood over fighting various Torx bolts in my rusty Jeep. It came down to me not having a good quality Torx bit and also the fact that my XJ is rusty too. One bolt at a time, I'm replacing them with stainless hex heads, starting with the door hinges.

I'm not so sure that is correct for the 97+ models. The diagram is certainly different. Didn't pre-97 have a regular hex head for the adjuster?

Good Job, Bimmer. You do good work. I'm proud of you.

It won't be long and you'll be just as fast at this stuff as all the rest of us.

Im not sure as to why some have torx and some have philips head. My retaining ring screws were philips but others have torx. Mines a 2000. Im just going by what he said he had which was torx. The diagram in that auction looks a bit funky but its listed as the right part for those years. I also hate those stupid round headed torx bolts. It makes simple jobs so much harder.

All the screws around my headlight were Philips as well, just the adjusting screw was a T20. Stupid as hell. And also about that link, you have to remember the page you're looking at -- eBay. You can't always trust those descriptions. Ask me how I know lol

Torx is the debbil! :icon_evil::icon_evil::cursing:

If only they used heavy wire at the factory...

Or just switched to a relay based system like most manufacturers did. In 2001, how many other vehicles were still being sold with H4 sealed beams? Practically none. The whole system was a carry over from the original 80's model pretty much. Daimler wanted to ditch the whole xj line in the 90's because it was a bit long in the tooth, but consumer demand said otherwise. They still sold like hotcakes so they figured why fix something thats not broken. Besides, they really didnt care what happened after 100,000 miles. Not their problem anymore. They probably knew the system was weak, especially with modern halogen bulbs, but probably saw no need to fix something that was selling so well. The zj which was new for 93 had a relay based system and composite type headlights, so they knew it was a better system.

I have a couple comments. LMC truck also sells a wiring harness that will work on the XJ. (36-3580) $29.95 or about $40.00 shipped to your front door. Ifyou do not upgrade your housings, a good place for the new ground is in the middle area of the old housing. also, A little dab of petroleum jelly on the old screws(or new ones for that matter before putting them back in helps.

So, slowly but surely working our way up to an AW4 rebuild for noobs? Too soon?

Methinks the LMC harness is a Putco.

Is it yellow? :laughing:

I think so.

Here's another one I've seen only on the net and not in person.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CERAMIC-H4-HEADLIGHT-RELAY-WIRING-HARNESS-2-HEADLAMP-LIGHT-BULB-SOCKET-PLUGS-7X6-/330813121438?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item4d05ffa39e

This is the one I used. Different seller though. It seems to be a decent quality harness. And its not yellow.:icon_cheesygrin:

What's the difference between "H4 sealed beams" vs. "Modern halogen"?
What category is this new harness with removable bulb? Modern halogen?
(And Xenon/ballast is the even more modern incarnation)

Just marketing, H4 bulbs are modern halogen, sealed beams are ancient halogen. Some modern halogens are filled with xenon instead of another gas like iodine.

Stuff with a ballast is for driving HIDs.

I have heard of the Putco harness being sub par. What is wrong with it and is there a good quality harness out there to purchase? I hate my headlights now and want to change them out. When i had my YJ before i had got a set ballast and bulbs from Rugged Ridge i think and just switched out the lamps for the new ones. Worked fine but i guess the XJ sounds like a different story.

The weak point of the Putco is known to be the relays. I myself have not had a problem with them yet but it's recommended to get replacement relays and keep as a spare. (I need to do that)

The Putco's wires are a little small and it feels cheap, and the relays are prone to dying if you don't ground the thing properly (installer error). You get what you pay for, however it only works as well as the guy who installed it. Plenty of people have no issues that grounded it properly. Also that yellow jacket is ****ing annoying, I cut it all off and used standard split loom.

With that being said, install is not an issue for me. Is there a better harness that someone could share that is of higher quality than the Putco? Or should i go with the Putco and just buy extra/better relays?

For all that hassle of replacing relays the one used in this writeup is a fine option. And none of that yellow jacket BS

but I like yellow...

Paint it then. The tubing on the Putco gets rigid way before freezing temps :thumbdown:

Good idea. I don't know why I didn't cut mine off. The yellow is pretty annoying lol

LOL.... I forgot to add, :D

I had the electrician at work install mine. Kept the yellow cover on and ran it behind my grill and zip tied it down. Can only see it if your walking in front and looking down. Then for a ground, took the bolt off under the hood that's right above the headlight and ground off the paint and grounded them there....had them installed since last February with sylvania silver stars with no issues....(knock on wood). Good mod IMO and vey bright

Read the first post of this thread.
I linked to the Ebay harness I used.

Bimmerjeeper, did you do the Fog Light relay mod?