Hi all. Decided to sell my Wrangler and buy a Cherokee. I had upgraded my sealed beam lights on the Wrangler with a conversion kit where the light casing and lens is plastic and you install HID type bulbs. I see that I now have to upgrade my lights on the Cherokee. Which are better? Sealed beam (Silverstar Halogen or Hella Vision Plus- in Quadratec) or do the conversion to a high intensity H4 bulb? I didn't like my lenses on the Wrangler being plastic so I also wondered if they made glass ones.

 

yes they make glass ones, just get the silverstars and ensure your charging system and headlight wiring are upgraded. And, use the search button up above this has been covered over and over and over.

 

How come you have to upgrade the wiring? i got a set of black housing projector headlight from ebay came with bulbs and all but i guess since its not a real projector design i couldnt see anything, so i bought plug and play 8000k high and low beam hids for it and it deff improved but the beam seams to point upwards so im going to get headlights without a projector. im sure i will be able to see even more. the only problem i noticed when i installed the hids is when i turn my jeep off the lights come back on i have to hit the switch into highbeam for it to go off as it should.

 

test your voltage at the plug for the headlight, most will be around 11 volts, the older the jeep the less it will be. More voltage=brighter lights. Lookup headlight relay harness, then you bypass the power running from the batt to the headlight switch back to the headlights, the headlight switch just switches a relay, preferably up by the battery, and runs it directly to the headlights, then less wire=less resistance, better gauge wiring, and viola, full voltage at the headlight.

 

I kept it simple and went with the Silverstars, I think $35-$40 total. 20 minutes to install and great light output for street driving. The Silverstars were just a high quality-low buck mod.

Besides, I'm sure you'll be adding off road aux lighting to your rig.. spend the $$ there.

 

i run h4 conversions - cheapo ones off ebay - but have really nice housings and thick glass lenses. No issues with wiring at all - run silverstar bulbs without any issues

 

I'm telling you, upgrade the wiring harness to a relay harness and the existing lights get brighter people

 

so what your saying is if we keep the stock wiring, it will be brighter?

 

I made a new headlight harness from some relays I harvested from the junkyard. I replaced my headlights with the AutoPal E-Codes from eBay for $40. BEST thing I ever did to the XJ. Seriously. I dont like driving other cars now as the lights on them seem dim. lol.

You can get a new upgraded harness for about 30 bucks off the net and the AutoPal E-Code headlights for another 40 or so. Stay away from the diamond-cut lenses. I hear they are kinda odd.

You can google for the Headlight Harness Upgrade (H4 style) and it should find the $30 ones. Its plug and play.

 

One of the first things I did to my Cherokee was the H4 upgrade. It was cheap- I think I got the housing/lenses off Ebay for like $35...they came with 55/65 bulbs. I also bought an $18 wiring harness upgrade, and some 55/100 bulbs. The low beams are much better than stock, but probably comparable to Silverstar sealed beam lights. The high beams are a different world...ridiculously bright- I have to be careful where I use them lol

 

you are absolutely right my friend! i bought an HD headlight harness and my lights are brighter then my bmw's stock xenons it increased my light output adleast 40%

i have a set of hella H4's in mine i prefer them over the ebay ones because

1. they dont have stupid crystal ball type housings
2. they have an awesome cut off and angles light correctly
3. better quality and they are around $90 for xj's ...its worth the extra money

heres the closest pic i have with the lights off

 

Yeah I was asking about the Silverstar sealed beam halogens. I couldn't tell if they were $30 each or 30/pair. Looks like I may go that way if 30/pr. I am planning on installing some round driving or long range lights on the bumper. Delta Tech or KC HiLites SlimLites. I also need to install fog lights in the factory locations since my Cherokee Sport didn't come with them. I've already installed a factory fog light switch. Haven't looked for the factory wiring up front yet. Are the factory fogs junk?

 

Upgrading the light harness is really that big of a deal huh? Makes it much brighter?

 

Actually... on second thought I might go for the conversion. Sounds like the IPF H4's are better? Thicker glass is a good thing living in PA where they put cinders on the roads. If I go with the conversion, which are the best H4 replaceable bulbs to buy? What wattage? It's going to be mostly a street vehicle so I don't want to blind every person I pass but I do want a nice bright light.

 

Cibie> Hella, IPF> Auto Pal> sealed beam

Have no experience w/Silverstars

Stock one side Cibie w/55/60 Osram bulb you tell me which you prefer?



I Upgraded my 5 main cables too which made a notable difference on the brightness of my stock sealed beams, link in sig.