I have been using the Truck Lite 27450C's for the last 15 years without issue in my 1990 XJ. Should be the same for your 1996.

 

I got the Hella h4 housings as well, very happy with them.

 

I use sealed beams, plenty nice light, and way less money than fancy aftermarket lights. BUT i removed a lot of voltage drops by cleaning all the connections I can in the wiring switch, relays, fuses, connectors, ground. etc... got high volts at the bulb now. good as new.
I learned this a long time ago, elimination of voltage drops on classic cars does wonders for bright lights. so get you meter out and probe for drops. Also, regular light bulbs do dim with age. if you eliminated drops and find low light, could be the bulb is worn out get new bulbs. nice thing with sealed beams is the reflector stays nice as it is vacuum sealed in the housing. I have cars with H4 style lamps, and the reflectors go bad, as they are not sealed like a sealed beam. however over time the filament gets thin as it evaporates and electromigrates.



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They are made specifically for the 5x7 sealed-beam opening on your 1996 Cherokee and will fit without any grinding. Avoid the generic Amazon brands; their housings are always too big.

 

I put these in my ‘89 and ‘91, and am happy with them. They fit, and they work. Not over-bright, but the LED light is different than halogen. Sends light without flooding, is the best I can describe it. I have light bars for when I really need to light things up. The H4 housings I posted above are in my ‘98 which is my winter vehicle and shed a lot of light, correctly.

 

I went through a couple iterations. First went with the Silverstar sealed housings with the wiring upgrade. That was barely a noticeable upgrade over the Fisher Price headlights that were stock, then went to an LED that I can't remember off hand. Decent light but the cut off wasn't great and within a couple weeks started having intermittent issues with the light surging/flashing. While i didn't first hand have the issue LED can also cause problems when driving in snow and ice, something I didn't consider when I first went with the LED. Then went to Hella E-code H4 housings with 55/60 bulbs. Much better, could have stopped there just fine. Installed the 80/100 just because and am very happy with the lights now.

 

I have a 1998 XJ. The stock 1998 technology headlights might have been better than 1968 Jeep headlights but I doubt it. My wife kept asking me if I had forgotten to turn on the headlights!

So a few years ago I changed out the headlights and put some supposedly super high output halogen headlights in. It improved ever so slightly.

I've been exploring the options to improve headlight function. A suggestion that often appears on the forum is to install a headlight relay kit that supplies voltage directly from the battery through a relay to the headlight. It seems a lot of the relay kits use wire that is too small. It sounds like the installation is sorta a PIA.

Another consideration is LED headlights. Easy Peasy...if they work.

I found these on Amazon.

Reviews are good and are as easy as changing the headlights.

Bought 'em. I installed 'em. Just like changing stock bulbs.

Here is the low beam pattern against the garage door:


They have a very defined cuttoff.

This is high beam:

On the road low beam:

On the road high beam:

I may have them adjusted just a little too high but I drove around some and no oncoming drivers ask me to dim my lights. I guess that is a good thing.

I like 'em a lot. The light pattern and brightness compares favorably with the LED headlights on my Chrysler 300 and my wife's Audi A6.

I don't think my wife will ask if I forgot to turn on the headlights now!

 

I have the basically the same ones as above for about a year now, mine are just the black option. I absolutely love them. I work nights so I do a lot of driving in the dark. They were a game changer.

 

15 Amps of current draw seems a bit excessive for a headlight bulb. i.e. 180 watts. specially if it is an LED light.

 

It is not 180W per bulb, it is 180W per 2 bulb set. So, 90W per bulb, 7.5A. The stock fuses for my 1998 XJ are 10A X 4. In other words 10 Amps per filament in a stock headlight. The 7.5A/bulb of the HWSTAR 180W LED lights are well withing the fuse capability.

I haven't measured the current draw. I contacted HWSTAR, they assured me the bulbs were 180W and drew 7.5A per bulb. All I know is that the light is really bright and white. I don't know if they will last a long time!