Nick83

Recently bought a 2000 XJ and in the process of doing some minor mods and improvements. I have searched the forum for recent posts about headlights without finding much.

What are the best headlights, wiring harness kit, and bulbs to buy for the money and where should I buy them?

My headlights and high beams are currently out, fuses are good, all other lights including fog lights work. Appears to be moisture in the current housings, which look aftermarket.

Thanks in advance,
Nick

Kris smith

Stay away from fst hid kits!

prcherokee

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200mm-H6054-H4-EURO-CONVERSION-HEADLIGHTS-KIT-/331181197720?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d1bf00998&vxp=mtr
and

Nick83

Thanks for the suggestions. I also found these: HELLA 003427291 Vision Plus 190x132mm High/Low Beam 12V Halogen Conversion Headlamp (HB2) by HELLA
Appear to be highly rated and won't require wiring harness. Looks like around $90 for two housings and bulbs.

Do you guys think installing the new lights will solve the problem? Or could it be a bad switch?

XJlimitedx99

Don't do hid's. Look into doing an h4 bulb swap. I bought the expensive cibié housings and osram bulbs. Haven't installed them yet -_-

gpXJ

Those are great, but you will also want to do the upgraded harness to get the full improvement. The stock headlight harness blows and doesn't provide enough power to really burn those bright. Shoot, just upgrading the harness will improve the sucky sealed beam bulbs by a large amount.

As to the reason your headlights don't work, you really need to test for power at the plug to rule out the headlight switch. If you have power at the plug, then buy the Hella's (Autopal and Rampage also make the same things for about the same price) and enjoy being able to see at night.

s346k

I have the autopal ecodes, putco harness, and silverstar h4 bulbs. I think that's about the best you'll do for ~$120

cruiser54

Yup.

Originally Posted by xjsnake https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/hea...151196/index2/ - post2069179https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/headlights-151196/index2/ - post2069179
Upgraded headlights the legal (ish) way...

1) Get a new headlight harness.

You can make your own http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoHeadlightLoom.htm

Or you can buy one: http://www.eautoworks.com/Putco-H4--...s-PRD7540.aspx

The eautoworks harnesses used to be quite cheap until everyone on this forum started recommending them and the price was raised accordingly.

You can pick them up for $29.99 here http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/csd/full.aspx?Page=48 part number 36-3580. It says it fits a chevy blazer but it's the same as the eautoworks harness and I'm running the LMC harness in my XJ.

There are other more expensive options for pre-made harnesses but I'm not super familiar with those.

2) Upgrade to H4 housings

There are two types of regulations pertaining to headlight housings. There are DOT approved housings which are legal in the US and there are Ecode lights which are European housings and aren't legal in the US although many people use them as they are considered superior housings due to the light pattern.

DOT
Rampage http://www.quadratec.com/products/97009_501.htm
IPF http://www.quadratec.com/products/97017_1600.htm
Delta http://www.quadratec.com/products/97009_121.htm
Hella http://www.quadratec.com/products/97009_02.htm

Ecode
Autopals (look on ebay for Autopal 200mm H4 housing)
Hella http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=744
Cibie http://www.clearcorners.com/products/cibie/

Personally I won't buy housings that have plastic lenses, I much prefer glass but your mileage may vary.

3) Get good bulbs

Some of the above housings come with bulbs included with them. I tend not to recommend bulbs as the choices are extremely vast and everyone has their own preferences as to color and wattage.

4) Aim your headlights properly!

I can't say enough how much improperly aimed headlights annoy me on the road plus you are wasting all that time and effort to upgrade the lighting if you don't aim the light where it does the most good... http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=78017

5) On HID Lights

I do not recommend HID's for use in XJ's... People will show links to cheap HID kits and "Projectors" off of ebay and other sites which will give you a lot of light and will also throw a lot of light in all directions making you very visible to police and possibly blinding other drivers.


Read http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...nversions.html for a well written description of the problems with HID kits.

When using HID's you need a true projector housing. I'm sure people will chime in and say they run HID's and ebay housings and have had no problems but I'm describing the legal (ish) way.

If you want to go down the road of HID's, take a look at what true projector housings cost http://www.kbcarstuff.com/6054-200mm...-p/xd-6054.htm
http://www.brightheadlights.com/hid-upcoming.htm
or you can buy the projectors and retrofit them into existing housings if you are so inclined: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/hea...9/#post1391556

There are a myriad of options available to consumers with the limiting factor being cost. One can spend under $100 and have significantly upgraded their lighting or they can spend $1000 and upgrade their lighting more. It's all in how much money you want to spend.

For those wanting to do some of these upgrades but not necessarily all I would do them in the following order:
1) Headlight Harness (major improvement even with sealed beams)
2) Housings and Associated Bulbs
3) Hid and Projectors (Cost prohibitive to do correctly)


For installation of the harness and housings see this excellent write up: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f59/my-h4-upgrade-114440/

Disclaimer: Always check your local and state laws as some places have more stringent lighting laws than others... I am in no way associated with any of the above companies and none of what I say should be taken as the absolute truth or only way to do things. Flame on...

andrewmp6

Yeah a good h4 swap with the wiring harness will be more then enough light.Next step up to me would be the h4 headlights with led bulbs http://olympusoffroad.3dcartstores.c...air_p_161.html If money is no problem trucklite and jw speaker make a full led headlight replacement.

Choo_31

Check out the vendor forum if you are looking for quality headlights. I'm now selling true projector headlight housings that have an excellent cutoff.

Nick83

Thanks for all the great advice. I noticed that some people are having longevity issues with the Putco harness on amazon. It's evident that it's made of cheap wires and connections by reading this old thread(https://www.cherokeeforum.com/showth...=114440&page=3 ) and the reviews on amazon.

Sounds like you can get this one instead (mentioned in a reply above):
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/csd/full.aspx?Page=48


Does anyone have this harness from lmc truck and how has it held up? or know where we can buy a better one than the Putco harness on amazon?

EZEARL

Only problem I've had with my PUTCO was one relay that intermittently didn't want to close. I still keep it as a spare. There are plenty of these harnesses in use with no problems at all. Proper installation,as with any harness,is going to be the key. Down to bare metal grounds,clean connector contacts,and dielectric grease in the connectors is critical.

wiggles

This! Our led bulbs with some hella h4 housings and you are golden for around $225.
Let me know if you have any questions.

s346k

I've had my putco on over 1.5 years and 30k miles. 0 issues.

Nick83

I bought the Hella housings. These LED bulbs sound cool. Looks like you don't need the wiring harness for them? Looks like they might be easier to install than the wiring harness too?

Anyone else running these who can comment how you like them?