I have the Putco harness, Autopal dot housings and Hella 80/100 h4 bulbs. Less than 90$ if you shop smart.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Low before.


Low after.


And I have them aimed significantly down, because I don't want to be one of those a$$holes that blinds people at night. I could aim them up and the difference would be more dramatic but again I'd hate to blind folks.

 

I agree that the Putco harness / Autopal is a significant upgrade from stock. Hell, a 3 D-Cell Maglight would be an improvement over stock!

But having had both, I still say that a proper HID setup is the way to go. There are LED options that match or approximate the output power, color temp, and general optics/cut-off of HID.

However, LED can in some cases be problematic in cold climates with lots of frozen precip accumulation on headlights. Also, the Trucklight LEDs care expensive to replace. I know, I know... LEDs last forever. And they do. But as someone with a couple thousand invested in dozens of expensive high-end / high-tech flashlights over the last 10 years, it's usually the driver circuitry that fails before the LED does. On the Trucklights, you have to replace the whole light assembly at $175-$225 a pop. And it's not like you have the luxury of going into a regular parts store or Wally World and grabbing a replacement.
There are LED H4 bulbs now, but the ice/snow issue persists, and you can't just get replacements anywhere. As well, the longevity and quality are still largely unknown on these as they are so new to the market. They are cheaper to replace than the Trucklights, however.

Overall, the HIDs are a great option. And you can get bulbs more easily. Better yet, it's cheap to just get spares up front. I got two bulbs on Amazon for $16 a pair and a replacement ballast was only $13. I keep them under the back seat just in case.

You posted pics of your low before and after. Definite improvement. But you were in complete dark. Here is a pic of my 35 watt bi-xenon HID set-up on low. Notice how bright they are even with area ambient lighting being off a major street (this was a school parking lot), and also having a big lamp post in the foreground.

I'm not trying to be argumentative with anyone. I'm simply trying to offer an informed opinion as someone who has done at least two of the common upgrades. For me, the HID wins out over the Putco upgrade hands-down, and beats out LED options due to a few considerations of mine, but your mileage may vary.

 

Impressive amount of light for sure, I just don't think it's worth the extra money.

I managed to get around just fine on the stock headlights prior to the H4 upgrade, I don't see a need for more light beyond this upgrade.

I guess I should thank the recessive genes that have me blue eyes and excellent night vision.

 

I snapped these on the way home tonight. I added a leaf Thursday and now have a bit of a hillbilly rake. I plan on readjusting in a month or so, as the lights now aim down a lot more than before, especially considering that they were aimed down quite a bit already because it had the jeep worn leaf pretty bad.

putco harness
autopal ecodes h4 conversion
sylvania silverstar

lows



highs



I'm debating some piaa 15224s. I've read they don't last long. I've had this setup roughly a year (20k miles), with >40% of the driving being done at night.

 

Light tempature of those Silverstars is pleasing to the eye.

 

Well, being that the title of the thread is best for the money as in bang for the buck, Im gonna have to go with the harness, autopal h4, and bulb of your choice route. Even the harness alone with silverstar h4 sealed beams is a great improvement. I used the ebay harness with real mechanical relays, autopal ecode housings and now I have the piaa night vision bulbs. Its a great setup for a road driven vehicle. When my kids drive my jeep they comment on how much better my headlights are than theirs. Even with the free bulbs that come with the autopal housings its a great setup. All for under a hundred bucks. I think it was money well spent.

 

you should read this.


https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/hea...dlight+harness

 

Unlike most people. I run the ARB light harness. My Putco harness was **** and I replaced both relays, twice.

After I got that sorted out, I went with Rampage housings and I think a hella 55/60 bulb/ Can't really beat it. If the putco harness works for you, awesome.

 

Sorry to revive an idle thread but I've been looking for a replacement to stock light and have come across the e-code autopal and the rampage versions. I was leaning toward the rampage because they also sell a replacement seat for the light to actually rest in. The po of my jeep messed them up by stripping the screw holes out. Will autopal lights fit inside a oem or oem replacement seat?

 

I agree, I am on my second Putco harness and have a stock of a half a dozen spare relays.
I looked for the ARB harness or anyone but Putco and couldn't find any, where did you get your ARB harness?

 

Yes the autopal housings fit into the stock oem headlight buckets. Mine fit a little loose so I bent the ears in a couple of spots and added some double sided tape in a few spots. Nice and snug now.

 

Just do the harness first. Easy and cheap. You're gonna need it anyway if you're not going big bucks headlights like LEDs.

About $40 and a 45 minute job. No cutting, splicing, soldering or nuttin.

 

anyone tried the Grote 5x7 LEDs yet??

 

Thanks for that info! My to do list keeps growing haha