I have a 1989 Jeep Cherokee xj, and by now all of you xj owners are probably aware of the crudy oem headlights jeep factory installed in their xj's. I'm getting tired of the poor light output, and looking for an alternate that is DOT approved for street use, and also something that's preferably LED, but doesn't have to be. What do you guys use? I'm curious what you jeepers use.

 

Trucklites. Or JW Speaker. I run Trucklites and love them.

 

First thing you ought to do is buy 1 of these or make your own.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Putco-230004...5UIMQl&vxp=mtr

 

The harness is a must. I run euro spec Autopals. I have never adjusted them. Low is just ok but high is amazing bright.
Do the emissions folks look to see if they are DOT approved?

 

I just upgraded my harness(see previous post) and put hella glass lenses and 55/60 watt h4 bulbs. Honestly double the output or more. Worth the 140$.

 

Truck-Lites, Rigid Industries, GE Nighthawk (repackaged TLs), Grote, JW Speaker are the only I know of that are DOT approved.

 

By the letter of the law, if it's not OEM, it's not legal.

 

Huh? Where do you live? Cali? If it's DOT approved, it's legal.

 

110% false...in EVERY state.

 

Aw, not this again.

 

The DOT approves nothing.

Nothing is "DOT approved."

DOT sets standards, and each manufacturer certifies their own compliance. Yes, this is as prone to abuse as it sounds.

Furthermore, DOT standards are relatively poor compared to ECE standards and are very poor compared to how good a well-made light can be.

Setting the bar to "DOT standard" doesn't even eliminate a lot of products that are complete garbage such as these abominations
These things should be illegal.


Not true except in the case of HID. HID is illegal on any vehicle not originally equipped with it even if you do it right with HID projection and proper aim. On XJ's, any non-HID lamp with DOT compliance is legal.

If you want LED, so be it, but there's nothing spectacularly superior about LED (there are some advantages such as improved durability of solid state diodes vs filaments when offroading, but nothing to write home about). Buy a relay harness for $30 or less and you'll see a dramatic improvement in lighting. After that, switch to H4 halogen housings such as Autopal, IPF, Hella, Cibie, etc with quality bulbs (do not use any of those blue POS's). You'll have great lighting for a fraction of the cost of LED lamps.

Please visit https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/he...5/#post2993739 to learn more.

 

Please post the text of the law, with a direct link. No quoting some random article/blog from the depths of the interwebz.

Lots of people claim lots of things are illegal, yet when challenged in this manner are incapable of citing any credible reference.

 

Ya'll are crazy man haha. Technically mark is right. I believe aftermarket parts have to meet "oem standards". So in a sense it is oem or illegal haha

But don't come after me if I'm wrong hahah

 

I'm with machinisttx. Post the law.

So just take your word for it and not challenge you on something that isn't true?

 

Federally speaking, the short answer is that headlights must be DOT compliant. For the long version, see full text of the law in link below.

The states enforce that law and set their own. There is variation from state to state, but the spirit of the law in most if not all states is always the same.

I won't be posting the full text here as legalese is incredibly verbose. Anyone interested and capable of understanding it should be capable of clicking a link.

Federal - http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx...e49.6.571_1108

Wisconsin - http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/stat...atutes/347.pdf