faeringcherokee

Hey everybody,
I melted the headlight harness on my 2001 XJ for the second time, and after reading some of the great posts on the the harness upgrade, I'm going to go that route. I replaced the switch and harness from the JY. Question: how does the new harness (Putco) connect/interface with the factory switch/harness behind the dash? I'm not seeing that step in any of the write-ups. Thanks.

k4ylr

It doesn't interface off of the switch in the dash. It runs off of your OEM headlight plug and constant power to the battery. It takes the primary load off of the OEM circuit and uses a relay to control the headlights.

FWIW, my putco harness was crap and after replacing both relays I pitched it and went with ARBs offering. It's way more expensive but at least my headlights AND fog lights work.


Just in case you need further help and/or photos.

faeringcherokee

Thanks. I'll check out the ARB as well.

Ianf406

The Putco has been reliable for me. I wrapped the entire thing in electrical tape and dielectric greased all openings. No stock fog lights though. I still have a few spare relays in my jeep because everyone said they were junk but I haven't had yo replace one yet.

scottmphoto

I made my own harness for @ $30, including heavy duty relays. It was faster than ordering one online. My son and I had a Boy Scout trip and I didn't like dodging all the deer between here and there on my old harness and low beams only (high beams wouldn't work). It's amazing just how bad the design of the stock headlight wiring is. I still can't believe how bright my lights are now.

XJwonders

did u follow a write up? Got a link?

scottmphoto

Nope, sorry, I didn't use a write-up, but there is at least one one here somewhere.

Dumajones

here is one>>>>>http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoHeadlightLoom.htm

MomsXJ

Yup, it's not that hard to do from scratch, and you end up with a better setup if you buy the right components. It's not hard to find on-line, or even at your local parts store.

- Buy brand name relays, such as Bosch. Lousy relays are the main flaw in cheap kits. Use 30 or 40 amp relays that are normally open and that each have two 87 pins (not an 87 and an 87a pin).

- Use 12 gauge wire for the runs to the lights. 10 if you want to be a nut, but that is overkill.

- You can buy male H4 pigtails to plug into the stock headlight wires. These can be cheap small gauge wire since they will only carry the current to trigger the coils in the relays.

- Ceramic female H4 connectors are around $6 to 8 on-line, not sure how much local. You don't want a plastic connector here, else high watt bulbs might melt it. It is okay if the pigtails use 14 gauge wire, as it will only be for a few inches, but don't go smaller than that.

- Inline fuses or small fuse box. For the Jeep, I found a small 4-fuse unit with a powerbuss rated at 100 amps, since I want to run separate relays for the left and right low beams and a third relay for the high beams. Most folks just run two relays, one for the lows and one for the highs, but my Acura has separate fuses for each of the low beams for safety reasons, and I thought I would mimic that design for my Jeep--though the OEM light switch and harness still has a single fuse and thus could still take out all your lights with one fault/failure.

- Wire loom, electrical tape, crimp connectors, crimper, wire cutter, ZipTies ...

I did this on my very first car, back in 1979, my mom's first new car after it came down to me. And here I am doing it again on her last car after it came down to me

The link Dumajones posted above will no doubt make more sense than my rambling ... It has pictures!

MomsXJ

Here is another one with a wiring diagram: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/br...harness-83685/

cruiser54

Or use the PUTCO, ground the relays well and mount them properly, using the following instructions:

Cruiser’s Headlight Upgrade Harness Instructions


It's easy to install a supplemental headlight harness.

From the factory, the voltage to the headlight bulbs travels from the battery, inside the cabin, to the headlamp switch, and then back out to the lamps via undersized wire. It's not uncommon to find only 10.5 volts at the lamps.

The supplemental harness is installed so that it provides battery voltage to the lamps and is just triggered by the factory wiring. The result is about 30% brighter headlamps and headlight switches that don't melt and burn out.



Absolutely plug and play. Remove grille and headlamp bulbs. I fed my harnesses from the passenger side starting between the battery and the back of the headlamp housing, over to the driver side. Plug the driver side bulb into the new harness. Attach the new harness's ground wire under one of the small bolts on the radiator support after scraping the paint off under it. Attach the harness to the existing harness behind the grille working toward the passenger side. . Plug the new harness plug into passenger headlamp. Plug original headlamp plug into receptacle on new harness. Attach the ground for the passenger side just like you did the driver side under a radiator support bolt. Attach relays with provided bracket on the passenger side inner fender. Connect power wires to battery.

Revised 12/10/2012

carbuff

This is the harness that I used.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-CERAMIC-H4-HEADLIGHT-RELAY-WIRING-HARNESS-2-HEADLAMP-LIGHT-BULB-SOCKET-PLUGS-/290975680907?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43bf80898b
The wire is a nice gauge, the relays are real mechanical relays and the battery supply line is fused. Its not yellow. LOL. Also, its plenty long. Just another option for you.

mentalbreakdown00

carbuff thats not a bad price either

Gary Briggs

I've had good luck with the Putco harness, I will grab and extra relay just in case, but so far it's worked better than expected

carbuff

I know. Its actually cheaper than I paid last year.