Gauge

Ive already done the h4 harness conversion, some time ago. I have an h4 hid set thats in route. Do i use my h4 harness, or do i omit it and just run off the stock wiring?

Guywitha92

Use the harness. Depending on year and options, you may need an anti flicker harness too. I did for my 92

joshua99ta

Im running mine on factory wiring. Technically it shouldnt work but for me it is and has been workin about 4 months.


IF you already have an upgrade harnessI would definitely use it.


I'll eventually get around to building a relay harness for mine. Lack of access to good relays has held me back. I have only found painless wiring to make a relay that looks like it may be a good product but they are expensive @ around $50 each.

andrewmp6

Did you get new headlights that have projectors in them ?

mschi772

Specifically HID projectors. Halogen projectors exist, and they are not the same as HID projectors.

See https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/headlights-203245/ to learn more.

joshua99ta

I just bought the vision X glass housings. I wanted light output, not concerned about what looks cool.

EatonXJ

It's not about what looks cool it's about what is legal and safe for other drivers. People like you is the reason my 50 inch light bar sees any action.

andrewmp6

Throwing hids in a Halogen housing will blind people and in most states adding hids to anything that didn't have them factory is illegal.

joshua99ta

it helps a lot when they are aimed lower. I've never heard of an HID specific projector until now.


Mississippi doesnt care.

andrewmp6

With out the right headlight housings your blinding people no matter how you aim them.And yes your state does care just because you never got a ticket yet don't make it legal.

LACK

Every vehicle thats equipped with factory HID's has a projector. HID's aren't designed to work with a standard halogen reflector style housing and you'll get worse performance running HID's in a reflector housing vs a projector.

Also as others have said, its extremely blinding to oncoming traffic if you run HID's in a reflector housing, regardless of how you aim them. If its a trail only rig, go for it. Otherwise go with a dedicated HID projector or look into LED housings like trucklites.

Gauge

Yes

mschi772

It's not about "cool." It's about SAFE.

HID's in any other housing except HID projection housings are UNSAFE. They're unsafe for other drivers because of the debilitating glare, and they're unsafe for you because they're wasting a ton of light by not directing it where you need it.

Some people say that they solve the glare issue by aiming their lights way down. That just wastes even more light! Why even spend the money on them if you're going to do it so wrong?

They why waste so much of it? Without the correct optics, you're wasting all sorts of light for yourself, and if you're aiming them down as you claim to do, you're wasting even more. You have done nothing but satisfy yourself with a placebo. If you had done it right, you'd actually be benefiting from all that light, but instead you're also wasting energy trying to defend demonstrably unsafe and illegal practices.

Actually it does. All states must (and do) require obedience of federal codes. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) section 108 describes in great detail what you seem to think is not important.

What's really troubling is that you're more concerned with whether or not you think your state cares and less concerned with the safety of yourself and others on the road because while we are advocating for doing a thing the correct way for the sake of performance and safety, you defend yourself by arguing that you don't care about cool or if Mississippi cares. If you think you're fine because you don't get flashed or pulled over or ticketed or haven't caused an accident yet, I urge you to look up a cognitive concept known as the Normalcy Bias.
The first hit when I Googled it as anyone would (halogen projector vs HID) is https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/for...or-differences which is a thread with a nice little discussion of the differences. There were a ton more productive hits, but this is simply the first one.



I recommend retrofitting some version of Morimoto projectors (https://www.theretrofitsource.com/co...rsal-kits.html) into either your Vision X housings or Autopal housings (Autopal will require a clear housing lens be used instead of a fluted one since the fluting would defeat the purpose of the projection). There are a number of good HID retrofit writeups done by XJ guys. Some are older and have steps that aren't necessary now that projectors aren't as bulky, but that only means the process has gotten easier. This is an old one that doesn't apply directly to newer Morimoto stuff, but it's well-written and if you can't figure out how to apply its steps to newer stuff, you probably shouldn't be attempting any kind of retrofit/fabrication. http://jeep-xj.info/HowtoBiXenonProjectors.htm

Here are other write-ups:
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/hi...-trend-183364/
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/hi...ite-up-204765/

Dumajones

mschi772,,,you forgot this..

investinwaffles

mschi772 just schooled us all

OP, if you are looking for on-road lighting then HID's in Halogen housings are stupid. If your buddy has them and "they work great", then definitively he is an idiot and you would be lumped in as well.
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If you want something cheap-ish, there are JW Speaker LED knockoffs that can be found on Ebay, someone was selling a pair in the for-sale section.
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Retrofitting projectors is definitely the way to go, mine are way more even, brighter, and a wider beam than my friends TruckLite LED 5x7's