Nah. If it's down to bare metal, it is just fine.

 

Alright cool. I'm thinking about putting mine in today finally

 

grounds are good. all bare metal, got the wire out of the connector, looks good. still no low beam, now runnin back on stock harness till I figure this one out or get another one.

 

Got factory foglights?

 

yes I do, but they are broken and not turned on to work at this time..

 

whats this "putco" wiring harness i keep seeing? whats the benefits of this harness is it needed for the h4 conversion? ive really been wanting to do the swap my lights are terrible.

 

The harness basically allows a full 12volts of power to the lights

 

Read this:



Originally Posted by xjsnake https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/headlights-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...

 

had issues with my new putco harness. either got to remove it, replace connectors on it or order a new one or a different one. To ALL who do install one of these make sure you remove your foglight fuses if you want your low beams to work. you also might do a continuity check on all the wiring prior to install. Wish I had.. at least hook it up to the battery and ground everything and give it a try before installing it. easier to fix it before its installed.
live and learn I guess

 

Supposedly, these guys offer made in the USA harnesses. Website is hard to navigate. Just make an inquiry and they'll get right back to you. They also offer high output alternators.

https://ssl.perfora.net/high-amp.com/

 

I tested the continuity across everything and it checked out fine. Still waiting on getting the time to finally install it

 

Installed my harness yesterday finally. I used the radiator support bolts for my grounds and I put a washer inbetween the bolt and the surface. I grinded both the washer and the surface. So far whatever sealed housings are in there are quite a bit brighter and whiter. No issues with high and lows at all. I hope it stays that way. I also installed two fuse holders with 15 amp fuses just to protect the circuit a little bit

 

Great. That's the way it's always worked for me.

It's gotta be dark now in Kalifornia. Whaddya think of the results so far?

 

I can see a clear difference between before and after the harness. And now when I flick the high beams on they actually work. Before I had the harness in the high beams didn't seem too much different compared to the lows.

 

Perfect. As expected.