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I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee 4.0, 200k miles, rust free lifted 4.5 inches. Now I noticed that my stock headlights didn't do a thing in the dark so I chose to swap them out with some LED ones I got online. So I got them switched out and installed and now when I turn the key, the bottom row of LEDs flashes looking like police lights . This happens when I have the running lights off, and they continue to blink when I turn the running lights on. When I turn the head lights on, they work perfectly fine. Are they not getting enough power? I read somewhere that Truck Lite makes and anti flicker adapted, would this be something I need? Thanks for your help!
I don't think they have a brand, I got them off amazon for like $60.
then they aren't very good quality. I've seen lots of issues with cheap led headlights. A gew friends tried them out trying ti save money but cobstant problems. If you really want led, trucklite or jw are what you should go with. Plus the cutoff on the ones you have is probably terrible, and bad for oncoming drivers.
You bought junk. This kind of thing happens fairly often with the cheap Chinese light bank headlights.
You can fix the problem immediately and cheaply AND return your headlights to their original brightness by reinstalling your stock lamps with a $21 relay harness from Ebay:
If you want to upgrade from stock, spend the money on a better conversion. If you're just hell bent on LEDs, spend the money on Truck-Lites or JW Speaker. However, keep in mind that LED housings put all their heat out the back of the housing and won't melt snow off the lenses, so LEDs are not a good choice if you live in an area that gets winter weather. The next best thing for quality of light is an H4 conversion with E-code (European) housings, with the advantage that they will melt snow off your headlights in a blizzard.
If you upgrade to (reputable) LEDs, you won't need the relay harness linked above. If you upgrade to H4s, you will still need the relay harness. There is a LOT of additional discussion of headlights if you search for it.
You bought junk. This kind of thing happens fairly often with the cheap Chinese light bank headlights.
You can fix the problem immediately and cheaply AND return your headlights to their original brightness by reinstalling your stock lamps with a $21 relay harness from Ebay:
If you want to upgrade from stock, spend the money on a better conversion. If you're just hell bent on LEDs, spend the money on Truck-Lites or JW Speaker. However, keep in mind that LED housings put all their heat out the back of the housing and won't melt snow off the lenses, so LEDs are not a good choice if you live in an area that gets winter weather. The next best thing for quality of light is an H4 conversion with E-code (European) housings, with the advantage that they will melt snow off your headlights in a blizzard.
If you upgrade to (reputable) LEDs, you won't need the relay harness linked above. If you upgrade to H4s, you will still need the relay harness. There is a LOT of additional discussion of headlights if you search for it.
So would one of those anti flicker harnesses fix the issue? I actually live in the second coldest city in the US so ice will be an issue I think. So you are saying all LEDs release heat out of the back of the lamp? I have seen videos of that happening. Where would I find a nice bright set of head lights that will melt snow off the front of them?
then they aren't very good quality. I've seen lots of issues with cheap led headlights. A gew friends tried them out trying ti save money but cobstant problems. If you really want led, trucklite or jw are what you should go with. Plus the cutoff on the ones you have is probably terrible, and bad for oncoming drivers.
I just ordered some Truck Lite anti flicker connectors for them. Also I can adjust them so they face downward more. If worst comes to worst I'll send everything back and spend the big bucks. Gotta fix my death wobble before I make her pretty tho!
I just ordered some Truck Lite anti flicker connectors for them. Also I can adjust them so they face downward more. If worst comes to worst I'll send everything back and spend the big bucks. Gotta fix my death wobble before I make her pretty tho!
Still doesn't fix the issue. The cutoff on those cheap lights are bad. There is a nice writeup on here somewhere that explains. If you want to see first hand, park your jeep facing a wall at night with the lights on, about 15 feet away. You'll see where the light is going and it's not cutoff good.
So would one of those anti flicker harnesses fix the issue?
I don't know, but those things have so many other problems that I feel like that's throwing good money after bad.
Originally Posted by XJ-OldSmokey
I actually live in the second coldest city in the US so ice will be an issue I think. So you are saying all LEDs release heat out of the back of the lamp?
Incandescent lamps (like the stock sealed beams and the H4 halogens) make light by running electricity through a tungsten filament. The filament has a lot of resistance, so the electricity is converted to heat and light. Heat and light are basically different wavelengths of the same radiation, and the tungsten source throws off a full spectrum of wavelengths of of heat and light. The reflectors in car headlights reflect both the head and the light out the front of the lamp housing and therefore heat up the lens.
In one sense tungsten bulbs are not very efficient, because you usually want the electricity converted to light rather than "wasted" as heat. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) solve this problem by only producing radiation in the visible spectrum and producing almost no heat. They emit light rather than radiate it. As a result, in a headlight application they don't heat the lens of the light. Usually that's a good thing, but not when snow is building up on the lens.
This happens with any LED headlights, including Truck-Lite and JW Speaker. Truck-Lite solves this problem in some of their headlights by putting a heating element in the lens, but they don't have a heated version that will fit the Cherokee. They only have them for round headlights (Wranglers) and 24v military applications.
Some people mistakenly believe that LEDs produce no heat at all, but that's not true. The diodes themselves produce little if any heat, but there's a circuit board that drives the LED, and that board produces heat. If you look at the back of most LED headlights, you'll see ridges in the case that act as a heat sink to wick away the heat. One of the problems with the cheap Chinese light banks is that they use really low quality driver boards that overheat and fail. You might have a row of the LEDs go out as a result, or the whole thing might fail.
Therefore, if you're in an area that gets snow, I wouldn't recommend the LEDs for you. H4 would work better. But if you really want LEDs, I would at least buy a quality brand that isn't going to crap out on you.
Originally Posted by XJ-OldSmokey
Where would I find a nice bright set of head lights that will melt snow off the front of them?
This is an H4 conversion kit that looks almost stock but is a vast improvement over the stock sealed beam lamps. I bought it with 100/55W bulbs, and I have a relay harness installed to keep them bright. Cibie also makes a similar kit that is very good.
If that's pushing your price range, Autopal makes a similar set of E-code H4 housings that is about $40 cheaper. The only drawback I'm aware of is that the reflective coating in the Autopal housings will peel off if you get water inside. If you expect to make water crossings with them you might want to pay more for the Cibies or Hellas. But if you don't ever expect to submerge them, the Autopals are fine.
Remember, you do need the relay harness with the H4s, so factor that into your total cost.
Here are some shots of my Hellas. The right side needed to be adjusted down a little when I took this, but at least you can see the cutoff.
Low:
High:
Last edited by extrashaky; Sep 12, 2017 at 10:43 AM.
I don't know, but those things have so many other problems that I feel like that's throwing good money after bad.
Incandescent lamps (like the stock sealed beams and the H4 halogens) make light by running electricity through a tungsten filament. The filament has a lot of resistance, so the electricity is converted to heat and light. Heat and light are basically different wavelengths of the same radiation, and the tungsten source throws off a full spectrum of wavelengths of of heat and light. The reflectors in car headlights reflect both the head and the light out the front of the lamp housing and therefore heat up the lens.
In one sense tungsten bulbs are not very efficient, because you usually want the electricity converted to light rather than "wasted" as heat. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) solve this problem by only producing radiation in the visible spectrum and producing almost no heat. They emit light rather than radiate it. As a result, in a headlight application they don't heat the lens of the light. Usually that's a good thing, but not when snow is building up on the lens.
This happens with any LED headlights, including Truck-Lite and JW Speaker. Truck-Lite solves this problem in some of their headlights by putting a heating element in the lens, but they don't have a heated version that will fit the Cherokee. They only have them for round headlights (Wranglers) and 24v military applications.
Some people mistakenly believe that LEDs produce no heat at all, but that's not true. The diodes themselves produce little if any heat, but there's a circuit board that drives the LED, and that board produces heat. If you look at the back of most LED headlights, you'll see ridges in the case that act as a heat sink to wick away the heat. One of the problems with the cheap Chinese light banks is that they use really low quality driver boards that overheat and fail. You might have a row of the LEDs go out as a result, or the whole thing might fail.
Therefore, if you're in an area that gets snow, I wouldn't recommend the LEDs for you. H4 would work better. But if you really want LEDs, I would at least buy a quality brand that isn't going to crap out on you.
This is an H4 conversion kit that looks almost stock but is a vast improvement over the stock sealed beam lamps. I bought it with 100/55W bulbs, and I have a relay harness installed to keep them bright. Cibie also makes a similar kit that is very good.
If that's pushing your price range, Autopal makes a similar set of E-code H4 housings that is about $40 cheaper. The only drawback I'm aware of is that the reflective coating in the Autopal housings will peel off if you get water inside. If you expect to make water crossings with them you might want to pay more for the Cibies or Hellas. But if you don't ever expect to submerge them, the Autopals are fine.
Remember, you do need the relay harness with the H4s, so factor that into your total cost.
Here are some shots of my Hellas. The right side needed to be adjusted down a little when I took this, but at least you can see the cutoff.
Low:
High:
Thanks for the write up! I have calculated return costs for shipping and it will cost me almost as much to send stuff back as the headlights cost me. So I'll probably just keep them, get the harness and anti flicker attachment and see what happens. If LEDs don't go well this winter I will spent the money to get some Hellas. I just bought them because I love the way they look. I adjusted them to be facing as downward as possible and it's much better as far as cutoff goes, but still not perfect. Now the anti flicker device has H4 connectors but the headlights work plugging directly into the stock connectors. So what do I need to connect the two? I'm not very experienced when it comes to electrical tasks. Already lost 1 XJ to a fire, really don't want to have that happen again. Thanks for yalls help!
Now the anti flicker device has H4 connectors but the headlights work plugging directly into the stock connectors. So what do I need to connect the two?
The connectors are the same.
H4 bulbs look like this:
They go into a housing like this (that's a round housing, but you get the idea):
With the stock sealed beam, the housing IS the bulb:
If that's the same connector on the LEDs, it should fit.
They go into a housing like this (that's a round housing, but you get the idea):
With the stock sealed beam, the housing IS the bulb:
If that's the same connector on the LEDs, it should fit.
Okay awesome that is the same connector I just didn't know the difference! Thanks for your help, takes a little stress off my mind. Now time to fix the cracked exhaust manifold!
Replace your motor mounts while you're at it. One of the primary causes of cracked exhaust manifolds is worn out motor mounts that let the motor move around too much, putting stress on the manifold. People have put new manifolds or headers on their Jeeps only to have them crack again a few months later because they didn't fix the root cause of the problem.
Replace your motor mounts while you're at it. One of the primary causes of cracked exhaust manifolds is worn out motor mounts that let the motor move around too much, putting stress on the manifold. People have put new manifolds or headers on their Jeeps only to have them crack again a few months later because they didn't fix the root cause of the problem.
Ah gotcha! Thanks for the heads up! I'll put that on the list after I fix my death wobble hahah
LED Headlights Flickering
. This happens when I have the running lights off, and they continue to blink when I turn the running lights on. When I turn the head lights on, they work perfectly fine. Are they not getting enough power? I read somewhere that Truck Lite makes and anti flicker adapted, would this be something I need? Thanks for your help!
