Headlight Recommendations

[vince007]

Looking for recommendations to improve the quality of my headlights in my 1989 GW. The light output from the stock $10 lamps is less than I would like. I want to maintain the stock look as much as possible (so this rules out some of the fancy LEDs) and also do not want to break the bank, happy to spend some money but I have seen some really expensive options online. Would love to see any pics of installs you are happy with as well.

[joe]

Can't say for the square headlights. In practically all the older round headlight rigs (7") I've run Hella "e-code" H4 lamps in the stock wattage. EXCELLENT LAMPS!
No need for goofy exotic crazy expensive mega power retina burners. Critical aspects of lamps are the lens and the reflector design NOT the power. I've never had the need for the square lamp upgrades but when the time comes to upgrade my XJ lamps(soon) I'll give these a try if the dimensions are the same(?).
https://www.amazon.com/Hella-Rectang.../dp/B001Q8U7LC
If Hella's square E-code (Euro design) lamps are as good as their round e-codes they should be great quality/function and cheaper than other quality brands like Cibie etc.

[nograin]

GE's "Nighthawk" 6054NH Halogen sealed beam. Note: A lot of replacement bulbs do not produce as much light as the original 6052 sealed beams. One clue is they only draw 35 Watts instead of 55 Watts on low beam. They would need to be twice as efficient electrically and have as good or better reflection and optics to match the originals. Yea. Right. Halogen is better but not that much better. These particular Nighthawks are 55/60W and have decent optics.

Hella's "Vision Plus" H4/HB2 Lamps with halogen bulb. DOT and ECE. The headlight is decent, although the bulb it often comes with is only OK.
> A decent Narva or Phillips +30 or +50 bulb is worth considering for any H4 lamp.

Hella'd other E-code lamps vary in performance. The round 7" ones I tried years ago had too much high beam - low beam seperation for a car. Might be less noticible on our jeeps since the lamps are located higher.

I agree, the Cibie's are nice and bit a pricey.

The '86 up SJs draw headlight power through a relatively long and small wire (and matching fusible link). A relay system should result in less circuit resistance.

Lots more details and links here: http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=182263

[vince007]

Appreciate the advice and greatly narrowing my research - was not paying attention to the change in wattage over the years - I suspect that may have as much of an impact as my aging eyesight

[SOLSAKS]

vince
i took no grains advice on these bulbs a year or two ago
and they are very good headlights
in fact,... i am needing some round 2 headlight system
headlights for an 04 jeep
and this is the series i will use for those too.

they give off really good beams of light.

dave in NC

[vince007]

SOLSAKS - dave - Which lights were you referring to?

[babywag]

Whatever you do stay the hell away from the cheap offshore crap on eBay/online.
They're almost all garbage and do nothing more than throw a crapload of unfocused light blinding other drivers.

Honestly I just drive around with my high beams on these days.
Seem about the same lighting as "normal" headlights on modern vehicles.
Nobody ever even flashes me...

[RoadRacer_Al]

I have a 67 Gladiator and the lights on that are abysmal.

My thought is to buy what is referred to as a "H4 Conversion" -- it's a non-sealed glass lens & back reflector, but with a modern H4 bulb socket.

You could put in regular halogen bulbs, or go all the way and use LED bulbs.

I have the LED bulbs in most of my motorcycles. The early LED bulbs had a terrible pattern, but the newer ones are indistinguishable from halogens, other than the color and brightness.

No matter which bulb you choose, you'll have to re-aim the headlights, though.

Should be under $100 for both the conversion and the bulb. Yeah, 3x more than a sealed beam, but you get 3x more light, and you can buy a replacement bulb at any auto parts store. It's not going to be long until you can't buy a sealed beam at a local store.

[Brynjminjones]

I don't know if anything else has been modified, but my 1991 is running Autopal H4 lights and they're surprisingly good.

It's strange, I have the exact same ones in my 1998 XJ and those are nowhere near as good, which makes me wonder if the Waggy has a relay installed or upgraded bulbs.

Funnily enough, they're the exact same lights as on this site:
http://www.bigscaryjeep.com/H4_Headlights.html

[vince007]

Thanks for all the replies - I will start by ordering relay sets and then look at better bulbs.

[Mikel]

Originally Posted by babywag

Honestly I just drive around with my high beams on these days.
Seem about the same lighting as "normal" headlights on modern vehicles.
Nobody ever even flashes me...

LOL. I did that one night by accident, drove for many miles with the high beams in my J300 on. Not one person flashed their lights at me

[bwwhaler]

I just switched to Hella H4's with some Led bulbs I got off Amazon, all I can say is WOW, it is super bright, even if I run them in the daytime, I can see the shadow of the car in front of me on road signs. Not bright enough that it blinds other drivers, I guess, because nobody has flashed me yet. I bought all the items off of Amazon, and the bulbs were around $70 bucks, but for the money I feel it can't be beat.

[Mikel]

Originally Posted by bwwhaler

I just switched to Hella H4's with some Led bulbs I got off Amazon, all I can say is WOW, it is super bright, even if I run them in the daytime, I can see the shadow of the car in front of me on road signs. Not bright enough that it blinds other drivers, I guess, because nobody has flashed me yet. I bought all the items off of Amazon, and the bulbs were around $70 bucks, but for the money I feel it can't be beat.

Very cool. Can you post a link?

[bwwhaler]

http://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/view...p?f=10&t=14299
I did exactly what the OP did, it took me a few orders from Amazon for the correct H4's, but their return policy is awesome as well. I did buy the cheaper headlights, and they came on time and looked good, but I prefer the Hella's so I used them. I did everything else exactly the same.

[jpcoutts]

It's always a good idea to make sure all of the connections are clean and making good contact when dealing with headlights on an FSJ. No light will work as well as it should if it's not getting enough power. You'd be surprised how much this helps.

[Mikel]

Originally Posted by bwwhaler

http://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/view...p?f=10&t=14299
I did exactly what the OP did, it took me a few orders from Amazon for the correct H4's, but their return policy is awesome as well. I did buy the cheaper headlights, and they came on time and looked good, but I prefer the Hella's so I used them. I did everything else exactly the same.

Fantastic. Thank you.

[nograin]

Filament bulbs direct a significant portion of the light to the reflector as well directly through the lens. LED's are by their very nature directional. Ergo LED bulbs will change the beam pattern relative to a HB2 or H4 bulb.

The best way to go with LED's is to use a top quality lamp designed for LEDs from the get go. Check into the models by Trucklite and JWSpeaker if you want to go that route.

For a lamp marked HB2 or H4, I've been pretty satisfied with Narva Rangepower +30. The +30 or +50 bulbs produce more light in exchange for shorter lifespan, but draw the same wattage as stock.

PS. Someone in the FSJN thread posted their ammeter showed the headlamps were drawing 20 amps. This indicates a problem!
a. The ammeter should only show whether the battery is being charged or discharging.
- > Only if the engine is off and the headlights turned on would the ammeter show current drawn by the lights - all of the lights.
- > If the ammeter swings to discharge or charge when the engine is running and the the headlights are turned on, something is wrong.
b. The headlights should not draw 20 amps. In fact in the headlight switch is a 20 amp breaker. If they are drawing 20 amps, say measured with an inductive clamp meter, something is wrong. One possibility is low voltage across the bulbs caused by resistance in the circuits or grounding.

Quick calculations - Assume 60 Watt power draw from each bulb on high beam. Both bulbs together
At 12.0 Volts draw 10 amps of current flow.
At 14.5 Volts draw 8.3 amps of current flow

However, truth be that "the US standard for the "60/55w" HB2 (9003) is 72/65w max at 12.8v, and the UN/ECE standard for the "60/55w" H4 is 75/68w max at 13.2v."
Therefore its possible the bulbs will draw more than the amount calculated above.
72 Watts at 12.8 Volts equals 11.25 amps (for 2 bulbs)
75 Watts at 13.2 Volts is 11.4 amps (for 2 bulbs)

and lets say one accidently left the high beams on with the engine off and the battery is down to 12 Volts. In this case, it would try to draw 12.5 amps. Reality is the bulbs draw less power and put out less light at the lower voltages, so the examples are extreme. The point is the two headlights never draw more than 12 amps.

[asphaltrockdweller]

Before I parked my Waggy, I had done the Hella H4 coversion with a relay kit.
Really great lighting, and it still looked period correct for the FSJ.
The LED headlights are cool, but IMHO they just don't look right on our rigs.

[rang-a-stang]

Originally Posted by asphaltrockdweller

Before I parked my Waggy, I had done the Hella H4 coversion with a relay kit.
Really great lighting, and it still looked period correct for the FSJ.
The LED headlights are cool, but IMHO they just don't look right on our rigs.

I agree. I am not a fan of LED headlights on our rigs. Looks a little awkward IMHO. Clean all your contacts, add relays, and H4s and you will have good lighting and looks.

[JeepJeepster]

Originally Posted by asphaltrockdweller

Before I parked my Waggy, I had done the Hella H4 coversion with a relay kit.
Really great lighting, and it still looked period correct for the FSJ.
The LED headlights are cool, but IMHO they just don't look right on our rigs.

This. Gotta get a good relay kit first. Ive always read good things about the hella h4 bulbs too.