The headlights on my '77 were scary dim. It has (had) Sylvania Halogens and the PO did not scrimp on anything for this car, so I'm assuming the cause was severe voltage drop due to poor wiring. I made this upgrade on my 87, which I sold in January, so today I made the same upgrade on the '77.
I opted for a set of Hella H4 lenses ($190), which gives me the option to install any H4 bulbs. I chose a set from Hikari with Cree LEDs and high beam ($70). These have a fan to cool the LEDs and a separate power supply dongle on the wiring.
The boot needs to be trimmed to fit the LED base, which is much wider than a halogen H4. I started with a knife, but a good set of scissors works better on the soft rubber.
There is a metal plate on the LED that orients the bulb properly in the lens. After removing that, the boot goes on and the plate back on.
Pull to boot back and put it into the lens. The wire clips needed a little convincing to get around the wider bulb.
Flip the boot around and it is ready to install.
With the boot, it is just a tiny bit too deep for optimal fit in the FSJ. Just enough that the bezel (?) screws that hold the lens in place don't bottom out. But it still fit without modification. Here is the difference:
PROs:
- keeps stock look (when lights are off)
- easier than headlight relay upgrade (took me 90 minutes)
- much lower current draw on electrical system
- easy to upgrade to better H4 LEDs in the future
- very bright
CONs:
- Hikari are unknown brand to me - longevity unknown
- This is a fan-cooled bulb and the sound is audible if you listen closely (engine off). This would likely be a problem if you plan to submerge the front end.
- modern lighting look when on (not a con for me...but for some, I'm sure)
I plan on making this upgrade to my 97 Wrangler as well.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Chris
77 Wagoneer and 97 TJ.