H4 LED headlight upgrade

[merrill77]

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

[HeavyMetalThunder_81]

Great write up. Let us know how they work at night, maybe take some pictures of the light patterns. I've been wanting to do this with mine but have been reluctant due to LED light patterns being off.

[merrill77]

I was with the family all day, but was able to snap this pic in my driveway. It isn't a very good picture, but maybe will help? Remind me to get a better pic on the road.

[bwwhaler]

That looks great, Thanks for the write up. I imagine with the wiring upgrade they should be as bright as modern cars, it's amazing how bright LED's are compared to conventional lighting. Question: where did you source your parts at? Also, what is the mm size of the lenses.

[merrill77]

I got the LEDs and lenses from Amazon.

Hella 178mm H4 conversion lenses: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G76Q2W/
Hikari H4 LEDs with high-beam: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LCE19PW

Hope that helps!

[bwwhaler]

Thanks, that really does help, also, the led's have a really good rating.

[merrill77]

... I imagine with the wiring upgrade they should be as bright as modern cars, ...

I didn't do a wiring upgrade. The current draw for these is ~50% less than a halogen, making a wiring upgrade unnecessary (yay!). It seems to be as bright as the average modern car with the old wiring. I've only had it on the road for a few minutes in the dark...so I'm still reserving final judgement.

[Phils67]

Its been about 3 years now since i did something similar, except i used cheap LED bulbs and housing from ebay. All i can say is i will never own a jeep without them. I didnt even wire high beams up in my truck yet because i havent needed them. Theyre awesome. Good job! Hope those no-name bulbs last as long as my no-name bulbs have

[bwwhaler]

One more question, these do work as OEM lights in terms of low/high beams don't they?

[merrill77]

One more question, these do work as OEM lights in terms of low/high beams don't they?

The LEDs that I chose have both hi and low beam. Not all H4s do, so you must look for it when purchasing.

[bwwhaler]

Cool, thanks, one more thing, these are the 178mm and not the 165mm, correct? I am under the impression that the 165's are too small, I wonder why Amazon is listing them as a 7" replacement.

[Stuka]

I have owned two vehicles now with LED headlights, and I don't think I could ever go back to halogens. If I drove my J10 at night, it would get LED's in a heartbeat.

[merrill77]

I looked up the Amazon listing from my orders page to get the product name and URL for this post, so yes, the 178mm size is exactly what I have.

[Simba]

Great write up, and timely too! Just installed H4 headlights in my 76. Definitely brighter than stock but I am not real happy with the draw they pull. The LED bulb you used looks like a good option. One question though, do they plug into the stock type connector? The plug looks different in your photo.

[merrill77]

Yes, they do - it fit the 3-prong connector on my '77 perfectly. There is a dongle inline on the wire between bulb and socket...which I believe is electronics for providing the bulb with correctly regulated voltage. You have to tuck all that behind the headlight housing, but mine fit with no problem. Looking down through the top, there is plenty of room back there.

[Simba]

Thanks! Again, great info! I want to reduce the draw so I think I will try a set of these. The H4 bulbs are pulling about 20 amps on my ammeter. And nice looking 77!

[HowardT64]

I wuld like to do this to mine when I can afford it...change the headlights, running lights...make my wag a bright new light

[1979bettywhite]

I was inspired by this as well so I went ahead and did it myself. I have a good friend who works in the aftermarket automotive lighting industry. He put me on to a nice set of LEDs that they sell. He said the Amazon ones are fine, but in their experience the fail a little sooner and more often than the ones they carry. Here are the ones I have:

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/led-b ... bulbs.html

And the buckets I used from Amazon:

IPCW CWC-7006 7" Plain Round Glass H4 Conversion Headlights H6017 or H6024-2 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0784YHSQN/re ... 4AbGKP3P20

And finally the install pics:









The boots for mine had to be trimmed some as well to fit over the LED body. Plugged them up and put a couple wraps of electrical tape on the connection. Tucked the plug etc behind the bucket and buttoned it all back up. Can't wait to try them out at night.

This might be the safest upgrade so far, lol.


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