Headlight Recomendations

[Vince]

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.

[dodgerammit]

A relay harness is just the ticket. You need one relay for high beam, one for low. Plug male end into stock headlight connector for the trigger and connect the female ends to the lights. This would probably work: https://www.amazon.com/2-headlights-Hea ... B07B9QQMMH

At one time, we had a fine member here (serehill) who would make custom versions. He unfortunately passed away last year.

[tgreese]

I put the Autopal bulbs in my J20 with a couple of generic relays on the inner fender of my J20. You don't need some special-made harness.



This is really easy, and will both make your lights brighter and relieve the original switches of the burden of the halogen bulbs. Looks factory (except for the relays), and the bulbs are cheap and DOT approved. I put a 30A circuit breaker by the starter solenoid to pick up the relay power. The yellow 10ga wire goes across the firewall in some plastic loom to the relays. The red weatherproof cover for the breaker is available on Amazon or at Del-City. Relays and sockets from Parts Express - the pre-wired sockets have enough wire length that you only need the power feed wire in addition to them. I needed the wire loom (Parts Express or Amazon) and some 10 ga wire to go from the solenoid to the left inner fender where the relays are, and a few connectors and zip ties. Easy.

[Vince]

Thanks for both replies - I need to look into this further as electrical is not a strong area for me. What type bulbs do you run?

[1979bettywhite]

Merrill77 and I both did this upgrade. It was very easy and you can just reuse your current setup. Just plud the LED into the old socket. There are plenty of H4 LED upgrades on Amazon.

http://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtop ... ht#p159717

[tgreese]

The OP says he does not want the look of LEDs.

I'm using the 60/55W high/low H4 halogen bulbs that came with the Autopal reflectors.

This size bulb is marketed as a plug-and-play replacement compatible with existing wiring, but I suggest you add relays anyway. The relays will make the bulbs brighter, and I suspect the switches in these old Jeeps are not up to switching the Halogen bulbs. They may work fine for a while, but both the headlight switch and high beams switch are in the circuit for the original headlights. With the relays, you reassign the switches' function to control of the relays only, and supply power at a higher voltage (due to lower resistance) directly from the battery through the relays to the headlights.

[OssaMAR]

I use these in my FSJ:
SYLVANIA H6054 Silver Star Sealed Beam
Just plug them in and you are down the road.

[Cecil14]

The OP says he does not want the look of LEDs.

I'm using the 60/55W high/low H4 halogen bulbs that came with the Autopal reflectors.

This size bulb is marketed as a plug-and-play replacement compatible with existing wiring, but I suggest you add relays anyway. The relays will make the bulbs brighter, and I suspect the switches in these old Jeeps are not up to switching the Halogen bulbs. They may work fine for a while, but both the headlight switch and high beams switch are in the circuit for the original headlights. With the relays, you reassign the switches' function to control of the relays only, and supply power at a higher voltage (due to lower resistance) directly from the battery through the relays to the headlights.

Tim - with the housings betty and merrill went with (standard H4 housings) there won't be any "LED" look. These are not the sealed beam LED replacement bulbs, but regular H4 housings with LED bulbs inside. You'd never know they were LEDs from looking at them. They are essentially the same housings you went with, but instead of a regular halogen bulb used an LED bulb.


aa

[dodgerammit]

Thanks for both replies - I need to look into this further as electrical is not a strong area for me. What type bulbs do you run?

This is exactly the reason I suggested the pre made harness. Even with adding the relays as Tgreese stated, you are essentially building a relay harness. I've done the same thing on my old Dodge I owned long before you could buy the harness.

The big thing is, most people are intimidated by wiring. Not to mention, by the time you total the cost of the parts mentioned (relays $8, sockets $6, breaker $10 and wire) and the time it takes to splice into factory wiring, the pre built harness is easier (plug and play) and about the same cost ($24). You could always replace the fuse holder in the pre built model with a breaker if desired. FWIW, I never changed the factory headlights on my Wagoneer with the serehill harness. They are plenty bright.

[Vince]

I am not opposed to LED at all - some certainly have a look that is more alien than classic(The JW Speaker Evolution ones come to mind) - Some LEDs a also out of my price range. Some of these options look very interesting - ease of install is also a factor as the simpler it is the more probable I complete the upgrade in an afternoon with out needing to chase down additional parts.

[dodgerammit]

- ease of install is also a factor as the simpler it is the more probable I complete the upgrade in an afternoon with out needing to chase down additional parts.

Remove grille, route harness through hole in core support along existing factory headlight wiring, using factory clips and zip ties to hold in place, mount relays near battery with a couple of self tapping screws.

Unplug headlights from factory connections, tape up passenger factory connector to keep out water, plug relay harness into factory driver's headlight connector.

Reinstall grille, connect positive and negative connections to battery or always hot source and ground. I like using one of these: https://www.delcity.net/store/8-Point-J ... 0.h_790102 especially if I plan on adding things in the future. Just run a battery feed to the main stud and you have easy add on options.

Done. Easily less than 2 hours for the newb.

[rirealtor]

Slightly off topic but related- any ideas why 1 headlight( driver) not as bright as passenger? Ground? Length of wire from power source? Older headlight? This is on a stock sealed beam headlight from 75.

[Cecil14]

Slightly off topic but related- any ideas why 1 headlight( driver) not as bright as passenger? Ground? Length of wire from power source? Older headlight? This is on a stock sealed beam headlight from 75.

All of the above. One light is obviously not getting as much power as the other (assuming the same bulbs on both sides). Usually one side runs off the other side; the power comes into say the driver side, then the feed for the passenger side splices off the driver connector and goes to the passenger side. It's very possible there is a bad ground in there, or a bad connection, or a bad connector, etc. Take everything apart, clean it as much as possible, check for broken/loose wires, reassemble with some dielectric grease.

Might not be a bad idea to swap the bulbs between sides to rule them out as an issue as well. It's possible you have a bad bulb.


aa