My headlight setup

[XJLI]

The chinese harness is rated for 100W lamps. This is a connector that saw 100/90W lamps for a few months, and stock 60/55W lamps other wise. Maybe a year old at this point? I posted about this in the spring, probably more detail in that thread. The other connector was not this bad, although obviously deformed from the heat. I've tossed them, and don't have clearer pics of both.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii244/AHhub/forum stuff/DSCF5561.jpg

I recommend building your own harness if you're going to run high wattage lamps, not because of the relays (math says they're fine), but because of the smaller wiring and cheap connectors.

edit- direct link, I need to resize pics.

Interesting... I'll need to keep an eye out on the ones in my jeep now, never had an issue on my subie though. With the china stuff, sometimes you get good parts and pieces, other times bad.

 

[twodoorXJ]

The 130 watt low beams are going to be intense. Right now im running hella DOT housings, hella 100/80w bulbs, and a custom harness. My new setup is brighter than my old 4300k HIDs. I really dont see a need for 130 watt low beams, even my 100 watters are a bit overkill.

 

[ert01]

30a vs 40a relays...

Taking the highest wattage bulb discussed here - 130w - two bulbs = 260w.

Using basic electronic equations - Amps = watts / volts

260watts / 13.6 volts = 19.1 amps.

Why do we need 40a relays to do this?

You don't. The only reason I can see would be if you had some fog light/spot lights that were triggered to go on with your highbeams.

 

[el_roy1985]

I noticed someone in here was running HID lights. Wouldn't this harness not really be necessary in such a situation; Considering, the HID Ballast is usually lower wattage then the factory Halogen bulbs?

 

[FlexdXJ]

I noticed someone in here was running HID lights. Wouldn't this harness not really be necessary in such a situation; Considering, the HID Ballast is usually lower wattage then the factory Halogen bulbs?

No, I don't think its necessary. It was installed before I put hid's in.

 

[el_roy1985]

No, I don't think its necessary. It was installed before I put hid's in.

Oh, ok. I'm going to HID, and was trying to figure out if the harness was worth the trouble/money. Although, if there was already one in there, I would probably still use it like you have.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Oh, ok. I'm going to HID, and was trying to figure out if the harness was worth the trouble/money. Although, if there was already one in there, I would probably still use it like you have.

Yeah I didn't feel like pulling it out..........

 

[austinaubinoe]

Ohh, I like those. Thanks for the link!

No problem, you these to avoid what was pictured above! I also think its awesome that they have those covers.

And is there anything wrong with using 40amp relays for the low beams and high beams? I just got em because they were like $1 more at the shack. Electrical wiring is not really my thing, and im just starting to understand "relays".

oh and you want to avoid the H4 light adapters that are pre-wired with pigtails. The usually use like 18guage for those, so running heavy wiring up to that point would be a waste.

Oh and anyone know the stock wire size that supplies the headlights with juice?

 

[ert01]

You can use the 40A relays... the rating is just the max amperage it can handle... the more the merrier but you really only need 30's. 40 will work just fine though.

I believe the stock wiring is 18awg or 20awg... It's pretty undersized for even stock lights.

 

[Mesh]

I used 40amp for both it works fine.

What is the drawback to just using spade connectors on the back of the bulbs instead of these H4 connectors?

I had an issue with my relays recently I used the type with a bracket and hooked it up with spade connectors. After a year or so the connectors slightly enlarged and became loose. I switched to a relay holder. The benefit would be connections not coming loose, not mixing up wires or bending pins. Some of the same reasons you want an H4 Plug. The plugs are also insulated so they won't short out.

If anyone is looking for relay holders these worked great http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=415 They also interlock so you can add more later.

 

[AshyLarry]

I have the ARB wiring kit, hella e code housings, and 80/100w bulbs. love the setup. wiring harness was simple simple install which is why i paid more for it.

 

[xcm]

having the proper harness before you convert to HID will curb off many problems you'll run into with HID's, even if you have to re-modify it. improper grounds, and 20 year old wires still bring the suck. HID's might not need as much current, but under non-ideal conditions halogens just get dim, hid's flicker, or only 1 will come on. having proper wiring will prevent any potential problems.

ive installed hid kits on 20 year old jeeps, with a custom go-ieep harness, and without... it NEVER works right with the stock harness, even if you ground back to the battery.

 

[el_roy1985]

I'm getting digital ballasts with my HID kit, which is suppose to eliminate the flickering problem of traditional aftermarket ballasts. If I do have a problem, then I will probably get a harness. I could probably make one myself, but for 25 dollars I'll just buy a kit. Can't even do it myself for much less then that.

 

[xcm]

wow, that sounds like a gimmicky solution to a problem thats not there if you dont half ass your wiring.

 

[austinaubinoe]

I used 40amp for both it works fine.

I had an issue with my relays recently I used the type with a bracket and hooked it up with spade connectors. After a year or so the connectors slightly enlarged and became loose. I switched to a relay holder. The benefit would be connections not coming loose, not mixing up wires or bending pins. Some of the same reasons you want an H4 Plug. The plugs are also insulated so they won't short out.

If anyone is looking for relay holders these worked great http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=415 They also interlock so you can add more later.

wow thanks for that link! I saw a picture of relays installed with these, and didnt know what they were using. Will these work with any relay? My radio shack ones only have 4 prongs iirc.

 

[M1A1TankerTom]

wow, thanks for all the input guys. Its going to take me a while to digest all this and decide which way I want to go. I might just go with the eautoworks harness...but ill have to look into it a bit more.

 

[cruiser54]

wow, thanks for all the input guys. Its going to take me a while to digest all this and decide which way I want to go. I might just go with the eautoworks harness...but ill have to look into it a bit more.

Just got my eautoworks harnesses the other day. Look great. Quite a deal for under $20. Free shipping on orders over $50. I got 3 harnesses, one for my 90 MJ, one for my wife's 88XJ, and one for the 87 XJ I'm putting together for my son-in-law.

 

[el_roy1985]

wow, that sounds like a gimmicky solution to a problem thats not there if you dont half ass your wiring.

Been looking into HIDs for a long time. Have heard many times that the Digital ballasts are the way to go. I haven't installed HIDs as much as you, so I'm just going off of research and word of mouth, not hands on experience. I'm not going to half ass any wiring, apparently Jeep did when they built the XJ though. I'll fix the problem if it's there, but I want to see if the harness is necessary before I just go order one.

 

[nota944mechanic]

The eaworks is the cheapest, and works good for the price. There is one the lmctruck.com site (search for pn) which is 10$ more not sure what the difference is. I have a similar setup, IPF housings and for now I am running the cheapo xenon bulbs I purchased from quadratec when I got the housings. and they work great.

part# 36-3580

lmctruck.com

The harness is located on page 68 in their catalog, for some reason it always links back to page 70.

 

[hubs97xj]

That is the same basic harness that eAutoworks, and several others carry, and that used to be on ebay.