Truck-lite's new LED headlight for XJ's

[stumpXJ]

That would be Hilldweller John!

I was seriously just a guy he knew who had a vehicle these lights would fit into.

As much as I love , they aint getting these lights from me.

 

[OverlandZJ]

I thought i read he wasnt affiliated.. i'll PM him for his mailing address, send him out a letter.

 

[PacificEd]

What is the amp draw of the stock headlights? The Trucklites were 1.8 on LB and 3.8 on HB.

 

[kastein]

What is the amp draw of the stock headlights? The Trucklites were 1.8 on LB and 3.8 on HB.

gimme 5 minutes and I'll find out... post will be updated shortly.

EDIT: my 91 with stock headlamps and harness pulls 10.7A (both headlights) low beam, 13.8A (both headlights) high beam. That's including the dash indicator lamp(s) and the relay built into the harness that were active, I measured right at the fuse in the PDC.

 

[stumpXJ]

John, he nor I am affiliated with Trucklites, although Bill may have some contact info for you to get in touch with someone there. He has been giving them his opinion and feedback on several sets of their lights. I will let him make that call.

 

[OverlandZJ]

John, he nor I am affiliated with Trucklites, although Bill may have some contact info for you to get in touch with someone there. He has been giving them his opinion and feedback on several sets of their lights. I will let him make that call.

:thumbup:

 

[xjwisconsin]

The output looks spectacular, but as a relative newbie to the LED world... How would these hold up in heavy winter situations. I know that even conventional lights will begin to ice over given enough snow falling. Is there enough heat generated to keep from icing?

 

[Talyn]

Good point. I don't think the ice up issue would fair well with LEDs as they don't transmit that much heat toward the lens. I know that in some traffic lights they stayed with an incandescent stop lamp just for that reason while keeping the amber and green LED.

 

[hubs97xj]

My halogens ice over in bad enough weather, as did my stock sealed beams;I don't see the LEDs faring any better. In that kind of weather, you need to stop periodically and clear lights, regardless of what kind of lights.

 

[stumpXJ]

Good question, here in Georgia I doubt I will ever be able to know that answer. I can tell you they produce virtually zero heat. The only heat you feel is from the engine compartment coming out around the housing itself.

~ Stump

 

[Hilldweller]

I'm just an offroad and camping junkie that happens to work in the test and measurement field and be a light-geek ---- I was in the right place at the right time to become friends with a few automotive lighting professionals, learn a thing or two, and then establish contacts with a couple of aftermarket manufacturers.

Jerry Lee from TruckLite has been a friend to the Jeep community for a couple of years now. TruckLite has been receptive to input from me/us and this latest generation of lights reflects (pun there...) their ongoing efforts to build what we want and need.
I was excruciatingly honest in my review of their previous generation of LED headlight but they used that as motivation to improve.

I had their offroad lights too, which were great
Here I am, all LED:

These lights are great as they are. But, as I told Jerry recently, I won't call them a home run; they're a stand-up triple.

They will ice over. LEDs throw their heat rearward and the lights have no provision for circulating air within the housing (JW Speaker has this feature built in).
If you were to polish them every so often with a quality plastic polish like Plexus, I'm sure that snow and road-splooge would have a more difficult time adhering to them.

I'd also like the lens to be an easy-to-replace wear-item. Something that you could change quickly and economically without tools.

I'm hoping that Jerry will join this forum. He's already on a BUNCH of forums and I'm sure that his workday is pretty long and budget thin...

 

[ChiXJeff]

An easy to replace lens, even if it takes a screwdriver would be a win. You also do want to be careful with polishing compounds, especially those with a mild abrasive (BTW, some toothpastes work amazing well for this,) you'll removing the UV coating and cause the lens to yellow & degrade faster.

I'll have to point out these lights to my brother, they'd be great for use on the tractors in the orchard, I think.

 

[Hilldweller]

You also do want to be careful with polishing compounds, especially those with a mild abrasive (BTW, some toothpastes work amazing well for this,) you'll removing the UV coating and cause the lens to yellow & degrade faster.

That's very true and why I like Plexus so much. I first got some from a friend that's a forensics tech and pilot; he used it both at work and on his aircraft canopies. No scratching, no smearing, bugs and bird guts washed off with a little water.
I used to have to go to the exectutive airport to buy the stuff but now you can get it on-line easily. Shows how old I am...

Many goos and concoctions aren't safe for plastic and cause a chemical reaction called crazing --- turns the plastic a milky-white and opaque. Rain-X is good for doing that. Anything with petroleum really.

 

[jeeperjohn]

want.
can't afford.

This is highly relevant - I've got a headlamp out and need to do something.
Not interested in buying another sealed housing for 14 dollars.
I'm looking to fix this issue for good.

So these lights last a long time, eh?
How long VS Halogen bulbs in HID housings?
What is the lifetime of a Halogen bulb?

Maybe it DOES make sense to spend this kind of cash to get it over with, easily.

They should last your lifetime. They might yellow after many years but could probably be buffed like a normal plastic headlight.

 

[jeeperjohn]

I would like to know if any company is looking at LEP (light emitting plasma) technology for automotive use. Anybody heard anything?

 

[ChiXJeff]

They should last your lifetime. They might yellow after many years but could probably be buffed like a normal plastic headlight.

Maybe, maybe not.

IIRC, from when I worked for an industrial plastics molding company (lighting products,) UV damage wasn't just a surface layer. There are a wide variety of surface coatings available to filter out the UV, and once you've buffed that off, it'll probably yellow again even faster.

 

[Hilldweller]

I would like to know if any company is looking at LEP (light emitting plasma) technology for automotive use. Anybody heard anything?

BMW is developing their next-gen lights which use lasers to excite a fluorescent phosphor material. Twice as efficient as LEDs ---- very exciting.

 

[stumpXJ]

[Chunk voice] Laser Beams! [/Chunk voice]

 

[Hilldweller]

Maybe, maybe not.

IIRC, from when I worked for an industrial plastics molding company (lighting products,) UV damage wasn't just a surface layer. There are a wide variety of surface coatings available to filter out the UV, and once you've buffed that off, it'll probably yellow again even faster.

Did you ever work with Grilamid?

 

[ChiXJeff]

Not that I recall. I left that job in 1994. I didn't work in the factory, I was IT staff (like I am still......) The vast majority of the material used was transparent acrylic & polycarbonate for lenses. There were quite a few other materials for housings and reflectors (2 vacuum metalizing chambers in the coatings department.) We did mold some surgical theater reflectors a yard in diameter out of Ultem that got metalized into reflectors.