H4 with or without city/position lights?

After reading the numerous posts about H4 conversions, I've decided to upgrade to Hella ECE/E-code lamps. But I didn't realize there was one more choice. Should I get the new lamps with or without city/position lights? Anyone have an opinion on which to get? Any info on how you wire the city/position lights? By the way, I've already installed a Painless H4 wiring harness.

without, you dont need that shit.

xcm said:

without, you dont need that shit.

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Yeah you need all the help you can get with the crappy lighting here in the US.

I got some Autopals with the city lights. If you use regular halogens you can wire the city lights to come on with the parking lights (first position on the switch) and go off when you turn on the headlights. I took the power from the park light positive then grounded them to the low beam power wire.

I will say I have not found a way to get them to come on like that with my new HID upgrade. I got the dual beam which only uses the passenger headlight input and is leaving the drivers open. When nothing is plugged up the low beam power does not provide the proper ground to turn on the lights.

I was tempted to get the city light version, put in a colored bulb, and wire them up to the parking lights. But I'm not sure it's worth the extra effort. I'll just be happy seeing the road at night with new E-code headlamps.

it seems you want to get the city light version, and put in colored bulbs and all that jazz, go for it! didnt mean to put a wet blanket on the fire or nothing...

can anyone post up the 2ndary bulb type? i doubt another h4 would fit, h1? extra lights are cool and all, but thats extra wiring and all that too!

xcm said:

without, you dont need that shit.

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I actually agree. They are pointless IMO.

It's just a little marker light, I think. I thought about it when I got mine, but I didn't see the point in having my lights on without really having my lights on. Probably useful only if you live in a big metro area. You can see the city lamp in the pic of the Autopals.

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FlexdXJ said:

I actually agree. They are pointless IMO.

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I disagree, they are quite useful, just not in the US. While stationed in Japan for 3 years, I actually saw the point of these lights and I truly miss it.

When you come to a red light, or any other time that you are sitting still at night, it is traditional to turn off your headlights, and drop into the "park" position, which illuminates the city-lights. The most noticeable change is not being blinded when sitting across an intersection. The roads there are VERY narrow, and by dimming the lights, you allow oncoming drivers better vision of obstacles in the lane you would be normally back lighting, and ruining the other driver's night vision.

The city lights are just one of the MANY driving habits I miss from my years overseas (Asia and Europe), which I doubt will EVER take off in the US.

So maybe I do agree with past posts... there is no need for the city lights in the US.

my girl friend just recently bought a Cherokee and someone before her put in some Hella light's. hers are really dull, yellow almost looks like the old incandescent lights from way back.the glass on the light is clean and clear.so im thinking either weak or wrong bulbs or i may need to wire in a relay and give them direct battery voltage .better yet ill take them and give her my silver stars and ill get some new bulbs and do the wire conversion.

Really do not need them, just another bulb to replace.

jeeptec said:

my girl friend just recently bought a Cherokee and someone before her put in some Hella light's. hers are really dull, yellow almost looks like the old incandescent lights from way back.the glass on the light is clean and clear.so im thinking either weak or wrong bulbs or i may need to wire in a relay and give them direct battery voltage .better yet ill take them and give her my silver stars and ill get some new bulbs and do the wire conversion.

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The previous owner more than likely was too cheap/lazy to install an upgraded H4 headlight harness which is required to take advantage of the Hella housings.

The "city" lights are required in some countries(I know in Germany) They're a dim marker light, usually left on when a car is parked on a narrow, dark road. pretty useless here in the 'States. As mentioned above, some people use them with colored bulbs for bling, which is cool if you're into that.

jeeptec said:

my girl friend just recently bought a Cherokee and someone before her put in some Hella light's. hers are really dull, yellow almost looks like the old incandescent lights,...

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Any idea how old the bulbs are? The Hella H-4 upgrades are a lot brighter then the stock sealed beams, even with the stock harness, but all Quartz-halogen bulbs get dim over time. (has to do with tungsten plating on the inside of the bulb as the filament erodes ) Pull the bulb out of the housing and look at it. If it has a "chromed" look to it, like the bulb is full of mercury, or the glass is smoked, you need new bulbs.

I would be careful if you want to use colored lights like blue or purple, the police aren't big fans of people driving around with blue lights other then themselves. When I was a teenager I installed LEDs in my headlight housing that flashed when I had my alarm armed, they were green, I had them in my reverse lights also. It was probably more of an attention grabber then a deterrent to thieves but my Rodeo never was stolen.