Dull Hella Headlights

jeeptec · Dec 13, 2010

ok i swapped the hella headlights from my girlfriends jeep into mine. they were a dull yellowish light pattern in hers. i put them in mine and also replaced the bulbs from 55/60w to 55/100w . they seem to be a dull and yellowish pattern in mine also. or is this normal and im used to the Silver star headlights that are bright white.

Talyn · Dec 13, 2010

Silverstar will be a bit more blue as they have a coating on the bulb. at 55 watts you will have a very yellow look.

Did you upgrade the wiring harness too? If not, I would start there.

jeeptec · Dec 13, 2010

i did not upgrade the harness yet. was considering making my own with a relay system

Original_MudButt · Dec 13, 2010

jeeptec said:
i did not upgrade the harness yet. was considering making my own with a relay system

Makes all the difference in the world!

http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoHeadlightLoom.htm
(note: If you use the info from GoJeep's page, add about 3" to the headlight leads on the passenger side.)

Rmart30 · Dec 13, 2010

Ya ever seen the stock headlight wiring ? Way to small of gauge wiring.

Eautoworks harness for about $15 and it will be a lot better.

souske · Dec 13, 2010

The headlights are just reflecting the personalities of the owner. Go have some interesting shit happen to you, and the lights should brighten right up.

casm · Dec 13, 2010

Rmart30 said:
Eautoworks harness for about $15 and it will be a lot better.

Do you happen to have a link to that? I'm not turning it up on what I think is their website.

julio_a · Dec 13, 2010

http://www.eautoworks.com/product-eAutoWorkscom-189849.htm

casm · Dec 13, 2010

julio_a said:
http://www.eautoworks.com/product-eAutoWorkscom-189849.htm

Cool, thanks. Appreciate it.

Looks like that one requires going over to H4 bulbs; I was hoping to keep my sealed beams for now. That may just get me to do the swap when all of the other electrical upgrades happen, though.

lazyxj · Dec 13, 2010

Besides needing a harness upgrade, be aware that bulbs come in a variety of colors.
Silverstars have a 'hotter', whiter color than the standard Hellas, no matter what the wattage is. A whiter or hotter color does not allow you to see farther but is does give you a psychological illusion.
No matter which color you use, the distance you can see is dependent on the lumen out output and the headlight's reflector.

I did the hardness upgrade years ago and saw an increase in the stock bulb's output.
I ran Silverstars until they prematurely burned out and then switch to IPF housings and 100/120-watt Hella bulbs...much nicer.

Original_MudButt · Dec 13, 2010

lazyxj said:
....100/120-watt Hella bulbs...much nicer.

No tickets??

casm · Dec 13, 2010

lazyxj said:
Silverstars have a 'hotter', whiter color than the standard Hellas, no matter what the wattage is.

Good to know, because I'm running Silverstars right now on the stock harness and really want to keep as close as possible to the whiter light they have after upgrading.

Any recommendations on H4 bulbs with that in mind? I was thinking of using the Hella 6054 E-code housings for this; having seen them in action before, the light pattern seems like what I'm looking for.

lazyxj · Dec 13, 2010

Original_MudButt said:
No tickets??

The IPF housings have a sharp low-beam cutoff that, when properly adjusted, does not blind the oncoming cars.
All of the quality European-style bulb housings have this characteristic.
California does not have annual vehicle inspections, just bi-annual smog checks so the headlights are never inspected unless you get stopped by the police. If the lights are aimed right, there isn't a problem.

XJLI · Dec 13, 2010

casm said:
Any recommendations on H4 bulbs with that in mind? I was thinking of using the Hella 6054 E-code housings for this; having seen them in action before, the light pattern seems like what I'm looking for.

if you like the color of the silverstars, just get silverstar H4 bulbs. i'm running silverstar ultra bulbs and hella DOT housings and love them.

casm · Dec 13, 2010

XJLI said:
if you like the color of the silverstars, just get silverstar H4 bulbs. i'm running silverstar ultra bulbs and hella DOT housings and love them.

Well... That would make sense, wouldn't it?

Thanks for the reminder - I completely forgot that Sylvania makes H4 Silverstar bulbs since all of the vehicles I'm currently dealing with use either sealed beams or projectors.

hubs97xj · Dec 13, 2010

casm said:
Looks like that one requires going over to H4 bulbs; I was hoping to keep my sealed beams for now.

You can still use sealed beams with a headlight harness. The pic in the ad is just a stock photo- not the actual harness you get.

Original_MudButt · Dec 13, 2010

lazyxj said:
The IPF housings have a sharp low-beam cutoff that, when properly adjusted, does not blind the oncoming cars.
All of the quality European-style bulb housings have this characteristic.
California does not have annual vehicle inspections, just bi-annual smog checks so the headlights are never inspected unless you get stopped by the police. If the lights are aimed right, there isn't a problem.

Yeah, I've got the Hella E-codes.... I have noticed the sharp cut-off line....

I bought the 55w-100w bulbs. Figured I didn't want the hassle.....

casm · Dec 13, 2010

hubs97xj said:
You can still use sealed beams with a headlight harness. The pic in the ad is just a stock photo- not the actual harness you get.

Ah, OK - gotcha. So, just to confirm: this one is totally plug & play with a standard 6054 sealed-beam? If so, I'm going to pull the trigger on ordering it; we've got no shortage of kamikaze deer around here, so whatever advantage I can get on picking the buggers out before they leap out in front of me would be a plus.

lazyxj · Dec 13, 2010

XJLI said:
if you like the color of the silverstars, just get silverstar H4 bulbs. i'm running silverstar ultra bulbs and hella DOT housings and love them.

The only downside to the Silverstar H4s is that they are only available in the 55/60 watts bulb, nothing more powerful is available. We play in desert and more light is always better

The beauty of using a cooler bulb, in a high-wattage version, that when properly aimed, no one will notice them when compared to cars with HIDs or cars with super-blue bulbs.

XJLI · Dec 13, 2010

casm said:
Ah, OK - gotcha. So, just to confirm: this one is totally plug & play with a standard 6054 sealed-beam? If so, I'm going to pull the trigger on ordering it; we've got no shortage of kamikaze deer around here, so whatever advantage I can get on picking the buggers out before they leap out in front of me would be a plus.

yup, theyll work.

lazyxj said:
The only downside to the Silverstar H4s is that they are only available in the 55/60 watts bulb, nothing more powerful is available. We play in desert and more light is always better

The beauty of using a cooler bulb, in a high-wattage version, that when properly aimed, no one will notice them when compared to cars with HIDs or cars with super-blue bulbs.

im running the silverstars bc they were in the truck. had osram 55/130s on my subie and loved em.. theyll go in when the silverstars burn out

Dull Hella Headlights

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