Headlights

Hey guys looking to upgrade my head lights. Heres what I'm thinking

Harness: http://www.eautoworks.com/Putco-H4--9003-Heavy-Duty-Headlight-Upgrade-Wiring-Harness-PRD7540.aspx
Not looking to make my own

Housing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/200mm-H6054...ors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories#ht_3026wt_922

It comes with bulbs but I'm thinking I want to upgrade the bulbs. Who makes the best bulbs? And what wattage should I get?

Wow thanks man! Yeah maybe ill just get them and install them with the bulbs that come with them and go from there

it just keep saying STYLE it doesnt say what brand they are? i need a good housing because my cheapo ebay housing have a horrible light pattern. they dont say the company name anywhere. i know the picture shows autopal but that may just be a file photo?

They are Autopal brand. A lot of us are running those lights, bought from that same guy. Seen this thread yet?

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=906034&highlight=autopal

so the ones in the pic in that thread are the ones in the link above?

I run the Cibies, but I got lucky and found a set in the local wrecking yard and got them cheap. I've looked the Autopals and they are almost identical. Short story I'd run them in a heart beat.

davidson99XJ said:

so the ones in the pic in that thread are the ones in the link above?

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Yes those are the same housings as in the link. Autopals are fine housings. Are they top of the line? No, but they are a massive upgrade when used with an aftermarket wiring harness. Make sure you get the ecode housings and not the ones that are "diamond cut". The diamond cut ones have a terrible output pattern.

buy new bulbs, separately if you get those autopals. I got those exact same autopals and upgraded to white bulbs. one bulb failed on me within days. im on amazon right now looking at replacement hella bulbs. probably getting 100/80 bulbs

that harness i got off of amazon for less, and shipped for free through prime: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P29X4G/ref=oh_o06_s00_i00_details

if you read the first review for the harness, theres a link for replacement relays. make sure you use dialectic grease when you connect to relays, otherwise they'll get wet and rusted quickly and easily.

I have H.I.D.s so I'm hoping that the light pattern is better. The eBay ones I have now are JUNK

I would actually go with a harness from Susquehenna Motorsports

http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=1247

more money but higher quality - they don't make one purpose made for an XJ but I have one waiting to go in, I'm going to modify it a little for my purposes however, because I believe in massive overkill I'm going to replace the single fuse which I don't like with a fuse block (four fuses for headlights, more space for future fog/driving/offroad lights if I choose to go that route) and then run individual relays for each filament in a Hella four-relay enclosure that I'm actually still waiting to show up.

As for the Autopals, they should be fine - any E-code housing with good H4 bulbs will be VASTLY superior to anything "legal." Cibie and Hella also make good e-codes; as far as I'm aware Cibies are considered the best with Hella and Autopal still pretty darn good. I'd stay away from the "crystal clear" lens reflector/lens assemblies; get the traditional ones, they work best. The sealed beams that are in my Cherokee now are awful, I can't wait to get rid of them - the beam pattern is horrible, and I swear half the light is going straight through the silvering on the reflector, they light up my engine compartment almost as well as the road. Only reason I haven't done so is that I'm still working on mechanical stuff - I already have the bulbs and harness, and I could easily run it as is while I'm waiting for my massive overkill relays and fusebox to arrive. I personally wouldn't run HIDs in an E-code housing; if you want to go that route I would use a housing specifically made for HIDs, as the light sources are a different shape so you're compromising that awesome E-code beam pattern by not using the bulb for which the optics were designed.

I used to have Cibie H4s and a heavy-gauge relay harness on a Porsche 944, that combined with a Transpo adjustable voltage regulator to kick the voltage up a little (for some reason German alternators seem to run right about 13.7V whereas there's absolutely no problem kicking it up to about 14.1 or so) and with that and just plain vanilla Sylvania 55/60W bulbs it was astonishing. Suddenly I could drive on an unlit road with complete confidence, something I could never do before the mods. I had a set of 90/100W bulbs that came with the "headlight upgrade kit" that I bought and never installed - they just weren't needed for the type of driving I did. I think the bulbs that I have for my new lights are 70/80W or something like that so these should be spectacular - and I probably still have the 90/100s somewhere. But never run anything over 55/60s with stock wiring - you'll have a crispy headlight switch and/or pop the circuit breaker. The relay harness is advisable anyway; the voltage drop through the stock wiring and switch on most cars makes a real difference in the brightness of your lights. Take power right off the battery or the big stud on the PDC or alternator; you'll be glad you did.

hubs97xj said:

They are Autopal brand. A lot of us are running those lights, bought from that same guy. Seen this thread yet?

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=906034&highlight=autopal

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I thought I would try the Autopal lights, since pretty much everyone in that thread liked them.


In ~1 year I have cracked both lights. Burnt out three bulbs, and one is almost dead as well.




IMO, dont waste the money. The housings are cheap, thin glass, and the bulbs are not long lasting. Sure, they are better than stock, or even Silverstars, but you do get what you pay for.




I will be getting some Cibies sometime in the near future. They are a lot more money, but I am tired of having to replace bulbs.

The bulbs burning out are not the fault of the housing unless they let water or dirt in. The life of the bulb is based on the bulb quality and the wattage. Higher wattage bulbs will have a shorter life. I recommend Narva or Phillips or Hella bulbs.

Also, on the Cibies I would recommend a protective vinyl like expell(sp) or something similar. The glass is thicker, but can still be cracked by a nice stone. The vinyl will protect it considerably.

davidson99XJ said:

I have H.I.D.s so I'm hoping that the light pattern is better. The eBay ones I have now are JUNK

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There are some common mistakes made by people that put HID’s into vehicles that did not originally come with them.


1) 1) In a replaceable bulb system (think ZJ not XJ) people merely pull the old bulb and put in the HID bulb.
2) 2) In a sealed bulb system (XJ’s) people get cheap “projectors” off of ebay which are nothing more than a reflector lens with a ring around the bulb that is supposed to simulate a projector and place an HID bulb in them.
3) 3) People get halogen housings (ecodes and the like) and place HID’s into them.

All of the above mistakes lead to light being scattered everywhere which blinds oncoming drivers and attracts police attention.


The correct way to put HID’s into a vehicle that does not originally come with them is to place the bulbs into a true projector housing.


True projectors are expensive http://www.futurevisionhid.com/h6054-200mm-hid-projector-headlight.html


A solution to this problem is to retrofit projectors into a standard 6054 housing allowing you to have a safer HID kit that won’t blind oncoming drivers http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/headlight-retrofit-orject-116069/#post1391556

Have had my autopals and the eaworks harness on for about a year i suppose and am very happy with them .

I have had my autopals in my rig for about 4 years. Not the stock bulbs though as I use the silverstars in them. Up until last year it was my DD. I just finally cracked one lense in the last couple a months somewhere. And I am using a harness that I built from one of the diagrams online.

xjsnake said:

There are some common mistakes made by people that put HID’s into vehicles that did not originally come with them.


1) 1) In a replaceable bulb system (think ZJ not XJ) people merely pull the old bulb and put in the HID bulb.
2) 2) In a sealed bulb system (XJ’s) people get cheap “projectors” off of ebay which are nothing more than a reflector lens with a ring around the bulb that is supposed to simulate a projector and place an HID bulb in them.
3) 3) People get halogen housings (ecodes and the like) and place HID’s into them.

All of the above mistakes lead to light being scattered everywhere which blinds oncoming drivers and attracts police attention.


The correct way to put HID’s into a vehicle that does not originally come with them is to place the bulbs into a true projector housing.


True projectors are expensive http://www.futurevisionhid.com/h6054-200mm-hid-projector-headlight.html


A solution to this problem is to retrofit projectors into a standard 6054 housing allowing you to have a safer HID kit that won’t blind oncoming drivers http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/headlight-retrofit-orject-116069/#post1391556

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Thanks for that link. I'm gonna have to look into that

xjsnake said:

True projectors are expensive http://www.futurevisionhid.com/h6054-200mm-hid-projector-headlight.html

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That price isn't that bad, considering the price of projectors, the HID kit, lenses and then the work entailed... I just don't know if I like the lines in the beam pattern.