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techno1154 said:

Thanks to all for their contributions. I like the Osram, the idea of having a bulb...don't know why. :dunno: Do they have the complete package, housing and bulbs? A good quality housing is worth its weight in gold.

Then again, the Truck Lights have very good reviews. They are certainly worth looking at. Seeing those LED's as one walks to the XJ will take a bit to get accustomed to.

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I posted as to that Osram might make an LED headlamp assembly. They do make H4 Bulbs. I did run some. Good output. I think the CIBIEs that we need are gone. Sterns sell something from Japan.
From my perspective, AutoPals seem to give out twice the light of the stock Hologens. I did use the bulbs that came with them. I think I used either Osrams or GE Night Rangers for a while. I use Flossers, as a local place sells them.
I think I have the Rampage headlamps on one of my XJs. I bought a header panel off of Ebay complete. It came with them. They are OK. I think the Autopals have a better cutoff. The Cibies better than the Autoplas. I can't really compare the Hellas, as they are old ones and on another vehicle. Still, though seem about as the Cibies.

XJI6191 said:

You can still get sealed beams? Absolutely flabbergasted! Even the 75w ones some British "executive" cars had in the early '70's were barely fit for purpose (although, of course, we didn't have uprated harnesses then).

Fitted a number of those harnesses over the years, primarily to protect switches, never noticed any real difference in light output/quality - but then our starting point was standard (or better) Euro enclosures (had lots of success with ex-Lada/Polski Fiat el cheapo Hella copies) with H4's. e.g. export XJ's had Cibie headlights, optically excellent but by then they rotted like Carello's! Hella's definitely the way to go, especially if you want to ramp up the wattage. My '98 came with PAL units (clear lenses & ribbed reflectors) - they're OK but, as they're all plastic, wary of putting higher wattage bulbs in them.

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Yep. You can buy them at the supermarket here. Plenty of fleet spec trucks and vans still use them because they're cheap and easy to replace.

The Hella E codes are a solid choice for a “stock” halogen replacement. High quality glass lens with a fantastic cutoff. Paired with Osram Hyper 100w H4 they are hard to beat. Even the 85w Osram is a good bet. Highly recommend replacing harness with a relayed harness from Susquehanna Motorsports. I’ve run this setup in other vehicles and had great results. Just make sure you aim them down a bit. The ecodes are such sharp cutoff that the lows get flashes from oncoming traffic

That said, i run the $75 amazon special LED’s in the daily and no complaints other than soft plastic with little protection on the lenses. They scratch easily. Over a year later i’ve had two people flash me on lows (more for the light bar than headlights). When they finally die out, i’ll buy another set and throw clear Lamin-X on them.


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Tim_MN said:

Hella E-Code H-4 with halogen 100/90 bulbs.

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I had Cibies and a relay harness on my last XJ, this time around I went with Truck-Lite LEDs. A little more cost up front, but I haven't touched them since install, which took about an hour, no wiring, soldering, etc. the LEDs don't require a relay harness because they draw less current than the original sealed beams which is nice. I didn't have to do anything to make the fog lights work, either, unlike with my previous XJ.


If I were buying today I might "buy once cry once" and pop for the eye wateringly expensive heated ones if you live somewhere that gets snow. I only have been caught in the snow once in 5 years however so it's not a big deal for me; I might have bought them anyway but they weren't available at the time.

N8N_99xj said:

I had Cibies and a relay harness on my last XJ, this time around I went with Truck-Lite LEDs. A little more cost up front, but I haven't touched them since install, which took about an hour, no wiring, soldering, etc. the LEDs don't require a relay harness because they draw less current than the original sealed beams which is nice. I didn't have to do anything to make the fog lights work, either, unlike with my previous XJ.


If I were buying today I might "buy once cry once" and pop for the eye wateringly expensive heated ones if you live somewhere that gets snow. I only have been caught in the snow once in 5 years however so it's not a big deal for me; I might have bought them anyway but they weren't available at the time.

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Are the Truck-Lite LED's part number 37450C? If I'm remembering correctly, these look different than the first ones that came out with years ago. I was thinking they looked more like the Peterson Mfg V705C.

Cant edit last post so adding link. This is what i run now. Also, without a resistor inline they will run dimly when switched off.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08Q...N0&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWw


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I must admit I like the look of the OEM headlamps. So instead of going with LED's (although I like the Truck Lites 27490C) I went with the Hella E-codes and the supplied 55/60 H4 lamps. The look of the lens and the sharp light cutoff were the selling high points. I will be looking for some slightly higher wattage lamps and switch them out later. I have a homemade wire harness installed years ago.

techno1154 said:

I must admit I like the look of the OEM headlamps..

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I agree. I gave my funky looking LED's away.

Who cares what they look like, I want the most/best lighting I can get !!!!!!!!

Old Man Minimalist said:

I agree. I gave my funky looking LED's away.

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:roflmao: What can I say? I am working here in Charleston WV. There is an auto show going on this weekend. There were 3 XJ's at the show. All three had LED head lights. The looks almost made me puke. :gag: All three were different style but... not my style.

RCP Phx said:

Who cares what they look like, I want the most/best lighting I can get !!!!!!!!

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I do agree 100%. As a matter of fact, that is the reason I am spending so much time searching for something that is functional. For me, a little bit of aesthetics goes a long way to making it more acceptable. Those I am about to replace were good (enough until the lens broke) compared to the OEM sealed beams. I am not sure I need higher wattage bulbs, but I will get a set and try them out.

techno1154 said:

:roflmao: What can I say? I am working here in Charleston WV. There is an auto show going on this weekend. There were 3 XJ's at the show. All three had LED head lights. The looks almost made me puke. :gag: All three were different style but... not my style.



I do agree 100%. As a matter of fact, that is the reason I am spending so much time searching for something that is functional. For me, a little bit of aesthetics goes a long way to making it more acceptable. Those I am about to replace were good (enough until the lens broke) compared to the OEM sealed beams. I am not sure I need higher wattage bulbs, but I will get a set and try them out.

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Welcome to the mountain state I am in Dunbar WV . 10 miles or so West of Charleston.

jeep ride said:

Welcome to the mountain state I am in Dunbar WV . 10 miles or so West of Charleston.

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Why did you not say that before...OH! WAIT! I did not tell anyone. I spent 6 weeks at Gallipolis, here in Charleston 4 weeks and next week in Beckley for 4+ weeks.

Thanks for the welcome. The winding road and 10,000 bridges take a bit of getting accustomed to.

You may want to consider HID lighting. I put those on my Civic commuter many years ago because I use it almost always at night, and they have been great. I get to use the factory headlight housing and beam pattern but get excellent brightness. The bulb needs to be replaced every 3 years to keep peak brightness. I also put them on my wife's 2016 C300 which amazingly came with incandescent headlights. Worked great there too. I use 4000K color bulbs. The biggest challenge to using HIDs on an XJ might be keeping the ballast housing at a reasonable temperature. I suspect that the ballast needs to be kept out of the XJ engine compartment because it gets toasty hot.

techno1154 said:

Why did you not say that before...OH! WAIT! I did not tell anyone. I spent 6 weeks at Gallipolis, here in Charleston 4 weeks and next week in Beckley for 4+ weeks.

Thanks for the welcome. The winding road and 10,000 bridges take a bit of getting accustomed to.

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And I call Webster Springs WV, my Hillbilly Brigadoon a few weeks a year. Possibly I own Ralph, WV. Also, I need a River to change course. Then its Curtains.