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head light upgrade?

I've been running an upgraded harness and Hella E-Codes for a decade and I'm pretty happy with their performance.

Most higher-end LED lights incorporate a heated lens, as the bulbs don't create enough heat on their own to keep the lenses ice-free.
As I ponder the benefits of sliding an LED bulb into my Hella housings, I also have to consider the issue of lens fog/icing, as I live in Northern Utah and need a lens that melts snow/ice off on it's own.

Anyone have some first-hand feedback on how a Hella unit with LED bulbs performs during winter driving conditions?
 
bwinter1946 said:
I installed Beamtech H4 LED conversions in my Hella Vision Plus housings. They fit fine in my 1999 XJ.

REF: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XHD78DQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

However, I did run into a problem in my 99 XJ. The LED headlights have caused the lights to remain on high beam all the time no matter the position of the high/low beam switch. I contacted Beamtech and they believe a wire harness with the proper load resister will resolve the issue. They are sending me a load resister harness to me free of charge. Hopefully that will resolve the issue as it will produce a load on the headlight wiring equivalent to a halogen bulb. I should receive the harness in about a week.
Click to expand...


The harnesses Beamtech sent to me for free did include load resisters and that has solved the issue with the high beams staying on. High and low beams work fine now.
 
bwinter1946 said:
The harnesses Beamtech sent to me for free did include load resisters and that has solved the issue with the high beams staying on. High and low beams work fine now.
Click to expand...

Yeah must be something with the DRL's or such.

I have those exact same ones, no issues what so ever.

Just bought another set (the slightly higher lumen count) to throw in the wife's 96 when it's not frigid out.
 
Decided to take change and try the Beamtech LEDs in my XJ's IPF E-code housings.
Pulled up to the garage door and marked the location of the light patterns of both the high and low beams.
Changed one bulb to the LED and was amazed, when comparing the LED to the 80/100w halogen bulb, how similar the patterns were, just about identical.
On the street, the cutoff is the same, with the light much whiter and brighter.

Now, the question is how long will they last before burning out or being shook to death. For $40, I'm not expecting them to last for years.
 
lazyxj said:
Decided to take change and try the Beamtech LEDs in my XJ's IPF E-code housings.
Pulled up to the garage door and marked the location of the light patterns of both the high and low beams.
Changed one bulb to the LED and was amazed, when comparing the LED to the 80/100w halogen bulb, how similar the patterns were, just about identical.
On the street, the cutoff is the same, with the light much whiter and brighter.

Now, the question is how long will they last before burning out or being shook to death. For $40, I'm not expecting them to last for years.
Click to expand...

For the cost of a pair of the 80/100W bulbs, and their shorter life span...I'll be you at least break even on cost.

Though I'd be willing to bet the drop in LED's will last...a while...maybe even longer than the Jeep itself.
 
Mach2nh said:
How long do people get out of 80/100? Its been a summer for my set and at under $3 i keep a backup set with me.

https://www.quadratec.com/products/97052_1206.htm
Click to expand...

I would typically get about 6 months before one might go out (Hellas).

Yeah, they're not too expensive at ~$5 each. I actually have/had a set or two extra to keep around. They do pull a bit of juice, so it's nice not needing to worry about leaving my headlights on nearly as much.

But, at ~$40 for a set of drop ins...I'll take em.
 
freerider15 said:
For the cost of a pair of the 80/100W bulbs, and their shorter life span...I'll be you at least break even on cost.

Though I'd be willing to bet the drop in LED's will last...a while...maybe even longer than the Jeep itself.
Click to expand...

The frequent bulb burn out was one of the reasons why I wanted to try the LEDs.
The Hella's short life required carrying a spare pair of bulbs.
I think I will continue carrying the spares and will report back if the LEDs go south prematurely.
 
wow i mean its not DD but i drive it most of the time when ghe salt is gone. just a lucky case. but i will agree the power sipping leds is very attractive.
 
I have looked at the JW's, and the quadratec versions.......yes, they would probably be a better buy in the long run.............but man, I just can't get over the 'look at me" tweaker look they have
 
bentroia said:
1, Harness
2. Lamp and Bulbs

This Headlight Services harness is XJ specific, high quality, and installs easily (a hour or so) with a factory like finish. http://www.headlightservices.com/CherokeeHarness.html

I also installed Hella E-Code lamps and some 55-100 Osram bulbs. My experience with installing high quality lamps and bulbs without the harness made only a slight difference not any real upgrade - due to the inherent voltage problem in the XJ..

The lights on my XJ are now very bright, safe, and there is no need on my Jeep for any additional lighting system.
Click to expand...

Correction…

My bulbs are actually the discontinued OSRAM Rallye 70/65, were installed 3.5 years ago, and still work perfectly.


January 7 2019 update:

VOSLA H4 +100 "SuperBrite"

The Osram 70/65w Hyper H4 bulb was a popular favorite because it gave a big headlamp performance boost while remaining compatible with standard headlamp wiring. However, that bulb is no longer manufactured.

recommended replacement...

Vosla Bulbs Ultra High Performance +100
Here are the latest new ultra-high performance headlight bulbs from Vosla. These Vosla bulbs give an enormous improvement in beam focus and formation. They put up to 100% more bright white light in the beam's hot spot so your beams reach out further down the road — wider, too, for better visibility in turns and on curvy roads. A discreet blue ring (H1 and H4) at the head of the bulb envelope gives you new-car style without sacrificing beam performance (as less advanced blue-glass bulbs make you do). These bulbs are DOT-certified and ECE-approved. Stock wattage. An economical high-performance bulb. Manufactured in Germany.
 
swapped LEDs happy with results i dont think they are brighter but light is white which in my opinion makes things clearer/sharper also think being new not have 10 years of road garbage make a diffrence to
 
I have never complained about my autopal ecode's. I might try those LED bulbs in them. Worse thing could happen is I have to upgrade those to the Hella or IPF housings.
 
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