LED headlight upgrade

[Philxj4L]

This may be a bit more complicated on US models than it is on UK spec Jeeps.
I say that as from the US feeds on twitter, I've heard mention of 'sealed beam' headlight units. These are something that were phased out years back in the UK, in favour of H3 fitment, Halogen bulbs. It may be a UK spec oddity, but standard headlights on xj's in particular are pretty poor, and decidedly orangey colour.
One 'quick fix' is to use the standard headlight hi/low feeds to power a relay (one for Hi beam, one for low beam) then use a 'full fat' feed from the battery through relays to feed bigger bulbs, usually 140/90w Halogen bulbs.
I went for a hi tech, low power solution, and used Cree 12.5/30w Cree H3 fitment units. The come with external cooling fans and external drivers, low power consumption (sub 2A per unit on high beam) and 2000 Lumen output. The best bit was, the are a straight plug and play upgrade, old ones out, new ones in, and is a simple, but very effective cure for poor XJ lights. They're fully waterproofed, surge protection, and fan out/overheat protection. They weren't the cheapest at around $132, but worth the $$ for the improvement. :)
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a519/Philxj4L/6257d063437d8b82d813e7aeec43feba_zpsa1ae6445.jpg
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a519/Philxj4L/a76ab0dbb2341efb5fcb2dbdbb442eec_zps134f4749.jpg

[bluedragon436]

I'd love to do LED upgrade on my next build... I love driving the different vehicles downrange that have the LED headlights... I love my HID's as well that I have in my truck and my car though.. and since I'll have to purchase new H4 housings I'll probably go with HID's on the next build too, unless I find a kick a$$ deal on LED setup..

[Mallcrawler]

Man show us installed pics n stuff

[4.3LXJ]

I want to see these in action too as well as installation pics

[Philxj4L]

Ok, here's a before and after vid, one side has had the Cree fitted, halogen on the other. Sidelights have also been changed to LED. If ya check my intro you'll see what they are like where it counts, a back road at night. :)
(You can tell when the wife gets blinded. :) )
http://youtu.be/F74o13KFI3g

[Philxj4L]

I didn't manage to get install pics, I was having a bad day, so my mate cracked on and got them fitted. It's honestly, a straight bulb swap if you don't have sealed beam units. The only very minor problem was finding space to mount the drivers, but there is room, just needs a bit of shuffling wiring round to make some space. :)

[4.3LXJ]

I was wondering how far they stuck out the back of the housing. The pic looks like they might stick out kind of far and require massaging the header.

[Philxj4L]

We had been thinking the same before fitting them, turned out there was enough space, again, just a case of shuffling wiring around. :)
I haven't see LEDs the same as these since purchase. There are very similar, 12.5/25w with integral fans, so not just as deep, and 1800Lm, they're also,almost half the price.

[5LugsOfLove]

I bought some H4 housings from hella and a H4 cree LED kit similar to yours. It is so bright unless I have the lights adjusted down its blinding. I am very happy.

[KMW-NWXJ]

After looking at this thread I just went out and looked at my lights and just realized someone has already done the H4 conversion on it! Lucky me! I also realized I have not yet had the chance to drive it after dark yet.

Looks like it has Osram 60/55W halogen bulbs in it.


http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/15/epu8azeh.jpg

[KMW-NWXJ]

Any pics of how these throw the light? Nice clean pattern? Or any blotches or dark spots?

[Carves]

Any pics of how these throw the light? Nice clean pattern? Or any blotches or dark spots?

X 2

Range, spread, and reflected glare ... are my main concerns when upgrading lights.

Would appreciate any comparison pics you can manage when you have a chance.

[Philxj4L]

This is the before/after.

http://youtu.be/F74o13KFI3g

And on the road at night, my reflector pots need changing as they've started to rust.

http://youtu.be/mDiu7JBKqvw

[bad luck]

That made a huge difference in light output. Is that a typical 2 lane road in your area? It seems awfully narrow, and no shoulder at all. I guess you get used to it though.

[Philxj4L]

Lol, yeah, we have a lot of roads like that as soon as ya leave towns, some are narrower ! It also looks like I'm driving a lot faster then I am, that's down to the wide angle on the GoPro. :)
These are the roads around our house, also gives a better idea of impression of speed using a GoPro. Once in this vid I peaked at 30mph, the rest is sub 30.

http://youtu.be/2JoFGy6zACE

[bluedragon436]

So I was thinking about this the other day, and would still like to do an LED headlight conversion, but was thinking.. I don't think these LED setups would work very well for an off road rig.. Just thinking if your front end ends up in water or even worse mud, that probably won't be good for the fans on the back of them... For a DD and every now and again trail rig, I think they'd work great, but not so sure on if you are ever going to do any kind of water crossing or mud...

[Philxj4L]

The set I bought are fully waterproofed, so should be good to go, though I do see your point about the mud. We don't normally get headlight deep mud in the UK, unless you go lookin to find it.

[KMW-NWXJ]

It might just be hats to tell in the video, but do the high beams throw further than the lows? Or Lima like they get much brighter, but don't seem to throw any further. But I realize videos and pixies are terrible at showing lighting.

[Philxj4L]

They would this further, if the reflectors weren't shot with rust, (and have never been aligned) but as I'm running 90" x 500w of Cree lightbars I've no real need to rush to sort them. :)

[bluedragon436]

Well I'm just looking at the ones with the cooling fan on the backs of them... would think the fans would be open to whatever water or mud might get into them out on the trails... I mean I know usually you try to avoid that deep of water/mud.... but you never know when you might decide to Wayne that shit!!

[Philxj4L]

If it helps, The only part of the fans that are 'open' are the blades, all the connections and motors are sealed, so anything spread about by the fans won't get anywhere important. You may get some blocking of the blades if your headlight deep in mud.

[bluedragon436]

Yeah I think as far as water goes I think they'll be fine, but think mud would trash the blades for sure, or probably the motors just cause of the blades being jambed up... Might have to see if I can find some that aren't the CREE setup like that with the fans.. Or just try and avoid the deep stuff... Maybe for a bit I'll run just an upgraded harness, and do the H4 conversion, till I know what kind of stuff I"ll be wheeling in down in SC, then I can make the choice if I want to upgrade.. But will def keep an eye out for reviews on how they stand up over time...

[Mudderoy]

I started looking into this upgrade after reading this thread. I didn't like the solution with all the additional parts. More things to fail. I was happy to find several solutions on ebay that just have the LED H4 insert. It was like $64 shipped. No fans, etc... In fact they even made mention of it.

[Philxj4L]

One thing to watch for on LED headlights. Make sure they have only 2 emitters. There are a lot of LEDs listed as headlights, with a load of small emitters, they're NOT headlights ! Some are single pole, so no dip/main, the ones that are twin pole, still won't match the light output pattern of standard bulbs, so you'll get a proper beam with clean cutoffs and cat be properly aligned.
The type that have just 2 luminous pots, or emitters are matched, position wise as the filaments on standard tungsten/halogen bulbs. If you can get this type without fans, your good to go. :)

[bluedragon436]

One thing to watch for on LED headlights. Make sure they have only 2 emitters. There are a lot of LEDs listed as headlights, with a load of small emitters, they're NOT headlights ! Some are single pole, so no dip/main, the ones that are twin pole, still won't match the light output pattern of standard bulbs, so you'll get a proper beam with clean cutoffs and cat be properly aligned.
The type that have just 2 luminous pots, or emitters are matched, position wise as the filaments on standard tungsten/halogen bulbs. If you can get this type without fans, your good to go. :)

Man, who knew LED's & LED headlight upgrades could get so complicated?!! Thank you for the insight though, as I have been trying to research all available options and ideas for my next rig.. I do like the LED output, and the far longer life of the LED's over standard bulbs, but hate the expense of kits that don't have the fans such as the Trucklite headlight setup.. So will have to see what I can find in similar price range to the setup you got, without the fans, just in case they find themselves in water or mud...

[rabies]

links to purchase?......i have somewhat of a headlight drama situation. buying a harness soon for my jeep and wifes subaru. lights are dim and flickers.

[Philxj4L]

Just catching up, not sure how I missed this reply !
Anyhoo, these are the latest in the market, NO FANS. Just heat sinks. 2.2A draw, so no need for updated harness. And yes, ice a set on order.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60W-6000-K-LM-CREE-LED-Headlight-Bulb-Kit-H4-H1-H7-H8-H9-H11-H13-9004-9005-9007-/111505129741?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&var=&hash=item19f639410d

[xjzaped]

Interesting…I've been looking at upgrading my trailblazer to LEDs (did my XJ last summer) but I need two kits so the $115 per kit price has made me wary on a 10 year old dd that it looks like will be put out to pasture in the next 6-8 months.

Looks like the heat sinks are much bigger on the fanless setup compared to the fan setup (clearance issues perhaps). When I mounted the ones on my XJ, I didn't have a ton of room behind the bucket to mount he power supply…I ended up mounting them under the bucket with self tappers.

Anyway, I'd always recommend turning your headlights off, unplugging the electric fan, etc when planning a water crossing to keep muck out of those fans but it isn't always practical.

[bluedragon436]

Looking at ordering the LED's with fanless cooling within the next day or two... Talked to the guy who I plan on getting all my offroad LED lights from, and he said he'll have the H4 sets in stock in about a week or so... and that the folks that ran the fanless setup on the Jeeps usually just drill out the back of the headlight buckets, to add clearance as well as added air flow for cooling, so figure that should help me with the moving the power supply into the engine bay or wherever I figure to mount em up.. Can't wait to get it all installed and tested out..

[Philxj4L]

Great minds ! Just last night I'd been thinking about the space, or lack of, and had a half plan of using a hole saw to cut out the back of the bucket if needed. :)

Good to know it'll actually work ! :D

[Philxj4L]

2nd gen Crees arrived today, loaded with fancy sh$t, aircraft billet ally, silver plated red copper. :bacondance: look good, just need to sort fitting. :D

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a519/Philxj4L/592D6A7E-652B-43FB-9DF2-629CF731F8E2_zpsnytsxool.jpg (http://s1281.photobucket.com/user/Philxj4L/media/592D6A7E-652B-43FB-9DF2-629CF731F8E2_zpsnytsxool.jpg.html)