Expedition headlights

[westernhunter]

What headlights do you recommend for a 2001 XJ.

1. Must be durable

2. Must be long lasting

3. Must be readily available.

Any thing else I should consider? I am leaning to just the auto part store replacements.

[Canadian Moose]

I am also looking and upgrading my headlights for my 1998 XJ.

I am looking at H4 Housings over the stock sealed beams. This allows for high power and common h4 bulbs or HIDS.

IPF and Hella E Codes are good ones I hear.

[Cnickgo]

Upgrading to the H4 housing helps, a lot of people like the IPF and Hellas. What will give you the best light is using a good bulb from Hella or PIAA, and upgrading your headlight harness. You can find the harness on Ebay or get one from 5-90 on NAXJA (recommended).

[Hilldweller]

Ask on this forum:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=87

[Silver dude]

I have used these in the past and was very impressed with them.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...fPartsQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/89-94-NISSAN-240SX-EURO-200mm-H4-H6054-HEADLIGHTS-KIT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3ef4015e77QQitemZ27 0381702775QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAcce ssories)

The beam pattern was aimed great, out of the eyes of other motorists as it had a clean sharp cutoff curve mostly based to the right that made driving with them great as it kept light out of the incoming lane but lit the road nice. I never had any issues with the law or people flashing their brights. They were very high quality as well nice glass lens and metal reflector.

[ExpoMike]

I have used these in the past and was very impressed with them.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...fPartsQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/89-94-NISSAN-240SX-EURO-200mm-H4-H6054-HEADLIGHTS-KIT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3ef4015e77QQitemZ27 0381702775QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAcce ssories)

The beam pattern was aimed great, out of the eyes of other motorists as it had a clean sharp cutoff curve mostly based to the right that made driving with them great as it kept light out of the incoming lane but lit the road nice. I never had any issues with the law or people flashing their brights. They were very high quality as well nice glass lens and metal reflector.

These are exactly the ones I used. The Autopal lights are exactly what I put in my XJ. They are identical to the Hella housing (having had both, not in the XJ though). They are built by the same manufacturer. They work great but like any E-code lights (which have to meet a much stricter requirement than USA standards) you need to readjust your lights as the location using the stock lights put the E-codes in the wrong aiming location.

A big plus to the whole system is getting (or in my case building) a headlight harness. This uses a couple relays and pulls power directly from the battery and the headlight switch is only used to turn the lights on/off. No headlight power runs thru the switchs which ends up limiting voltage output. The lights get full battery voltage.

[Hilldweller]

A big plus to the whole system is getting (or in my case building) a headlight harness. This uses a couple relays and pulls power directly from the battery and the headlight switch is only used to turn the lights on/off. No headlight power runs thru the switchs which ends up limiting voltage output. The lights get full battery voltage.This was a big plus on my recent Hella reflector and Osram bulb retrofit. I did the voltage-drops and gained .6 volts with the new harness ---- on a new vehicle. Results on an older heap would be more impressive.

[mudbutt]

I just finished my upgrade.

Night and day difference.....

Hella E-codes with 55/100 bulbs. http://www.rallylights.com/default.aspx
Daniel Stern headlight wiring upgrade kit. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
Wiring loom schematic. http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/index.htm

2 things......

1. Upgrading the headlights alone won't get you much result unless you go HID. If you upgrade to H4's you will have to upgrade your harness.

2. If you use Go-Jeep's instructions add about 3" to each wire going to the passenger side headlight. Mine ended up a bit short on my '98 which made it difficult to attatch the plug to the headlamp......

If you have a lot of time on your hands, there's 35 pages discussing the whole upgrade here:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=906034&highlight=headlight


Edit:The 2 posts above me are both right on the money!

[bigreen505]

Ask Daniel Stern (http://www.danielsternlighting.com/) for a set of rectangular Cibie e-code housings, relays, and your choice of bulbs - either high efficiency 55/65 or 55/100. When you call, ask if he can still get the Focus thin shell protectors from Australia. In my experience that is about as good as it gets.

[SWbySWesty]

The ONLY thing you need to know: www.bajaHID.com

Talk to Tony. He's awesome. Get the harness, housings and HID bulbs/ballasts.

[Hilldweller]

The ONLY thing you need to know: www.bajaHID.com

Talk to Tony. He's awesome. Get the harness, housings and HID bulbs/ballasts.
The legal ones are pretty dang expensive though.

Just checked out their site; I don't see any legal ones...

[SWbySWesty]

yea - the site isn't so great, but call.

[BKCowGod]

The legal ones are pretty dang expensive though.

Just checked out their site; I don't see any legal ones...

Also - lifted truck + aftermarket "HID" - auto leveling system = you're one of those people I hate who when they are coming towards me blinds me even though I'm in a giant Jeep that's lifted 6"

Buy good quality H4 housings and align properly. Install good quality H4 bulbs in said housings. Use a good relay system to power said bulbs.

Now you have lighting that not only doesn't piss off oncoming traffic, but is less expensive and will last longer, and gives you a more natural illumination so that you can see better.

It's fascinating to me how desperate people are to get on the HID bandwagon. Give me a nice, strong, correctly aligned yellow beam over the creepily blue-white light any day. (and no, I'm not even getting in to those fake blue bulbs that all the ricers in San Jose love so much)

[SWbySWesty]

Also - lifted truck + aftermarket "HID" - auto leveling system = you're one of those people I hate who when they are coming towards me blinds me even though I'm in a giant Jeep that's lifted 6"

Buy good quality H4 housings and align properly. Install good quality H4 bulbs in said housings. Use a good relay system to power said bulbs.

Now you have lighting that not only doesn't piss off oncoming traffic, but is less expensive and will last longer, and gives you a more natural illumination so that you can see better.

It's fascinating to me how desperate people are to get on the HID bandwagon. Give me a nice, strong, correctly aligned yellow beam over the creepily blue-white light any day. (and no, I'm not even getting in to those fake blue bulbs that all the ricers in San Jose love so much)
I couldn't agree more. The Cherokee headlight housings can be aligned - so do it.
And the blue lights suck - even if HID. ~5000K is your best bet, but just because your lights are 20,000K doesn't mean they're better - they actually are worse.

But any upgrade - even the silverstar lights from Kragen are better than stock!

[Hilldweller]

yea - the site isn't so great, but call.Not just "not great", illegal for headlights...

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

This is a counterfeit website that has faked the Phillips name and info:
http://www.philipsxenon.com/
It's becoming a huge industry; we should do our best to spread the word.

[Driver-Navigator]

I've been running the Hella E-Code type for several years now. The sharp cutoff is a bit of a mixed bag, in my experience.

I ran the 55/100s for a year or two but switched to 55/65.

[86cj]

I've been running the Hella E-Code type for several years now. The sharp cutoff is a bit of a mixed bag, in my experience.

I ran the 55/100s for a year or two but switched to 55/65.

I have thought that those E-code housings and 55/100's would be my upgrade from sealed beams.. Are you saying that on low beam you need a little higher lighting pattern, especially after you turn off the 100 watt high beams.

Sort of to little and to much, making your eyes struggle to keep adjusted.