Fitting Trucklite LED headlamps to a Defender

[Aubrey]

I fitted a HID 6000K hi/lo H4 kit to my Defender 90 SVX soon after getting her. Compared to the std. halogen units, a major improvement.

So when I noticed a good price on the round 7 inch Trucklite's, I had a pair shipped to me, 3 weeks and they arrived so today was time to fit them .....

Here an image of the std. HID units.......



Removing the HID units and headlights took longer than fitting the LED units ......



Here the LED on lo beam ....



And here on hi beam ....



Apart from an itch ...... HID units are a little more work to fit. H4 globes are replaced with the HID unit, you need to find a place to mount the HID active control unit and also source a 12 V direct supply ...... some vehicles needs a load simulator or the ECU goes crazy ....as mine did without the load unit.

LED is plug and play.

Main benefit is LED is a complete sealed unit so no water issues and Trucklite has Mil spec design (not this specific model). HID and H4 halogen face same challenge on water. Downside ...LED was 4x more expensive than the HID units.

Fitment on a Defender is a drop in. No mods needed. A harness is supplied for H4 plag and also an adapter for what is Jeep..

Will check beam pattern tonight.

Cheers from Africa

Aubrey

 

[kojackJKU]

The output is not quite to HID, but the beams are much more focused, less light scatter. I love the truck lites for a main light.

 

[Hilldweller]

The main "benefit" of the Trucklites are actually threefold in the US.
1) they're legal
2) they actually work correctly
3) much lower power consumption, especially since there's no igniter or funny Chinese ballast to fry your wires

We put the TL Phase 7s into Mikey's D90 a couple of years ago and then fitted them with JW Speaker TS3000R driving lights. This model of Trucklites aren't exactly what I would call "mil-spec" (that's another product they make that is tougher but the light isn't as good) but they're very robust.

 

[Hilldweller]

Here's the milspec Phase 6 on my old Jeep:

and the miserable light pattern they produce:

Low

High

The Phase 7 was a giant leap in real-world performance for them. I hope they continue to push the envelope.

 

[kojackJKU]

I think they will get better all the time. They are so good tho now that im putting 5x7s in my superduty F250

 

[Hilldweller]

I think they will get better all the time. They are so good tho now that im putting 5x7s in my superduty F250

Try the JWS first. They blow away the TLs in that size.
We put a pair of each into Stumpy's two XJs. Big difference.

 

[1leglance]

So for an easy drop in install for my 70 Suburban would the Trucklight Phase 7 be the best choice?
I already plan to install a relay setup to take the load off my old light switch which I think will help any light I install.

Great look on the Defender there by the way.

 

[Aubrey]

Sorry about the MIl spec comment .... little vague on their website ..... my mistake.

In dry environments ...... not a problem with HID's but that hi voltage ballast is just an explosion waiting to happen when yuou add water.

Fitting is drop in so if light switch is in good condition, I would not be too concerned. Trucklite is just about 1/2 of current drawn by halogen headlights.

 

[Hilldweller]

So for an easy drop in install for my 70 Suburban would the Trucklight Phase 7 be the best choice?
I already plan to install a relay setup to take the load off my old light switch which I think will help any light I install.

Great look on the Defender there by the way.

Does the 'Burb have PAR 56 sealed beams as standard?
Then the best LED drop-in would be the JW Speaker 8700. Peterson/KC have an LED that would come in second; the Trucklite Phase 7 is very very close to the Peterson in performance and is also available as a GE.
The OE wiring should be fine with LED lights. That's one of the beautiful things about them when you're talking about older rigs.

 

[kojackJKU]

Try the JWS first. They blow away the TLs in that size.
We put a pair of each into Stumpy's two XJs. Big difference.

I would but my local store has the TL in stock, and I have a business account there. Are the TL bad in that size compared to my round versions?

 

[LR Max]

Using Peterson 701c's here. Went that route since they directly plug into my old rover wiring harness. Just being able to use my stock connector was worth it.

They are epic.

Now that said, I was coming from NAPA brand 7" sealed beams powered by 20 ga wire. Not really a powerhouse so by that comparison the Petersons rock. Good price point on them as well.

Just gotta adjust them. I think the low beam is a bit too high and the high beam is pretty much useless it points so high.

 

[Hilldweller]

I would but my local store has the TL in stock, and I have a business account there. Are the TL bad in that size compared to my round versions?

Not at all. Same "x" pattern from the LED but that never bothered me much. Really messes with some people though.
TL and JWS conform to two different FMVSS-108 standards; that's where the pattern difference comes in. TL chose to conform to an older standard and JWS went more modern.

 

[robert]

Yet another reason I don't like the new style molded plastic headlight assemblies.

 

[Hilldweller]

Yet another reason I don't like the new style molded plastic headlight assemblies.

Expensive? Difficult to replace? No competition? No flexibility in bulb choice/replacement? Scratch easily? Fade/haze? Difficult/tedious bulb replacement?

Yeah, auto-makers are only beginning to understand the market. It's unfortunate that there is such a proliferation of vendors hawking illegitimate unsafe illegal poorly-constructed ill-performing lighting products. Consumers are bombarded by slick advertising, hyperbole, and outright lies. It's nearly impossible to separate the seed from the chaff these days.

 

[kojackJKU]

I am fine with my truck lights, so I think i will be popping those in my superduty work truck. Local availability, price is really good from my local store, and support after the sale. I just got back from FLA, and noticed all the garbage trucks, town heavy equipment etc are running truck lites. ha ha.