cruiser54 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Silverstars, ecode, IPF, whatever.... These things shouldn't even be part of a consideration or on the table for discussion until after the harness has been upgraded. Period. In my opinion why?...because I did the harness upgrade, afterwards would have sent the replacement bulbs back... the harness upgrade worked so well, my headlights were so bright, even with mismatched, who knows how old sealed beams. The harness upgrade makes makes the most overall improvement, bar none...best money I ever spent to see down the road. What 64 Cheyenne said. I've done JUST the harness, harness and bulbs etc. Harness is absolutely the single biggest difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrymo Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Putco H4 / 9003 Heavy Duty Headlight Upgrade Wiring Harness Just to make sure...this is the exact wiring harness replacement/upgrade that will fit my '87 MJ 4.0L? Yes? Amazon has it for $26.00 plus shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Yep. When it comes time to install it, be sure the ground contact points are shiny clean with no paint, and mount the relays with the plug side facing down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrymo Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Yep. When it comes time to install it, be sure the ground contact points are shiny clean with no paint, and mount the relays with the plug side facing down. Thanks for all your tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I think the box said they were 55/65W low/high. Anyone know what stock is? Not sure, but I think stock sealed beams were 35 watt for low beam and 65 watt for high beam. I've been perfectly satisfied with the OEM headlights in my wife's 2000 XJ but, for some reason, the lights in the 2001 XJ I bought used were the pits. I looked at the Sylvania Silverstars and I wasn't impressed with the rated lamp life. Then I spotted Sylvania Xtravision lamps. They are standard sealed beams, requiring no conversion housings or any changes (although a harness upgrade will also help them deliver more light). They are 55 watt for low beam and 65 watt for high beam. Rated life: Standard (OEM replacement: 320/200 hours Xtravision: 850/200 hours Silverstar: 150/50 hours (YIKES!) The Xtravision are, IMHO, the clear choice. You get about the same light output as the Silverstars without the funky blue color, for 25% less money. You get more light from the low beams (which around here is probably 90% of my driving) than the OEM replacements, plus almost three times MORE lamp life than the OEM replacements and nearly six times the life of the Silverstars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Yeah, the XV are decent lights. I was actually sold them just over a year ago as what the parts store carried for an OEM replacement. They just contribute to this thing where your truck sets itself on fire unless you've upgraded the harness. Which I'm currently doing due to said fire. Making my own because I'd rather not wait for the Putco to ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Yeah, the XV are decent lights. I was actually sold them just over a year ago as what the parts store carried for an OEM replacement. They just contribute to this thing where your truck sets itself on fire unless you've upgraded the harness. Which I'm currently doing due to said fire. Making my own because I'd rather not wait for the Putco to ship. Considering that the Xtravisions don't draw any more current than the OEM headlamps, they cannot possibly set your truck on fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 That's what I once said. But you might want to read the rest of the thread. The low beams with the XV's are drawing 150% of the current the stock low beams draw. You're probably OK with your '00 and '01 XJ's, because Jeep recognized the issue and did something about it when they went OBD2 (at least it's a different headlight switch, but my MJ was very much on fire and I'm very much not OK with that, or with anyone else's vehicle being on fire. I pulled enough dashes apart at a junk yard trying to get another connector for my headlight switch, every single one of them melted, to know that the factory wiring isn't really good enough for the stock draw, let alone even a slight upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I don't dispute that your MJ caught fire, but I don't believe it was due to the headlights. I own an '87 XJ with about 100k on it, an '87 MJ with about 120k on it, an '88 XJ with 287k on it, an '88 MJ with 209k and another '88 MJ with 120k on it -- ALL have the factory headlight wiring, and none have either caught fire or melted the headlight switch connector. How did you determine that the Xtravision headlamps were the cause of your fire? Drawing 150% of the factory low beam rating is meaningless. Stock headlights are 35 watts low beam and 65 watts high beam. The Xtravisions are 55 watts low beam and 65 watts high beam. That's actually 157% of the low beam current, but it's still less than the OEM high beam draw, which is the same for both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 If the headlight switch melted, of course the head lamps caused the wire fire. The head lamp amp draw in combination with the corroded terminal connections and old crusty wiring that is. BTW gogmorgo, the headlight switch connector is available new. Don't use a used one. AIRTEX Part # 1P1190 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 If the headlight switch melted, of course the head lamps caused the wire fire. The head lamp amp draw in combination with the corroded terminal connections and old crusty wiring that is. BTW gogmorgo, the headlight switch connector is available new. Don't use a used one. AIRTEX Part # 1P1190 My thoughts exactly. With everything marginal in the headlamp wiring system, and the switch itself, it's hit and miss. some folks have issues and some don't. That doesn't mean there's no issue as can be seen by observing the evidence. A supplemental harness is NEVER a bad idea on these Jeeps. Worse case is your factory lamps end up 35% brighter and your headlight switch won't fail on you. And, you know when it's gonna faillllat night!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Pulled four XJ dashes apart, found four melted connectors, at which point I gave up looking. They all looked fine from the outside.... the middle of each was melted. None of them looked particularly corroded, either. Thanks, Hornbrod. If I can source a connector locally, I might go that way, now that I know they're available. But I was just going to use spade terminals. I'm fixing it tomorrow since I need my MJ to get to school and back and I've been coming in late and bailing early every day so far so I don't have to drive in the dark. There's an awful lot of dark this time of year, and I'm not going to be able to keep this up for much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I will never understand why AMC, then Chrysler, used relays for the factory fog/driving lamp load, but did not for the headlamps. Even the wire gauge was undersized for the length of the circuit run and amount of load. Probably for cost savings, as fog lamps were optional and not common while headlamps were on all XJs and MJs. Bastids.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Also, I'm in the school of thought that if visibility is at all questionable, then I have my headlights on. Probably wears things out sooner, but it also meant I was one of the lucky few who had them fail during the day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91Pioneer Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hey gogmorgo, did you do the wiring harness upgrade too? If so, did you retain DRLs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggcnash Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 All these guys are the guru's so I'm sure all their suggestions are great but if you got the cash the Truck-lite LED's are amazing my buddy had them on a 93 xj requires no harness upgrade either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hey gogmorgo, did you do the wiring harness upgrade too? If so, did you retain DRLs? Yeah, I made my own based off of this guy's page. He's an Aussie and so his metricity can be a little confusing sometimes, but if you look into some of the other stuff he's doing... really top notch. But that's beyond the point. I made up a basic wiring diagram that helped me make a little bit more sense of what he's saying, which I may still have kicking around somewhere. I was eventually planning on making a diy thread, but didn't really have time and forgot to take pics while I was at it, so I don't think it's going to happen. Back on topic, I can't entirely answer your question. I'm not sure how/if the DRL fits into the equation as mine haven't ever worked since I got the truck. The harness plugs directly into the factory headlight sockets to use as triggers for the relays, though, so I don't see why you wouldn't retain DRL. Whenever you get power to the factory headlight sockets by any mechanism, the relays should still trigger. To put it another way, the harness is downstream of all the factory switches and wiring except for the headlight bulbs themselves, so whenever the factory setup would have the headlights on, so should the upgrade harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGriff013 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I'm looking at buying the putco H4 harness off of amazon, my only question is do I just need to buy 1 total OR 1 for each of my head lights? I want to go HIDs eventually in my 91 MJ so I know I will need to upgrade my harness eventually and might as well do it now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 One total. It contains two relays (HI / LO Beams) and two H4 connectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGriff013 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 One total. It contains two relays (HI / LO Beams) and two H4 connectors. Perfect thank! Looks like I will be ordering that ASAP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee21490 Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I love my putco / Hella h4 combo Even got the 90/100w bulbs :D Havent been flashed while driving yet, WHich is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I love my putco / Hella h4 combo Even got the 90/100w bulbs :D Havent been flashed while driving yet, WHich is good. Same here. How's the visibility? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobolink Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I just installed the Putco harness, with Hella 003427011 Euro code headlights and PIAA 15244 Xtreme White bulbs. They're rated at 4105K, supposedly have a slight blue tint, but I don't see any blue at all, and frankly don't want the blue tint. 4100K is right on the edge, but they are bright white, and the Hella lens can't be beat. Seems like a great combo for driving my deer-laden country roads. I've always had Euro code lights on my other cars, but for the 24 years that I've had the MJ, I just never got around to it 'til now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I just installed the Putco harness, with Hella 003427011 Euro code headlights and PIAA 15244 Xtreme White bulbs. They're rated at 4105K, supposedly have a slight blue tint, but I don't see any blue at all, and frankly don't want the blue tint. 4100K is right on the edge, but they are bright white, and the Hella lens can't be beat. Seems like a great combo for driving my deer-laden country roads. I've always had Euro code lights on my other cars, but for the 24 years that I've had the MJ, I just never got around to it 'til now. Better late than never!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrymo Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Okay, since I started this tread I can now say that I finally got around to installing the Putco H4 / 9003 Heavy Duty Headlight Upgrade Wiring Harness with my Sylvania H6054XV replacement headlights. The increased brightness is very good and a great improvement over the stock set-up. It was essentially a plug-n-play install with the only difficult part being finding a good place for the two ground wires using the length of wire provided. The suggestions and tips given here on this topic were nothing but awesome. Thanks to all for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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