nitroxsteve Posted November 6, 2014 Posted November 6, 2014 Hi Everyone, I am in the process of fixing my dim headlights. I have ordered the harness to upgrade the wiring and I think this will help a lot. I wanting to stick with halogen lights but was wondering if the more expensive lights are worth the money. Does anyone have any experience with the Sylvania Silverstar or Xtravision lamps?
Jeep Driver Posted November 6, 2014 Posted November 6, 2014 I don't think you'll see much improvement with the harness only. And the high-dollar Xtra lamps..........ain't nothing xtra about that but price.
88whitemanche Posted November 6, 2014 Posted November 6, 2014 It's well worth the money when you get higher wattage bulbs once you change over to newer headlight housings... The stock ones are 55/65 watt And some guys after swapping over end up getting 90/100 watt bulbs and view the road better.... I've picked up some 100/125 watt bulbs and they easily do better than my offroad lights... Also the headlight harness helps out with the extra wattage bulbs....
Motorcharge Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 You can get H4 housings and 80/110w H4 bulbs for like $50 and they'll plug up the same way the stock lights do. The upgraded harness is a big improvement, but the H4 housings and bulbs are night and day over stock. The bulbs are only like $10.
Jeep Driver Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 Yes........I wasn't clear........ You need to go H4 or LEDs to get any noticeable improvement with your harness. There are several threads here on the subject......search.
gogmorgo Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 Do the wiring upgrade first and see how you like it. For me, it was a HUGE improvement. It also helps prevent your headlight switch from failing and/or setting your Jeep on fire. As far as the upgraded bulbs go, I put in the XV's because that's what the part store had as a "oem equivalent". The only difference between those and the regular ones was that my driver's side low beam wasn't burnt out any more. They might have been less yellow as well, but I didn't notice much improvement until I did the wiring upgrade after my headlight switch set itself on fire. I put together my own relay harness with the intention of going to 100+ watt bulbs (my harness would support up to 180W/bulb as is, and with a couple simple additions 360W because I ran 10awg wire), but after installing the harness with the bulbs I'd been running, I decided that brighter bulbs were entirely unnecessary. I was commuting mostly on an unlit highway at night, and never had an issue with visibility on what amounts to little more than stock headlights. The factory headlights were 35/65W (low/high), and the XV's are 55/65W. Literally no difference with the high beams. The illuminated area of the low beams is too compromised (so as not to blind oncoming traffic) to notice what little difference there is.
DansGreyMj Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 Do the harness and get a set of Autopals like these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/200mm-H6054-H4-DOT-EURO-CONVERSION-HEADLIGHTS-KIT-/330591764599?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4cf8ce0077&vxp=mtr I've been running these for years with a relay harness and they are great. Stay away from the "diamond" headlight kits they have a horrible pattern.
Eagle Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 Sylvania Xtravision are not "high dollar" replacements. They are the same power as stock on high beam, but more power on low beam, and they have a better distribution. When I bought a used 2001 XJ the factory headlights were like two piss holes in the snow. I replaced them with a pair of Xtravisions and those give me all the light I need. Plus they are rated for something like twice the life of OEM, and abut four times the life of the Silverstars.
cruiser54 Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 I don't think you'll see much improvement with the harness only. And the high-dollar Xtra lamps..........ain't nothing xtra about that but price. Not true. I've done it. Huge difference. 40% brighter with JUST the harness. A guy on one of the other forums measured the difference in Lumens and got the 40% figure. I had done the harness alone in my wife's 88 before reading the results of his test, and I guessed 35% better. aLWAYS do just the harness first. You will be pleasantly surprised.
mkbruin Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 I don't think you'll see much improvement with the harness only. And the high-dollar Xtra lamps..........ain't nothing xtra about that but price. Not true at all on the first count. Harness only, stock lights, before and after, Stolen from a thread at JF: Big difference.
cruiser54 Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 I don't think you'll see much improvement with the harness only. And the high-dollar Xtra lamps..........ain't nothing xtra about that but price. Not true at all on the first count. Harness only, stock lights, before and after, Stolen from a thread at JF: Big difference. Exactly.
ScottJeep Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 New harness....replaced the plastic headlight sockets with ceramic.... replaced original halogen bulbs with Wagner TruView ( on closeout from RockAuto for less than $7.00...AMAZON price is $30.00) Well worth my minimal investment.
johnj92131 Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 The harness or more correctly the relay harness upgrade works by delivering more voltage directly to the existing lamps. That higher voltage, shorter wire path means more light output from what ever your existing lamps are. Other paths to better lights? You can improve the focus of the headlight lens. That helps concentrate the existing light in places that you need to see. Example? European E-Code lights. Huge improvement when you actually deliver the light to where you need it. Did this upgrade on my VW Passat and then added the relay harness. It works great. When I get home I will add a link to a great site with lighting upgrade information. Edit: Here is a great site for the How and WHY of lighting upgrade information- http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html
Incommando Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 What did you night blind people do during the incandescent bulb era? If you cannot see with just halogen sealed beams it may be time to hang up driving after dark. Just sayin'
johnj92131 Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 What did you night blind people do during the incandescent bulb era? If you cannot see with just halogen sealed beams it may be time to hang up driving after dark. Just sayin' Or get your eyes checked for cataracs. Seriously. But there are better lighting solutions than halogen sealed beams, they just cost more money! And just because it cost more, doesn't make all lights better.
nitroxsteve Posted November 7, 2014 Author Posted November 7, 2014 Thanks for the input everyone I'm going to install the harness as soon as it shows up and a new set of halogen bulbs just not sure what ones yet.
cruiser54 Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 Thanks for the input everyone I'm going to install the harness as soon as it shows up and a new set of halogen bulbs just not sure what ones yet. You'll be happy.
Jeep Driver Posted November 8, 2014 Posted November 8, 2014 Thanks for the input everyone I'm going to install the harness as soon as it shows up and a new set of halogen bulbs just not sure what ones yet. You'll be happy. When I built the harness for the wife's XJ I bought NAPA's high end sealed beams, equivalent to the Xtra. They are now sitting in a box in the garage, biggest waste of $55 I've spent in a long time. Hella H4s.
cruiser54 Posted November 8, 2014 Posted November 8, 2014 Thanks for the input everyone I'm going to install the harness as soon as it shows up and a new set of halogen bulbs just not sure what ones yet. You'll be happy. When I built the harness for the wife's XJ I bought NAPA's high end sealed beams, equivalent to the Xtra. They are now sitting in a box in the garage, biggest waste of $55 I've spent in a long time. Hella H4s. Hey. Do JUST the harness first in the name of science, wouldya?
krustyballer16 Posted November 8, 2014 Posted November 8, 2014 Putco harness. Delta housings and Narva 130w/100w offroad motorcycle bulbs! They out shine my kc daylighter pencil beams! Everyone said those high watt bulbs would only last 3 or 4 months but Ive used them every night for 4 years and no problems!
johnj92131 Posted November 8, 2014 Posted November 8, 2014 Lots of good info on how and why to upgrade lights here: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html As Cruiser54 said "Hey. Do JUST the harness first in the name of science, wouldya?"
cruiser54 Posted November 8, 2014 Posted November 8, 2014 Putco harness. Delta housings and Narva 130w/100w offroad motorcycle bulbs! They out shine my kc daylighter pencil beams! Everyone said those high watt bulbs would only last 3 or 4 months but Ive used them every night for 4 years and no problems! Real world experience right there. Simple and effective.
Rockfrog Posted November 8, 2014 Posted November 8, 2014 I run a ceramic plug harness I picked up off evil Bay, uses standard relays. With the sealed beams that came with my MJ the improvement is night and day. I did replace the front header harness as well when I swapped front clips but that is just signal voltage now. I generally drive all night on low beam, never really need high beam, used it far more with the stock wiring though. Light output on low is now equal to what I was getting out of high beam before.
cruiser54 Posted November 8, 2014 Posted November 8, 2014 I run a ceramic plug harness I picked up off evil Bay, uses standard relays. With the sealed beams that came with my MJ the improvement is night and day. I did replace the front header harness as well when I swapped front clips but that is just signal voltage now. I generally drive all night on low beam, never really need high beam, used it far more with the stock wiring though. Light output on low is now equal to what I was getting out of high beam before. Yup. Works great. It's just SO SIMPLE. Do the harness. Experience the results. Then, proceed on an upgrade path if you feel the need.
nitroxsteve Posted November 9, 2014 Author Posted November 9, 2014 I installed the new harness and it made an improvement with the old bulbs. More white light instead of yellow. I then installed a new set of silverstars and its a huge differance over the old lights.
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