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Headlamp conversion

5K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  Mike Hippert 
#1 ·
I am not quite satisfied with the power of the standard headlights and i have seen conversion kits out there. Anybody have one? Where do you get them? which one is best?
 
#2 ·
I bought one H4 retrofit on Ebay and it sucked. The housing did not match perfectly and I had to modify it to fit in the headlight ring. Then, I had to adjust the headlights all the way UP so I got decent coverage... to top that, the bulbs were dimmer than the sealed beams!

At least they looked "cool super-white". Ugh. This is the "diamond-cut" headlight upgrade which is all over Ebay.

These are not the HID lights, though, but they were billed as brighter than halogens (xenon). I might try different bulbs, but I am definitely not happy with the housings and they were not a drop-in replacement. I did learn alot about lights, color temperature, etc during this so far frustrating exercise.

Regarding HID upgrade kits: apparently you should get the ones with the combined igniter-ballast - from what I've read, these are supposed to be more reliable.
 
#7 ·
If I wanted to upgrade my lights or replace them with better units, I would power them through a relay.

I bet painless wiring has a kit to do this.

But if anyone was inclinded. It is fairly easy to do this. Just copy what an add on lighting wiring harness does. Make the normal switch which flows power to the lights become a switch for the relay. Give the new relay a shorter path to power from the battery. This increases the power to the heaadlights and makes them brighter.

JP
 
#8 ·
Umm...sure the power path to the relay is short but the power path to the lights is long. Seems easier to fit the relay close to the lights as the wires are all easily accessible there. Just beef up the wire gauge and you'll get them as bright as possible.
 
#9 ·
I actually prefer the IPF inserts but it seems you already ordered the hellas. do upgrade the wiring and install better bulbs. I use those blue bulbs from the autopatrs store that are for offroad use only. They are great and inexpensive. I believe they are 80/110 but my memory has been better
 
#12 ·
artm said:
Umm...sure the power path to the relay is short but the power path to the lights is long. Seems easier to fit the relay close to the lights as the wires are all easily accessible there. Just beef up the wire gauge and you'll get them as bright as possible.
Yes. This is correct. But I do not reccomend the alternator as a connection point. The under hood fusebox could be a good source. A shorter path, larger gauge wire and the relay as contact points make the lights brighter.

JP
 
#13 ·
I agree with JP, add a relay. If you are going to upgrade to higher wattage bulbs then you need to! Even at 110 watts you only need 1 relay as you are drawing less then 20 amps. I also suggest replacing the bulb plugs, if they are like mine they are filled with crud and are poor conductors of electricity.
 
#14 ·
Yea do not use the alternator. Someone tried this years ago and blew out the bulbs

pendy said:
Yes. This is correct. But I do not reccomend the alternator as a connection point. The under hood fusebox could be a good source. A shorter path, larger gauge wire and the relay as contact points make the lights brighter.

JP
Follow-up Post:

oh you need relays or you will melt your light switch. IPF makes a kit fo r theirs that should work on hellas it plugs into your existing wiring to use as a switch for the relays. I installed a power block under the hood because I also TRIED electric fans. But I would just run a thick gauge wire from the batteries. like 8 gauge.
 
#15 ·
absolutely on the relays. Lori wound up driving our D-90 home a couple years ago with not headlights, following closely behind me in our Disco, in a driving rainstorm. This is because the
headlight switch tried to melt, right after we added the H4 conversions. i was able to fix the switch and add a relay kit from painless, and now it's all good. well, it's acceptable. I had a '97 Rangie, now
there's a set of headlights. around here, the land of the 18hr night in january, i want all the light i can get!
 
#16 ·
I did the Hella H4 upgrade with the Painless wiring kit and Hella relays. My opinion it is the way to go with a direct connection back to the battery. I ran the 80/100 watt bulbs, and they do put out a ton of light - BUT - The way the NAS 110 enclosure is built, in addition to being a pain to replace lights as you have to drop the front lights, flat panel, and contort to get the bulbs in, it holds heat in, and I kept melting the connectors to the bulbs (the 3 connector plastic thing) because of the increased heat.
I am back to 55/60s. Less light, but they dont fail as often and the heat is less. No melting of the connector. If there was a porcelain 3 pin connector that connects to the bulbs, I would go back to the higher wattage.
 
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