brighter head lights?

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Coryduran

Coryduran

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It seems like my headlights are just so dim, they are hardly even useful. Wondering if you guys know of some brands that will just go in and produce some nice light.
 
What kind of bulbs do you have in it now??
If they are the original stock non-halogen bulbs, that would be part of your problem.
And upgrade your wiring harness like the prior post.
 
Honestly I'm not sure because I've only owned the car about 6 months, p.o. said it was all original, and I'm assuming that included the same kind of headlights? I just know that they are not very bright, so I'd have to assume that would be a problem is the style of bulbs. And I never really looked into upgrading the wiring for them, so that's interesting for sure.
 
convert to the 1970 and newer charging system that will help a little,,, pre 1970 the head lites dim sitting ideling and at trraffic lites due to the old style voltage regulator,,,
 
do a h-4 conversion with the new style plastic bulb housing. looks good and super bright!
 
See here. Put in Cibie H4s if you want excellent headlamps (but they're costly), or put in GE Night Hawk H6024NH sealed beams from www.amazon.com (search H6024NH) if you want decent and cheap but not very long lived. Don't get Sylvania, Wagner, or other junk. Whatever lights you put in, make sure they're fed by relays, and you can also upgrade the car's other exterior lights (see here).

For more detailed headlamp info, see here and here and here.
 
I can personally vouch 110% for Dan's Cibie recommendation. I had an 08 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited that I did Dan's entire conversion on and lemmie tell you, IT WORKS. Awesome, focused light, RIGHT where you need it especially on low beam focused on the right side of the road where all the road signs are, instead of down at the ground. On bright, they are unbelieveavble. It is an upgrade that you will NOT be sorry you spent the money on. My Jeep was decked out with lift, tires, winch, you name it....but the headlight upgrade was by and large the BEST mod that I did. I will be doing it again to my Mopar, too.
 
The 08 jeep wrangler head light's work good.
 

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so are these the lights to get?

lights.png



they look different then the ones in the allpar article

duster.png



then what bulbs do ya get?

bulbs.png





don't think i need to put relays in. car is rewired with heavier then stock headlight wire. the headlight switch will take 18 amps with no issues.



.
 
If you think the Jeep JK headlights are good, you ain't ever seen a good headlight, because they SUCK. That is one of the biggest complaints on the new JK is the headlights. Take my word, if you do the Cibie upgrade where those JK headlights are, you'll wonder why the hell you wasted the money on them. I am NOT kidding. The Cibies are that good.
 
Joe, PM slantsixdan. He is a lighting engineer and can set you up with a conversion. I used the Osram hyper H4 bulbs in my Jeep with those 7" Cibies you posted and the wiring harness and relays Dan recommends. It gives you alternator voltage at the headlights. I can't say enough good about them. You have to see it to believe it.
 
StrokerScamp said:
If you think the Jeep JK headlights are good, you ain't ever seen a good headlight, because they SUCK.
Click to expand...

That is true. I sell a lot of Cibie headlamps to a lot of guys who want rid of the junk Chrysler put on the JK ('07-up) Wrangler. They're a nice-looking headlamp, but that's it. The optics are sloppy and so the beam focus and formation are sloppy.

Abodyjoe: Yes, you've identified the right ones. They are same as shown @ Allpar; just photographed from a different angle. Bulb selection depends on which headlamps you're running and the configuration of your charging system and headlamp circuit and other factors. I would be interested to see some results for a voltage drop test of your upgraded headlamp circuit without relays. I think you'll find it better than with the stock thin wires, but still significant enough to merit putting in relays. The headlamp switch might well be able to take 18A, but the primary goal is to see well, not to make sure the headlamp switch lives a long and happy life. The contacts inside the headlamp switch are tiny, and you've still got long lengths of wire with many connections running between the producer (battery/alternator) and the consumer (headlamps).

The test is easy to do; all you need is a voltmeter. All headlamps must be connected - you may have to backprobe the sockets, but removing the socket from the headlamp invalidates the test because then there's no load on the circuit.

Engine off, circuit to be tested (low or high beam) energized

First, connect your voltmeter across the battery + and - terminals. Record the voltage reading, this is the battery voltage (duh).

Connect your voltmeter positive lead to the battery (+) and the voltmeter negative lead to the + terminal of whichever headlamp beam you're testing -- use the bulb farthest away from the battery. With the lamps on, your voltmeter will give a direct reading of the voltage drop. Write it down.

Then connect the positive voltmeter lead to the ground terminal of the headlamp bulb, and the negative voltmeter lead to the (-) terminal of the battery. With the lamps on, your voltmeter will again give a direct reading of the voltage drop. Write it down.

Add the two voltage drop figures obtained, and this is the total circuit drop.

Subtract the total circuit drop from the battery voltage to find the voltage at which your bulbs are operating.

Remember, light output drops exponentially (to the power 3.4), not linearly, with voltage drop. Small voltage drops = large light losses.
 
all i can say is relays relays relays. the voltage drop from running your headlight power in the car to the headlight switch, then back out to the headlights is killing you. i run my headlights through relays and run h4 lights in my wagon. people complain how bright they are. they tell me to turn off my high beams, but they are off.
 
slantscamp said:
people complain how bright they are. they tell me to turn off my high beams, but they are off.
Click to expand...

That means your headlamps are not correctly aimed, and that means they're dangerous. Set them carefully according to the "VOL" instructions at http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html . A properly-aimed H4 headlamp produces less glare to other drivers than a properly-aimed sealed beam, because of the better beam focus.
 
I put Cibie headlamps in my 77 Dodge Power Wagon. The best headlights I ever had. I put the Candlepower ones recommended by Dan in my Barracuda. They also do an excellent job. I used the GE Nighthawks in my Valiant and other Barracuda and they are good, but not even close to the vision you get with Cibie or Candlepower M/C H4
 
The Candlepower units are not what they once were; I went out at night a couple months ago with a few pairs of what they're presently shipping and I can no longer call them adequate for night driving. Keep in mind the motorcycle headlamp standards around the world are ridiculously lax. A lot of people think an H4 headlamp is an H4 headlamp is an H4 headlamp, but that's not true. There's an enormous range of performance and efficiency even among the major brands.
 
That's what I really like about the Cibie conversion. Those E Code lamps can make a pretty crappy H4 bulb do a fairly decent job compared to a sealed beam.
 
Sad to hear about the Candlepower lamps. I was going to order a couple more sets when it warms up for my other cars but I guess I'll just stick with the Nighthawks. It's a shame there is no such thing as quality any more. Just shows we've really got to support those who stick with quality in their products!
 
Dang Dan, its amazing how knowledgeable you are.....I have seen alot of threads (mostly electrical related but not limited to) where you always seem to know what it is you are talking about and you always have links to more information on the subject too!.

way to go:headbang:

I would like to upgrade the lighting on my duster but I still have alot of other crap I need to do to it before I start worrying about that stuff lol.
 
I see no one brought this up, so how about HID lamps? They work wonders! About to order a setup for my DD.
 
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