Better Headlights

Is there any type of headlight upgrade for my 84 CJ7?

 

Hella makes some nice ones. I put them on the '59-5 and they were a big improvement. Installing a relay system so the voltage goes directly from the battery to the lights and not through the headlamp switch is a big improvement as well.


Sent from my iPhone

 

There's a guy selling relay harnesses on jeep CJ forum lately. You should be able to find the thread on the first page or two but I don't recall which forum it was in (one of the ones at the top though.) Someone posted some before vs. after pics and it was a huge difference. These can be made really easily and you can even get sockets online so its complete plug and play and you don't have to cut your stock harness apart.

 

Yup. As mentioned above, the Hella's. You can get them at 4 Wheel Parts. Other people make H4 conversion headlights as well, just make sure they are glass lenses. I have a set of Autopals in my 240z and they look crappy now, even kept indoors. There are a set of Hella's in it's future...

 

Even the Hella's fog up. I have one original Hella in my VW and one replacement (broken by a stone). You can see the difference from a block away.

John your Jeep uses 6014 bulbs, just like millions of other USA cars. There is lots of info on the internet about headlight conversions. https://www.google.com/search?q=6014 headlight conversion

 

Hellas , or any DOT approved headlight made for sale in north America are junk.

The real deal to get are European market E-code lights (the left hand drive versions)
They focus all the light on the road and not in the face of oncoming traffic or the sky (as mandated by our government)

Start by studying this guy's website for more info...

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html

Make sure to dig all the way through the tech section as there is a great wealth of knowledge there. Good reading if you want to learn some stuff.

 

What he said! I communicated with Daniel several times and he ended hooking me up with Cibie lenses, Osram bulbs, and a harness that wired the headlights through a relay, allowing more juice to get to the headlights. I'm still reassembling the CJ, but I did the same thing to my TJ and it made a big difference.

 

The sylvania silverstars are a direct replacement and don't require you to modify the wiring or anything else. They are quite a bit brighter than standard Headlights. I had them on my CJ and have put them on my LJ as well. If you don't want to go to the trouble of replacing all that then these are a good alternative.

 

I had e-code Cibié lights on my '73 CJ back in 1973. They are excellent lights, but very expensive.

Note that the final E in Cibié has an accent acute (ahksant ay-que) - the name is pronounced see-bee-ay, with a long A on the end.

 

Hey there.. I'm the guy from jeep-cj.com that's making the head light harnesses. Before you replace the bulbs you should really upgrade the wiring. Not just trying to sel you a harness.. Either make your own or buy a pre made one from some one (maybe this guy). There's a several issues with cj head lights that cause them to be dim and yellow and none of them are the bulbs. Here's some of the issues.

1 the way the power is touted to the bulbs. It travels all the way from the batt to the fuse box to the head light switch to the dimmer to the fuse block then finally through some under sized wires to the bulbs.

2 the switches are old and worn out. They over heat easily causing problems

by switching to a relay system all the load is removed from the switches. Power is routed from the batt to the head lights raising the voltage from 11.4 (average for a stock wiring harness) to 14+ volts.

Even if you dump the money into H4 plugs your still not getting the full power to em. You will find H4 upgrade plugs that go from stock plastic plugs to so eramics to help with stand the heat of the hotter bulbs but they do not increase the voltage to the plugs

Heres my shameless plug

I build a upgrade kit that is plug and play. It includes a seperate fuse as a double safety incase there's a short. In either system you have the other. 2 new relays that I rewire with 16 gauge leads for the relay switches, 12 ga wires for power to the relays and then out to the headlights. New ceramic plugs are added so you can upgrade in the future the H4 with no concern to heat build up and power supply. I make a designated ground wire for the headlights to avoid the crappy ground issue. It's a plug and play system. The relays get thier switch power from the stock passenger side headlight plug the 12volt power comes from starter solenoid and the ground can go to either the engine block or battery negative.i sell these for $60 shipped. Here's a pic




Ok.. Done with my plug. I've done this on almost ever jeep I've owned and for many friends. I'd be more then happy to help you out with any questions on setting up your own of be more the happy to sell you one of mine.

 

How the heck do you type that?(and the degree symbol for that matter)

 

Alt keys. http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accents/codealt.html

Or cut and paste from a document.

 

©ÓÖ£ !

 

I think I"d start with the wiring and go from there. For the cost, I'd order the kit from Jimbo. Plug it in and then decide how much more you want to do. The difference will be substantial. If it's not bright enough, then you can spend more money on lights and other stuff.