The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

I left mine originally, I think there is enough grease on there to prevent anything. Others have wrapped it in electrical tape. I'll probably get around to wrapping it next weekend when working on the truck.

 

^can you post pics of how you are going to seal it up?

 

Just wrapping electrical tape over it to cover the female plug face, nothing fancy.

 

ahh gotcha. i didnt do this mod but id like to do it in the future. there is no way of cutting the old rubber boot to make the new harness fit?

 

The rubber boots fit perfectly, like stock. Because they are used in the exact same way as stock. They remain completely sealed. There is no cutting whatsoever.

What EDDO was referring to above was the passenger side female electrical connector plug, which is not used since the standalone harness replaces it. On the driver side the plug plugs into the harness to control the relays. On the passenger side the plug is not needed or used. Since nothing is plugged into it, some people like to cover the face of the plug to prevent anything getting into the unused electrical connectors.

 

gotcha, was thinking of something totally wrong

 

Just lost my first 85/80w osram this morning. Lasted a whole 2 months! I've got a set on the way.... Small chance bulb had a fingerprint or something.

 

That is really short. You can wear latex gloves on the install as an extra precaution. Ones in my gf truck are going on 14 months so far.

 

Has anyone done this in a sport with the turn signal mirrors? I just noticed today that my turn signals do not work on my mirrors anymore. Not sure if it is related to this mod, but this is the only electrical mod I've done.

 

This mod has zero effect on turn signals. It is isolated to the headlight circuit only.

 

That's what I was thinking/hoped. But now I need to figure out what else caused this now.... Hmmm.

 

I have read this tread and didn't read of anyone having troubles / issues with the extra heat hurting rubber boots / seals.
I have read about the rubber going bad from the extra heat from the higher wattage bulbs, but none here.
Any feedback about this or any issues?
I did have 90/130w bulbs in my old 78 280Z on stock wiring! Talk about lighting up the road!

Thanks for any feedback.

MM

 

I wholeheartedly agree with the use of non-powdered latex gloves to handle lightbulbs (or glass or anything clear for that matter). However, for folks who do not have latex gloves, a sparing amount of isopropyl alcohol will displace the oil left behind from finger prints with no ill effect. Acetone could also be used on glass only, but acetone may leave behind residue.

 

Now that I've done it a few times- I can get the bulb in the housing without touching anything in about 30 seconds... Not so good on my first attempts.

My suggestion- unplug the old bulb, pull the rubber boot off, carefully unclip the retaining spring (so it stays in place) then pop the new bulb in, clip the retainer, slide the rubber boot on, plug it in. I tried doing it with the boot on. Difficult...

 

I could to an IR temp scan of the boot when hot, but even with the 85w bulbs it isn't going to get hot enough to worry about degrading the rubber.

 

Crash n burn (damn autocorrect)
Thanks so much for all your work and feedback. I ordered 6 bulbs from a different vendor and I'm still on the fence about the wiring being the vendor I ordered my lights from didn't think there should be an issue. Plus just the wiring kit you used is over a $115 shipped. Not saying it's not worth that but there are so many other kits for half to one third a $115. (Sorry just trying to get the best bang for our buck) That's why we dumped the POS 2015 V6 manual Frontier and own a Tacoma. The Frontier ran great but it's cheaply built and it had issues that Nissan would not correct! (Done venting)

Again Thanks so much for all your time and feedback!
MM

Edit; I / we should just pony up the $115 + for the wiring kit. I wish I could see it in person and installed.

 

I did this modification to my last two Jeeps (before giving up the Jeep thing and getting a Taco). It is a worthwhile modification and the bulb/wiring upgrade makes a huge difference in light output.

 

Installed the new wiring harness on lunch break yesterday. Put the new bulbs in last night. I love the new lights. Lots more visibility all around.

I've had the originals since I bought the truck in '12, and even changing these out yearly wouldn't bother me at all. Would say this is the most functional on road driving mod I have made, but most mods weren't done for on road either.

 

Grrrr... Lost my second 85/80 (other side) tonight. Hopefully my second set lasts longer.

 

While you may be able to get away with running higher wattage bulbs on the factory wiring, it will reduce your light output. This was discussed in depth way earlier in the thread. You gain a significant bump in efficiency by using the harness which causes the bulbs to burn brighter and produce greater output than if run on stock wiring.

There are definitely cheaper harnesses available. But the harness I used is all Hella components, ultra heavy gauge wiring and assembled in the USA. I've seen others use off brand relays on harnesses built in China, and they work. But personally I'd rather pay for high quality components one time.