TOTM: Lighting

[rstrucks]

What do you guys have for lighting on your Jeeps? From headlights to rock lights what works? The cheaper the better!

[ATL ZJ]

Two pencil beam round hella 550s as headlights/primary lights. They're brighter than the stock headlights and have been working well for about 4 years. My rig doesn't really see street though... they might be a bit much for around town use unless aimed way down. Eventually I'd love to grab a couple HIDs for additional lighting because the hellas don't project far enough out when moving fast at night. Sometimes I get close to outdriving the range of my lights especially on rough terrain.

[CrawlerReady]

HID's FTMFW. I run two 4" round 35w HID's for my headlights (aimed down a bit to be nice to people I'm following). I used to run two Hella 550 driving lights as headlights, but got annoyed of not being able to see very far. [shameless plug]Want a pair of HID's? PM me[/shameless plug]



For rock lights I currently run some small fog lights that Walmart sells for $20 a pair. However, I'm soon going to be switching those out because I hate burning out bulbs and breaking lenses so I'm putting up some LED lighting. Got a roll of LED's from eBay (same stuff Kraq is running). I'll post up some pictures when I get those all installed.

[rodd88]

I'm using a set of eBay replacement headlights I got off ftcollins for $50. They were much better than the original ones the jeep came with. Up top I have my rack drilled for a set of KC sealed case daylighters. They are ridiculously bright and I have them aimed to light roughly 200/250 yards. I was looking into installing a set of tractor lights for reverse lights, and looking around for rock lights as well.

[bshows73]

I use the 7" Hid from Autozone. Great lights far I have had them for 2 years now and they have taken some abuse. For rock lights I run the ORO Led lights. They could be brighter but they work pretty well and draw no power. I also have 4-8" daystar lights on my roof. They are there mostly for show I never use them since they glare off of my windshield. I will try and get some pics of my rock lights lit up tonight.

[SirFuego]

My rock light setup just involved the Autozone Ricer lights (which you can also get at Harbor freight):


I used fog lights in the fenders for "rock lights" I think that fog lights are much more effective as rock lights because they offer a wider beam pattern in a shorter distance. On my hood, I had "driving lights" angled out each side so I can see around turns in the trail. I honestly wished I went with fog lights for those -- again because of the wider beam pattern. I do, however, have a huge glare problem with them if my windshield is really dirty. Where I wheel, I really don't need to see for a mile ahead of me -- in fact, most of the time I can't because of the trees, so a wider beam is usually more helpful. Since I didn't have any "actual" fog lights, I just wired my rock lights into the factor fog light switch.

I currently have a set of Tantrum LED rock lights I'm going to put on. I'll secure them using rare earth magnets (two will be under the hood) so I can reposition them pretty easily if needed. They will also be able to give me a bling strobe effect if needed.

Currently, my only lighting is a set of oval fog lights (again, cheapo AutoZone) that work pretty well and don't blind the person in front of me either.

[BigDaveZJ]

I'm running Hella's as driving lights too. They work okay. I keep them pointed pretty low, and have some round Hellas on the bumper as hi beams. The setup certainly isn't perfect though. I would like to switch out the main lights for something with a wider beam.

For rock lights, I've got some cheap harbor freight lights mounted underneath. About $20/pair. They're mounted on the arms for my rock sliders.

[BigClay]

I am interested where everyone is putting their switches in the cab.

[CrawlerReady]

My switches are on the side of my console next to my seat. My HID's are wired to the factory headlight switch.

[rodd88]

Not that my input is worth the space it will take up, but my single switch is set up under the steering wheel to the left.
Ill be adding more lights later, and I was wondering if it was worth it to have a switch cluster to use lights with.

EDIT: Thats not my Zj, I just dont have pictures of my interior.

[TN_WJ]

Ive got the switch for my Hella black magics on the dash just to the left of the steering column. It's convenient and I could easily fit 2 or 3 more switches in the same place later down the road if need be.

[BigDaveZJ]

Driving lights use the headlight switch, round Hella's on the bumper have a switch below the headlight switch. Rock lights are on the center console. Kinda want to consolidate some of them into one area.

[Jeeptech01]

Upgrading to HID's is on my to do list since I'd rather not add any aux lighting other than some fogs in the front bumper. Any advice for converting from sealed beam to HID. IE kits to use/avoid wiring mods..

[bshows73]

I took out my 4x4 shift indicator and built a panel for it that hold 4 switched and 2 12 volt cigarette lighter prong thingy's

[paulkeith]

if you don't have heated seats, there is plenty of room for switches to the left of the rear wiper/OD/Defrost panel where the heated seat sliders would go. I also ran a bank of switches on the overhead console in the empty space between the last cubby and the rearmost lights. if you don't have the VIC, that stupid "am i in 4wd" panel works great also, as was mentioned. I put my CB in there though.

I've had great luck with hella products across many vehicles, but no specific offroad experience because i'm a perma-webwheeler.

[Jeep Whore]

so i am debating using HIDs with a conversion kit for the stock lights or using IPFs. has anyone does this before? i am leaning towards the HIDs since from what i have found they are brighter and cheaper.

[5.9 ANDY]

i have been wanting to get some offroad lights for a while.
i have been searching and searching for ideas..... what i want is some lights to put up high, that will project a beam out a VERY far distance.... then, some fog lights on the bumper to get everything that is up close.

i know that glare is a possible issue that i will be facing, do you guys know of anyway to fix it?
perhaps a vizor type divice?

i did get some inspiration for lights a few months ago... i was driving down the road, and i saw i beam of light in the sky above me, i was able to look back, all i saw was a small white dot....about a miniute later, an air plane flys over me, and thats when i realized....air craft landing lights.... they must survive very harsh conditions, are probably some what light...and are bright as fuck.

however, im still trying to find an airplane junk yard...

that is my lighting story.

[SirFuego]

i know that glare is a possible issue that i will be facing, do you guys know of anyway to fix it?

I've heard that flat black paint on your hood will help quite a bit since it doesn't really reflect much light.

For the type of terrain I wheel on, regular headlights and strategically placed fog lights are the most effective for overall visibility at night. Anything brighter tends to become a nuisance to whoever is in front of you, so they really are only useful if you are always leading the group. However, there are a lot of trees that we need to deal with, so it's rare that we need to see further than regular headlights/fog lights allow you to see. In a more desert terrain, I can see the advantages to running really bright lights.

Also, on 93 ZJs (not sure about other years), the fog lights are setup such that you cannot turn them on without the headlights being on. Keep that in mind if you decide to reuse the factory fog light switch for additional lights.

[bshows73]

Anyone know of a good inexpensive place to get LED light bars. I plan on doing an internal/external cage (similar to Ryan's) here in the next few months and want some low profile LED lights on the roof.

[SirFuego]

VisionX and Rigid are the only two companies I'm aware of that sell low profile LED light bars -- not that any of their light bars are "inexpensive"...

LED stuff is expensive no matter how you slice it. When I was looking into rock lights, I found some writeups for DIY LED rock lights. When I priced everything together, I didn't even include the wires in the cost, and it was only $10-15 more expensive to buy the Tantrum rock lights...

[SirFuego]

As for rock lights...

I run these currently for backup lights and they work really well:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...uestid=6101804

When I installed them, I thought that they would work very well as rock lights. I'm sure they would be more than bright enough, but I haven't been impressed with their longevity despite the claims that they can be used as outside lights. They seem to be separating in some areas and not sure how much longer they are going to last on my rig.

[96RedZJ]

I have 4 Hello 500s.
2 are 130s.
2 are HIDs.

[ATL ZJ]

how do you not break those on a daily basis? And do you have a toilet seat attachment for your snorkel

[96RedZJ]

how do you not break those on a daily basis? And do you have a toilet seat attachment for your snorkel

I don't wheel like an ass hole. Therefore they don't hit things. I plan on getting an iceland offroad bumper soon.

Also.. I don't get your toilet comment.

Sent from my DROIDX

[Jeep Whore]

Also.. I don't get your toilet comment.

He means look and the U bend in it and the fact that it looks like its made of out ABS plastic.