Hella H4 low beams in FJ62 - impressions

[SteveH]

My wife said, 'You really want headlights for Christmas?'....

I got the $100/set Hella H4s that replace the low beams, as sold on Amazon. They come with 60/55 watt H4 bulbs and adapters to correct the wiring for H4656 bulbs. My goals were not to go 'gonzo' or spend a few hundred dollars.

Link:
Amazon.com: Hella 165mm Rectangular E-Code Conversion Headlight Kit with Standard 60/55W H4 Bulbs: Automotive

I live in a dark, rural area, and better headlights are critical this time of year. I only replaced the low beams - my high beams are crappy old sealed beams of some variety. But, I use low beams 99.9% of the time, so that's the problem I set out to fix.

First impressions are good. My #1 complaint about the factory lights was the tragic pattern. It was spotty, weak, dull, etc. The new lights put out more total light, but not blindingly so. The light shines a lot higher on the right hand side (in particular) so you see street signs, trees, low aircraft , etc. The high beams are even better, and would do a GREAT job of spotting deer about to leap out in front of you. I think this is typical of the H4/non-DOT type light pattern. These have a far smoother and broader pattern, too. No one has flashed their lights at me, during my limited run tonight, but we'll see how that goes.

I would upload some cool light pattern pictures, but MUD won't let me upload any photos from work or home - I get a 'there was a problem uploading your file' message. Can anyone help with that? This is new, in the last month or so - .jpgs will not upload. Thanks!

 

[overhanger]

Have you upgraded the headlight wiring yet? If you haven't, you ain't seen nuthin' yet.

 

[SteveH]

No - I have the stock wiring. I also have the stock alternator, which now isn't cutting it at idle speed.

 

[WhompinFJ]

You wont notice any difference from the stock with just the H4s. I got the harness from cruiser outfitters, with H4 housings and Optilux 100/80w bulbs, it is so bright and clear at night its like driving a brand new German car. I love it!

 

[Landpimp]

We did the wifes 62 about 8 years ago, hella e codes(forget which bulbs I used, 65, 95 is my guess) in both, and a custom harness by someone here I cant remember right now. Killer set up, been flawless since installed.

 

[WhompinFJ]

If you want real headlight gains, your going to have to upgrade the harness.

 

[woytovich]

SteveH: are you getting high beam from these also?

 

[Benjaman]

I had a hard time adjusting to the best Headlight shape/size to the worse(85 PU to 88Fj62) I tried a few brands. I started with the Hella H4 E-code, than some Bosch, Cibie, Marshal, and finally settled on Carello. It's just hard to get thousands of Lumens out of a 4x6 lamp without going to LED's.

 

[SteveH]

SteveH: are you getting high beam from these also?

Yes - these low-beam lights have a high-beam filament in them.

I realize you can't be too rich, too skinny, or have too much headlight output, but my premise was that I wanted higher light output without spending $250-$700. The relay harnesses are typically another $120-150. I have 5 vehicles, so this isn't a daily driver, and I don't drive extensively at night, so having the best possible headlights just isn't my highest priority. As time goes on, I may upgrade if I run out of other 'cruiser projects.

 

[rat]

best mod I ever made for head lights was making my own earth / ground cables from 6mm copper cable.. 110amp Bosch alternator mod was next..

 

[woytovich]

Try this...?

FJ62s: convert headlights to 1 hi/lo and 1 yellow fog?

 

[overhanger]

Even with the stock sealed beam lamps you will notice a much brighter path in front of you by upgrading the harness. Plenty of schematics have been posted up here for the DIYers. The relay run upgrade harness will deliver from one to one and a half more volts to the bulbs.

 

[woytovich]

Oh... I understood that these came with the relay harness upgrade... now I think not.

YES: the relay harness it a MUST HAVE... especially if you are now pulling more current through your stock harness with the new H4 upgrade. Don't burn your truck down by overloading the stock headlight circuit - buy/build a relay harness... not a big deal to build really.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

The harness is like 62 percent of any headlight upgrade. stock replacements are great, as long as they get full voltage...

 

[Blackjaw11]

Did you have to remove the corners on the rear of the H4s to get them to fit correctly? They don't seem to fit in the headlight well as is.

 

[SteveH]

The H4s went in nicely. Don't overtighten the bezel screws, as the new headlight is fractionally thicker than the old ones - but they fit just fine without trimming.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

I have SLCfj62's harness along with hella e code glass housings. Installed some bulbs off amazon and the stock lighting is amazing. Wish it was the first upgrade I did to the truck. Worth every penny.

Total cost ran me around $400 so it's not cheap. Considering how fast these rigs stop, consider the lighting upgrade collision prevention.

 

[BTUMAN]

I thought I would add my input here. If your current FJ 62 have very poor low beam brightness and you or someone else took out the factory sealed beam headlights and replaced them with a H4 housing and bulb- there is a reason they are so dim. A common mistake appears to be to just plug in the newer H4 bulbs (non sealed beam) into the factory Harness. This puts the wires in series for your low/high beams due to the fact the pin out on the H4 bulb is different that the pin out on the back of the old sealed beam bulbs. You have to swap wires to wire it up correctly. I imagine this is done on the upgraded wiring harness and one of the main reasons for the increase light output.

The Hella H4 glass housings come with an important adapter harness- the pigtail that swaps the wires. Therefore, when you go with this option you immediately get a Huge boost in light. The standardard bulb is the 60/55 watt that come with the Hella kit. For me, I did this on my 24v system, so I ordered the Truckstar bulbs from Amason UK site- these are 24v and 75/70 watt. The good news is that at 24 v I have no worries about current overdraw as it uses the same wiring as the 12 v FJ62 but pulls less amps due to the increase in voltage.

I found the PO from Japan had just changed the housing and bulb from the sealed beam to the more modern housing with H4 bulbs and just plugged them right in- a simple mistake anyone can make since the factory harness mates right up and looks plug and play. I found them readily availible at AutoZone.com with free shipping to home.

The Hella are worth the money in my opinion. Great reflector and all glass- not part plastic like other cheap ones. Comes with the pigtail adapter required. In my opinion, just ordering the Hella H4 light kit will improve your lighting to better than original and no new wiring harness is required. Sorry no pics. For those searching in the future- FJ62 Headlights, HJ61 Headlights, Dim Headlights, sealed beam headlight, Hella Headlight, Hella H4, 24v Headlight

 

[mep1811]

You have to replace all the headlights and the harness. You also need to change the bulbs to higher wattage bulbs like 100 low /watt 130 watt high. I run those bulbs in my FJ-60 and they are great .

 

[BTUMAN]

My point was that for $100 you can greatly improve your lighting if the PO did the swap from sealed to H4 without the appropriate wire correction swap. The wire harness you speak of has the same wire correction as the pig tail in the Hella kit built in. For those who want great lighting and not spend more dollars - my observations are an option. To say you have to upgrade the harness is not really the only option here.

I don't think you have to go with 100w bulbs for great lighting- but if you do, then yes upgrade the wire harness as you will be pulling almost twice the current.