LED's and headlight harnesses

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murf

murf

Lifer
10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jun 24, 2007
Threads
412
Messages
10,555
Location
Scottsdale, Arizona
During the recent Payette draw run and sitting in on a group discussion around Phil's 100, I noticed his LED door, map and done lights. I was suprised of the amount of light over the stock bulbs (and drawing less current too!).

Im sure many of the CSC members have already made this transition but I finally purchased all the interior bulbs and swapped them out. Wow - what a difference. I know during camping I will leave a door open going in and out of the truck. Glad to know, a smaller current draw if I happen to leave a door open for a while (or forget about it :)).

Has anyone done the upgraded headlight harness assy and bulbs yet? I see Slee has a harness upgrade. I dont want to run the bulbs without the harness upgrade, Ive seen too many melted stock harnesses with HID bulbs. Im thinking about doing that mod. Ive seen the threads about the John Deer bulbs. Thoughts or suggestions? :hhmm:
 
I have the Slee upgraded harness and the John Deere HIR bulbs. Makes quite a bit of difference. I tried to take pictures of before and after, but the lights are so bright at night, the picture I took dont do a comparison, and my camera skills obviously werent up to par. I installed at the same time, so I dont know the difference w/ or w/ out the upgraded harness. I could park next to Jackson or Kevin at the next meet and compare for ya. Its a pretty cheap mod, as long as you get a deal on the bulbs. I no longer get a deal, my wifes uncle, who worked at John Deere, moved back to Colorado.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Ive seen the thread about the harness as well and the question of the voltage spike. Sounds like a few of you have run just the bulbs with success. Looks like I should chk out the comparison side by side at the next week's meet for some "field testing".
 
Upgraded harness

Can tell ya with the older ones, the upgraded headlights and harness makes a big difference. Went with Hella e4 replacements (desert rat, here in tucson carries them in stock) and an upgraded wiring harness/relay system that plugs into the stock harness.

Mucho, mucho difference. Well worth the effort, and makes the actual bulbs replaceable on my 60, rather than having to replace the whole headlight. Could also have gotten polycarbonate lenses (tough for trail and offroad) but prefer the glass for now.

My $.02 (though it cost considerably more)

Glenn
 
Upon more reading, I see the HIR's appear to be the favored light. I also see some Xenon bulbs available. What is the difference? Does the Xenon require higher voltage draw?
 
The '80 harness is already relay type, I measured the voltage to the bulb and it is good. The JD bulbs pull the same watts as stock bulbs, so I don't see the need for the harness unless your going to bulbs that draw more power. There have been some corrosion issues with the aftermarket harnesses, on the ones that I have seen wasn't impressed with the quality of the connectors.
 
John Deer Bulbs

I am not familiar with the John Deer bulb. Can someone give me a part number and supply source? I assume this would be for an 80. Thanks, Terry
 
ttubb said:
I am not familiar with the John Deer bulb. Can someone give me a part number and supply source? I assume this would be for an 80. Thanks, Terry
Click to expand...

Yes, it is for the 80. I don't have the John Deere part #, but here is another source. I got them for the LOW light only, did get the HIGH light bulbs. I believe the 80 forum's FAQ has more info on this.

TOSHIBA HIR 9011 BULBS, MAXIMUM LIGHT, STOCK WATTAGE:eBay Motors (item 180337003964 end time Jul-12-09 22:22:30 PDT)

TOSHIBA HIR 9012 BULBS, MAXIMUM LIGHT, STOCK WATTAGE:eBay Motors (item 180337005943 end time Jul-12-09 22:43:43 PDT)
 
Aftermarket

Tools R Us said:
The '80 harness is already relay type, I measured the voltage to the bulb and it is good. The JD bulbs pull the same watts as stock bulbs, so I don't see the need for the harness unless your going to bulbs that draw more power. There have been some corrosion issues with the aftermarket harnesses, on the ones that I have seen wasn't impressed with the quality of the connectors.
Click to expand...

Food for thought. Suspect I'll be upgrading the connectors and investing in a tube of dielectric grease for the aftermarket harness. I've already started upgrading the positive from the battery and ground cables - went from 12.8v to 13.9v while idling with the a/c running. Its wonderful what 4g stranded cable and copper grounding plugs will do for a seriously undersized charging system - the positive is on, the grounds will be this weekend.

Glenn in Tucson
 
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