Truck-Lite headlight question
01-17-2014 | 07:50 AM
#21
JK Jedi
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,364
Likes: 107
From: missoula,mt
I had a set in my 13 and now my 14. it is a pain to adjust horizontally but well worth the effort. You need to pull your grill and find a level road or parking lot at night and use something to shim the lights to where you want them to point. I used electrical tape and it has worked for 23000 miles keeping them aimed perfectly. becareful not to loose the retainer screws as at night if you drop one you won't find it again 
for me the easiest way to get perfect adjustment was in the dark and in the fog. it is amazing how much difference it makes.
for me the easiest way to get perfect adjustment was in the dark and in the fog. it is amazing how much difference it makes.
01-17-2014 | 08:14 AM
#23
JK Freak
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 830
Likes: 1
From: LI, NY
I absolutely love my Truck-Lites as well. They throw a far wider beam pattern than anything out there, but have a nice crisp cutoff so they don't blind other drivers. They don't throw light quite as far in front of you as JW Speakers (mostly because of the wider beam patter), but that's a trade-off I'm perfectly happy with especially when considering the price.
Here's four things to keep in mind:
1) Be sure to aim them properly so you don't blind oncoming traffic.
2) In some conditions, they will appear to be lighting up the road less than your old headlights. This is just an optical illusion! Because the Truck-Lites are much closer to standard daylight in color temperature, they don't change the apparent color of what they're shining on. This occasionally causes them to look like they're putting out less light than other light sources (street lights are the worst for this).
3) I'd go ahead and buy anti-flicker harness adapters for the Truck-lites. Jeep uses PWM to enable the same lamps to be daytime running lights as well as headlights. The LEDs in the Truck-Lites respond fast enough that some people can actually see the flicker as the LEDs flash on and off when powered by a PWM source. The solution is to use an adapter that has a capacitor in it to smooth out the signal. You don't need to run a relay harness like some other threads have suggested, as the Truck-lites are perfectly happy running on as low as 9 volts - too bad I wasted money on a full relay harness before finding this out!
4) Be ABSOLUTELY sure to aim the properly so you don't blind oncoming traffic. Yeah, I know it's a repeat, but these things are bright enough that it can cause serious issues for other drivers.
Here's four things to keep in mind:
1) Be sure to aim them properly so you don't blind oncoming traffic.
2) In some conditions, they will appear to be lighting up the road less than your old headlights. This is just an optical illusion! Because the Truck-Lites are much closer to standard daylight in color temperature, they don't change the apparent color of what they're shining on. This occasionally causes them to look like they're putting out less light than other light sources (street lights are the worst for this).
3) I'd go ahead and buy anti-flicker harness adapters for the Truck-lites. Jeep uses PWM to enable the same lamps to be daytime running lights as well as headlights. The LEDs in the Truck-Lites respond fast enough that some people can actually see the flicker as the LEDs flash on and off when powered by a PWM source. The solution is to use an adapter that has a capacitor in it to smooth out the signal. You don't need to run a relay harness like some other threads have suggested, as the Truck-lites are perfectly happy running on as low as 9 volts - too bad I wasted money on a full relay harness before finding this out!
4) Be ABSOLUTELY sure to aim the properly so you don't blind oncoming traffic. Yeah, I know it's a repeat, but these things are bright enough that it can cause serious issues for other drivers.
01-17-2014 | 09:42 AM
#24
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 321
Likes: 1
From: Lafayette, LA
If you really want to do an accurate job, find an auto shop that has a beam-setter and someone who knows how to use it. That will give you the best possible results.
Of course, that's not what I did.
I started off with these instructions from Daniel Stern Lighting. The only problem with that is figuring out exactly where the right spot to use as the center of the beam for the TL, as the low beams use only the upper half of the lamp. For the "C" mark, I used a point about 1/3 from the top of the lamp housing. I used a point about an inch above the bottom of the V-shaped hotspot and adjusted things until it was on the "B" mark, which got me pretty close. After that, I drove around a bit and made sure that the cutoff was below the side mirrors of almost all of the other cars on the road. The only cars I didn't worry about were ones with super-low mirrors like Miatas or Corvettes. After a couple of minor tweaks, things have been great. I've yet to have anyone complain.
Of course, that's not what I did.
I started off with these instructions from Daniel Stern Lighting. The only problem with that is figuring out exactly where the right spot to use as the center of the beam for the TL, as the low beams use only the upper half of the lamp. For the "C" mark, I used a point about 1/3 from the top of the lamp housing. I used a point about an inch above the bottom of the V-shaped hotspot and adjusted things until it was on the "B" mark, which got me pretty close. After that, I drove around a bit and made sure that the cutoff was below the side mirrors of almost all of the other cars on the road. The only cars I didn't worry about were ones with super-low mirrors like Miatas or Corvettes. After a couple of minor tweaks, things have been great. I've yet to have anyone complain.
01-19-2014 | 01:49 PM
#25
JK Newbie
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
From: Mesa, AZ
I had the same problem after my TL headlight install. I found out to aim the lights left and right, you need to have the grill removed and headlight removed. Then you can see an adjustable hex head at the 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock position when looking straight on at your Jeep from the front, just inside each headlight opening. I used an open end size 14 wrench to untwist the "inside" hex head a few rotations on both the drivers side and passenger side. Since you can't do this adjustment with the headlights installed, it took a few trial and error rotations to get them just right and straight. Hope this helps because I also hated the cross beam the headlights had about 25' feet out from my Jeep.