Toyota lights on your TJ! Cheap, quality LED alternative

[B1Toad]

FWIW I find the waterproof/heat shrinkable butt splicers by Dorman to be great. When you shrink them with a heat gun there seems to be some sort of goop that melts and pushes the air out. Never had a failure yet. One thing to keep in mind, if there is air in your connection chances are moisture will get in, and trying to seal it out can result in trapping it in just as easily. A tightly wrapped connection with trapped moisture is worse than an exposed connection that can dry.

I've also used the solder seal heat shrink butt connectors that you don't crimp, haven't had a failure on those either but I have mixed feelings about the reliability of a solder with such a low melting point on a vehicle. I usually use them in 12 and 24 volt splices for undercabinet LED lighting.

Would be interested in hearing what @mrblaine has to say as I know he has a lot of knowledge and experience on methods and products for this, probably more than any of us.

 

[MikekiM]

I've also used the solder seal heat shrink butt connectors that you don't crimp, haven't had a failure on those either but I have mixed feelings about the reliability of a solder with such a low melting point on a vehicle. I usually use them in 12 and 24 volt splices for undercabinet LED lighting.

Would be interested in hearing what @mrblaine has to say as I know he has a lot of knowledge and experience on methods and products for this, probably more than any of us.

I use the solder seal heat shrink but connectors. I find them useful when downsizing wire bundles.. two wires into one for instance. This was being discussed in another thread. I always warm the wire ends before slipping them into the butt connector just to ward off any moisture. Stagger then connections to reduce the bulk and add heat shrink over the staggered connections. Between the solder, the glue that melts to and secures the wire sheathing and the heat shrink in the butt connector tightening around the wires and the last layer of heat shrink tubing, I have yet to have one fail.

 

[Kurt V]

I just ordered a set off of eBay. $50 shipped to my door. And this is from a reputable seller. So for anyone that doesn’t have a Toyota dealer close by here is the link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1967645751...pid=5337789113&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1

 

[KennethS]

I ordered mine from a dealership in Florida and it was cheaper than me picking them up at the local dealership here in Phoenix, AZ. The local dealership had a $5 local pickup fee, plus taxes, plus my time and gas driving there and back. Amazing that it was cheaper to get it shipped across the country.


https://www.lakelandtoyota.com/

 

[bmcgc]

Just picked up a couple more kits, $35 shipped to my door. For $17.50 each, that's a heck of a deal.

 

[B1Toad]

Just picked up a couple more kits, $35 shipped to my door. For $17.50 each, that's a heck of a deal.

Now you have an excuse to pick up a couple more TJs that need headlights.

 

[bmcgc]

Lights arrived today. I am surprised that these are still in stock. Heck of a deal and many owners of 60's Fords do this upgrade anyway.

 

[cb4017]

Thought I would add my experience finding this kit. I did a PN search online and found them at Modern Toyota for $15.51. With tax and shipping it was $33 to my door. One heck of a deal.

Not installed yet but all looks great.

When I changed the multifunction switch earlier, I noticed the connector was slightly stressed from heat so I'll use the wiring harness from the kit.

 

[KennethS]

I had a similar issue with overheating on the headlight switch. I haven’t installed the relay harness yet, but may this week. I’m trying to figure out the best way to route the harness and mount the relays.

 

[cb4017]

I had a similar issue with overheating on the headlight switch. I haven’t installed the relay harness yet, but may this week. I’m trying to figure out the best way to route the harness and mount the relays.

I can't find the pic now. Someone here posted pics where they ran the harness on the passenger side and mounted the relays on the front of the fuse/relay box. It looked pretty clean and is what I plan on doing.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Marginal upgrade. Kinda like the wire harness "upgrade" that's been around on XJ forums for years. Stock lights suck. Anything is an improvement. Pick your poison. LED lights can't be equaled by all others.

 

[cb4017]

Marginal upgrade. Kinda like the wire harness "upgrade" that's been around on XJ forums for years. Stock lights suck. Anything is an improvement. Pick your poison. LED lights can't be equaled by all others.

I can't disagree about LED. I would like the Holley RetroBright LEDs but at $216 each it's going to have to wait. The IRS got that money.

 

[KennethS]

Marginal upgrade.

I’m changing the headlight housings due to the old ones having peeling/flaking reflective material, and keeping the 55/100 Hella H4 bulbs. The relay harness is to keep the 100 Watt bulbs from cooking the headlight switch.

 

[Moglocker]

I’m changing the headlight housings due to the old ones having peeling/flaking reflective material, and keeping the 55/100 Hella H4 bulbs. The relay harness is to keep the 100 Watt bulbs from cooking the headlight switch.

Yep,one of my 4 year old Hellas is doing it,can you just buy the housing?

 

[KennethS]

I

Yep,one of my 4 year old Hellas is doing it,can you just buy the housing?

I do not know. I should clarify that I purchased the Hella 55/100 bulbs only, and not complete Hella housings. The lights were on the Jeep when I bought it in 2002, and I don’t know what brand they are. The front of the lenses have “H4” in the center and “YL” at the bottom.

 

[MikekiM]

I can't find the pic now. Someone here posted pics where they ran the harness on the passenger side and mounted the relays on the front of the fuse/relay box. It looked pretty clean and is what I plan on doing.

I did this... Can't remember if it was an original idea or if I stole it from someone else.

I can't disagree about LED. I would like the Holley RetroBright LEDs but at $216 each it's going to have to wait. The IRS got that money.

I had the Toyo kit for a bit and candidly, was pretty happy with them performance wise. But I hated the warm 3000k incandescent color. Never heard anything good about swapping in aftermarket LEDs in H4 housings so I sprung for the Holleys. A few years later and I am still happy.

Toyo lights on the left & Holleys on the right..

 

[cb4017]

View attachment 609128
I did this... Can't remember if it was an original idea or if I stole it from someone else.



I had the Toyo kit for a bit and candidly, was pretty happy with them performance wise. But I hated the warm 3000k incandescent color. Never heard anything good about swapping in aftermarket LEDs in H4 housings so I sprung for the Holleys. A few years later and I am still happy.

Toyo lights on the left & Holleys on the right..
View attachment 609129
View attachment 609130

Thanks! That's the pic I was looking for. I like those Holley lights. Just not in the cards right now.

 

[cb4017]

Got my Toyota kit installed a little while ago. Biggest issue was dropping a headlight bezel screw in the sand and not finding it. Couple of points. I used a step drill to open up the negative connecter for the battery terminal. Mounted the relays on the PDC. Ran the wiring along the passenger side, and in front of the radiator to the left headlamp.

Overall pretty smooth, other than losing a screw. Everything works fine and I like the idea of headlight current not going through the multifunction switch.

After dark one of these nights I'll drive to town, find a flat parking lot next to a building wall and check headlight adjustment.

 

[Link]

Nice clean install. Looks good!

 

[KennethS]

I got the relay harness installed yesterday.

Got my Toyota kit installed a little while ago. …
… Mounted the relays on the PDC.

View attachment 609317

I discovered I can’t mount the relays like this because in ‘98 the starter relay and rear defrost relay are right inside that end of the fuse box with no clearance for a screw. So I mounted them to the side of the air filter box instead.

The wiring harness from the right headlight to the left headlight was around 30” longer than necessary, so I cut out a chunk of wire and spliced the ends back together (crimp, solder, and heat shrink) instead of folding it over and trying to hide it. Then I removed both headlight buckets so I had access to run the new harness along the top of the grille beside the factory headlight wiring harness.

The power wire harness was way longer than needed, but there were too many wires for me to feel comfortable about cutting and splicing, so I removed the air filter box and hid the excess underneath it. The box has some standoffs which provided sufficient room for the harness without smashing it.