I recently purchased a 98 XJ8 and it needs the headlights replaced. I'm trying not to have to buy the very expensive OEM headlights. Any suggestions for finding new replacements from other manufacturers like Hella or GE or whatever. Not having much luck. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

ebay, junkyard, car-part.com
just got a high beam from my pick and pull for 10 bucks, and a low beam off ebay for 45ish

 

I'm probably going to have to go that route. I was hoping for something from the after market manufacturers that would be a nice upgrade. I'm 65 yo and my eyes aren't what they used to be. Was hoping for either led or something similar to give increased light.

 

As far as I am aware there are no aftermarket reflectors.

If you want to improve your headlights, you can either upgrade to 6000k high output Halogen (Various manufacturers advertise their product at different names, but it is generally the one advertised at 60~100W clear white or so).

One step further is to upgrade with HID.

I have HID 6000K for the low beams and fogs, and the 6000K high output Halogen for the high beams.
Should say the improvement is dramatic, and far sufficient (where the original is below par).
The cut-off of the HID's is pretty straight, and no problems with other traffic.
I use my fogs as DRL's.

 

If you're handy and looking to do LED retrofit then something like 5.75" JW Speakers or similar could be a good replacement for oem glass.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/fu...l#.V2jCKKJAchE

They might look a little odd in place of OEM but I'm sure the light output would be worlds apart. Not sure if anyone here has tried to drop them in. EDIT: There's also headlights by a company called Daymaker for a lot cheaper. Don't know too much about quality and output of them vs jw speaker.

Another route to go would be to retrofit HID projectors inside oem housings. I think some people have done this already, and I may try to reuse my old bi-xenon projector kit in oem housings someday if I'm bored and have a couple outer housings to play with. The same site I linked earlier has full HID kits for doing so.

 

Hmm this now has me ready to get rid of the OEM lighting as it is rather dull & amber-ish. I just want to replace the bulbs & not deal w/ LED wiring/resistors etc.

 

Passenger headlight and yellow side light went out at the same time replaced the headlight still doesn't work. Any suggestions. I checked the fuses!

 

Super crappy pic, sorry for that, but it gives an idea of the improvement.
This is low beams HID, 6000K.

 

Earth wire?

 

Think I will just research the best option for a plug & play bulb. Not looking to deal w/ adapters,resistors etc.

 

Can't you just use a premium replacement bulb like Silverstar Ultras?

I have them in my 308 and am pleased with the light output.

https://www.sylvania.com/en-us/produ...tar-ultra.aspx
Vector

 

For simplicity, do premium, hotter-burning, NON coated halogens, or mostly uncoated halogens, like Vector suggested. A blue bulb might look "whiter" but it will always have less output than an identical uncoated bulb, because the coatings only ever reduce/filter the light output.

Doing HID in reflectors properly can be tricky, and I'm extremely against ever putting HID's in reflectors for many reasons. Partly for optics and effectiveness, mostly cause 95% of people who do it just drop them in and only aggravate my constant headache whenever I'm driving. Even if their cutoff appears ok to them.

The best light output temp for HID's is 4300k, can go up to ~5k if you really want the colder white. Here's a post in another forum that goes into some of the basics of HID's HID lights in reflector housings- A reminder to some of you out there. - ClubRoadster.net

 

One thing to be careful of with LED headlights.. If you live in an area where you get snow and ice during the Winter, you NEED to buy heated LED lights. They have a wire element in the lens, similar to a rear window defroster. LED lights by themselves do not produce enough heat to melt ice or snow. The heated LEDs were twice as much in my case (7" Truck Lites for my 5 ton military truck) but it is something you need to invest in.

 

You're in the wrong forum.. Try posting in the correct forum for your year.

 

+1 move over to the X350 forum. 2, grab the wiring diagram from their sticky collection and find the wire (s) in the multifunction stalk -- you likely have a broken solder joint (if not a bad ground/earth).