New headlights giving issues

Tob

Tob

Paint-Matched Bezels Club
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Lake Charles, Louisiana
Just installed some Hella headlights https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G72SKQ/?tag=wranglerorg-20 and noticed that the dash indicator for high beams is stuck on when the headlights are on - low or high beam. And they're acting funny. On low beam the light output is so low that it seems like they're not even on (but they are), then I switch to high beam and they light up the road. The weird thing is they worked fine a few days ago when I installed them.

Has anyone else had electrical issues when installing new headlights?
 
Alright, these headlights are still giving me issues and I've got no clue why. When I turn on the headlights, on high beam, only the driver side headlight turns on and shines at expected brightness. When I switch to low beam, both headlights slowly light up to an extremely dim light level. The dash indicates high beams for both.

Here's the kicker: A few times on the trail, I'd hit a bump and suddenly they would start working normally. Then, after parking and starting it back up, they'd start acting up again. I also got them to temporarily work correctly by unplugging the headlights then plugging them back in. This has been working less and less though.

The passenger side plug has some bare wires making contact where the insulation is a bit short. The grounds look to be hooked up correctly. Other than that, I don't know what else could be causing the issue. The stock Wagners worked perfectly.

I came across this https://www.ksuspensionfab.com/store/p6/H4_Upgraded_Headlight_Harness.html#/
but I don't know if that will solve the issue.

Any ideas?
 
SecondChanceTJ said:
The passenger side plug has some bare wires making contact where the insulation is a bit short. The grounds look to be hooked up correctly. Other than that, I don't know what else could be causing the issue.
Click to expand...

Bad grounds, loose connections, shorted wires - any and all of them are causing your issues.

The K-Suspension kit will replace the sockets and most of the wiring. It might work for you.
 
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Well, I got the K suspension harness in and wired it up to make sure everything works, and this time the low beam works fine, but the high beam only comes on at the passenger side. @Mr. Bills how exactly did you wire yours up? Did you hook the relays through the driver plug and extend the power to reach the battery, or did you go to the passenger plug?
 
SecondChanceTJ said:
@Mr. Bills how exactly did you wire yours up? Did you hook the relays through the driver plug and extend the power to reach the battery, or did you go to the passenger plug?
Click to expand...

I wired similarly to the video on the K-Suspension website with relays on passenger side, except:

I replaced the power lead with longer 12 gauge wire and new Packard connectors. If you don't have a crimper designed for Packard connectors you will need to extend the supplied power lead using an ordinary butt connector and ring terminal.

Here are some photos:

Drivers Side

K Suspension wiring showing location of relays.jpg

K Suspension wiring showing 12 ga wire and new fuse holder.jpg

K Suspension wiring showing connection at PDC.jpg




Passenger Side (OEM plug is un-used and tucked away)

K Suspension wiring passenger side.jpg
 
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No, voltage at the plug with the lights turned on, check each solute to the others and to a known good chassis ground.
 
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Hello,

I just replaced my 04 sealed beams with the exact same lights. I got the high beam indicator light. My problem is the stock H4 plug. It’s corroded and worn.
The high beam indicator comes on when poor contact happens. It thinks the bulb is out. I’m running Lasfit LEDs for bulbs. Love them.
I cleaned and put so dielectric grease on the terminals. It helped but I ordered some new H4 plugs that ill install. Here is link. Hope it helps.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076JGTB7H/?tag=wranglerorg-20


Cheers
John
 
Last edited:
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Yanmar007 said:
Hello,

I just replaced my 06 sealed beams with the exact same lights. I got the high beam indicator light. My problem is the stock H4 plug. It’s corroded and worn.
The high beam indicator comes on when poor contact happens. It thinks the bulb is out. I’m running Lasfit LEDs for bulbs. Love them.
I cleaned and put so dielectric grease on the terminals. It helped but I ordered some new H4 plugs that ill install. Here is link. Hope it helps.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076JGTB7H/?tag=wranglerorg-20


Cheers
John
Click to expand...
Contact cleaner should be good enoug to remove any corrosion, if a plug has enough corrosion that it won’t clean up, your wiring will be shit inside the insulation, from my experience. Good luck, Tim
 
Update for anyone here from the search bar: Turns out the problem was a defective bulb. There was no continuity between the high beam prong and ground prong. After replacing the bulb, all the weird behavior went away. Don't know how a bad bulb could cause so many weird problems but replacing it fixed everything. Wish I would've diagnosed it better before cutting out the stock pigtail and replacing it with a cheap one.
 
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