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I wasn't sure where to put this thread, so I dumped it here. Mods, move it if you feel it does not belong here.
Let me start off by giving thanks to Bruce on UY for the great write up on this mod. I would have never thought to do this, had I not seen his write up first. (For more information on his install, check it out here: Click Me)
Having sold my previous set of IPFs, I was on the hunt for another pair of lights for my TJM. This time, I wanted a bigger, brighter light than I had before. I tossed around the idea of Hellas, KCs, Lightforce’s & even HID Hellas. However, once I came across Bruce’s thread, the decision was made easy.
I opted for a set of Hella 4000s I found lying around at my buddy's house he gave up on. These are 8” round, 100wt halogen lights with the Cornering Beam pattern. I chose this pattern over the Driving Beam pattern simply because I wanted a wider light spread. Of course he game them to me free of charge. The Hella wiring harness is sold separately, but since I already had an existing wiring harness from my previous lights, I was able to reuse what I already had. I also purchased an inexpensive 35wt HID kit off ebay for around $45. It is a H1 kit with 4300K bulbs.
Picture of the HID kit I purchased. Please note, this is just a universal picture of the kit I used. I used H1 bulbs.
Install was very easy. I removed the lense from the housing and simply removed the stock 100wt halogen bulb:
Next, I inserted the new HID H1 bulb:
Like Bruce, I also drilled a hole in the back of each housing to accommodate the new HID bulb. I decided to leave the stock-wiring plug in place in case I ever decide to convert these lights back to a halogen set up. Therefore, I just covered up the existing pin connections with tape and zip tied it off.
With the bulbs installed, I sealed the grommets with black RTV silcone to further prevent water from leaking in through the new holes.
I sealed each ballast to prevent water from entering. I disassembled each one and placed a bead of silicone inbetween the top and bottom covers. Once the covers were reinstalled and the silicone had dried, I wrapped each ballast in tape. I also siliconed both areas of the ballasts where the wires plug into it.
To mount them, I just zip-tied them in place. I may ditch the zip ties and upgrade to hose clamps in the future, but for now, this works.
(You will also notice I have 4 ballasts mounted…the other 2 are wired for small fog lights that I’m in the process of adding.)
Lights mounted. I also added a set of clear covers to the lights to protect the lenses:
Darkness was approaching, but here they fired up:
That night, I took a few more pictures of them:
Approx 10ft back:
Approx 40ft back: (And yes my headlights are still on. I will say that the camera deceives you a little though. In this picture, both lights are on, but it appears as though only one is. From this distance, I could clearly make out both lights even though the camera could not. Although, if I looked at them too long, I could not see anything afterwards. They are very bright):
On the trail with just my headlights on (photo taken thru the sunroof):
Same spot with just the Hellas on:
Notice the ridge in the background…that is approximately 300ft away.
I'm digging these new lights. The light output is amazing. With this Cornering Beam pattern, the light spread is almost a complete 180 degrees and reaches very far out on both sides. I could not stand back far enough to get a good enough picture to show the side-to-side light spread, but believe me, it is WIDE.
Now I can say I officially own a pair of Hella HIDs
I'll post a video soon of them warming up...it's really cool to see too.
Last edited by Rock Slide; 08-21-2017 at 05:43 PM.
Reason: added another picture
I have been planing to do this to my extra lights for some time, though i was going to use the Hella 500's. But i really like that beam battern of the 4000 cornering lights!
WOW! that looks like a train! i guess you won't have any trouble seeing where you're going and people won't have trouble seeing you
Crazy aint it. You look head on at these lights at night and it will cause you to loose your vision momentarily. I know, b/c it happened a few times to me...
I have been thinking of doing that for over a year now. The only reason I don't Is because HID bulbs burn out very quickly when they're switched on and off frequently. I'd love to have them for hi beams, and they do look awesome from the drivers seat. But that's alot of $$ for light bulbs.
Man was tinkering with the thought of how to do that with my 500's...that totally gives me the idea. I do like the beam pattern better on those 4000's, that's just awesome! Was looking at that same kit on ebay, too.
That picture head on is super bright, and as said before looks like a frickin train,lol.
Rock Slide,
Nice work - the light output seems fantastic.
I ran a set of 4000 Eurobeams for about 5 years and then removed them. They've been in a box in my shop for almost a year (thoughts of selling them crossed my mind). I may need to follow your lead and bring them back to life.
Rock Slide,
Nice work - the light output seems fantastic.
I ran a set of 4000 Eurobeams for about 5 years and then removed them. They've been in a box in my shop for almost a year (thoughts of selling them crossed my mind). I may need to follow your lead and bring them back to life.
Andreas
Thanks. The Cornering Beam does a good job of spreading the light all over. I'm sure the Euro Beam would work well too.
05-08-2008, 10:18 AM
Hella 4000s converted to HID
(For more information on his install, check it out here: Click Me)
