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[Brynjaminjones]

With all that stuff replaced it should be much better!


I know what you mean about other cars, I've made the exact same observations. Any modern BMW/Mini or LR product seems to have horribly dazzling headlights. There are others too of course, but those are the ones I notice the most.

[That Oily Rag]

With all that stuff replaced it should be much better!

I will report back when it is all fitted. 

I know what you mean about other cars, I've made the exact same observations. Any modern BMW/Mini or LR product seems to have horribly dazzling headlights. There are others too of course, but those are the ones I notice the most.

Glad you notice as well!

Right now it might be 1 car in a row of 5 with mentally bright headlights, however as more older cars are being replaced by newer ones it will soon be most cars with them.

Some are so bad that you cannot even look in the general direction of the car! Then on top of that, you have your entire cabin lit-up if one is behind you along with it appearing like they are flashing you.

 

[XJ Fan]

Glad you notice as well!

Right now it might be 1 car in a row of 5 with mentally bright headlights, however as more older cars are being replaced by newer ones it will soon be most cars with them.

Some are so bad that you cannot even look in the general direction of the car! Then on top of that, you have your entire cabin lit-up if one is behind you along with it appearing like they are flashing you.

 

I can't stand it, and it's so unnecessary. Give it ten years, and it will be by far the norm out on the roads. Hopefully autonomous vehicles will replace the majority of the sheep drivers out there soon enough.

[That Oily Rag]

Glad you notice as well!

Right now it might be 1 car in a row of 5 with mentally bright headlights, however as more older cars are being replaced by newer ones it will soon be most cars with them.

Some are so bad that you cannot even look in the general direction of the car! Then on top of that, you have your entire cabin lit-up if one is behind you along with it appearing like they are flashing you.

 

I can't stand it, and it's so unnecessary. Give it ten years, and it will be by far the norm out on the roads. Hopefully autonomous vehicles will replace the majority of the sheep drivers out there soon enough.

I do not understand how these ultra dazzling headlights seen on new cars have been passed as acceptable for safe use on public roads? 

For example, during an MOT, if your headlight is out of adjustment then that is a fail as it unsafe and dazzling to other road users, but how is that different to the dazzling and insanely bright lights on new cars?

Apologies to the thread starter for digressing from the point. 

[JamesH]

I’m going to continue the rant I’m afraid - after spending far too long researching driving lights it seems that for best vision at night, identification of obstacles, depth perception and penetration through rain, fog, smoke or dust that warm light is better than cool and blue light.

Unless of course all that I’ve dead is wrong, why do new cars all seem to come with dazzling HID and LED blue white lights? Is it now about the bling and attracting buyers more than actual function?

[XJ Fan]

Unless of course all that I’ve dead is wrong

Killing is wrong regardless; but especially so with over-zealous headlights.

[JamesH]

Unless of course all that I’ve dead is wrong

Killing is wrong regardless; but especially so with over-zealous headlights.

Fat thumbs, clearly I have no place in the modern world despite being only 12 according to Gaz and Bubba

[That Oily Rag]

I’m going to continue the rant I’m afraid - after spending far too long researching driving lights it seems that for best vision at night, identification of obstacles, depth perception and penetration through rain, fog, smoke or dust that warm light is better than cool and blue light.

Unless of course all that I’ve dead is wrong, why do new cars all seem to come with dazzling HID and LED blue white lights? Is it now about the bling and attracting buyers more than actual function?

Good point and I totally agree, it's not just about brightness, it's also colour (perhaps one = the other?). 

A good example is to try using a white LED light in your bedroom, you will find it's bright, but something is odd about the way the light bounces off other objects to make areas of shade even duller, something that would not be as dull with a yellow light.

I know someone in the motor trade and he was saying that older HID headlights, which were the first mainstream lighting upgrade over standard H4-type bulbs, are nice and bright until another car is behind them with yellow H4s. He said that the colour tone of the H4s 'diluted' the white light from the HID and made them seem less bright.

That seems to make sense as the manufacturer's solution to this is........ to make the new LED lights even brighter and more dazzling.

If I had to guess, I would say that manufacturers all want to appear to have the latest technology and no one wants those yellow lights anymore when the Jones' next door have white lights, so all of them are using that tone of light, however because it is not the best colour tone for clarity and other lights have the power to dilute them, each generation of lighting upgrades get brighter and brighter. 

[Brynjaminjones]

Is it now about the bling and attracting buyers more than actual function?

I think this right here might answer the question! Just look at the number of older BMWs etc. you see with white LED number plate bulbs to make them look newer.

Another observation is that I find white/blue light to be incredibly fatiguing. My eyes relax a lot more with a warmer light.


I feel like all new cars just seem to get brighter and brighter, but the only reason this is necessary is so that you can still see when another new car is coming the other way. The trouble I guess is that this will be an endless cycle, only solved by everybody having the same brightness of headlight!
I find the headlights in my XJ absolutely fine in isolation, it's only around modern cars that I struggle.

[That Oily Rag]

Just look at the number of older BMWs etc. you see with white LED number plate bulbs to make them look newer.

I think there is another reason for those ultra bright, after-market, LED number plate lights on older cars and that is to make them more difficult to identify whilst still being 'MOT' legal. The MOT just checks if the number plate light works, not if it illuminates the plate correctly. 

[XJ Fan]

Unless of course all that I’ve dead is wrong

Killing is wrong regardless; but especially so with over-zealous headlights.

Fat thumbs, clearly I have no place in the modern world despite being only 12 according to Gaz and Bubba

  No worries - I can't resist sometimes

[gazjeep]

Unless of course all that I’ve dead is wrong

Killing is wrong regardless; but especially so with over-zealous headlights.

Fat thumbs, clearly I have no place in the modern world despite being only 12 according to Gaz and Bubba

Oi yuff, stop posting on the internet during lesson time 

[bgbazz]

Stop picking on him Gaz...his Mum wants her laptop back after school. He's getting as much mileage as he can, while he can.

 

[JamesH]

Stop picking on him Gaz...his Mum wants her laptop back after school. He's getting as much mileage as he can, while he can.

 

I wish, hit the big 4-0 this year. Almost feel like I should be sensible and grown up by
now.

[bgbazz]

It's all good fun, this growing up business...I'll be 73 in a couple of weeks and I still haven't worked out what I want to be when I grow up.

 

[gazjeep]

Stop picking on him Gaz...his Mum wants her laptop back after school. He's getting as much mileage as he can, while he can.

 

I wish, hit the big 4-0 this year. Almost feel like I should be sensible and grown up by
now.

40 !!!! Sarah will never believe it 

Nah, this growing up stuff is seriously overrated mate 

Just don't leave your homework till the last minute Sunday night 

[That Oily Rag]

 so thanks to information in this thread I bought a pair of Bedford Rascal lights (which were far cheaper than anything with the word 'Jeep'), a Headlight Relay Upgrade Loom a

An update on this, I finally installed the upgrade loom and Rascal lights.




I think it tidies up the front nicely and you cannot tell they are from a Bedford, so great idea from daggie to save quite a lot of money from the 'Jeep' ones.

There were two issues for anyone else planning this upgrade / replacement:

1. The Bedford lights are a tight fit into the Jeep light brackets, you can tell the back of the light housing is a slightly different shape than the stock Jeep ones, however I just applied a bit of grease to the top and bottom of the back of the light and they pushed in OK.

2. The upgrade loom I bought was a generic one from eBay, so I had to extend every wire to get the relays and fuse to position where I wanted them. I would recommend just buying one that is made for XJs to save a few hours of messing around with the soldering Iron. Although, while I was at it, I took the opportunity to solder together and extend to the negative post of the battery the two Earth wires which come from the upgrade loom to Earth the bulbs. It did not make logical sense to me to eliminate one potential weakness in the system (the switch), to then introduce another potential weakness of two more Earth points for the bulbs attached to rusty screws in the engine bay. 

The Result:

Huge improvement in brightness for essentially under £50. Before it was like very dim 6 volt bulbs, but now there is a strong beam on the road. Full beam is also much improved.

So thanks to XJ Fan for the loom upgrade idea and daggie for suggesting to use Bedford Rascal lights. 

My XJ does not flicker, but does have an issue with dim headlights, which get dimmer when the A/C compressor is running, it is very noticeable when the A/C clutch turns on, the headlights dim further than their already dimmed state 

This still happens, but it is now only noticeable because I am looking for it. Before the lights went from dim to really dim, where as now they go from very bright, to a fraction less bright, then back to bright again.

From more research it just appears to be the way the older A/C compressor clutches are designed, it takes such a huge load that it takes a second for the alternator regulator to increase output.

[Brynjaminjones]

Good result! 


I'd forgotten that those headlights are a bit tight. I don't think it's because they're for a Bedford, it just seems to be that the Autopal lights have a slightly different shape to the back.


I remember that harness being a bit of a stretch for me too, although I managed to route it so it just worked.
In other applications I've had to extend a couple of wires. I used those heat shrink tubes with solder inside them - they work great!

[XJ Fan]

So thanks to XJ Fan for the loom upgrade idea and daggie for suggesting to use Bedford Rascal lights. 

No worries - I'm glad it worked out for you. I have bought a loom upgrade as well, I just need to get round to fitting it one weekend when it's not freezing/wet/snowing/etc.

[daggie]