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Brighter Low Beam High Beam & FOGS


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John Deere sells them, Dodge has them on the Viper and the GM Avalance uses them too, so you can get them from any GM dealer and any Chrysler dealer or your local John Deere dealership. If you buy them yourself you'll need to cut off the extra plastic tab on the base to let them fit properly into the reflector - it is obvious when you compare the bulb from the vehicle with the HIR bulb you are replacing it with.

Be careful if you buy on the web - there are lots of fakes out there. So you need to find a reputable seller.

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Blackout;

You can get cheap HIDs for $50 a pair or even less, though you will need to do some work - you'll need a proper load resistor and they should be wired to the battery, because the DJ uses CANBUS.

You CANNOT use HIDs for high beam because the DRLs require them to be operable at half voltage. And, because you are in Canada, DRLs are mandatory.

Using HIDs will NOT void the vehicle warranty, though if you cut up the wiring harness and have issues or if you get moisture in your reflectors as a consequence of your installation THAT would not be covered.

As mentioned in a previous post, conversions are not legal. Also note that the reflector in the vehicle is not designed around the use of a plasma bulb. Using an HIR bulb is a practical alternative that has no impact on wiring, reflector design, daytime running lights and so on.

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  • 3 months later...

Agree, DJ's stock light is a joke...

Check out for HIRs: http://store.candlepower.com/9011hir.html

On paper you get 80% output improvement (1875 lumens HIR vs 1006 halogen), but HIDs double or triple (depending on the color temp you chose) the output:

However, as bramfrank put it, Journey's reflectors are not designed for HIDs, so your beam patter will not be perfect. I have HIDs installed, but don't like the pattern, so plan to modify the headlights to fit HIDs.

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Actually Bramfrank you can use HID's on the high beams it just requires having a DRL Relay which you plug into the your stock harness then into the HID Ballast and it will allow the HID's at half power for DRL's

They will not work on the high beams if you have DRLs. HIDs do not support dimming of any sort - they are either on or off or, quite possibly will flicker and burn out quickly if you try to run them on half-voltage.

And on the topic of HIDs in general (anywhere in North America), be aware that while you can plug in HIDs to any non-dimmed socket and they will likely operate, they are not road-legal and the reflector isn't optimised for them. The rules require that the headlight reflector and bulb assembly be SAE/DOT tested and approved as a unit. So if you get stopped and the officer is quick and knowledgeable, you could well wind up with a ticket for an equipment violation.

HIRs are road legal - but again; be certain that what you buy is a real HIR bulb. Even Philips is selling bulbs labelled as HIR that don't have the IR reflective coating required to make the bulb work properly - buy 'em from John Deere or as MOPAR OEM replacement bulbs for the Prowler.

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They will not work on the high beams if you have DRLs. HIDs do not support dimming of any sort - they are either on or off or, quite possibly will flicker and burn out quickly if you try to run them on half-voltage.

And on the topic of HIDs in general (anywhere in North America), be aware that while you can plug in HIDs to any non-dimmed socket and they will likely operate, they are not road-legal and the reflector isn't optimised for them. The rules require that the headlight reflector and bulb assembly be SAE/DOT tested and approved as a unit. So if you get stopped and the officer is quick and knowledgeable, you could well wind up with a ticket for an equipment violation.

HIRs are road legal - but again; be certain that what you buy is a real HIR bulb. Even Philips is selling bulbs labelled as HIR that don't have the IR reflective coating required to make the bulb work properly - buy 'em from John Deere or as MOPAR OEM replacement bulbs for the Prowler.

I agree that HIDs should be done in a proper projector, but they can certainly be used with the DRLs. You will need some additional wiring and it is likely not worth the extra cost and effort unless you use your high beams a lot. Not to mention numerous short cycles will shorten the life of the kit. It looks like the DJ is fairly successful with HIDs (unlike some other Dodges), so I will probably do a projector retrofit on mine when spring finally comes around. There is nothing available now that can match the quality and output of light from a properly installed and tuned HID projector setup. Hands down the best lighting you can get.

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I agree that HIDs should be done in a proper projector, but they can certainly be used with the DRLs.

Please explain how, since the DRLs on the DJ run at half voltage. Running them at full power isn't a DRL and remember that when the turn signals are engaged the flashing side is extinguished and when the vehicle is in Park, they are both out.

Edited by bramfrank
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Please explain how, since the DRLs on the DJ run at half voltage. Running them at full power isn't a DRL and remember that when the turn signals are engaged the flashing side is extinguished and when the vehicle is in Park, they are both out.

Does the law explicitly state that they must run at partial voltage? I think they just run like that so you aren't blinding people with your brights. Regardless, you wouldn't want the HIDs on at full power aimed up like your brights anyway... so I see your point. With the right array of wiring and relays it COULD be done though.

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Any traditional bulb (halogen/tungsten/fake HID) that draws 55/60 watts that doesn't use technology such as HIR and claims to have higher light output is lying. So paying the big dollars for blue bulbs is a waste of your money.

Using higher power bulbs will not deliver the performance you are looking for because of increased voltage drop across the wiring - and the CANBUS might complain about excessive current draw.

Check out Daniel Stern for details: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/HID.html , http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/bad/bad.html

Edited by bramfrank
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...

post-7654-0-48392700-1461158729_thumb.jp

Just swapped in the 9012 bulbs for lo beams. Right side is new, left side is OEM. Against the garage wall there seems to be a bunch more light being thrown out. Will have to see driving in the real world at dark time for true test tho.

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attachicon.gifnew lo beam.jpg

Just swapped in the 9012 bulbs for lo beams. Right side is new, left side is OEM. Against the garage wall there seems to be a bunch more light being thrown out. Will have to see driving in the real world at dark time for true test tho.

What kind of bulbs are you replacing the OEM's with? The new bulb seems to have a less yellow and more white tint.

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He said 9012.

regular replacement bulb is 9005 so thats why he had to trim parts of the bulb base of the 9012 bulb to fit in and for the connector to plug up to the existing wire connector..as the 9012 bulb is not the correct bulb for our journeys... this has been discussed in other post in the forum . as i havent done either option i am not for sure but i would think going led would be easier and cheaper than buying a 9012 bulb and then trying to make it fit for a little improvement that it may give ,but as i said before i havent tried either option, maybe some of our other posters can elaborate on it?

Edited by 2late4u
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Going to HIR is the better option because the filament is properly placed for the reflector - you get about 45% more light for the same power too and it all goes where it is designed to go.

The HIR bulbs last longer than traditional halogens as well.

Yes, you do have to trim down one tab on each bulb base though I am not certain why they do that longer tab thing for the HIR bulbs since they are functionally identical to the 9005/9006 - (there are lots of templates out there to do this). Perhaps it is to prevent people from putting Halogens in place of HIRs, though if that was the case the Halogen would logically need to be the one that requires trimming.

As to cost? A set of 4 HIR bulbs will set you back $73 shipped - marginally more expensive than decent LEDs, but you get a brand name for your money and a flawless beam pattern - and you are essentially street legal, too.

Edited by bramfrank
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