Heated Headlights

bhaner

bhaner

Active Member
On the way home from Nevada the other day we ran into some serious freezing fog. Within seconds the windshield was iced over and the headlights were down to about 50%.

Turning the defrost on high and hitting the windshield washer fixed the windshield... But not much could be done for the LED headlights.

I currently have some VLEDS in my factory housings. They put out a decent pattern and don't get me flashed very often. I would say I am happy with them.

Yesterday on the way to the store one of the headlights started to strobe. I guess that is what happens when they die. Who knows if it was from the Mojave or just their time.


What has everyone had good luck with as far as replacement heated LED housings?

With a quick search I found that Rigid and JW Speaker both have some $600+ setups. However many reviews said they had bad light patterns or flicker.

I can't say I am a fan of the JW Speaker J3 with the turn signals... But that would solve my issue with hitting the turn signal bulbs with the tire...

JW Speaker J3

jws-0557193_0.jpeg
Rigid 7" Heated

71r9wNB5ZAL._AC_SL1200_.jpg
 
The Rigid ones are Truck-Lites as they got bought out by them. I ran them on Moby and they worked well to keep ice from forming but the light they put out was just ok or compared to other LED headlights. I think mainly, I didn’t like the hot spots they put out. But otherwise, they’ll get the job done in winter.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE
 
wayoflife said:
The Rigid ones are Truck-Lites as they got bought out by them. I ran them on Moby and they worked well to keep ice from forming but the light they put out was just ok or compared to other LED headlights. I think mainly, I didn’t like the hot spots they put out. But otherwise, they’ll get the job done in winter.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE
Click to expand...

Interesting. That would explain why the truck-lites were all sold out.

The light pattern would be my #1 priority. The heated option is just a really nice feature. Like heated seats... Sure you can do without... But why would you? LOL!

I really don't want anything to do with lights that flicker or have hot/cold spots. There were even reports of "rabbit ear" shapes in the pattern of some.

At this point I am looking the closest at the J3's. Hopefully someone has some real world info on them.
 
Keep in mind, it is a double edged sword. If most of your winter is sticky wet crap then heated are great. Here in NH, it isn't always like that; I more frequently find myself in cold dry snow. This doesn't stick at all to cold LED lights but cakes up on heated ones, like the stock halogens, amd because it is cold it then freezes over, coating rhe lights in a layer of ice.
I have found the few times I had to deal with sticky snow caking my unheated JW Speakers that they still output more light than my stock halogens did, though it was considerably diffused.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
It is very rare that we get cold dry snow. In that event you are correct. It would be nice to be able to shut the heat off.
 
Byron, I run the JWs heated. They work great in Michigan burning off snow and ice. They have a built in thermostat that kicks on when they get below freezing. The only issue is you need to order the anti flicker module separate from the light kit, but I highly recommend them for winter conditions.


2015 JKUR AEV JK350
1985 CJ8 Scrambler
 
wjtstudios said:
Byron, I run the JWs heated. They work great in Michigan burning off snow and ice. They have a built in thermostat that kicks on when they get below freezing. The only issue is you need to order the anti flicker module separate from the light kit, but I highly recommend them for winter conditions.


2015 JKUR AEV JK350
1985 CJ8 Scrambler
Click to expand...

I second this...I have the same lights on the JK6...


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
I have the truck lite heated lamps. I've really enjoyed them. They work great in the Colorado Front Range area.

I used to have the non-heated versions, but they would get covered with snow during heavy snow storms. The heated headlights keep clear, even with the dry snow we get in Colorado. The can get dirty when the dry snow melts and drips off, but whatever. It beats getting out every 30 minutes to clear the snow.

I've had issues with strobing, but that ended up being a bad connection in the Jeep-side harness where the lights plug in. I soldered in a new connector and that fixed it.

Subtle flickering is fixed with an anti-flicker harness (extra $, though).

There are some hot spots in the beam pattern, but the headlights are WAY better than the stock halogens. The hot spots don't bother me. I can't compare to the JW's, though.
 
FenderBender said:
I have the truck lite heated lamps. I've really enjoyed them. They work great in the Colorado Front Range area.

I used to have the non-heated versions, but they would get covered with snow during heavy snow storms. The heated headlights keep clear, even with the dry snow we get in Colorado. The can get dirty when the dry snow melts and drips off, but whatever. It beats getting out every 30 minutes to clear the snow.

I've had issues with strobing, but that ended up being a bad connection in the Jeep-side harness where the lights plug in. I soldered in a new connector and that fixed it.

Subtle flickering is fixed with an anti-flicker harness (extra $, though).

There are some hot spots in the beam pattern, but the headlights are WAY better than the stock halogens. The hot spots don't bother me. I can't compare to the JW's, though.
Click to expand...

Good info! Thanks!
 
I had the heated Trucklites. They worked well in the winter but there were some odd patters on the low beam. Now I have the KC Gravity Pro's. The light output is far, far superior. I have yet to use them in any real snow/ice though.
 
Sharkey said:
I had the heated Trucklites. They worked well in the winter but there were some odd patters on the low beam. Now I have the KC Gravity Pro's. The light output is far, far superior. I have yet to use them in any real snow/ice though.
Click to expand...

Are they heated?
 
I have the heated Trucklights, too; driving through snow and ice, they remain clear. When I ordered mine, the anti-flicker modules were in the box, so I returned the ones I bought separately. I like the crisp cutoff and rarely get flashed, and have learned to live with the hotspots.

Sent from my SM-G988U1 using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
The turn signal in the light is goofy, but solving the turn signal getting popped out would be nice. I seem to remember in one of the JKX vids a guy had notched his grilll and didn't have the signals in it anymore. If you decide to go with the JW's and want to try that, you could grab the grill I have on the wall and hack it up to see if you like it.
 
Sharkey said:
Sorry for not being clear. The KC's are not heated. Honestly, the output was so much better, we haven't even thought twice about it.
Click to expand...
Id have to agree with that. I tried the JW and the KC at the same time and it was no comparison. The beam pattern on the KCs is amazing and the high beams are even better. They will collect ice and snow though in heavy storms especially because they are flat and not rounded at all.

I do have comparison photos somewhere on here I can try to dig up if OP wants to see the KCs

They just aren't heated which is a bummer.

Sent from my SM-G950U using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
desertrunner said:
Id have to agree with that. I tried the JW and the KC at the same time and it was no comparison. The beam pattern on the KCs is amazing and the high beams are even better. They will collect ice and snow though in heavy storms especially because they are flat and not rounded at all.

I do have comparison photos somewhere on here I can try to dig up if OP wants to see the KCs

They just aren't heated which is a bummer.

Sent from my SM-G950U using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

I am curious what version of JW you had. J2 I would guess?

I have heard great things about the KC's. Just wish they were heated.
 
bhaner said:
I am curious what version of JW you had. J2 I would guess?

I have heard great things about the KC's. Just wish they were heated.
Click to expand...
August of 2019 is the date stamp on the picture I have of them so not sure when their newest one came out.
I ran the JW for 3 days as I was working nights that week and the first night I threw in the KCs I boxed up the JWs to return them.
If I had only 1 complaint about the KCs is low corner light is limited if you don't have fogs

Sent from my SM-T810 using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
Here are the pictures I have. I know it doesn't solve the heated issue but you can see the beam. And yeah they look like the J2s
Funny thing is looking at the pictures again I cant really tell the difference between the JW high beam vs low beam. The KCs are clearly different but you can see the low beam low corner light is real dark. I don't have any fogs that's just the head lights

Only did the 1 JW beam pattern. Really can't see much of a high beam difference Screenshot_20210115-153437_Gallery.jpg20190823_005555.jpg20190829_005604.jpg20190829_005557.jpg

Sent from my SM-G950U using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom