L.E.D. Headlights installed today!!!!

[djw]

I put a set of these in this evening, thanks Pete. Installation was a snap, and Pete included some of the connectors Miles referenced.

I wanted to see what the difference was like so I put the left one in and did some comparisons to the H4 in the right. The fit is absolutely perfect with no alignment or fit issues. They pop right in.

My Pinz is one of the Austrian refurbs that got H4 headlights in the upgrade. I do not know for sure but I think most of the Swiss Pinzgauers have a different, possibly older headlight than the H4 style. I have always liked H4 bulbs, particularly the sharp cut-off beam pattern. In my case the original headlights were wired with a standard H4 plug and also had two additional spade connectors for the "pilot light/parking light" feature inside the H4 shell where there is a secondary "glow" light/terminals in the H4 reflector below the actual H4 bulb. The wiring provides current to this tiny bulb whenever the headlight switch is 'on' and the ignition is 'off'. It was kind of a cool nightlight feature to have, I don't know if the Swiss versions have this, and I will have to experiment to see what the Trucklite does if you give it a couple of volts (considering a step-down resistor of some kind to fake a pilot light).

I soldered up the pigtails with a male H4 plug on one end and the military bullet connectors on the other so that it can be returned as stock with no need to cut or splice the original harness. I put the left LED headlight in and took some pics. The Trucklite bulbs "bug out" an inch more than the H4 but even in the daylight, the color difference is dramatic from the yellow H4 headlights. The lights are icy white.

Compared to the H4 it is a tough call. I like them but I also like the H4, particularly the beam pattern. The edge goes to the LED.

I took some lousy phone pics both facing the truck low/hi, the beam pattern against the garage, low/high, and a few driving pics.

Happy to answer any questions. I think the H4 high beam throws more light. Otherwise the LED is preferable, but it is close and the white color fools you a bit.

I swapped out the right H4 after the test and, as you might expect, the entire bulb unit was very hot, almost too hot to hold. The LED light was barely warm.

By eyeball, the LED lights are distinctive and rather odd looking (eye-catching) when viewed from another vehicle. If you are not dead in front of the headlight, the low beam appears to be lit mostly from the upper half, which it in fact is. This is one of the reasons I was interested in changing to LEDs since the Pinz is hard for others to see at night and I think there was a risk of someone not seeing me and pulling out or turning across me. Anything to make me stand out in traffic is good and running LED's in the daytime in traffic is easier to justify. The weird factor I'm guessing I'll get one of the local, bored gendarmes pulling me over to look at the weird lights.

So I suspect these are a much more dramatic upgrade to any pre-H4 Pinz. I like the LEDs best and will keep the H4's in my spares for now.

Thanks again Pete for everything.

[stiffler4444]

Great pics, that LED has a real nice clean white glow....can't wait to get some

[Pinzgauer Pete]

Dale nice job!!! it was interesting seeing the two lights side by side. I noticed the LEDs seem to throw a beam that is not only pure white but also tighter and thus further off in the distance with clarity. One more benefit of these lights is the low draw these lights afford, like you said Dale when you tried to remove the H4 you could barely touch the bulb and the LED was barely warm which translates to high draw and a tax on a very small output alternator.If memory serves me the alternator in a pinz is only putting out a paltry 35 amps.

[edzz]

Dale nice job!!! it was interesting seeing the two lights side by side. I noticed the LEDs seem to throw a beam that is not only pure white but also tighter and thus further off in the distance with clarity. One more benefit of these lights is the low draw these lights afford, like you said Dale when you tried to remove the H4 you could barely touch the bulb and the LED was barely warm which translates to high draw and a tax on a very small output alternator.If memory serves me the alternator in a pinz is only putting out a paltry 35 amps.

A 35 amp 24 volt alternator isn’t as meager as many make it out to be.

~35 amps at ~24volt compares to 70 amps at 12 volts.

I know all the modern cars now have alternators with outputs higher than 70 amps however they also have many computers, power windows, power seats, and the energy hog list goes on… remember to power a 100 watt :idea: on 24 volt systems require one half the amperage required on a 12 volt system.

[djw]

Did the Swiss 71x trucks come to the civilian market with H4 halogens or 'plain old headlight bulbs'?

I know H4's started to become available back in my kid days in the early '70s in Europe, but I am guessing not standard in the Pinz during that time?

Before they were made legal in 1992, it was an exercise in the US getting Hella/Bosch/Cibie in the grey market and having to deal with some state inspections requiring "not legal" annual removal (and reinstallation).

There's also some info on "old style" vs "new style" Trucklite LED headlights - the new ones being called "complex reflector". The new versions have a std H4 plug and are run 9-33v, so nothing Pinz specific would be necessary. They're pretty widely available for $260 each, were reviewed to be more like standard/better headlights, tho not as "strange" (er, unique?) looking as the military style.

http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-new/truck ... #more-2719

http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/st ... &langId=-1

[Jimm391730]

All original Pinz headlights that I have see have all been "plain old bulbs". The glass envelope is huge in comparison to halogen bulbs or HID of today. I was lucky to get some replacement halogen bulbs for the stock reflectors and that was a decent improvement, but eventually I'll spring for LEDs if/when the price gets to about half of what it is now.

[GenevaPinz]

Did the Swiss 71x trucks come to the civilian market with H4 halogens or 'plain old headlight bulbs'?

I know H4's started to become available back in my kid days in the early '70s in Europe, but I am guessing not standard in the Pinz during that time?

Before they were made legal in 1992, it was an exercise in the US getting Hella/Bosch/Cibie in the grey market and having to deal with some state inspections requiring "not legal" annual removal (and reinstallation).

There's also some info on "old style" vs "new style" Trucklite LED headlights - the new ones being called "complex reflector". The new versions have a std H4 plug and are run 9-33v, so nothing Pinz specific would be necessary. They're pretty widely available for $260 each, were reviewed to be more like standard/better headlights, tho not as "strange" (er, unique?) looking as the military style.

http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-new/truck ... #more-2719

http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/st ... &langId=-1

Oho... do you know whether these are restricted for export like the previous 24v LED lamps were? The trucklite site doesn't mention anything...

[djw]

Oho... do you know whether these are restricted for export like the previous 24v LED lamps were? The trucklite site doesn't mention anything...

I doubt it. They are available on Amazon through a merchant:

http://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-27270C ... B007K8AA7I

Hope that helps.

[GenevaPinz]

Oho... do you know whether these are restricted for export like the previous 24v LED lamps were? The trucklite site doesn't mention anything...

I doubt it. They are available on Amazon through a merchant:

http://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-27270C ... B007K8AA7I

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the quick answer... the Christmas list just got one more line...

[Slappo]

I bought a set (plus a switch, which I'll use for something else) from the guy selling them on eBay. Can't wait to install them. An extra set might be good for bumper lights as well.