2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD Lights

scootr29

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Hilldweller suggested I post my build thread over here.....he pointed me in the direction of Daniel Stern, and Ray at Rallylights.com. He also suggested the Cibie H1 for added lighting when using the OEM high beams. I was so happy to get the wiring harness that I forgot to take pictures of it.....LED lights are cool, but I wanted the old school look and I think I got that. I have also ordered the HIR Phillips 9005/9006 bulbs to replace the OEM bulbs.

Here is the package I got from Daniel Stern......lights only. I ordered the Grote housings from Amazon.

i-5GJxQKP-L.jpg


Like I mentioned above I got the plug and play harness from rallyelights and used that instead. I also drilled a hole in the lower portion of the Grote housing and bypassed the hole in the stud. I used a grommet in the drilled hole and ran the wire through that hole. There is a limited amount of space in the Grote housing so I ended up not using the rubber boot and 2 pronged electrical connector. I instead used a 90 degree female connector to connect directly to the H1 bulb and I used one of the pre-drilled holes on the cibie housing as a ground connection.

Here is the current setup

i-spvsjJJ-L.jpg


So big thanks to Hilldweller, Ray, and Daniel Stern. They answered all my emails and took my phone calls.

I will try to take some before and after night shots.....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/72495-Scootr29-Build-Up-2008-Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-CRD

Scott
 
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Hamilton Felix

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:thumbsup: That first picture is exactly what I have sitting on my bench, waiting for me to find time to install it on my Crown Vic, right down to the gray Grote buckets and the inline fuseholder that looks identical to mine.

I've run this combination before; my ex-wife's 1982 Saab 900 Turbo and my old 1969 Chev half-ton come to mind. As an addition to 7" round or 200mm rectangular Cibie headlights, I found those curved lens H1's to be great.

My first thought when I saw your picture was "you're going to like it!"
 

-Virgil-

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Hey, that's a nice installation! I think you'll be happy with the results, though there's still room to go upward from here (factory export and/or HID headlamps). That Cibie H1 unit pictured is really a bang-for-buck winner; extremely good performance for both spread and reach.

Can't quite tell what the deal is with your fog lamps, though.
 

Hilldweller

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That came out so nice, Scott. Great job.

I'm a little jealous that you can fit HIR bulbs in both lights though. My lowbeams have no salvation.
 

scootr29

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Hey, that's a nice installation! I think you'll be happy with the results, though there's still room to go upward from here (factory export and/or HID headlamps). That Cibie H1 unit pictured is really a bang-for-buck winner; extremely good performance for both spread and reach.

Can't quite tell what the deal is with your fog lamps, though.

Fog lights are show....yellow ebay bulbs and yellow plastic cover. Any suggestions on those?
 

-Virgil-

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I take a dim (heh, see what I did there?) view of the sticky-back films. They aren't transparent (despite the marketing claim) and they cloud up pretty quickly. Can't see in your photo but it looks like your film is already cloudy. And off-brand bulbs tend to be junk. The factory fogs are pretty much a playtoy, not actually useful no matter what bulbs are installed. If you need real fog lamps, you'll need to get real fog lamps. I don't think there's anything that'll fit directly into the factory location except a (useless) factory item, but with some adaptive mounting you could surely make something much better fit, or go to an auxiliary-mount type of lamp along similar lines as the aux high beams you just installed.
 

Lightdoctor

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I second getting a second pair of fog lights. But, if you're looking for a yellow or yellowish lamp to fit your factory fogs, you could try Narva Contrast+ lamps. They're not the best when it comes to being a full selective yellow, but will work better than standard (3250K) lamps when driving in inclement weather.
 

scootr29

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Any suggestions for fog lights?.....the OEM measure 4.5". I have seen some PIAA lights fitted.
 

-Virgil-

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Narva Contrast+ bulbs are junk, don't waste your money. They do not produce yellow light of any variety, they produce brownish light (looks like an old sealed beam) and do not confer any advantage in bad weather.

If given the choice of any PIAA bulbs and/or lamps to be given to me for free, to use on my vehicles, I would say "Thanks but no thanks".

My usual "go-to" 4-inch fog lamp is the Bosch Compact 100, which is available in yellow. Stern sold me a set some years back.

But do you really, genuinely, actually need fog lamps? See this thread.
 

scootr29

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Thanks for the link.....I might just put them back to stock and leave them alone.....
 

Hilldweller

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This Daniel Stern trick worked for me:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?254261-Making-a-6000K-a-little-more-yellow

But foglights?
Scheinwerfermann will hit me across the knuckles with a ruler but, I use them often on the PW. Not all stock "foglights" are created equal.
The fogs on my FIAT are real fogs. They're useless unless it's foggy and I want to see the lines on the road and am driving very slowly.
But the fogs on my Power Wagon are another sort of lowbeam. The light from them is wider than the lowbeam, almost as far, but lacks the good cutoff. They don't work the way foglights are supposed to but the headlights don't work the way lowbeams are supposed to... ...two wrongs almost making a right...

I like the Bosch Compact 100 also. I got to see them working recently and that's a good light at a decent price. Somebody also used the Hella Micro DE fog version on one of the Jeep forums after Scheinwerfermann suggested it and they're happy.
 

opposite locker

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Have to disagree with you on a couple points. The low beams on my '08 Ram have been pretty respectable since day one, and are now fantastic with the Philips Xtreme Power bulbs. Great beam pattern with plenty of light where it's needed. High beams are so-so, but a good auxiliary euro beam lights solved that issue (also Bosch Compact 100). The stock Hella-made glass lens fogs have worked GREAT for me in the fog, especially since Duplicoloring them as per DS. On the road, the fogs have a wider beam and perfectly fill the gap between the front of the car & the bottom of the low beam from the drivers perspective, and are most useful in seeing the road edges.

Maybe the lifted front end of a Power Wagon picks up the beams, and perhaps Chrysler didn't adjust for this when aiming at the factory. But the low beams & fogs on my '08 Dodge with Xtreme Power bulbs are easily the best factory halogen lights I've ever experienced. I would say, however, that though the Philips bulbs were well worth the money for the low beams, I didn't see any value in upgrading the fog bulbs. The Philips bulbs are brighter, but do not seem to improve improve my foul weather visibility any over the stockish Sylvania Xtravision bulbs.

To the OP...my Bosch Compact 100 driving lights work very well, and I imagine their fogs should be of similar quality as others have mentioned. I also second the Duplicolor method...really helps your visibility on low light foggy/wet conditions. FYI, there are sets of the clear C100 fog lights for a great price on eBay right now.
 
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scootr29

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Thanks for the Ebay link...picked them up and will see how they work out. Got my Phillips HIR bulbs installed today.
 

Hilldweller

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Have to disagree with you on a couple points. The low beams on my '08 Ram have been pretty respectable since day one, and are now fantastic with the Philips Xtreme Power bulbs. Great beam pattern with plenty of light where it's needed. High beams are so-so, but a good auxiliary euro beam lights solved that issue (also Bosch Compact 100). The stock Hella-made glass lens fogs have worked GREAT for me in the fog, especially since Duplicoloring them as per DS. On the road, the fogs have a wider beam and perfectly fill the gap between the front of the car & the bottom of the low beam from the drivers perspective, and are most useful in seeing the road edges.

Maybe the lifted front end of a Power Wagon picks up the beams, and perhaps Chrysler didn't adjust for this when aiming at the factory. But the low beams & fogs on my '08 Dodge with Xtreme Power bulbs are easily the best factory halogen lights I've ever experienced. I would say, however, that though the Philips bulbs were well worth the money for the low beams, I didn't see any value in upgrading the fog bulbs. The Philips bulbs are brighter, but do not seem to improve improve my foul weather visibility any over the stockish Sylvania Xtravision bulbs.

To the OP...my Bosch Compact 100 driving lights work very well, and I imagine their fogs should be of similar quality as others have mentioned. I also second the Duplicolor method...really helps your visibility on low light foggy/wet conditions. FYI, there are sets of the clear C100 fog lights for a great price on eBay right now.
The '08 and '11 Rams have different headlights...
You have a G3 and I have a G4.
There are no Xtreme Power bulbs for my truck; best I can do are Narva lowbeams and HIR highbeams.
 

opposite locker

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My mistake...didnt realize you had a 4th gen. Have wanted to upgrade to a 4th gen 1500 for a while now, but the lack of a manual transmission has kept me from pulling the trigger.
 

Hilldweller

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My mistake...didnt realize you had a 4th gen. Have wanted to upgrade to a 4th gen 1500 for a while now, but the lack of a manual transmission has kept me from pulling the trigger.
I wish I had bought Dale's G3 PW and Flip-pak when he was selling it.
Mine is in the shop with its second TIPM failure --- so headlights are moot at the moment; they don't work anyhow. :mecry:
 

scootr29

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A little update....actually the 100s fit nicely into the OEM plastic housing. I drilled a hole in the top of the plastic housing and attached the fog light to that using the supplied bolt and locking nut.

6cce34de-ec50-2b5d.jpg


6cce34de-ec60-deb2.jpg


I am ordering some 9005 connectors to make it as OEM as possible....here is what it will look like.

6cce34de-eca5-be73.jpg
 
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