Driving Lights

Most 4WDers opt to brighten up the path with aftermarket lighting. 4WD guru Steve Cassano runs you through how to choose the right lights and install them yourself, by decking out his Jeep Wrangler with a pair of Lightforce Striker Lights.

What’s hot in lighting?

Improved 4WD lighting would be up there at the top of everyone’s must-have modifications list. You only have to visit your local 4WD shop to see an array of lighting options displayed on their walls to confirm lighting is big business.

These days most 4WDs come fitted with headlights that offer reasonable lighting for built-up areas, but these factory lights are a poor substitute for long range lighting when on the open road or bush tracks. They simply don’t offer adequate illumination for those long stretches of road when you’re travelling at speed.

Many owners opt for globe replacements to enhance their stock headlights or even complete new headlight assemblies which improve general lighting for differing surroundings, but nothing will give you bang for your buck like adding extra driving lights to the front of your 4WD.  

It’s also worth noting that replacing headlight assemblies can be fraught with legal issues, especially if choosing LED-featured assemblies, so in my opinion it’s best to avoid this option and opt for adding separate driving lights. It’s easier and safer.

In case you missed it, the Australian government has also announced a ban on halogen bulbs which will come into effect from September 2020.

Choosing lights

Recently there’s been a flood of ancillary lights on the market, with LED now being the prominent leader for improving lighting for 4WDs.  

LED driving lights offer many benefits over halogen alternatives. In brief, they offer a brighter, sharper, whiter light, are more robust, offer a long life span and draw much less current than halogen. These benefits were exactly what I was after when I decided to brighten up my Wrangler.

As with any accessory, price plays an important role for many people and I’m no exception. The outlay required for LED lights is an obvious hurdle. Pricing can range from a few hundred dollars right up to $1,200 or more for a single unit from some brands!  

The choices of lighting are vast, embracing Halogen, HID, LED and even hybrid style offerings. At first glance it was hard to pinpoint the right choice, so what better way of getting the info I needed than emailing them directly? I had in mind some basic criteria. The new aftermarket lights needed to be: suitable for touring (that’s what I mostly needed them for); simple and easy to install; and good value for money.

What you get

A few days later the Lightforce Striker light kit arrived in a well-packaged box. Included was a pair of Striker Lights, full wiring harness, HB3 and H4 headlight connectors, a user manual, and a nice Lightforce sticker.

I won’t go into all of the specifications as you’ll easily find them on the brand’s website. However, I’d like to highlight that they looked more stylish than I’d expected. It was also pleasing to find that the reflector assembly fits snugly in an aluminium cast housing and has a close-fitting protective interchangeable polycarbonate filter and is IP68 and IP69K rated against water and dust ingress. Surprisingly, the mounting bracket is made of tough polycarbonate rather than steel, though stainless steel is an option. Time over rough country will tell if they survive, but they do seem solid enough.

I like things simple so I was glad to find the six-page coloured user manual very easy to follow. It outlines a step-by-step guide and even outlines what tools you’ll need to complete the job; even a newbie could easily follow. The manual is also available online so you can prepare and psych yourself up before your order arrives.

When installing an electrical accessory, it’s so nice not to have to drill holes, cut wires or splice the vehicle’s wiring system, especially on new vehicles with their sensitive integrated systems. The kit is a simple plug ’n play loom that offers the ability to piggyback onto the headlight hi-beam, with either the HB3 or H4 connector, which are the most common style of connectors. However, Lightforce can and do supply alternative methods.

THE INSTALLATION

The first step is to identify which HB3 or H4 patch is compatible with your vehicle’s harness and headlight plug. The Jeep needed an old style Molex six pin unit, so I had to make a quick call to Lightforce, who were happy to track it down for me so it would all work seamlessly. That’s why I like to deal with Lightforce.  

After positioning the two Striker lights on their brackets (how you position them is something of a personal choice), the next step is to loosely route the wiring loom so it reaches the two Striker lights, battery, the rear of the headlight you’ll tap into, and the in-cab switch position. You shouldn’t have any issue as there’s heaps of cable to accommodate the largest of vehicles.

Once the route was confirmed, I secured the relay close to the battery. Next I connected the waterproof plugs to the rear of each driving light. 

The next step, for most situations, is to unplug the connector at the chosen headlight (where the patch is going), which – depending on your vehicle – is either a one minute task or an epic knuckle-skinning mission. Once unplugged, insert either the supplied HB3 or H4 patch to the vehicle’s wiring and reconnect all.  

In my case I removed the headlight assembly for ease of access and used a Molex connector. Using the generous supply of cable-ties, I secured the loom along its path, avoiding sharp or heat-prone areas, all the way to the in-cab switch. 

In the cab, peel the double-sided tape to attach the switch in your preferred position.  The final step is to connect the power and negative wire to their respective battery terminals. Use the remaining supplied cable ties to neaten up your wiring.

A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD

Finally, test the lights, as they should alight on hi-beam only when the in-cab switch is on. Then align the lights correctly by using a spirit level and adjust their beam elevation to suit. Tighten all bolts/nuts to 35Nm.