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View Full Version : Truck-Lite with Xpel Wrap Headlight Foglight Upgrade



JeepLab
05-05-2014, 08:59 AM
Hey everyone.

I figured a new thread was good for my headlight review. This is where I'll be doing the Xpel headlight protection install on the truck-lites and then installing everything in the Jeep.

The Xpel is a 30 mil thick protection wrap for the headlights, and Im not worried about breaking the poly carbonate, or scratching it really, but it seems that driving with any sort of lens will show wear over the years.

These are not supposed to "yellow" but personally I don't care. I wrap everything i can. God forbid a bolder hits the truck. Also the jeep's flat nose (i feel) is extra vulnerable to flying debris. Things don't glance off it, its always a direct hit.

DHewes
05-05-2014, 12:36 PM
I have been wondering about Xpel on the LED's (Speaker) replacement lights. They get HOT - though not sure how the TL's compare temperature wise.

JeepLab
05-06-2014, 05:23 PM
I have been wondering about Xpel on the LED's (Speaker) replacement lights. They get HOT - though not sure how the TL's compare temperature wise.

I have to assume they dont get too hot being LEDs. And the Xpel headlight wrap is 30 mils thick. So Im pretty sure there will no issues with heat.

JeepLab
05-06-2014, 05:30 PM
Here is the headlight out of the box.

Its heavy in your hand, feels solid.

I have the Xpel shield for it. I think I'll go video when I install it.

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JeepLab
05-06-2014, 05:34 PM
If you have researched truck-lites headlights, You have read about flickering. Here is what it is.

The JK's electrical system sends power to the lights in pules. With a halogen bulb, which has a slower reaction time than an LED, it will look like steady light. The more sensitive LED shows the pulse because it is more responsive to the power flow.

Truck-Lite makes a harness that works like a battery to smooth out the power flow from the JK's power supply to the LED bulb.

Problem solved.

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JeepLab
05-06-2014, 06:51 PM
The fog lights are another story.

Not quite so plug and play.

They do not connect directly to the JK's plugs. You need a relay to connect them...OR cut the wires and hard wire them.

I prefer a plug so I found a relay that will work.

Problem 2 is that there is no mount. Its just a light. This is going to take some doing to get done right.

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Pznivy
05-06-2014, 07:13 PM
I looked into this, and hit a dead end with the fog lights also.

WhiteRavenRR
05-06-2014, 10:26 PM
Can you fab them into the original fog housing somehow?

JeepLab
05-09-2014, 05:57 PM
Can you fab them into the original fog housing somehow?

This is a good idea. Im going to have to do some investigating..

JeepLab
05-26-2014, 05:54 PM
OK so I did it.

I figured out the fog lights too.

Here's how it went.

Headlights are easy, plug and play. I wrapped a strip of electrical tape around them to thicken them up around the bezel, but other than that they are a breeze.

Pop the clips to the grill, pull it off. and your pretty much half done. Unscrew the bezels, and the lights fall out. Plug in the trucklite relays and the lights, and screw the bezel back down. Done.

I wrapped mine in the xpel headlight shields. Im not sure the polycarb lense needs it. but I dont care. I wanted to make sure they didnt yellow.

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JeepLab
05-26-2014, 05:56 PM
Here is the light and relay.

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JeepLab
05-26-2014, 06:06 PM
The fog lights are more of a problem.

Piaa makes a mount that might work... but dosent.

Nemesis make a mount that is for rear mounted fogs.... Nope.

In the end I zip tied them in. With the JCR bumper, the zip ties work great.

A little weather stripping around the hole, and the bolts hold the truck lite aux lights perfectly.

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JeepLab
05-26-2014, 06:12 PM
I wove the zip ties around the posts that the JCR bumper uses for the fog mount, and then wove the opposite corners together behind the lights.

Five ties total.

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I bought relays on amazon so I could keep the plugs. They only fit the Jeep side, so I had to cut the trucklite side, and the relay and reconnect them so that I could preserve the plug from the relay.

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JeepLab
05-26-2014, 06:13 PM
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It really came out good.

Snarf77
05-29-2014, 09:26 AM
Man I wish you wouldn't have cut those connectors off so short - I could totally use them! I do need to find a good source for those nice watertight connectors.

That being said, how did the xpel go onto those headlamps and fogs? I really think I'l do this when I move up to LEDs for the front.

JeepLab
05-29-2014, 10:50 AM
Man I wish you wouldn't have cut those connectors off so short - I could totally use them! I do need to find a good source for those nice watertight connectors.

That being said, how did the xpel go onto those headlamps and fogs? I really think I'l do this when I move up to LEDs for the front.

the xpel kit for the jk dosent fit because it expects the light to be more convex. So i trimmed it. They are protected, but if you get close, you can see that i cut them.

Maybe I'm hypersensitive. as usual with the jeep.

and the connectors didn't fit the plugs. thats why i cut them.

Snarf77
05-29-2014, 10:55 AM
the xpel kit for the jk dosent fit because it expects the light to be more convex. So i trimmed it. They are protected, but if you get close, you can see that i cut them.

Maybe I'm hypersensitive. as usual with the jeep.

and the connectors didn't fit the plugs. thats why i cut them.

Gotcha on the connectors.

Did the kit just need to be smaller diameter? Is/was it a circle that was too big or oblong?

Thinking if I get some headlight replacements I'll just have a circle cut and try the mount myself.

JeepLab
05-29-2014, 12:37 PM
Gotcha on the connectors.

Did the kit just need to be smaller diameter? Is/was it a circle that was too big or oblong?

Thinking if I get some headlight replacements I'll just have a circle cut and try the mount myself.

They are circles. Id ask xpel for a 6 inch light kit that would work fine.