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XD PWM / resistor and other LEDS?

5K views 30 replies 10 participants last post by  Mark_ 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone,

I am new to the forum in posting but have been reading a lot since getting my 2016 Cherokee Latitude last month. I want to upgrade my headlights and fog lights to LED. I had bought a pair of LED headlights with cambus on Amazon before coming to this forum (high power ones, 10,000 lumens) but when I installed them I got the low beam out error and then would shut the headlights off. Doing reading here everyone seems to like the XD HID's but I didn't want to go to HID's again with how much of a pain it is to change the lights in this vehicle.

My question is, has anyone used the XD PWM and resistor with other manufactures LED headlights? I want the most power I can get and 4000lumens just doesn't seem like enough.

Thank you!
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the forum and hope you get your headlight and fog lights the way you want them. I am a senior citizen and not much of a tech, but I am sure there will be some helpful advice come on here from someone that can help you.
 
#3 ·
So far I got one headlight LED to work on the left side.
The LEDs work, just not in the Cherokee.
Probably need to run wiring and relays off the battery and totally bypass the Body Control Module.
If anybody can figure out a solution I have 2 LED headlight kits ready to install.
 
#4 ·
Thanks Ptram
@sanghill, I was noticing the something similar, if I had one light in (the right one for me) and the regular bulb in the other then the LED would stay on, as soon as I went to both LED it gave me issues. I wanted to avoid HID and go with LED but I'm wondering if anyone has tried the XD LED and gotten them to work
 
#5 ·
@kkidfall - If you're looking for the brightest possible output then I would go with an HID kit over LED kit. Most vendors advertise the maximum theoretical lumens output of their LED bulb -- which is ridiculously higher then the actual effective lumens that the bulb is putting out. Our 4000 lumens number is based on 2 bulbs, whereas our 2016 Jeep Cherokee HID kit is rated at 3200 lumens PER bulb (assuming you go with a 4300k color temperature).

Steve
 
#6 ·
I along with a number of other members have opted for the XD HID kit. In my opinion the install is actually rather simple. In my case I needed to change the wiring due to a polarity issue but XD claims to have changed this so there is no longer a polarity issue. The lights work well, they are much brighter then stock and the 4300k bulbs are a nice white light. The only thing I needed to do was to readjust the aim on my headlights. People were flashing me all the time even on dim. I adjusted them down and the lighting actually improved and I no longer annoy oncoming. I think this is a worthwhile upgrade to address the only major weakness we have found on our Cherokee.
 
#7 ·
Agree, went with cheaper brand myself and ended up switching to XD and work perfect. Easy install and worked great since install. Theres a lot of helpful post in Lighting Forum to help you get job done.
 
#8 ·
@XenonDepot It's not just about brighter lights, its also about not having to replace them nearly as often. Which with HID's and LED's it's a lot less often. My concern with HID's is that they always seem to end up with issues of them dying and not having a replacement, or it being really expensive to replace. I've had them in other cars before with other high end kits and it usually takes a few tries to get it just right. That's the reason I was looking at other LED brands that were high end and more lumens, but with your PWM kit. I'm just confused on why you need a PWM and resistor if that's the point of the PWM
 
#10 ·
@kkidfall - Thank you for your response. I would not necessarily go with LED over HID if you are concerned about longevity. The real problem with HID kits is that the market is flooded with extremely low grade products. I'm not saying that XenonDepot is the only one that imports high quality kits, but most vendors do not. They simply try to find the cheapest products they can find so that they can compete based on price. When you're trying to find the best price above all, things like quality components and proper manufacturing facilities tend not to come into the picture -- at least that has been my experience in the 15+ years that I've been doing this.

Steve
 
#12 ·
Hi and welcome :)

Yes, you absolutely need PWMs with a Xenon Depot HID kit. With all HID kits, in fact. Some HID kits have the PWMs hidden in the ballast boxes, most have them as a separate module. On a Xenon Depot kit, adding PWMs costs something like $35 (for both).

Well here's a link from TRS (The Retrofit Source), a well-known vendor with many quality kits including Xenon Depot (TRS bought XD a few years ago), for a 9012 HID kit (fits your 2014 TH) :
(add the PWMs on the right, under ''Optional PWM modules'')

TRS also sells a less expensive but well reviewed Morimoto HID kit :
(add the PWMs on th eright, under ''Optional capacitor link'', for $20)

They also have a premium kit from GTR Lighting, PWMs are built-in :
 
#17 ·
Oh I forgot about aim : vertical aim is easily achieved once you've located the adjuster screw. You'll need a 6mm hex tool (Allen wrench or bit).
There's a good picture of the adjuster here (marked in blue) : Headlight height adjustment

If you need more help locating them, just ask, we have more pictures somewhere...
 
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