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Considering putting LED headlights in my M35A3 and thought I ask folks if they had any that they particularly liked and why? Beam pattern? Cut-offs (to not blind oncoming traffic), ...? Thanks!
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Anybody have any aftermarket M35A* LED headlights they particularly like?
- Thread starter Sgt Jiggins
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What are cut offs? The thing I don’t like about LED headlights in general is they too bright. When you consider how high off the ground our headlights are, I would not want to be in a car in front of me or in on-coming traffic. Do cut offs somehow dim them down some?
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Some lamps (the glass/plastic housing) work with the bulbs (the shiny bit) to do different things. I‘ve had “H1“ lamps and bulbs on my M37 for probably 10 years now. Recently upgraded them to LEDs. They do not blind oncoming drivers because of where they direct the light (or maybe more importantly where they *do not* direct the light):
Imagine a sundial. From the center of the dial is a radius out to the 9 o'clock position. Anything from 9 o'clock to a similar radius at the 1 o'clock position is dark. The full arc of the light is between 1 o'clock and 9 o'clock on the right half of the sundial (or the opposite arc in some countries). I put this same configuration on all of my vehicles that support it. It's amazing and non-blinding.
I don't know how well it would work on the M35A3s with their taller tires and super-wide positioning of the headlights though.
Which is why I was asking for input from you guys!
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I have gone through two sets of TruckLite milspec LED headlights where one always died after a while, usually losing low beam on one side. Apparently, they have issues with bad solder joints and they are next to impossible to fix because everything is encased in rock hard potting.
After that expensive experiment I simply ordered a set of cheap (70 bucks per light) 7" LED headlights for a Jeep Wrangler off eBay. I bought two headlight harnesses off Amazon for the new headlights to plug into, cut the civy connectors off and replaced with Packard military connectors to plug into the truck.
Had them on the truck since 2018 now and could not be happier. Good light, they work, no issues, plunked right in as if they belonged.
I do not want to get into trouble with moderators or be virtually placed against an imaginary wall and electronically shot, so no eBay link. However, one can go on eBay and search for
US 7'' Round 120W CREE LED Headlight Hi/Lo Beam for 97-18 Jeep JK TJ LJ Wrangler
After that expensive experiment I simply ordered a set of cheap (70 bucks per light) 7" LED headlights for a Jeep Wrangler off eBay. I bought two headlight harnesses off Amazon for the new headlights to plug into, cut the civy connectors off and replaced with Packard military connectors to plug into the truck.
Had them on the truck since 2018 now and could not be happier. Good light, they work, no issues, plunked right in as if they belonged.
I do not want to get into trouble with moderators or be virtually placed against an imaginary wall and electronically shot, so no eBay link. However, one can go on eBay and search for
US 7'' Round 120W CREE LED Headlight Hi/Lo Beam for 97-18 Jeep JK TJ LJ Wrangler
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- Lynchburg, VA
Bingo! And thank you! I'll go grab a set now!
fleetmech
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cattlerepairman, is your lighting converted to 12 volt, or are those LEDs 24v capable?
I'm happy with my stock headlights so far, but I will probably add some LEDs to other parts of the truck in the future. Ive noticed that some LEDs are multi voltage, others say 12v only.
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Damn that thing is Beast.
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The cheapo lights I bought are 12-28V capable! Good point - always verify.
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TheQuaker
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Ebay $45/set cheapies. 12V/24V. They have worked great and actually put out a lot of useful light in a good pattern. Aiming them properly will avoid blinding others as much as possible.
Murph360
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Hi, Did you wire up the DRL lights on yours?
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Cool beans, so many choices! Anyone have opinions, or experience with both the 4 main led
or 15 led type? 
or 15 led type?
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DRLs, wow, nice!
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I bought the ones likes you pictured at the top of that image. Saw the ones at the bottom too. Neither one is anything like stock any more, so I guess it was just down to personal preference. If I still was around rockcrawlers, I'd be buying the bottom ones though, for sure!
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Yeh, been over 5 years since I researched jeep lights, and don’t remember anything except high dollar LEDs. Some have DRL and TS options as well
Can you elaborate on this, just a more appealing look for the rock crawler crowd?
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those multi-led options are just busier than I personally would care for on my M35, but that's just personal preference. the rock crawler crowd, at least in my experience, tends to go for more bling: more stainless/chrome/fancy setups.
TheQuaker
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Hi Murph360
No, I did not hook up the DRL's. No reason to for me as headlights are always on when I am on public roads and the DRL's wouldn't really add any additional visibility to others.
But it would be simple to wire the DRL's to come on with the headlights, with the ignition or with a separate switch.
HanksDeuce
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I have (2) sets of Truck-Lite LED headlights on my bobbed M35A2. To make sure I don't blind oncoming traffic, I parked behind a metal building one night and aligned them against the wall to favor slightly to the right. No one hits me with the high beams. Plenty of light.
TheQuaker
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You can also buy 7" headlights with clear or faceted lenses to retain the "stock" look for your truck but have replaceable LED bulbs. You get the best of both - original look and LED light performance. But make sure you get a set actually designed and engineered for LED's...not a garage swap from incandescent bulbs to LED's that will just spray light everywhere except where you want it.
The "garage swaps" are usually the ones giving LED's a bad reputation for blinding oncoming traffic. They just drop in a high-performance LED or HID bulb setup into an existing headlight assembly without considering the headlight design or even bothering to just re-aim the headlights for the new pattern.
You cannot always just replace a regular bulb with an LED bulb in a headlight assembly one-for-one. LED bulb outputs and patterns can be significantly different from standard bulbs and headlight reflectors and lenses need to be designed accordingly for them.
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Fully agree. DOT has lost that battle. Just doing my bit to ensure it doesn't give our trucks a bad name to be able to see and be (safely) seen at night.