L i g h t i n g Y o u r W a y S i n c e 1 9 6 3
Upgrading your 1999+ Jeep Grand Cherokee's headlamps to provide you with an impressive increase in light output is easier than you think!
In less than 20 minutes, you can improve your Jeep's legal output from a mere 55-watt low/60-watt high beam combination to an outstanding 115-Watt low/120-watt high perceived-output combination. This means that while the PIAA bulbs may draw only 60 watts for the high beams, the output of these bulbs is almost double that of the factory bulbs.
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"9000 Series Bulbs: Upgrade your headlight bulb to emit a whiter, brighter light that is SAE certified and DOT approved, making them street legal in all 50 states and Canada."
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The 1999 and up Jeep Grand Cherokee requires two PIAA 9005 high-beam bulbs, and two PIAA 9006 low-beam bulbs, both from PIAA's exclusive Xtreme White Plus line of 9000 series bulbs. The Xtreme White Plus series bulbs are whiter, brighter, and closer to the color of sunlight.
There is a very small catch, however. The new Jeep Grand Cherokees come standard with bulbs which have a straight plug - the PIAA bulbs have a 90° plug, requiring the removal of the headlamp housing from the vehicle for installation. Don't worry; removal of this housing is quick and easy.
Simply remove the single 7mm bolt from the top of the light housing and carefully but firmly remove the housing one corner at a time from the 3 ball-joint mounts (see details and photos below).
Installation
Step 1 |
Step 2 |
Step 3 |
Step 4 |
Step 1: Purchase one set of PIAA 9005 Xtreme White Plus bulbs (high beams)
and one set of PIAA 9006 Xtreme White Plus bulbs (low beams).
Step 2: Remove the single 7mm bolt from each headlight housing.
Step 3: Gently rock headlamp housing outward from vehicle to remove the housing from the three ball-joints holding it in place. See photo above for socket locations.
Step 4: Once housing is clear of the vehicle, remove the factory bulbs. Loosen the three T-15 Torx screws from the clear headlamp bulb retainer rings (see photo above). This is necessary to install the new bulbs - the 90° plug interferes with this clear housing during installation only. Carefully install the new bulb BEING VERY CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH THE GLASS PART OF THE BULB - low beams are on the outside of the vehicle, high beams are toward the center of the vehicle.
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Step 6 |
Step 7 |
Step 8 |
Step 5: This is how the bulb should look while the Torx screws are still loose.
Step 6: Gently rotate the bulb to its seated position as shown above.
Step 7: Re-tighten the three Torx screws. Do not over-tighten! Repeat steps 4-7 for the other bulb.
Step 8: View of the completed bulb installation.
Step 9a & 9b: Reseat the headlight housing assembly by "popping" the three ball-joints back into socket. Make sure the wiring will not interfere, and be careful not to damage your headlamp.
Step 10: Reinstall the 7mm bolt, and you are all finished...with the first side, anyway!
The Results:
Our new PIAA Xtreme White Plus bulbs are definitely brighter AND whiter, making night driving much safer and more pleasant. Improvement over the stock bulbs was immediately noticeable. The off-road visibility offered by the new the 120-watt high beams was very welcome.
Installation took under 20 minutes, and we can whole-heartedly recommend this upgrade to ALL WJ owners.
Dirt Road Magazine is sponsored by Turner 4WD Parts Co.
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