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Factory LED headlights too bright?

gato

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I'm all for having headlights properly aligned, and mine are.

But other than two vehicles approaching in opposite directions on a long, flat and straight section of road, there is no way for an approaching vehicle to judge if your lights are too high or not.

On top of that, most non-self-leveling headlights will be aimed differently depending on the load on a vehicle. Hook a trailer or load up the rear of your Jeep or truck and the headlights will aim higher.

So, where are you guys driving that people are that sensitive and police officers are pulling people over for this?

As I said above, it can only be a factor on a straight level section of road, so just drive straight, why flash people.
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wolf

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If only we could get people to pay as much attention to the road a head and not their cell phones and headlights. Oh my my. 😁
 
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acsak

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I'm all for having headlights properly aligned, and mine are.

But other than two vehicles approaching in opposite directions on a long, flat and straight section of road, there is no way for an approaching vehicle to judge if your lights are too high or not.

On top of that, most non-self-leveling headlights will be aimed differently depending on the load on a vehicle. Hook a trailer or load up the rear of your Jeep or truck and the headlights will aim higher.

So, where are you guys driving that people are that sensitive and police officers are pulling people over for this?
I'm currently 7k+ miles into a road trip from Michigan to California via 17 different states, and I've noticed this everywhere on our trip while driving at night.

Great point about trailering and loading. The Jeep is currently fully loaded for the trip and definitely sagging in the rear. However, this was always a problem when living in Michigan as well. I purchased the Jeep second hand in Georgia and it was also a problem on the drive up from Georgia to Michigan with just me and a backpack driving in a fully stock configuration.

I haven't been pulled over - I've only heard of it happening to a Jeep YouTuber I was watching who's based in Texas. He's the only one I've heard of this happening to, but I think it's still a significant, though minor, occurrence and makes the point that no ordinary citizen can do much other than flash at me angrily, but an officer could in theory pull me over if they were experiencing what those other drivers were. And in the case of the YouTuber, the officer was able to compel him to pull over and complain about the lights which means that many ordinary drivers he passes probably have the same complaint.

For me the fact that people flash at me so often tells me that other drivers can and do judge that they're too too high, even if they can't measure the alignment. I'm not really concerned about whether those drivers can prove that there is a measurable problem with the lights, but I do want to adjust them since they're clearly making it hard for others to see while I'm driving by. And making that adjustment would not adversely affect my visibility since, as another poster mentioned, the high beams are basically lighting up the sky and not much else while the low beams seem to cover more than they're supposed to.
 
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acsak

acsak

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If only we could get people to pay as much attention to the road a head and not their cell phones and headlights. Oh my my. 😁
I'm all for not focusing on your phone while driving, but what do you mean about not paying attention to headlights?
 

viper88

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I had a '19 JLR totally stock with the factory LEDs and never had a issue. Probably just the height of your Wrangler and the height of the other car. I have a low sports car and just about all cars look like they have their high beams on when driving towards me because my car is so low.

Or you lights need to be aimed a little better.
 

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viper88

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I'm currently 7k+ miles into a road trip from Michigan to California via 17 different states, and I've noticed this everywhere on our trip while driving at night.

Great point about trailering and loading. The Jeep is currently fully loaded for the trip and definitely sagging in the rear. However, this was always a problem when living in Michigan as well. I purchased the Jeep second hand in Georgia and it was also a problem on the drive up from Georgia to Michigan with just me and a backpack driving in a fully stock configuration.

I haven't been pulled over - I've only heard of it happening to a Jeep YouTuber I was watching who's based in Texas. He's the only one I've heard of this happening to, but I think it's still a significant, though minor, occurrence and makes the point that no ordinary citizen can do much other than flash at me angrily, but an officer could in theory pull me over if they were experiencing what those other drivers were. And in the case of the YouTuber, the officer was able to compel him to pull over and complain about the lights which means that many ordinary drivers he passes probably have the same complaint.

For me the fact that people flash at me so often tells me that other drivers can and do judge that they're too too high, even if they can't measure the alignment. I'm not really concerned about whether those drivers can prove that there is a measurable problem with the lights, but I do want to adjust them since they're clearly making it hard for others to see while I'm driving by. And making that adjustment would not adversely affect my visibility since, as another poster mentioned, the high beams are basically lighting up the sky and not much else while the low beams seem to cover more than they're supposed to.
The sagging in the rear is probably the problem. Rear goes down and the front goes up. Lights aim up.
 
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acsak

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The sagging in the rear is probably the problem. Rear goes down and the front goes up. Lights aim up.
Right, but this has always been a problem even when not loaded.
 

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I'm all for not focusing on your phone while driving, but what do you mean about not paying attention to headlights?
Some people drive down the road and look at on coming traffics lights ie tunnel vision.
 

Headbarcode

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Good to know. Did you also adjust to 3 feet high while 25 feet away?
No. I have a long Allen key that now lives in the storage cubby under the cargo area. I simply lowered both lights a quarter turn each and drove around for a few minutes. Repeated that a couple times until I found the happy balance of being able to cast the light as far out ahead while not getting flashed.

They also need adjusting after every change in ride height, whether it's from taller suspension or even 1 jump in tire size.

I'm currently lifted just over 4" above stock and on 38's. The higher I've gotten, the further back I stay from cars ahead of me. If I get any closer than about 25 feet of a car in front of me at a red light, I'm flooding their side view mirrors. If I get close enough, the cutoff line of the headlamps is at the height of a cars roof.

Personally, I prefer the trial and error method because those specific distance vs height of headlamp procedures are meant for normal vehicles. It may offer a good starting point for a stock Jeep, but not a lifted one.
 

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I've had my JL for two years now, and almost every time I drive at night I get multiple flashes from oncoming traffic suggesting that I have my high beams on when I'm using low beams. As a driver these lights are great, but many of my family and friends have told me that whenever they drive past a JL with LED headlights it's a terrible blinding experience. I have to admit that whenever I drive past another JL with LEDs I wonder if their brights are on. Driving a Jeep puts us in a higher driving position than lots of passenger cars so I can imagine that if you're in a typical sedan or something with average ride height these lights must burn right through your retinas every time we pass.

I know of one person who was immediately pulled after driving home from the dealer because his lights were too bright. He had to explain to the officer that they were stock lights and that it was not a lifted vehicle.

I'm still driving on stock suspension, so I can imagine that if/when I do a lift the problem will affect more oncoming drivers on the road.

I actually feel bad every time I drive past somebody who's flashing their high beams at me because I know I'm melting their eyes with these lights. There's nothing I can do except maybe turn off the headlights for a few seconds and drive only with fog lights. This is not a great idea either because then I can't see very far ahead, so I would never actually do this.

I think we all know how much it sucks to be blinded by high beams, especially on windy, narrow back roads. The fact that many of my friends have mentioned this as an issue when driving past a JL leads me to believe it's not just a problem with my Jeep, but do you all have any thoughts on this? Anybody with similar experiences?
Mine are aimed properly and I still get flashed constantly. My wife’s two door gets flashed constantly, and her’s is bone stock.

Is what it is. I guess I can readjust them. But it happens pretty frequently at least once a month. Never got pulled over though.
 

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acsak

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Mine are aimed properly and I still get flashed constantly. My wife’s two door gets flashed constantly, and her’s is bone stock.

Is what it is.
Thanks for the info. 👍
 

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Thanks for the info. 👍
Sure, probably not helpful though (sorry). I think difference in elevation contributes mostly to mine.
 

gato

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Some people drive down the road and look at on coming traffics lights ie tunnel vision.
ˆˆˆˆ This!!!

As I said above, drivers can only be bothered and flash you on a straight level road. In that situation, it should not matter if you had a search light aimed at you. Drive straight and use the lane markings to guide you until the other vehicle passes.

I think you guys must be driving in places where people are not used to modern/bright Xeon/LED headlights. I remember how when the European carmakers (BMW, Audi, etc) first introduced them, how people used to complain that they were "too bright"and "too white" and that was blinding people. I thought that stuff had gone away last decade. But apparently not.
 

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Mine are aimed properly and I still get flashed constantly. My wife’s two door gets flashed constantly, and her’s is bone stock.

Is what it is. I guess I can readjust them. But it happens pretty frequently at least once a month. Never got pulled over though.
That would seem to suggest otherwise? If you're constantly being flashed then your lights are obviously too high and annoying oncoming traffic. However, once a month isn't exactly constant either :)

I've had the Beamtech LED's in mine for almost a year, never been flashed once. I made sure they threw the same height as the stock halogens on my garage wall and so far nobody's seen fit to flash me yet.
 

guarnibl

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That would seem to suggest otherwise? If you're constantly being flashed then your lights are obviously too high and annoying oncoming traffic. However, once a month isn't exactly constant either :)

I've had the Beamtech LED's in mine for almost a year, never been flashed once. I made sure they threw the same height as the stock halogens on my garage wall and so far nobody's seen fit to flash me yet.
I’ll have to check again. But you’re right I suppose that frequency isn’t constant.
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