'14 Grand Cherokee Headlights No Good

[Nick1994]

Not sure how else to put it. The headlights on my '14 Grand Cherokee Limited suck. It's got the optional HID headlights. They used to be fine, not the best, but certainly decent-ish. A few years ago the driver's side headlight bulb burned out. Had my mechanic replace it. He put in the same kind of bulb that came out. It worked, but there's no center beam. It just glows mostly. Fast forward to earlier this year the passenger bulb burns out. I buy 2 on Amazon, linked below, and install one. Same kind that came out on the passenger side as well. Now it too sucks. The bulbs are firmly in their spot and the holder that holds the bulb in is twisted and locked into place. I took it out and back in several times. Flipping on the high beams I can see it flip over, but they're basically useless. Also, the auto-leveling does work. When I brake and the nose comes down, I can see them go up. They look aimed properly to me, just without any oomph.

The pics below are deceiving. They're not nearly that bright, my phone can see better than me Pic of one installed is what is in there now. Also, the LED rings around the edge aren't burned out, the camera just can't see them.

Any ideas?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074KSBLDP/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3VGMKRM82Q7BB&psc=1

 

[dishdude]

OSRAM by Ali? Sounds a bit sketch. A lot of counterfeit items on Amazon and eBay.

 

[Nick1994]

OSRAM by Ali? Sounds a bit sketch. A lot of counterfeit items on Amazon and eBay.

I wondered too, but the driver's bulb has the same problem, and my mechanic buys his parts locally. Parts Authority typically.

 

[Skippy722]

Definitely not the right beam pattern. Doesn’t look like it’s seated properly at the top, that clip doesn’t look like it’s on the body. But yeah, lots of fakes on Amazon/EBay, I buy HID’s through The Retrofit Source or Lightwerkz, headlight revolution is owned by TRS. I was partial to the Philips XtremeVisions and Osram Nightbreaker Lasers.

 

[meep]

Two things can foul these up… poor optical alignment and failing reflector surface. since the near/far and cutoff looks healthy, I’m wondering if the reflective surface of the reflector bowl has delaminated or hazed up.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Just a question here… did you scan the code and verify they are legit OSRAM?

 

[Srt20]

I have a Durango with the same housing. I bought HID through TRS in 2014 or 15. They are the best, most accurate headlights I’ve ever seen in a vehicle. Never get flashed either. Same set, never replaced, vehicle spends close to 50% of its time driven at night.
All my newer vehicles with OEM LED are good, but not near as good as those HID. 35 watt as well.

 

[Srt20]

I agree, that beam pattern is terrible. Something is wrong there.…There is no cutoff…..

 

[Nick1994]

Well, I got it fixed at the dealer. It still doesn't make any sense. They said they replaced the passenger side bulb, the one I bought on Amazon. Said it wasn't OEM but the drivers side was. But they put the drivers side on the passenger side and a new OEM bulb on the drivers side and now they're both bright. Makes no sense to me. Whatever lol. $450 later I've got headlights. Unfortunately they don't really have an adjustment and they're a little off, but close enough. Much much much better now.

 

[SubLGT]

.......Unfortunately they don't really have an adjustment......

That's hard to believe. Did the dealer tell you that?

Jeep Grand Cherokee: How to Adjust the Headlights - Paul Sherry Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

If the headlights on your new Jeep Grand Cherokee don't seem to be illuminating the road properly, you may need to adjust them. Follow these steps to properly

sherrychrysler.com

 

[Skippy722]

That's hard to believe. Did the dealer tell you that?

Jeep Grand Cherokee: How to Adjust the Headlights - Paul Sherry Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

If the headlights on your new Jeep Grand Cherokee don't seem to be illuminating the road properly, you may need to adjust them. Follow these steps to properly

sherrychrysler.com

Yeah if it’s anything like the Durango’s of the same year, you just need a LONG Philips head screw driver. It essentially sets the “home” position for the auto leveling headlight system.

 

[Nick1994]

That's hard to believe. Did the dealer tell you that?

Jeep Grand Cherokee: How to Adjust the Headlights - Paul Sherry Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

If the headlights on your new Jeep Grand Cherokee don't seem to be illuminating the road properly, you may need to adjust them. Follow these steps to properly

sherrychrysler.com

I have the HID headlights, they don't have those adjustments like the base models.

 

[jkasch]

I have the HID headlights, they don't have those adjustments like the base models.

They’re supposed to be self-leveling. I ruined one of mine trying to save some $. Had to buy an $1100 headlight assembly and remove the front facia. My most boneheaded home fix it mistake.

 

[SubLGT]

I have the HID headlights, they don't have those adjustments like the base models.

There is still an adjustment for the "home" or baseline level.

I googled it for you:

Aiming HID headlights

My HIDs need some vertical adjustment. I do not see any visible adjustment screw in the engine bay. I’ve searched this forum and google and have only found instructions for adjusting the non-HID headlights. Can someone please help me out?

www.jeepforum.com

For the US early models, exports and newer models may be different. Once you set up an aiming screen:

Vehicles equipped with the optional High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps include an automatic headlamp leveling feature, which uses axle sensor inputs to the Automatic Headlamp Leveling Module (AHLM) to automatically adjust the headlamp level to compensate for changes in vehicle cargo or passenger load. This feature must be disabled in order to successfully perform a manual headlamp alignment.

1.Turn the headlamps ON and select the LOW beams

2.Use a screwdriver to access the vertical adjustment screw (3) on the back of each front lamp unit housing (1). The adjustment screw is accessed through an oblong clearance hole provided in the right or left fender close out panel between the square hood bumper and the hexagonal hood stop. Rotate the headlamp vertical adjustment screw to adjust the beam height as required. Screw 2 is used in the export market to adjust aim left/right.

 

[Skippy722]

I have the HID headlights, they don't have those adjustments like the base models.

They do, here’s a guy doing it on a SRT with HID’s.

 

[meep]

Those look really good. I wonder if there was some debris in the way or something about how the bulb was indexed in. If the filament is even a mm off, light focus will suffer notably. I HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE years ago with oem halogen bulbs from Subaru. I just figured the headlamps were mediocre to begin with. At 60k, I put some standard Philips replacements in, and it’s like i had a new car…. Smooth, warm, even bath of light…. And no it wasn’t that the bulbs wore over time, the originals were never good. I had no idea…