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2011 Compass Headlight Conversion

54K views 132 replies 14 participants last post by  Redbaron1944 
#1 ·
I know this probably shouldn't even appear on this site yet since the 2011 is so new and there is nothing out on it yet (the local dealership doesn't even have a catalog on aftermarket parts or anything yet).

I was wondering if anyone else has noticed that the new 2011 Jeep Compass and 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee headlights look exactly the same?....

Would it be possible to snag the projector headlights from a Grand Cherokee and put those on the Compass? Could you imagine how it would look with the projector fog lights AND headlights? Not to mention the coolness factor of the lighting at night and custom look since projectors are not even an option on the Compass... Thoughts or insider information anyone?
 
#105 ·
Well, I have good and bad news on getting Compass specific HID headlights.
Good: they are listed in the US Chrysler parts catalog under the title 'E-marked' headlights.
Bad: I called a friend at the dealer and he said that the system shows $0.00 for the part, meaning that right now, they can not get them.

I also found out from my friend that the headlights from a GC might work but could (he was not 100% sure) pose an electrical problem because of the way GCs work (with Auto and a few other things). He is also not sure about the mounting points and brackets for a GC.

I'll keep digging or waiting till a local junkyard has a GC HID headlight that I can use as a tester to confirm the fit.
 
#109 ·
Has anyone figured anything out about these yet? I have been keeping my eye on Google and Ebay, but nothing has come up so far. Even the Grand Cherokee doesn't have any aftermarket headlights yet, even though the previous style from 2010 has had headlights for it for a while now... :(
 
#111 · (Edited)
I found this Jeep Grand Cherokee 2011 HID Fog Light installation which seems to steer in the right direction for being able to take out the headlights. It shows how to take off the GC bumper, which allows access to the bottom of the headlight where 2 bolts hold the bottom of the headlight onto the frame along with that one on top. During the afternoon when light was angled, I was able to see through those little slits under the grill and confirm the bolts at the bottom of the headlights connected to the frame, so the bumper would have to come off to remove the headlights.

I haven't tried it yet, but I would imagine that you could follow this same procedure to get to the Compass headlights and remove them/customize. I don't think I can wait much longer for the aftermarket world to come out with headlights and the GC OEM projectors are just way too expensive. I may begin a project on the headlights if the weather holds up for a while longer... I already plan on replacing all exterior lights and map lights inside with LED's

Right now, I still have my LED's under/inside of the headlights, however, they are breaking down because of the hot summer we had and bright sun on the black finish. I will have to replace them soon, but I plan on using a different type of strip this time. I also got 2 sets of H11 Silverstar's for my headlights and fog lights, so that looks pretty good right now, much whiter and brighter than stock, although they were pretty darn bright in the first place!

If I could get my hands on a pair of the headlights from the new 2012 GC SRT, that would be sweet! They are blacked out projectors! http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2012-jeep-grand-cherokee-srt8-review/#photo-4587113/
 
#113 ·
Well, found some Compass Headlight Pairs on Ebay. Cheaper than getting them from the dealer. It would probably be worth it to get a pair so that you can start working on them and doing stuff so that all you have to do is just switch them out once you are ready without any downtime of being able to drive without headlights.

2011 Jeep Compass Halogen Headlight Headlamp Left & Right Pair Set NEW | eBay
 
#114 ·
Hey Guys

I appear to be opening an older thread but only joined this week.

Won't the UK projectors be designed for RHD vehicles? Not sure sure what side of the road most of Europe drive on. Just double check before ordering because of the way the top of the beams cut off for the different driving sides.

Tried following all 4 pages of the thread in detail but because I'm a male I started skipping over sections. If I understand correctly if I already have the projector lamps (standard in South Africa on Compass) can I safely convert to HID without affecting other road users too much? Does the projector also still take the H11 bulb?
 
#115 · (Edited)
Yes, if you already have the projector lamps it should not cause too much off an issue and yes, still the H11 type. HOWEVER, please pay attention to HID kits with a higher than 35 watt rating. These will cause definite headaches. Find a good quality kit rated at 35 watts and less than 6K kelvin.

Where can I buy the South Africa headlamps?

Also, when looking at http://www.jeep.co.uk/. It doesn't look light the headlamps are any different in terms of hi/low beam location.
 
#116 ·
Hi Giantsnation

Thanks for the info. I've found a few HID kit suppliers in SA but none have details of their products online. Will make some calls after they all open later today (only 07h30 here now).

Only 2 places I can think of to find the headlights - Jeep or americansuv.co.za. Americansuv specialise in importing Jeep parts and keep stock of second hand ones. I haven't spoken to them but you could try email them and see what they have. I don't see many face lift ones on the road here so doubt they'll already have second hand ones in stock, but always worth a try.

As for UK spec, we probably receive the exact same spec cars here in SA. We drive on the same side of the road. We only have the 2.0 Ltd here in either manual or CVT. Unfortunately no diesel.:(
 
#117 ·
Going to jeep would be a nightmare - too many questions asked and the last time I tried this (mind you it was not the South African jeep) they gave me a rash of s h i t about how those are not the correct headlights for my vin and they refused to provide information on the headlights I wanted.
 
#118 ·
i've got all of the part numbers for the headlights, and i'm trying to make a reference guide for them. the problem is, i have several part numbers that just say "headlight" with no description or photo. if i have a vin number for a car with projectors i can pull the build sheet to see what it has. can any of our oversees members lend me a hand?
 
#125 ·
that's different. if you put an LED bulb into a turn signal marker, the car will interpret the drop in voltage as a burnt out bulb. it will then say "Bulb out" or something to that effect, and will blink the turn signal at twice the speed, also known as "hyper flash." to fix this, you need to splice in resistors to the positive wire going to the bulb to simulate the load of a regular bulb. this fools the car into thinking a normal bulb is still there and operating normally. the system is not set up to monitor license plate bulbs in the same fashion as turn signal or other bulbs.
 
#127 ·
it's not the voltage that the system is sensing that's dropping. sorry, that was my fault. it's the amount of power being used. an LED consumes far less electricity than a hallogen bulb. the car recognizes the gross drop in power consumption from that socket and thinks the bulb is burned out. that's why you need a resistor, to simulate the hallogen bulb on the circuit and fool the computer into thinking the bulb is still there.
 
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