2011 Liberty HID changing to 100W LED

[evilsim]

Hello Liberty folks !

I have been unimpressed with the Xenon bulbs in my '11 Liberty GT. I have replaced the bulbs with new Philips ones and replaced the ballasts too. The light performance is so bad on these things. They are only low-beam, but its dangerous to drive at night in my opinion.

Previously a Forester owner (twice) I had a Philips H4 LED kit in the '06 Forester, then I had factory lights in the '16 Forester, both were fine.

So I have decided to go back to LED in the Liberty and have bought some D2S LED bulbs (with their own in-line ballast).

Now for the install, this is where my question comes in.

Will there be enough juice available on the 12v rail, in-front of the HID ballast (I will unplug the HID ballast but leave it in place to waterproof the whole light fixture), or should I use a relay. Given the LED's are 100W, they will draw about 8ampers at 12v.

Thanks for any advice ! It's a bit of a job to remove the front bar, to then have to figure all this out on the fly. Its my daily driver and I just wont have time to stuff around once the bar is off.

Many thanks for any info. Does anyone here have a workshop manual for the 2011 Liberty GT ? That would help me lots.

[bigBADbenny]

FSM link in my signature.

Personally, I’d grab a spare set of headlights, do the led mod and restore/recoat the lenses.
I use 2k clear from paint spot

[fedaykin]

Your outer lenses must be clear. I bought new ones from alibaba, money well spent.
You need to inspect your bowls (where the bulb sits), reflective coating most likely damaged/burnt.

I replaced burnt bowls and the outer lenses, headlights look like they're from a new car.

[evilsim]

good advice all thankyou - however i am looking to sell my beast to get a Forester so I can carry more stuff around for my kiddies

I did end up changing the HID to LED and got some improvement, however my lenses are still unclear and not nearly as bright as i'd like. My yellow fog lights are brighter!

[Yowie]

Welcome to the Forester-owning community.

Your enlightenment transcends your headlight solutions.