Can I Wire Multiple JW Speaker Headlights Together on a Classic Car?
It Is Possible Here Is How to Split High and Low Beam Correctly
Here is the revised version:
Upgrading to LED Headlights on a Classic Car — What You Need to Know About Wiring
Before you order, you need to know how many headlights your car has and what each one does. Classic cars come in two main configurations, and the approach is different for each.
Two Headlights (One Per Side)
This is the most common setup — one headlight on each side of the car, with both high and low beam built into a single housing. If this is your car, the upgrade is straightforward. One JW Speaker dual-beam headlight (like the 8700 Evo 2) replaces each factory light directly. Two lights total, plug in, done.
Four Headlights — Common on American Cars From the Late 1950s Through the 1970s
Many American cars from this era used four sealed beam headlights — two on the outside and two on the inside. Here is the important part: they do not all do the same thing.
- The outer two handle low beam only
- The inner two handle high beam only
When you upgrade these to LED, you need to match that same setup:
- Outer positions: connect your LED to the low beam wire only
- Inner positions: connect your LED to the high beam wire only
If you use a dual-beam LED headlight in each position (which works fine), just make sure you only wire the appropriate beam function for that position — do not connect both wires in a position that only uses one.
Four Headlights, All Doing Both Beams (Restomod / Custom Builds)
Some custom builds and restomods run four identical dual-beam LED headlights where every light handles both high and low. This works great — you just wire each light's low beam wire to the low beam circuit and each high beam wire to the high beam circuit. Your factory switch handles everything from there.
A Few Wiring Tips Worth Knowing
Classic car wiring is old, and old wiring can have corroded connections and weak grounds that cause problems with modern LEDs. Before you button everything up:
- Apply dielectric grease to every connector pin. It prevents corrosion and keeps the connection solid for years.
- Check your ground. Run a direct ground wire from each headlight to the metal frame of the car — not to another accessory, and not through a rusty shared ground. A bad ground is the number one cause of flickering and dim output on classic car LED installs.
The good news: LED headlights draw far less current than the original sealed beams, so your factory wiring will not be overloaded.