Overview
The stock headlights on my '96 Hijet are, generously, decorative. After 30 years the reflectors are hazy, the halogens are dim, and driving at night feels like navigating by candlelight. If you're daily driving your kei truck, this is the first mod you should do. Not the most exciting, but the most important. Ask me how I know — I hit a pothole on a back road in Scranton because I literally couldn't see it.
Swapping to LED bulbs is one of the simplest and most impactful upgrades you can make — modern H4 LED bulbs produce significantly more light while drawing less power from the kei truck's modest electrical system. This is a true plug-and-play modification for trucks that already use H4 bulb sockets. Older sealed-beam trucks will need a conversion housing first, which adds about 20 minutes to the job. No wiring modifications, relay additions, or ECU changes needed.
Check your truck's headlight type on the vehicle specs pages before ordering — the Suzuki Carry, Honda Acty, and Daihatsu Hijet all use H4 but housing depth varies.
Tools Needed
You will need very little for this job: a Phillips screwdriver or 10mm socket (to remove headlight bezels or retaining clips), clean gloves or a lint-free cloth (to avoid touching the new bulbs with bare fingers), and possibly a trim removal tool if your headlight bezels are clipped in. If your truck has sealed beam headlights, you will also need the H4 conversion housings listed in the parts section above.
Installation Steps
Open the hood or access the rear of the headlight housing from the engine bay. On most kei trucks, you can reach the back of the headlight by removing a rubber dust boot or plastic cover. Twist the existing H4 bulb counterclockwise to release it from the housing, then disconnect the wiring connector. Insert the new LED bulb into the housing, making sure the orientation tabs align correctly — the LED chip placement matters for proper beam pattern. Reconnect the wiring connector and secure the dust boot.
If your truck has sealed beam headlights, first remove the headlight bezel and retaining ring, pull out the old sealed beam unit, and disconnect the H6054 connector. Install the H4 conversion housing into the same mounting points, connect the adapter pigtail, and then install the LED bulb into the new housing.
Tips and Warnings
Some kei trucks may flash the headlights or show irregular behavior with LED bulbs due to the lower power draw confusing a simple relay or flasher circuit. An anti-flicker harness (also called a CANbus decoder, though most kei trucks are pre-CANbus) wired inline will resolve this. These cost around $15 and plug directly into the existing H4 connector.
While you are upgrading the headlights, consider replacing the turn signal and tail light bulbs with LEDs as well. The entire exterior lighting package on a kei truck can be modernized for under $100, and the safety improvement — especially for trucks driven on roads shared with full-size vehicles — is well worth the investment.
What's Next
Now that you can actually see at night, here's what I'd tackle next: a stereo and Bluetooth upgrade so you have tunes to go with that visibility, or an exhaust upgrade if you want a little more character out of that 660cc. If you're building out the whole truck, check out the bed rack guide — that's a weekend project that transforms what the truck can carry. And if you haven't already, Jake's maintenance guide covers the basics every kei truck owner should stay on top of.