Headlights- HELP! converting Hdj 81 to fj 80 (1 Viewer)

[Bitehard]

So....Off we go.

The first thing to do is to remove the old lights. This is done by removing the center grill (phillips head screws) the side markers (phillips head screw at upper corner of light and locking pin on bottom) and signal lights.

When removing the side marker(if yours is a pain in the butt like mine) you can use a 2 ft long dowling about the thickness of a broom handle to push it out through a hole that exists in the wheel well. When you look in the wheel well you will see a black plug; remove that to expose the hole.

If you are doing this on your own be sure to put something soft on the front of your bumper to ensure the marker doesn't go flying out and crack

 

[Bitehard]

When you unplug the old lights you will be using the outside plug to create your new connection (it's the only one you will need).

Using a voltage meter you need to determine which of the three connections within your plug provides constant power when the key is on and the headlights are on. In order to make it simple I used the color coding on the Hella 3 Prong adapters.

So on my newly created wiring harness the yellow wire provided constant power when plugged into my light harness.

The first picture is the existing wiring harness and plug in my truck. This is the plug from which you will need to determine the voltage with the key on and the headlights on. Again, mine was the yellow wire on the new Hella harness (when its plugged into the old one in the picture)

The second picture is the newly created harness using the Hella plug. On the left is the newly created harness on the right is the Hella harness before I cut the end off and created the new Harness

Picture three is of the newly created Harness. It is the Hella Male end with the 9005 and 9006 wiring adapters connected. This harness plugs directly into my existing lighting system without having to cut anything...

 

[Bitehard]

Here are some more pics of the bulbs and the new harness plugged in to the existing harness. It is important to note that if you get confused by the numbers 9006 and 9005 you can see that the 9006 has a black tip and thus it is the low beam. The 9005 is the high beam. In terms of configuration in your lights it goes Inner High Beam and Outer Low Beam.

 

[Bitehard]

So back to creating the harness...

The female end has been cut off the Hella adapter and there are 9005 and 9006 adapters with 2 wires each.

Take one of each of the 9005 and 9006 wires and connect them to the yellow (constant power). How you decide to connect these is up to you but it is the difference between doing the job once or many times.
I used inline connectors, soldered over them and then put glue shrink wrap over the top to ensure the connections were water tight.

This will leave you with one wire remaining on each of the 9005 and 9006 adapters and a brown and white wire on the Hella adapter side.

I connected the white to the remaining low beam wire and the brown to the remaining Hi beam wire.

I then plugged the bulbs into their respective sockets and plugged the newly made harness into my existing plug in the cruiser. Turned on the key, turned on the lights and there ya have it I had low beams, flicked on the high beams and as they should the lows went off and highs came on.

So Just to recap: One of each of the wires from the Hi and Low Beam (9005 and 9006 adapters) connected together and to the yellow (constant power) wire on the Hella adapter. Then the remaining wires White on the Hella connected to Lo Beam and Brown connected to Hi Beam.

 

[Bitehard]

All that remains now is put the bulbs into the new lights. At this stage it is a good precautionary measure to test them again before securing everything back in place. Also you will need to remove all the little plastic screw grommets from the old lights and snap them into the new lights (they are for securing the trim and the corner marker screw into the new light housing).

After that is all done you will have a set of DOT approved headlights in your JDM Cruiser and Transport Canada off your butt!

Pics showing lights back in then functioning with inner Hi's and outer Lo's

 

[Bitehard]

JDM Headlight Compliance Issues

Some have asked why I chose the FJ80 lights over the E Codes.

While E Code lights meet compliance requirements I can tell you that Police Officers are not being instructed by Transport Canada about any compliance other than DOT/SAE. So without those stamped on the lens it is possible the police will issue a Notice and Order to have your vehicle inspected again....and again....and again etc.

I also took the time to buy $2.00 red reflectors and .50 cents worth of 2 sided tape and secured the red reflectors on the moulding near the rear tail lights on each side so I now have red reflectors on each side at the rear and amber on each side at the front as required.

My Glass is all AS1 and AS2 all the way around and meets TC requirements ( it had this on import).

I now have the peace of mind of driving a compliant vehicle without question. Not to say those who choose E code lights are not, it is a matter of recognizing who is enforcing the TC Mandate.

I hope these posts will give somebody else a hand with an HDJ 81 headlight conversion should they choose to do so.

Thanks to those who posted with insight into this challenge and in particular Steve (wussypup) who was kind enough to come over and give me a hand

 

[kup99]

I am glad all of ths worked out for you. It is am awesome write up. I am glad that they really don't care that much in Alberta!!

Here is a quick question for you. If i have this right, my RHD lights point too far to the left. I am going to aim them as far right as I can.

When I look at the lights I see 2 adjustment screws. one says U D I am assuming Up and Down. I then am assuming that the other screw is Left and Right.. when I am facing the lights which way do I turn the screw to aim the lights to the Right??

Thanks again for the help and the awesome write up!!

 

[Bitehard]

I am glad all of ths worked out for you. It is am awesome write up. I am glad that they really don't care that much in Alberta!!

Here is a quick question for you. If i have this right, my RHD lights point too far to the left. I am going to aim them as far right as I can.

When I look at the lights I see 2 adjustment screws. one says U D I am assuming Up and Down. I then am assuming that the other screw is Left and Right.. when I am facing the lights which way do I turn the screw to aim the lights to the Right??

Thanks again for the help and the awesome write up!!

Hey Darren, JDM lights actually have 3 adjustment screws. The one for the left and right movement is located on the top right corner at the back of the light. It has directional indicators telling you which way to turn it. If you are running JDM lights and are not getting people flashing you with high beams I would just leave it as an adjustment to the right is going to cause the left up spray of the light (hockey stick to the left) is going to be huge in the rear view mirror of those ahead of you. I can post send you a picture of the rear of the JDM light if you want so you can be sure where the adjustment screw is...just need your email address. As always, as soon as you can afford it, I recommend changing them out to comply with whatever standards exist on the other side of the Rockies. BH

 

[kup99]

when I can track down a set of lights from a salvage yard I plan on copying you. your write up is very easy to follow, and I can always ask you more Q's if need be.

thanks for the help,

 

[ElectricDyck]

You'll have a hard time tracking headlights down in Canada , it's hard enough finding a smashed vehicle with good head lights plus the fj80 wasn't sold in Canada till 95. I spent about 2 hours phoning around and found none in Canada and 1 partly damaged set in seatle washington and he wanted $500 US dollars for them. I just ordered from Toyota.

 

[kup99]

That's what I figured!! What did they run you from Toyota? you can P.M. me if you don't want to post the price!!

Thanks,

 

[jasonmt]

when I can track down a set of lights from a salvage yard I plan on copying you. your write up is very easy to follow, and I can always ask you more Q's if need be.

thanks for the help,

As posted previously $400 will net you a brand new set of E-codes with bulbs, a uniformed constabulary vis-a-vie CMVSS is not a new issue to deal with.

 

[Bitehard]

There is no doubt it not a huge issue but it would be a PITA to be continually sent to inspection while the JDM crackdown continues....

For those who can't find the hella relays I have found this site http://www.eurowires.net/wst_page4.html

It has a relay for 9005/9006 to H4 which would forgo the necessity to make your own harness. I suspect it would be plug and play

 

[ElectricDyck]

I got the headlights, clearence lights and bulbs for $1040 including tax. I think you could probably get away without changing the clearence light plus buy your bulbs from a jobber and save some money. The head lights themselves were about $370 per side.
I was worried the LHD E-code headlights wouldn't get me past inspection because they are identical to my RHD headlights except LHD. I have not heard of anyone passing a BC inspection with these.
As a side note I did need DOT stick on reflectors on the rear quarters. I did not need daytime running lights or a high mount brake light.

 

[kup99]

So it would be $120 U.S. to get all of those relays (2 per side) if I am thiinking right!! Yikes, if we are talking about costs that would be significant!! I know it would be better then nothing, but I would try to do it your way as it would probably be $116 U.S. cheaper!! LOL...

 

[kup99]

O.K i think I got it wrong, but even still at $60 U.S. plus shipping, it is still a lot more!!

 

[KOZ_73]

My HDJ81 just passed inspection with LHD E code lights, DRL's and stick on amber reflectors for the front of the vehicle, i just slapped them on my bumper. No high mount brake light was needed either. And just FYI if you want to go the DOT headlights way, order them from www.toyotapartsales.com or a similar place and get them to ship to you. Way cheaper than getting them our Canadian Stealerships.

Headlights US 155 per side
Clearance Lamps US 44 per side

Later

 

[Bitehard]

I picked up my FJ 80 lights from cruiserparts.net and with shipping they were around 500.00 CDN delivered. Happy to have them in now...

It shouldn't be a problem to pass inspection with E-Code lighting, the only difficulty is when you get stopped by the police and because they might not know about E-Codes they could send you to inspection again.