Replacement bulb help (1 Viewer)

[LCTarHeel]

I am a brand new owner of a '96 LX450 and new to ih8mud. I have been told that this is the best place for FJ knowledge so I am grateful already for this forum. A quick systems check showed me a burned out driver side main headlamp. These appear to be some sort of upgraded HID system. I pulled out the bulb and need to know how to source a replacement in the short term. Pictures attached (i hope), thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[Malleus]

Post a photo if that "professional" wiring addition. Welcome to the forum.

 

[LCTarHeel]

Malleus,

Thanks for jumping on this quick. Here is the "pro" install.

 

[fourtrax]

i'll guess it is an h11 style hid bulb
i would take the working bulb and put it in the dead bulbs socket and make sure it works there.
i have seem more ballast issues then bad bulbs.



if a local store doesn't have them then amazon prime might be the next fastest way

i prefer the 6000k range for better visibility down the road. but, to each their own.
bulbs $13.99
https://www.amazon.com/CougarMotor-...8&qid=1516054826&sr=8-5&keywords=hid+h11+bulb

bulbs and ballast $40.00
https://www.amazon.com/Innovited-Xenon-Conversion-Slim-ballast/dp/B00FC22PVS/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1516054731&sr=1-4&keywords=h11+hid&refinements=p_72:1248861011

i would also check that ground screw on the firewall to make sure it has a very low ohm reading to the battery.

 

[Malleus]

ONSC to the rescue!

 

[LCTarHeel]

Wow for $13 shipped and they will be here in two days, worth a shot. I will follow up when they arrive and update the post.

 

[lumbee1]

Be careful. HID's in a reflector housing designed for traditional filament bulbs, tend to scatter the light and cause significant glare for oncoming vehicles. This is a common modification in lifted pickup trucks with awful results. I installed HIR bulbs in my headlights. These operate just like factory bulbs but are just brighter. The light pattern, although poor, remains the same.


BTW, 6000k refers to the light temperature or color. 6000k is a bit on the bluish side. I would look for something between 4000K and 5200K.

 

[Red Merle]

Be careful. HID's in a reflector housing designed for traditional filament bulbs, tend to scatter the light and cause significant glare for oncoming vehicles. This is a common modification in lifted pickup trucks with awful results. I installed HIR bulbs in my headlights. These operate just like factory bulbs but are just brighter. The light pattern, although poor, remains the same.


BTW, 6000k refers to the light temperature or color. 6000k is a bit on the bluish side. I would look for something between 4000K and 5200K.

Do you put the bulbs in the stock housing? I just installed these and I am not impressed. I don't want to do any wiring though and it's better for everyone if I don't.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U1OLM1Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[LCTarHeel]

Be careful. HID's in a reflector housing designed for traditional filament bulbs, tend to scatter the light and cause significant glare for oncoming vehicles. This is a common modification in lifted pickup trucks with awful results. I installed HIR bulbs in my headlights. These operate just like factory bulbs but are just brighter. The light pattern, although poor, remains the same.


BTW, 6000k refers to the light temperature or color. 6000k is a bit on the bluish side. I would look for something between 4000K and 5200K.

Yes I opted for a 5000K color as I prefer a true white to a blue white. I am not sure of the quality control within the Kelvin scale for $13/pair but we will see (see what i did there). I would not have chosen to take a cruiser from halogen to HID, I likely would have just found the brightest halogen i could find. That said, the PO did put this kit in and I am just trying to pass inspection at that point. May consider converting back to a halogen setup at some point. I haven't searched for the stock wiring to see if I can strip out all the HID stuff. Obviously, it was not well installed.

 

[chap79]

Do you put the bulbs in the stock housing? I just installed these and I am not impressed. I don't want to do any wiring though and it's better for everyone if I don't.

I run the HIR 9011 bulbs in both my low and high beams. Well worth the upgrade IMO as I drive 2 hrs a day in the dark. No need to modify the wiring, just a couple of snips on the retaining tabs to make them fit right in.

Third Generation Halogen Infrared (HIR) - HIR1 ( 9011 )

And if you want to read some result numbers, @LandCruiserPhil has you covered.
Testing HIR lamps - What I found

 

[lumbee1]

Yes I opted for a 5000K color as I prefer a true white to a blue white. I am not sure of the quality control within the Kelvin scale for $13/pair but we will see (see what i did there). I would not have chosen to take a cruiser from halogen to HID, I likely would have just found the brightest halogen i could find. That said, the PO did put this kit in and I am just trying to pass inspection at that point. May consider converting back to a halogen setup at some point. I haven't searched for the stock wiring to see if I can strip out all the HID stuff. Obviously, it was not well installed.

BTW, welcome to the club. We have a Uwharrie workday coming up on January 20th.

 

[Marine7]

I just upgraded my headlights to ORocks R2 LED’s, and I couldn’t be happier! They are a lot brighter than the 9005’s, and they are white, not “blue” like a lot of cheap lights are. I found these on Amazon for $40 or so.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

If you do a HID or LED conversion make sure you keep and carry your original bulbs with you.

 

[amgraham]

If you do a HID or LED conversion make sure you keep and carry your original bulbs with you.

Why is that? I've been running LEDs in my F350 and my wife's 4Runner for several months with no issues (Auxbeam brand from Amazon). I really like them so far.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Why is that? I've been running LEDs in my F350 and my wife's 4Runner for several months with no issues (Auxbeam brand from Amazon). I really like them so far.

No hate just be prepared I have not been as fortunate as you and have had several fail. FWIW I run HIR's and still carry spares.

 

[LCTarHeel]

Bad news, the Amazon bulbs didn't work. They neither powered on nor fit in the housing. They were worth a shot. I was able to figure out how to remove the entire HID setup so that I can run some Silver Star Ultra bulbs until I decide how to approach this HID issue. Right now I just need to pass inspection.

 

[2KCruiser]

That's actually a 9006 Xenon/HID bulb. You can select 4300k for pure white, 6000k comes with a slight tint of blue, 8000k has more of a blue tone, 10,000k and above get really deep blue / purple. Do not order H11, it will not fit correctly.

 

[2KCruiser]

The HID kit will leave the Silver Star Ultra in the dark ages, pun intended.

 

[LCTarHeel]

I wanted to update this post with what I have learned. I imagine most folks here will already know what I learned in this process but it is worth documenting. The HID setup from the previous owner was hard for me to decipher just visually. I need to take apart all of the zip ties etc so I could see how everything connected. It turns out to be a very simple system:

Stock wiring harness for low beam headlight plugs into the HID ballast supplying the ballast it's power, then the HID ballast plugs into an HID bulb and voila, an HID lighting setup. Now the confusing part was the assortment of wires going in every which direction, sometimes passing through rubber grommets for further ambiguity. My ballast was from DDM and carried the part number as seen below

and this particular ballast was a 55W variety (as opposed to 35W) as seen in the "P out" measurement above. I called DDM and they said any HID bulb that fit my 80s light socket would work in their system. Amazon had quite a few sets for less than $15 that would work for the 9006 housing fitment. Most of them carried the dreaded sub-4 star rating so i deliberated long enough to choose the Sylvania Silver Star Ultra bulbs until I decide which HID bulbs (if any) i want to put back in the rig. In the meantime I began to get out some of the rats nest cabling done by the PO.

Thanks for the input from all the mudders, I hope this post helps someone else in the future (or at least helps me remember what I learned).

 

[slceso]

Mine came with HID when I got it. They failed in the first couple of months (ballast issue). I deleted and went back to stock; required remove most of the front stuff to get to them. I have the JDM lenses so oncoming traffic hates me either way.