Replacing Light Bulb 90 Ls400

[Wilfred]

Hello

As i was driving home before i saw a BMW with those really bright white bulbs. I want them on my 1990 LS400! So i wanted to know what specs or what i need to know to get the front bulbs replaced (the low high beam and those annoying yellow fog lights). Like what would i say to the guy at the shop? I am looking for ............ for my LS400?

Anyone got manual or instructions on how to replace the bulbs also?

Thanks in advance

[michaelsn]

You're looking for an HID (High Intensity Discharge) upgrade. It's not just a bulb. You'll need a new set of equipment for that. Not cheap unless you settle for Sylvania Silverstars. Other threads mentioned that any HID upgrades currently available is "illegal" to install in the US but maybe not down under. :)

[cmmetcalf]

Hello

As i was driving home before i saw a BMW with those really bright white bulbs. I want them on my 1990 LS400! So i wanted to know what specs or what i need to know to get the front bulbs replaced (the low high beam and those annoying yellow fog lights). Like what would i say to the guy at the shop? I am looking for ............ for my LS400?

Anyone got manual or instructions on how to replace the bulbs also?

Thanks in advance

←

[cmmetcalf]

Check PIAA Extreme White replacement bulbs. They make LO, HI and Fogs for every Lexus LS model. I have run them in two LSs and my RX and they really do make a difference. You don't have to convert to the HID lights to really increase your night time viz and good appearance as well...

You can a Google search for PIAA there are several sites that sell that at good prices...

[Wilfred]

Thanks for that, i just have to learn how to replace the blubs now. I thought it would be easy but it looks more complicated than orignally thought.

[wwest]

The 90 through 93 LS400 had a poor headlamp reflector forward coverage design. If you adjust the low beams upward for good low beam coverage then the high beam pattern will be, is, far too high.

Adding brighter bulbs will NOT help.

The best solution is to adjust the high beams for correct forward coverage and then add two driving lights in the lower portion of the grill to fill in the poor low beam coverage.

[Wilfred]

Wow sounds complicated! i got those annoying yellow fog lights too! I wish they were clear.

[RFeldes]

Go to lexls.com and in the tutorial section you will find out how to remove the yellow lenses on the fog lights and a host of other goodies..

[1990LS400]

The 90 through 93 LS400 had a poor headlamp reflector forward coverage design. If you adjust the low beams upward for good low beam coverage then the high beam pattern will be, is, far too high.

Adding brighter bulbs will NOT help.

←

Wilfred is in Australia so his headlight units might be different from those in the early LS sold in North America. For example, the early RHD LS cars sold in the U.K. used H4 bulbs in the headlights, had a sharp beam cutoff and even had a beam adjustment switch on the dash - just like the beam switch in the current U.S. Toyota Sienna XLE Limited minivan. Wilfred, does your LS headlights use H4 bulbs?

Does Phillips still sell H4 bulbs in Australia called "plus 30 Xenon" - they are supposed to contain a mix of halogen and Xenon gas. They are a bit whiter than standard lights - we bought them from a specialty importer and use them in our Camry.

[melhadri]

Visit www.danielsternlighting.com and contact him for honest advice and quality products. Very sharp guy.

[Wilfred]

Adding brighter bulbs will NOT help.

←

Wilfred is in Australia so his headlight units might be different from those in the early LS sold in North America. For example, the early RHD LS cars sold in the U.K. used H4 bulbs in the headlights, had a sharp beam cutoff and even had a beam adjustment switch on the dash - just like the beam switch in the current U.S. Toyota Sienna XLE Limited minivan. Wilfred, does your LS headlights use H4 bulbs?

Does Phillips still sell H4 bulbs in Australia called "plus 30 Xenon" - they are supposed to contain a mix of halogen and Xenon gas. They are a bit whiter than standard lights - we bought them from a specialty importer and use them in our Camry.

←

I tried looking at the tut to remove it but its a little different. In the tut the headlight is 2 piece where u can separate the fog light section but i can't and at the same time lost the screws. How do i know if they use H4 bulbs but? and i think i've seen that plus 30 stuff before but dunno where.

[1990LS400]

Wilfred, do you have an owners manual for your LS? The owners manuals for U.S. and European LS400's up throught at least 1993 contained information on how to replace bulbs and which bulbs were required. Don't know about the Aussie versions. Was your LS made for your market or is it a converted Celsior? Your headlights may be completely different than those sold in the U.S. and Europe and not have a separate foglight and headlight module held in place within a metal frame like those sold in the U.S. Your headlight and foglight could be in a single unit and share a single lens like those in the Japanese market LS400. Got photos?

In U.S. spec LS400's, it is not necessary to separate the fog light from the headlight to replace bulbs. You simply remove the whole foglight/headlight assembly by removing three bolts - one bolt behind the corner marker light and two bolts on the inner side by the radiator - one at the top and one at the bottom. Be careful not to move the aiming screws or you may have to re-aim your lights.

If you do not have an owners manual, a parts supplier should be able to provide a correct bulb once he sees your current one.

Lexus cars sold in the U.S. are often very different that those sold in many other countries. You may have better luck on an Aussie Lexus forum.

Sounds like you are having quite a time...

[1990LS400]

I tried looking at the tut to remove it but its a little different. In the tut the headlight is 2 piece where u can separate the fog light section but i can't ...

←

Here is a photo of the one piece headlights that were used in some areas in your part of the world on the early LS400. It this is what you have, it uses an H4 bulb in the headlight and H3 in the fog. Notice the sharp beam cutoff in the lens - likely provides a far better light pattern than the "blob" of light provided by the awful headlights on the early U.S. spec LS.

JDM_LS_headlight.bmp

[1990LS400]

Here is a view of the back of the one piece LS400 headlight assembly...

JDM_LS_headlight_back.bmp

[Shaggz]

I am running the Sylvania Silverstars on my 91 LS400 and I love them. They are a world apart from than the OEMs and quite an inexpensive option.

Regarding the yellow fog lights...perhaps this could shed some light on their origination...check this Google discussion, possibly more info than you care to know.

[Wilfred]

Hey yeah they are the lights! Mine is a JDM model. I imported it myself because the local 1990 has had a hard life. Plus the JDM had more bells and whistles. However i don't have a manual. Even if i did, it'd be in Japanese and probably be no help.

So that i have H4 and H3 bulbs. is there any recommended white bulbs?

Also anyone have instruction on how to replace the bulbs on that signle piece unit? And yes the light pattern is not bad, even without the park corner lights at the moment. Are they also H4?

Thanks

[1990LS400]

The parking lights use a low wattage wedge bulb - a 168 on U.S. spec models. Any auto parts store or Toyota/Lexus dealer will have them. I think I told you wrong on how the light units are held it. If you look at the front view photo I attached, you will see one place on the lower "inboard" side where a bolt holds the unit in place. On the outboard side you can see two places where the light is secured to the car body. You can see an upper nut and and a hole where the lower bolt holds the unit in place. The hole about a third of the way up on the outboard side is where a metal shaft on the corner parking light plugs in. This will all be obvious once you remove the corner parking light.

Once you extract the headlight unit, it will be obvious how to replace the bulbs. From my experience standard wattage halogen/Xenon mixture clear capsule bulbs provide a lot better lighting than the blue coated bulbs that try to look like HID's.

You need an owners manual! Even if you have a JDM Celsior, you should be able to buy an English language owners manual for a few bucks on eBay or from a Lexus/Toyota dealer. It may not be completely accurate but it will help a lot.

Heck, the Aussie dollar is way strong right now compared to ours so a manual should be cheap for you. I just bought four bottles of Aussie Barossa Valley Shiraz tonight and got "killed" on the price. Ouch!

[Wilfred]

Damn. What wine were they? How did u ship them to the states?