How To Change Headlight Bulbs Lowbeam D2S And High Beam Halogen

[alitech]

I cant for the life of me figure out how to change the headlight bulbs on my rx400h. I have bought a couple of D2S bulbs that I want to change. I think the stock ones are 4300k colour temperature. I just boughts 6000k ones from ebay that I want to install. I also wanted to get the high beam ones changed as well so its a similar color to my 6000k D2S bulbs. Any ideas on what I should get for the high beams to be the same colour?

What I do want to find out is how to change the bulbs. There is hardly enough room to slide my hand in to take out the connections. I dont know which connections to take out either. Anyone have a step by step guide pleasE?

The manual says to take it to Lexus and they will do it for you. I aint paying their stupid prices. A pictorial step by step would help as well. Many thanks.

[cduluk]

Behind the headlights, you'll see a round light gray circular cover (approx 4" in diameter). You'll need to turn it counter-clockwise about 90 degrees until it stops turning. Then pull outwards (you may use a flat head screwdriver to pry it off at this point). At this point you'll be able to remove the bulb igniter (silver bulky thing with a braided wire attached to it) by turning it counter-clockwise and pulling outwards. Then you'll be looking at the rear end of the bulb, which is still being held onto the projector by two clips. You need to pull the ends of the clips inwards and pull out... It's hard to explain but as soon as you've got it in-front of you, you will figure it out...

I too have replaced the factory bulbs with 6000k, philips ultinon bulbs. Best quality and color in my opinion...

As for the high beam bulbs... not much you can do. They're run at 1/2 voltage during DRL and NO replacement bulb will emit a white light under these circumstances. You cannot replace them with HID bulbs either. There are aftermarket bulbs that make attempts at emitting whiter light, but none that really make a difference without looking tacky in DRL mode (rainbow effect) or losing serious output in high beam mode. I've replaced my high beam bulbs with HIR bulbs. They emit the same color light as the standard ones, but boy are they bright...

[alitech]

Thanks for the reply C. You seem to be the resident RX jedi master. I will try your methods of replacing the bulbs. I have fairly large hands and I hope I can twist, turn, chang angle etc etc as you describe. Will give it a shot tonight.

As far as the bulbs are concerned. I have a cheap set of 6000k bulbs I got ebay for £17. I think all 6000k should function the same and the same colour tint and output so I am wondering how you could justify spending over $150 on a pair of philips D2S bulbs. Have you tried any cheap ones?

What do you mean by DRL and why is it 1/2 voltage in DRL state? What is the rainbow effect?

I am still stuck on the high beams. I looked into HIR bulbs. THey seem to be fairly new technology and not very widely used/known/sold. I did however come accross PIAA bulbs 9005 60watts. They seem to emit 4100k light. Isnt that at par with HIDs? Osram and Philips do some of these as well. They claim that the bulbs produce as much light as HIDs at a quarter of the cost. Are these the aftermarket bulbs you were referring to?

Also, I can see you have done headlight mods. Have you tried angel eyes? Did you do projector beams on your RX400? I could only see the projector lights on the rx300 in your threads.

[alitech]

My bad, Rx400h comes with projects as default. What was I thinking.

[alitech]

This post here shows the light that HIRs emit.

http://www.scoobymods.com/hir-bulb-into-9005-high-t3122.html?amp;

Qoute.

Here's the comparison:

High beam:

stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens

new: HIR1, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens

The beam pattern will not change, but there will be considerably more light within the beam pattern.

There is an application for the 9006:

stock: 9006, 12.8V, 55W, 1000 lumens

new: HIR2, 12.8V, 55W, 1875 lumens

[pauljcl]

IU had bought mine (that I installed in a RX300 two years ago) from:

http://www.finemotoring.com/

and they seem to be less expensive there.

There is a measurable increase in the light output. Definitely the way to go, but the light from the HIR 9011-9012sis about the same colour as the original 9005-9006s, so, while it improves night visibility, it does not 'match' the HIDs.

[cduluk]

I have tried a few brands of HID bulbs, and i can tell you there is a HUGE difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones. The cheap bulbs aren't built with the same quality, and don't emit as much light output. They also don't last very long. Many have over-heating issues which can also ruin a headlight if they were to explode or melt the housings.

When you increase the kelvin rating on a bulb, you lose output intensity (brightness). Factory HID bulbs are rated at 4300k and they emit the most light out of all the HID bulbs out there. 6000k bulbs produce more of a violet/white color but don't emit as many lumens of output as the 4300k bulbs.

The factory Philips 4300k bulbs emit 3200 lumens while the Philips 6000k bulbs only emit 2400 lumens. For comparison, the standard 9005 halogen bulb emits 1700 lumens. When you start getting into cheap HID bulbs, 6000k will bring you into the 1000 lumen range. Your color will be great, but you won't be able to see as much.

The Philips 6000k Ultinon bulbs are the BRIGHTEST 6000k in production. And even still, the decrease in intensity is noticeable when driving adjacent to a car with the factory 4300k.

And by DRL, i mean "daytime running lights" which is a feature on most Lexus'. During the day, the high beam bulbs are given about half their max voltage (~6V) so they light up (only slightly) so oncoming drivers can see your car more clearly. Then, at night they can be given max voltage (~12V) when you put them in high beam mode.

So, if you were to replace the high beam bulbs with another brand, in DRL mode, the color output isn't going to change. At low voltage, NO replacement bulb can produce a white light. Halogen bulbs don't work like that... At low voltage their kelvin readings are very low, as the filaments are merely heating up, like a hot coal.

There are a few bulbs that produce a higher kelvin reading at max voltage, but at low voltage they will produce that "rainbow effect" i mentioned before. This means that a different spots inside the bulb, the temperature will be hotter than others, so different spots in the bulb will emit a different color. The core may be orange, the base may be blue, etc etc. Therefore, while ON, the headlight reflector will be composed of many different colors (based on wherever on the bulb it's focal point is) looking like a rainbow. It just doesn't look good...

The HIR bulbs emit the same color as the factory halogen bulbs, but when fully warmed up, are MUCH brighter. I have the HIR bulbs in my 400h right now as my DRL/high beams. I had them in my Rx300 as well, and transferred them to this car last year. They're a few years old and they still work perfectly. Their quality is excellent.

I don't believe there's a single after-market 9005 series bulb that emits light that's even slightly close to the color of an HID bulb without sacrificing copious amounts of light output. There are halogen bulbs with tinted coatings on the glass which alter the color, but they have a HORRIBLE rainbow effect and the intensity will suffer. The longevity will also suffer with any after-market bulb that costs less than the factory pair. Also beware of the labels on many aftermarket bulbs, they may list them at a certain kelvin scale and claim they produce so many lumens, but they're most likely not correct. these companies aren't forced to follow the same standards that OEM bulb manufacturers do.

I've been an active member on hidplanet.com for a few years, and have learned a lot about this stuff. I haven't heard of a single halogen bulb that can produce a color similar to the HID bulbs... :(

But, you can try a few different pairs and see if you like any of them. If you're OK with sacrificing brightness, you may find a pair that works for you. But, the only time you'll notice the color difference is when you have your high beams on, and cosmetically I don't think it would be worth the trouble. In high beam mode you will want more brightness than looks...

On my headlight retrofits i've tried to avoid the "angel eyes" as i don't really care for them... at least not on a Lexus. I try to keep the "OEM" look and such mods would jeopardize the look. <_<

I should also add, you may need to remove the windshield washer fluid funnel to gain access to the back of the passenger side headlight. Just pull it UP out of its clip, and push it aside. I remeber it getting in the way...

[alitech]

Thanks for taking time to respond to my questions. I appreciate your responses and am convinced on the philips ultinon as well as the HIR bulbs. I can tell you though, my Rx400h does not have any DRL feature. Its either full power or nothing. I have never seen the lights on in the daytime. I guess its a feature excluded in european models, which mine is. The full power is what I can take advantage on.

I will go ahead with your recommendations and buy the HIR lights from http://www.finemotoring.com/ and I will try to source the philips ultinons on ebay for as cheap as possible.

One thing though, I did notice a couple of different types of packaging/boxes the philips ultinon d2s come in. Does it matter which ones I buy?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Philips-Ultinon-6000K-pure-white-HID-xenon-D2S-globes-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1e5e06a2b3QQitemZ130426512051QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-pcs-D2S-PHILIPS-6000K-ULTINON-GERMANY-MADE-85122WX-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4cf289cdc0QQitemZ330486631872QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

[cduluk]

OHHHH, that makes sense... I didn't notice your location. <_<

I'm not sure about either of the links you posted. The first one is weird; the description seems OK, but the picture isn't correct. The picture is of the Philips 85122FS which are 6700k.

The second link is also questionable. The picture seems OK, but the first line in the description reads:

"This auction is for two(2) in Original Box BRAND NEW Philips D2S Xenon bulbs(part # 85122) for HID(Xenon) equipped vehicles such as BMW, Audi, Lexus, Mercedes, Acura, Nissan and Infiniti"

which isn't correct.

Here are the people i've purchased them from. I've purchased a total of 3 pairs from them, and every time i was satisfied.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-PHILIPS-6000K-ULTINON-D2S-HID-XENON-BULBS-85122WX-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem35a92c64a6QQitemZ230471525542QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

The part number should read 85122WX. They should also have the purple insulation rods (not brown) and the element in the center of the glass should be somewhat red in color. I'm not sure why there would be different packaging; the one from China doesn't look right.

Hope this helps! :) I promise you'll love the bulbs. B)

[maseace]

Hopefully someday they will come out with DRL-capable HID bulbs so we can use them for the high-beams. Maybe they could pulse-width modulate the HID output to ~50% duty cycle (similar to LEDs) to decrease the output for DRL mode. I'm not sure this is possible with HIDs or not.

[alitech]

Guys

I just came accross this..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110601510802&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

This looks sexy come on. I know you guys are adamant around keeping the original look of the car byt this will make it damn sexy. The halo lights look great. I am sure though that these headlamps are not modified OEM.

[cduluk]

Hmm... I don't think those headlights have auto-leveling or AFS, and the projectors are designed for halogen bulbs.

You "could" throw an HID kit in there, but you wouldn't get good light output. HID bulbs have a different focal point than halogen bulbs and won't work in halogen projectors.

I believe all Rx400h headlights have AFS and auto-leveling, but it might be different in Europe. Also, do you drive on the left side of the road in London? If so, you can't install US headlights, as ours are designed for cars driving on the right side of the road. The "steps" in the cutoff lines are different based on which lane you drive in. They're designed to give more light to the lane in front of you, giving less light to the oncoming lane.

So if you were to install a US headlight in a car that drives on the left side of the road, there wouldn't be a lot of light directly in front of you, and the oncoming lane would be blinded by your headlights.

Have you considered doing a headlight retrofit? If so, you could make your own design. Anything is possible!

[DBRX400]

So trying to clarify something basic, do you have to remove the headlight assembly to replace the HID low beam on a 2006 RX400H?  I've seen suggestion of needing to go in under front wheel well but I that is crazy tight.  cduluk, your posting at top of thread addresses what to do but implies access that I sure don't have with Headlight in place.  If headlight assembly has to come off, how is it done?

 

Thanks!

Duane

[livelikeit]

Hello, my wife has a 2008 RX 400H. I am trying to replace the low beam headlight (driver side), but I cannot figure out how to removed the bulb. The back of it (where the grey circular cap is located) is literally underneath the Relay box and the Fuse box. However, I do not see a way to remove or even move those boxes out of the way. Is that just the space necessary to work in? I definitely do not want to accidentally break either of those two boxes. :P

 

Thanks in advance!

[SonomaGary]

Chris I found an old posting about 2008 RX400H low beam replacement. I was able to get it all apart but can't for the life of my old !Removed! mind figure out how to lock the new lamp into place with the stupid U shaped wire clip. I've located the two index slots at the top with the projector surface. But the wire has me stumped sir...