H11 to H9 Headlight Bulb Conversion

Thanks, I'll try to find one of those bits for next time.

 

I did the conversion and used it for about 4 months until I retrofitted some RX350s and from the limited use the bowls were fine.

 

Good to know. Apparently it runs only a few degrees hotter than stock.

 

nice info..

 

Still running H9 bulbs in both of our vehicles. No problems whatsoever, very satisfied with output.

Bought some spare bulbs too, since I'm sticking with the H9 setup for the long term.

SCH-I535

 

Passenger headlight burned out today at 16 months. Replaced both sides tonight with new H9 bulbs.

The Camry's H9 bulbs, installed at the same time as the Prius' are still OK.

 

The fuse is there to protect the "feeder" (the circuit's wiring). Each feeder capacity in AWG (or square mm) has an associated maximum feeder capacity in amperes.

Installing a higher capacity bulb, but retaining the same fuse rating, will not lead to electrical problems.

It is installing a higher capacity bulb, and increasing the fuse rating, which may lead to electrical problems.

 

For people who have already tried out a few different H9 bulbs could you please post which bulbs you find work best for road visibility ?

 

Osram H9 clear bulbs from Germany are what I use. 15 months now and still burning bright on my Camry. One bulb burned out at 14 months on the Prius, replaced both bulbs last month.

 

Where you getting them at like what watt bulbs are you using to many different kinds of bulbs out there wouldn't want to buy the wrong ones
Maybe you have a link or a part number for the particular bulb your using ?

Also I'm reading about the H11 to H9 conversion harness You seen one out there that allows you to go from H11 to H9 without having to hackup the bulbs ?

 

Buy the Philips bulbs from Amazon:

they are German made and are highly reviewed by people who are doing the conversion from H11.

Even if you get the H11 to H9 harness, you still have to modify the tab (one of three) at the base of the H9 bulb to make it fit in the H11 bulb mount at the back of the headlight housing.

 

Can you please post me a link or give me a part number for the exact bulb your talking about ??

 

I put a link in the post above, search for B00480KOP4 on Amazon. It will bring up the correct bulb.

 

They also sell the same bulb at HomeDepot with free ship to store

Philips Standard 12361/H9 Headlight Bulb (1-Pack)-12361B1 - The Home Depot

Or this guy selling them on ebay

New Pair 2 Philips H9 Headlight Bulbs 65W 12361 Headlamp Made in Germany | eBay

 

I've been running the H9 German Phillips bulbs for a week now and can report this mod is legit. Great output from the low beams, enough so that I'm going to put off an HID conversion for the time being, anyway. Anyone considering this mod really needs to just get it done. It's got to be one of the best dollar for dollar Prius mods.

Thanks to mediahound for the the how-to video and xliderider for the positive feedback regarding the mod in numerous posts/threads.

 

You can use a laser thermometer to measure the temp, it will be a big difference but not enough to melt anything. I opted for an H11 HID conversion and the projector does a great job of cutting off the light and not causing glare or scatter.

 

I'm interested in the temperature differences you measured, stock vs H9 vs HID. But you'd have to try to standardize the readings by taking them all during the day, or at night, and not have any major seasonal temp differences in the environment etc.

Also, cold engine compartment vs warm/hot engine compartment would affect measured temperatures.

 

Just purchase two H9 bulbs. Didn't even have to cut off the metal, just the plastic above the plug inside. Much brighter than the H11. Had a HID kit as well from Morimoto which is a good brand, but they did not fit within the housing. Lower temp output than the Halogens, brightness was good too, but too many items to harness within the engine bay, felt it was not only a hassle but just too much money as well. HID kits (the good ones) are $100 or more (Paid $165 for mine).

H9's gave a hotter temperature but not much different than the H11's.

The conversion is pretty easy and a good hack for more light at a very low price.

Tried LED's as well from Kensun but they were the worst. Unless it's the manufacture LED's (like the Package 5 Prius Gen 3), then it's no good.

I currently drive a Gen 3 Prius.

 

Tried a bunch of HIDs and LEDs and unsatisfied with all of them. Most cheap 35W/55W HID ballast don't produce enough light as they are probably not really 55W (I read somewhere most of them are just over boosted 35W and some have even melted car's wiring). Xentec's bigger size 55W ballast worked well but seems like lots of HID bulbs (even ones say 55W) can't handle it (flickers). Eventually, one of the Xentec ballasts started eating bulbs and make a buzzing noise at startup. Cracked it open and find rubber coated electronics for moisture protection solution (and was poorly done) that surely isn't very good for heat dissipation. Here is the pic with all the rubber layers scraped off.



For LEDs, I tried the popular Beamtechs recommended here, also way too dim even after raising the beam alignment per various poster's suggestion.

Finally going back to Halogen and opt to go with the brighter 65W H9s. Modification was really easy. Per post #38, didn't mess with the triple metal keys (made it a little harder to install the passenger side with the tight spaces, had to do it with the wiring harness/connector off for full freedom). Just cut off the shorter plastic key inside the plug. Here are the tools I used

- Styrofoam bulb protector that came with all the HID bulbs I bought
- Exacto knife to score both side of the plastic key inside the plug. Make sure you score it all the way to the bottom.
- Ultra narrow needle nose plier to break the key off, came off cleanly without much force. Maybe scoring it with exacto knife is not even necessary?
- narrow file to clean up the little bit of bump that is left. Hardest part is all the way at the bottom where the plastic make a 90 degree bend. If you have a file with a filing surface on the end of the tip, probably make it a lot easier.

 

Thank you all for this..