Installed some HIDS on my '10 Prius

I will be upgrading my headlights to HID as soon as my 2010 Prius arrives.
I just sold my Scion tC, which I also upgraded to HID headlights.
I went through a company called Mobile HID.
Their site is here: Waterproof and Shockproof HID Kits - The best HID conversion kit resource for everything from drift cars to tractors!.
They are VERY good quality bulbs, ballasts, and harnessed.
Waterproof and you can bang on them with a hammer, and they'll still work... go to their webpage and see the video.

I'm in no way affiliated with them, but I will definitely be using them again as soon as my Prius arrives.

 

Anyone know what color temp factory HID lights are? I don't want that blue look so I'm thinking either 4300K or 5000K.

 

My previous car (BMW 545i) had 4200K HIDs. I believe most factory HIDs are in that range.

 

Thanks, what I meant to say is what is the color temp of the original HALOGEN lights. I assume they are around 3400K.

 

Hi:

I am kind of interested in this HID conversion. I was wondering though if this HID change is possible with Daytime Running Lights?

It is mandatory that all cars driven in Canada have DRL's and whether or not that would affect a conversion I am not sure. If so, is there other ways of improving the lighting.

Thanks in advance.....

Edward
Marystown, Newfoundland
Canada

 

From what I understand they are not compatible with DRL because the DRL run at a lower voltage which would play havoc with the ballast.

 

I was thinking of getting the above mentioned (Waterproof and Shockproof HID Kits - The best HID conversion kit resource for everything from drift cars to tractors!) kit because they offer 4300K kits (Idon't want the blue tint, I want pure white) but thought of a snag. Isn't the Prius 12V battery in the back of the car? The HID kit requires that you wire the harness to the battery and that would be some long wires tricky routing. Any ideas?

 

yeah, i see those but, i'd like to see where people are mounting them under the hood and how? are they screwing them down somewhere?

 

I've found two empty spots over the wheel wells right behind the lights but I don't know how big the ballests are and how long the harness is. I will take pictures after I receive and install my kit.

I talked to coolbulbs about needing to power the ballests directly from your battery and the said that theirs were designed to not require that. I suspected the website that talked about the 23,000 volt output of the ballests stressing the wiring to the existing lights. What they really need to talk about is the current pulled by the ballest and they never addressed that.

 

I was wondering about that myself. I know that the kit HID's are lower WATTAGE (35W vs 55W) which allows them to run cooler, use less wattage, etc. BUT, does the ballast actually draw more power overall than the stock halogens?

A requirement for me is 4300K lights and the ones I commented on earlier required a direct connection to 12V battery. After doing some searching I found these: HID Conversion Kits, Xenon Replacement Bulbs, Side Mirrors, HID Head Lights & Taillights . These don't need the battery connection BUT they are more expensive. I'm looking at these HID Conversion Kits, Xenon Replacement Bulbs, Side Mirrors, HID Head Lights & Taillights - Product Search - Criteria: h11 hid kit pair

 

Did you need to move anything on the passenger side to get to the bulb when you did your HID conversion? I ordered an HID kit and it looks tight when trying to get to the pass. headlight bulb

 

I haven't gotten my kit yet but the owners manual has instructions for replacing the bulb and if I remember correctly I think you have to move a hose.

 

i'm not familiar with the set you linked, but in general, you don't need to connect any wires to the battery directly. the original wires to your existing bulbs are used to connect to the ballast.

in addition, i've found almost every aftermarket HID maker say they're the "best" in various terms... i'd take that w/ a large grain of salt.

finally, if you want pure white, i'd suggest 5000k.

 

If the instantaneous ballest current draw is an issue you would have to run really heavy guage wire the full length of the car from the battery. I'm not worried about the light circuit. If there is a current issue, I'd be shocked if there was, the fuse will protect the wiring.

 

** I'm editing this post to remove some misinformation so as to prevent confusion ***

I bought the mobile hid kit. For a couple of reasons. I do think that they are well made. (One look at the packaging alone gives you a good hint, but the ballasts, plugs, bulbs and wiring look high grade)

The big difference between the kit I got and others is that this kit includes wiring for a direct link to the battery. This is good and bad. While it is certainly a bit less plug and play, I was simply not comfortable connecting the existing wiring harness to the ballast directly. Did you see how incredibly thin those wires are? Both in terms of the wire gauge itself, but also the ultra thin rubber insulation around them?

While I am no electrical engineer, I do know that the thickness of wire insulation is not just a wattage or amperage thing, it is a voltage thing. While there may be a reduction in overall wattage, there are a lot more electrons flying out of that ballast. (I know, this happens in the ballast, and not the wires leading up to it). However, those wires are part of the same circuit. I do not like them that thin.. They look like the individual strands of wire inside of ethernet cables.

Regarding the last post, the battery is in the trunk, but you don't have to go that far. The ground wire gets connected to chassis. A huge 12V+ wire is brought from the battery to the engine compartment by Toyota already. It is the giant white one in the fuse box that is about 1 foot above the drivers headlight. It's the same spot where you'd jump the car.

I know it is a bit more work to connect the power wires, (and maybe I'm just paranoid), but jeez - Those are the thinnest headlight wires I've ever seen, and moreover, they have very thin insulation. I wonder what guage wire was used by Toyota in the Gen II.

The exisiting bulbs are about 55 watts, and run at about 13.5 volts. That puts about a 4 amp draw on the existing wires. The ballast that I have is rated at 13.5 volts, with a continuous amperage draw of 2 to 3 amps. No problem there. However, there is an inrush current when they first turn on that is around 10 amps. That is 2.5 times greater than the current required for the existing bulbs, and one would assume, 2.5 times greater than what the wires were designed for (on a continual basis).

HOWEVER, this only lasts for a very short while. Can the existing wires handle this? I don't know. If they can't ahndle it, some risks would include the insulation around the wires melting and possibly shorting, fire, and increased resistance in the wire that would limit available current to the ballasts that would result in improper HID ignition or some other kind of related damage.

If they can handle it, then no worries.

If you do feel comfortable using them directly, then by all means get a kit that is more plug and play, it will be an easier installation. I'm going to just wire it up with the heavier guage wire and not worry about it. I'll post pics when i do it this weekend.

 

There is nothing the ballest can do to increase the voltage upstream from them. Current yes, and that is why I wanted to know what startup current the ballest draw. I bought the kit from Coolbulbs which doesn't have the a battery connection. The kit looks first rate. However, I tried it last night and although the low beams are H11's and the kit says it is an H11, the bulbs will not fit where the stock bulbs go. I sent them pictures, so stay tuned.

 

Ahh, gotcha. My mistake.

If it helps, the startup current for the kit I bought is 10 amps.