Replaced Turn Signals, Fog Lights, High Beams, Parking Lights & Rear License Plate Bulbs

Thanks so much - I used quite a bit of force, but guess it needs more persuasion.

BTW - what if you said to your wife/girlfriend/partner (whichever applies...) "it may be a bit more difficult due to age"...
Pow - right in the kisser.

I won't tell my 'old' car what you said....

thanks for the tips....

 

Lefty loosy, Righty tighty.....

The loosen to the left "counterclockwise" 1/4 turn and pull out with a bit of jiggleling.... put back in in reverse order. "clockwise"

Drivers side is good to take off the low beam with electrical chord still on it and leave it on to put it back... high beams don't matter... I prefer to take it off first on all others.

Passenger side.. take one bolt loose and lift/bend the air intake hose up out of your way....
Also take a pair of pliers and squeeze the clamp together to loosen the hose that hooks the radiator to the overflow reservoir... then your hand will have much more room! Not so much for the low beam but the high beam.

I found that the passenger high beam really needed to be disconnected from its chord before putting back on... mine had zero slack and caused me to misalign the bulb until I finally figured out is was much simpler to put the bulb back in and then reconnect the electrical.

BTW.. the electrical connections can come off two ways.
1. stick in a thin screwdriver or knife blade to release the tab.
2. "most desirable and easiest"... simply squeeze near the bottom center while jiggleing.. once you get it started, you can release pressure and take it on off.

They all snap back on very easy.

 

I installed my PIAA high beams... impression is they are better for the most part.

Seems the spread is a tad more and maybe not as much or equal throw.

Inside any bulb housing if you move the filament or arc closer to the front the more throw you get until you go too far then it starts reversing.

I suspect these filaments are a few mm deeper inside the reflector housing, meaning the bulb is not quite as long as stock from the base to the end of the filament....
This would cause a wider throw pattern.

They definitely light up the place.. its hard to tell for comparison since they are not side by side.. but I do recommend them.
Stock bulbs had a definite blast of throw centered frontward, whereas the PIAA's are more even..... I don't think I lost any throw since they do appear brighter and I definitely gained on the sides.

I'm not so sold on the low beams...

However, if your thinking about skipping low beams.... my high beams "stock" looked brand new almost when I pulled them out... naturally, I don't drive with high beams on much, but Low beams on the other hand looked pretty ragged, even though they still worked perfect... but I suspect their days were numbered so its good to replace them anyway even if your not going to get a marked difference in output.
I have 26K on my car.

 

How do they compare to the stock fog lights? Are they brighter?

 

Opps.. missed that part!
Oh well...... there you have it.....

 

sorry, hit wrong key while reviewing.

 

UPDATE.
Worked on the pass side fog. Finally removed the stock bulb and connector. Wrapped a bit of cloth around the socket and twisted - hard. It finally let loose - not a good/solid design at all. I can only imagine trying to replace a fog lamp after 5 years+ of age...
But, installed a new 68-LED style bulb. Buttoned up and took a couple pics - it's daytime here, so no true test.

The LED is whitish-blue, as the LED headlamps. The parking lights look so yellow in comparison (LEDs on the way).

As for brightness comparison; I find it hard to believe that they are as bright as the halogens. I'll test that tonight, but I'm guessing it will be a loser, and I'll flip back to the stock lamps. Oh well, they only cost $15 or so incl shipping from HK.

3 pics attached. #1 the LED lamp.#2 stock (driver side) #3 LED (pass side).

2 more pics attached. The LED parking lights came in today. Installed - very happy. Pic shows LED on driver side vs stock on Pass. Bright white and seem to illuminate better than the stock halogens. I use my parking lights for DRLs so these should be AOK.

 

So the LED parking lights are brighter than the OEM ones?
The 68 LED H11 fog lamp is not as bright as the OEM?

 

UPDATE: Review of the LED bulb replacements:

1. The fog lamps. Look very good - white light that better matches the V's LED low beam headlamps. BUT - not nearly as bright as the stock halogens. I swapped only one and took a test drive last night. Can barely tell, from inside the car, that the LED fog lamp illuminates the road. The stock - a bright yellowish light stream.
BOTTOM LINE - don't waste the money or time. Unless all you care about is looks and not function.

2. The parking lamps. Simple installation - driver side easily accessible, pass side-one bolt out to move the air box a bit. The 9LED lamp barely fits into the socket, but does. The night test - BIG difference. Very white and very bright. And subjectively, better/brighter in daytime for DRL use.
BOTTOM LINE - highly recommend. $5 total for 2 lamps including shipping (rcvd in 7 days from Hong Kong!) Simple to install.
THIS MOD CAN BE EASILY DONE ON ALL PRIUS MODELS - 2 thru 5.

2 X Car White 9 LED SMD T10 Bulb Wedge Light Lamp 12V: eBay Motors (item 140443571253 end time Sep-20-10 17:54:41 PDT)

 

I wonder if that bulb fits any of the gen II models or anywhere else in the car that LED's are used?

I contacted the seller about buying 20 of them...... Seems I could put them to use on many of my rigs... but they want separate shipping on each... maybe they will work a deal with me.

 

right... but then things get sticky if you want more than one...

 

I sure understand - if you want that quantity. But really - $4.99 total for 2 9LED bulbs??? And a very reputable seller - from ebay order to delivery in my mailbox, 8 days, from Hong Kong. I also bought 2 5LED bulbs (in case the 9 didn't fit), and the 68LED to replace stock foglamps. I think all 6 with the shipping was about $20. In 3 separate packages.

And in the end, I'll only use the 9LEDs for the parking lamps. Maybe find a place for the 2 5LEDs. And no use for the 68s...

 

You could use them for the lights above the rear license plate, if you haven't replaced them yet...

 

Anyone for a group buy?

50PCS/LOT T10 Super White 9-SMD 5050 LED Wedge Light Bulb Lam...USD115.92 Wholesale Price at DHgate.com

 

I didn't see that deal.. maybe I better look better.

 

For those who don't want to cut the factory wires you can buy male and female bulb sockets at Automotive Connectors