SpencerT

95 ls400.
The light circled in red, owners manual calls it the parking light even thought they come on with my low beams..


I have one of these that is blown and want to replace them both with a bulb that is the same color as my low beams. The lowbeams are regular sylvania silverstar halogen 9003

What kind of bulb are these and is a white colored bulb an option?
Is there an hid kit for this bulb and would it be a notiably different color, even at 5 or 6K,?
I just hate the white low beams and yellow parking lights.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

those are parking lights. they turn on with the first click of the switch stalk, along with the outer parts of the bumper lense (corner light). they also stay on with the low/high beam.

they are you typical wedge bulb 194 if i'm not mistaken. silverstars are hard to match. if you go LED they may be too white or too blue. try getting a 5k LED wedge bulb. if you go standard incandescent bulb, you will need to go with a bulb with the same slight blue hue coating the silverstars have.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

921 also fits in there, that is what I put in mine over the 194 for a slightly higher wattage output. You'll have a challenge fora perfect match but I too would suggest and LED in the 5K range. Close enough.

SpencerT

Thanks for the help everyone.

Sylvania makes a silver star 921 bulb that would match me perfectly but they were rated at 19 watts and I thought they would be too dim with out 5 watt system.

So I ordered a pair of 921 5 watt white cree leds with projectors

After I ordered them I saw a review saything that the would overheat and burn out with extended use.
Not good news since they would be on the entire time the headlights are but I guess Ill take the chance.

Anyone have good luck with these?
Ill post before and after pics when they come in.

YagerD

I have the piaa 168's in mine and like the color, but not 100% happy with the brightness. The 168's are rated at 5 watts and the 921's are 18 watts. Have you noticed any heat issues or drawing too much power with a bulb more than 3 times the wattage?

Kansas

These bulbs aren't supposed to be bright and were originally designed to comply with a 5W maximum requirement in European countries and used when driving at night in cities that did not allow full headlights at night. Their alternate use was as parking lights when parking on narrow streets - the 5W bulbs could be left on all night without fear of running down the battery.

Some European cars like the three Mercedes I've owned have switches that allow turning on the parkiing lights on only one side of the car. The parking light feature was pretty much defeated for cars sold in North America since, unlike in Europe, our LS400's had a whole bunch of battery draining bulbs lighted up on the tail of the car when the light switch is in the parking light position. instead of only two bulbs.

My point is that maybe some of you guys would be happier if you understood the original intent of these little bulbs. They were designed to be useful and not pretty.

YagerD

I never drive with just my parking lights on and don't plan to. Understanding the history of parking lights really has no effect on if I'm happy with the color/brightness of the bulbs. They look very dull in comparison to my headlights and was just curious if the 18 watt bulbs were alright to use in this situation. I would rather have a light be useful and "pretty" at the same time if possible.

SpencerT

Thats why we are discussing aftermarket options for prettier bulbs.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

I've been on the current set of 921 for the last 9 years. There is sufficient airspace that it is not melting of causing any noticeable heat related issues in the housing or wires. The difference in light output from my perspective is minimal if it is even double that of the 5watt bulb.

YagerD

I guess I'll throw in the other set of the Piaa 168's when I get them today and see if I'm happy. I could always return both sets and get the 921's. Thanks for the help.

SpencerT

first let me apologize for not reading the faq in the stickies before I made this thread as I just realized it has all the bulb info.

After reading reviews on the leds that I ordered and learning that they overheat and blow with prolonged use, I decided to just go with regular 921 bulbs.
I bought 921 sylvania silver stars hoping they would be a perfect match for my low beams.
They are close but the parking light is still slightly yellow. Much better than before but still not perfect.
The bulbs are a little bit brighter than the original 194s but not by much.
I guess I can live with it. Ill upgrade to led if I ever go hid.

Ill post pictures if anyone wants them but its nothing special.

YagerD

Try the Piaa's spencer. I think Im just gonna stick with the 168's for now. They are 100% white. My only complaint is the actual bulb is blue, so if you look close at the corner/bumper light when they are off, you can see the blue blub. Not a huge issue, but still. I bought mine on amazon for about $13 a pair.

j2b4o

Maybe get amber bulbs for contrast?? Probably not going to find small bulbs that will match the headlights. I like the look with yellow fogs and amber corners personally. Good luck with the search.