tyl604

My drivers headlight and fog light suspiciously went out at the same time. So I am thinking it might be a fuse. Is there a fuse that is common to both? The passenger side headlight and fog light work fine. Brights are working on both sides. Not looking forward to removing the bumper if I need to replace the bulb instead of a fuse.

SpectraBlu

iTrader: (1)

You don't need to remove the bumper to change your bulbs.

Mr Jokster

iTrader: (8)

I believe there just may be a coincidence here. in my experience, the passenger low beam and both fogs are on the same circuit (relay). Assuming of course you have factory HID; if they're halogen, then it may not be the same. I think it is though.

tyl604

Not halogens; just factory headlights. All brights work; passenger fog works too - no driver side low beam or driver side fog light

Mr Jokster

iTrader: (8)

as I said, it possibly coincidence that both driver side are out. you need to change them to see if its the bulb or a circuit,you cant speculate anything else without attempting to change the bulb first. its much easier to change a bulb than to track down an electrical problem that might not even be there.

and not sure what this means. halogen and hid are both oem on the GS. I'm assuming you mean you have oem HID?

tyl604

Actually I do not know which I have. If haolgens are the blue tint lights, those I do not have. No idea what HID means. I come from the era of incandescent lights.

Looked online to see how to change the bulbs. Youtube shows removal of the entire bumper. Is that necessary? Or is it the proper way to do it but there also exists a work around?

AmanO

If your lights are old ugly yellow(ish), then you have OEM Halogen. HID are the pure white (which people think are bluish because they are so used to halogen).

I have medium to large size hands and I can change the HID bulbs in mine. I think you have even more room to work with if you have the incandescent.

Changing 9006 bulbs in this car would be cake. I have just as much room in my Camry and I can do it in the dark.

Actually, removing the bumper cover would not help you at all unless you were actually taking out the whole housing. I wonder if that was what the video was for?

Mr Jokster

iTrader: (8)

The driver side one is much harder to do than the passenger side, but its still doable without removing the bumper. Just gotta use your finger tips. As said above, it may be easier if you have halogen. A long needle nose can help if its not HID.

Easiest way to know if its HID or halogen, look right behind the bulb (on the housing) do you see a round white cap, or do you see the back of the bulb with wires hanging behind it?

Actually now that I think about it. When you turn your lights on, do they move up and down?

Mr Jokster

iTrader: (8)

tyl604

Well, I had it all wrong. After a dark inspection I see that it is the parking light, not the fog light, that is not working. And the bright light is in a separate housing from the dim beam. So it is the dim beam and the parking light that are not working. I will get out in the light tomorrow and see if I can remove the bulb. Can I also get to the parking light without much trouble?

I must have HID lights; they are not blue tinted. Did not know.

Mr Jokster

iTrader: (8)

parking light, dim beam, bright light, confused with fog light Now I'm confused...

tyl604

OK - fog lights are is below the bumper; they work. There are two housings above the bumper. I found out that the larger, outside housing has the dim headlight beam; it is out. The smaller inboard housing next to this one has the bright headlight beam and the parking light bulb. Last night the parking light bulb was out but this morning it is working; must be loose.

So good news is that only one light, the dim beam, is out. Will figure out how to remove and replace that bulb.

tyl604

All fixed. New 9006 incandescent bulb from Pep Boys - $10.99. Took less than a minute to remove the old bulb and a minute to install the new.

Good to go. Thanks for the help. Not sure why that other bulb - parking light? - started working again but all is good.

tyl604

Took another look at AmanO's post. Doesn't he have it backwards? Aren't the old incandescent bulbs yellow and are now called HID? I thought the halogens had the bluish tint but AmanO says halogens are yellowish.

The guys at Pep Boys told me I was purchasing an HID bulb and the light from it is definitely not blue-ish.

Just seeking clarification.

Well this is interesting. Apparently I am confusing both lights above with Xenon arc lights which really do put out a blue glow. From danielsternlighting.com:What about real Xenon headlamps that are blue from the factory?Genuine arc-discharge (also called metal-halide HID) headlamps run with a very purplish-white character similar to an electronic photoflash, because the same technology is at work—an electrical arc jumping through an atmosphere of Xenon gas. But despite the purplish appearance, this light is actually white with a discrete blue component. That is, most of the light from a Xenon headlamp is white, and there is also blue.


Therefore I am guessing that both Lexus stock lights - HID and halogen put out a basic white light. So how can I tell from the bulb which one I have; can you tell just from looking at the filament? Academic question since I have already successfully replaced the bulb.

SpectraBlu

iTrader: (1)

As you can see, they look completely different.