chuyrobles

Here is a relatively simple mod for the 921 reverse light bulb. The light output is significant. I saw the mod in the Tacomaworld forum and did the mod in my truck about 3 months ago. Did the mod to my wife's ES350 in January. Will be doing the mod to my daughter's Camry.

You can either buy an 8XX fog/drive light bulb or a T4 "landscape" bulb.

General specs for the 8XX bulbs (from GE website):

Watts - Lumens - Life Expectancy - Bulb
50------1257-----200 hours--------885, 886,
50------1194-----400 hours--------887. 888 (advertised as a low Voltage design? and expensive)
38-------942-----200 hours--------893, 894, 896
38-------754-----200 hours--------898, 899
27-------540-----300 hours--------880, 881, 889, 890
18-----264/297---500-1400 hours--921 (OEM)

I recommend the Sylvania 894 bulb. It doesn't have the black tip as the others and I feel it has the best lumen-wattage ratio. I'm leary of putting a 50-watt bulb in a wire harness designed for the 18-watt 921 bulb. A member using a 50-watt bulb reported damage to his housing.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/2256275-post22.html

The T4 bulbs are available in home centers.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051
They run a wee bit more and produce less lumens. However, it's essentially a plug and play. With the 8XX bulbs, you have to cut off the bulb from the base.

With both bulbs you will need to close the contacts on the bulb socket because the terminals on the bulbs are thinner than the base of the 921 bulbs.

Link to the Tacomaworld thread:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd...light-mod.html

Pic of where you need to cut the 8XX bulb - don't use wire cutters, use a Dremel. The little flat blade may fall off. You can solder it or leave it off. I left it off - just close the contact point in the bulb socket.



894 bulb at Amazon:


My concerns with this mod on the ES350 is that the backup lights are in the trunk and the bulb could pop out with the opening/closing of the trunk. After a month in the ES350, the bulbs remain intact. Compared to my Tacoma, I noticed the bulb in the ES350 sits closer to the plastic housing which could explain why the member above had melting problems with his 50-watt bulb. So far, I haven't noticed the ES350 housing getting hot after the amount of time it takes to place the car in reverse, engage the parking brake and walk back to check the housing. I will post immediately if I encounter any problems.