Lights Lights LIGHTS!! :( Not bright enough ('56 GS450h)

KentIS300 · September 19, 2016

Well guys,

I have sorted out a couple of few problems here and there. Need to detail the car inside out... but have to wait for a couple of decent days off from work as it is mad at the moment lol :) Cannot complaint though.

Anyhow ... I have the following issue with the lights, the car has very very VERY poor light performance, to the point the fog lights were brighter to the dipped beam! yeah that bad.

So I ordered some Osram Xenarc D4S - ORIGINAL 66440 4300K, while I had all the plastics removed I washed, cleaned the engine so it is nice and clean in there :) so pleased with that outcome at least.

Now back to the lights, removed old bulbs, they had no writing on there so no idea what make/model were they. They were dim and also blueish colour. Like they were not igniting enough (maybe they were D2S)?

I installed the new bulbs and clipped them in position. I have noticed much improvement over night, but I still think something is not quite right yet.
First of ... when I go in a hard pot hole, I get a flick on my lights... not sure if it is a problem with the auto-height adjustment or a loose connection? I hadn't have time to look into this yet. The height sensors are they located on the back axle or the front?

The new driver side bulb looks a bit with a tinge so might be a faulty bulb? But seems to perform OK eitherwise.

Might be unfair, but I compare the lights with my 745i Xenon lights (D2S) and my Honda Legend KB1, to be honest I am sure my Lexus IS300 factory Xenon was better performing than this.

Would my hybrid Battery problem affect the operation of my lights?

Finally the AFS is not working, no warning lights or errors. When I go in the Techstream to check the functionality I cannot make it come off the OFF. It seems totally unresponsive?

Any ideas?

Some pictures of the car, By the way I am really in love with the colour. It has some great effects or Grey, Purple, Mauve.

Britprius · September 20, 2016

I to find the dipped headlamps on the GS very poor. I have not yet looked into the possibility of dismantling the headlamps to see if cleaning the lens, and reflector would make any improvement. The lens does look milky from the front of the lamp unit.

I have had many cars in the past with D2S headlamps with much brighter output. My Prius with ordinary halogens performed better than the GS on dipped beam.

John

KentIS300 · September 20, 2016

16 minutes ago, Britprius said:

I to find the dipped headlamps on the GS very poor. I have not yet looked into the possibility of dismantling the headlamps to see if cleaning the lens, and reflector would make any improvement. The lens does look milky from the front of the lamp unit.

I have had many cars in the past with D2S headlamps with much brighter output. My Prius with ordinary halogens performed better than the GS on dipped beam.

John

Hi John,

I know I will be shot down in flames, I too find the Prius lights stronger and my '54 Prius lenses are not cleaned either lol.

I have to say though I do find the "sideways" bulb installation in the GS450h a bit strange... but I assume Lexus knew better when they were designing it.

Cheers
Vasilis

KentIS300 · September 21, 2016

I take it not many have experienced problems with lights :( ...

stormcracker · September 24, 2016

mines are the same like candles in jam jars lol

KentIS300 · September 25, 2016

Yesterday when I done the bearings of the transmission pump, I removed the bulbs again and reinstalled them again. Swapped them over they seem a bit better (I can see the road) lol but I think they need adjustment ponting too low.

Is there any guide or something on where are the up and down screws? I have a friend with an MOT station I can take it there to adjust on the machine.

KentIS300 · October 15, 2016

Hello guys,

Am I missing something here? I tried to "lift" the light higher by using my philips screw driver and rotating the adjuster "disk nut" but ... no movement at all.

I tried to do both lights but they are not moving at all. The car was on and running with the lights on.

Also if you gently slam the outside of the light they will do vibrate a bit.

Is there a chance that both the lights are broken and cannot be adjusted??

The automatic leveling is working fine, when I turn on the lights the first time they do the up and down sweep.

Any ideas?

OldTrout · October 15, 2016

KentIS300

Does this help

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6207313/2006_GS_Headlight_Adjustment.PDF

Don't know where I got it and I have not used it so I don't know if it is valid. Please report!

John

Britprius · October 15, 2016

Check that the control links on the front and rear suspension are not broken. The ball joints seize then bend and brake the rods made of a zink material. The system still thinks it is OK in this situation, and does the headlamp dance. These rods cannot be bought separately and are considered part of the complete adjuster assembly at a bit shy of £300, but can be repaired with a little thought.

If the rods are OK a cheating way to adjust the height of the lights is to alter the position of one of these rods in the slot adjustment on them where they fasten to the electrical variable resistor. The front one on the near side is the easiest to get at as it can be reached with the steering on a full left hand lock. The ball joint fastens to the resistor with a 10 mm nut facing outwards. Slacken the nut turn the resistor till the headlamps are at the required setting, and tighten the nut.

John.

KentIS300 · October 15, 2016

5 hours ago, OldTrout said:

KentIS300

Does this help

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6207313/2006_GS_Headlight_Adjustment.PDF

Don't know where I got it and I have not used it so I don't know if it is valid. Please report!

John

I will have a look at this tomorrow. I realised today that the visible adjustor nut is the one that adjusts horizontal ... hence no movement when I was doing it.
The hidden screw nut is the one that should adjust the height. I think before I do anything else .. better to look into the control arms of the sensors.

2 hours ago, Britprius said:

Check that the control links on the front and rear suspension are not broken. The ball joints seize then bend and brake the rods made of a zink material. The system still thinks it is OK in this situation, and does the headlamp dance. These rods cannot be bought separately and are considered part of the complete adjuster assembly at a bit shy of £300, but can be repaired with a little thought.

If the rods are OK a cheating way to adjust the height of the lights is to alter the position of one of these rods in the slot adjustment on them where they fasten to the electrical variable resistor. The front one on the near side is the easiest to get at as it can be reached with the steering on a full left hand lock. The ball joint fastens to the resistor with a 10 mm nut facing outwards. Slacken the nut turn the resistor till the headlamps are at the required setting, and tighten the nut.

John.

Is there one on the front and one on the rear?

I take it they will be on one of the front arms and one on the rear arms?

Britprius · October 16, 2016

11 hours ago, KentIS300 said:

I will have a look at this tomorrow. I realised today that the visible adjustor nut is the one that adjusts horizontal ... hence no movement when I was doing it.
The hidden screw nut is the one that should adjust the height. I think before I do anything else .. better to look into the control arms of the sensors.

Is there one on the front and one on the rear?

I take it they will be on one of the front arms and one on the rear arms?

One on the front nearside, and one on the rear nearside. You only need to adjust one. The front is by far the easier as the wheels will still be on the ground enabling a true height setting without trial, and error. As the rear rod can only be got at with the wheel removed.

John.

KentIS300 · October 16, 2016

1 hour ago, Britprius said:

One on the front nearside, and one on the rear nearside. You only need to adjust one. The front is by far the easier as the wheels will still be on the ground enabling a true height setting without trial, and error. As the rear rod can only be got at with the wheel removed.

John.

I take it this is the one I am meant to adjust on the front. (Just took a picture) It seems in a good shape. I have just bathed it with WD40 ... will check the rear as well tomorrow... and see what shape it is too. (weather not very good at the moment) once I confirm that everything is well then I will adjust. :)

Britprius · October 16, 2016

3 hours ago, KentIS300 said:

I take it this is the one I am meant to adjust on the front. (Just took a picture) It seems in a good shape. I have just bathed it with WD40 ... will check the rear as well tomorrow... and see what shape it is too. (weather not very good at the moment) once I confirm that everything is well then I will adjust. :)

Yes that's the animal. Adjust it at the top. Make sure the ball joints have free movement while you are there.

John

KentIS300 · October 16, 2016

I just did the front... slided it all the way down, and that maxed out... the lights. They "seem" ok ... but might need slight more.

I need to check the rear.. as they shaking still happens., Maybe the rear is the one causing the problems.

Britprius · October 17, 2016

I think the "shaking" is a feature of the headlamps as mine does this as well on good potholes, or if I knock the headlamp units with my hand.

John

KentIS300 · April 15, 2017

Just a quick update to this.

The Osram lightbulbs did not last for long... after some time, the driver side one changed colour ... to the other one. The light output was still not satisfactory.

I had ordered a couple of days ago the Philips X-tremevision Gen2 42402XV2C1

They were expensive coming to 199 Euros for the pair delivered from Germany.

But it was well worth it, the light output now is pure white and about double the output from the Osrams.

I always have been using Philips and I have been well impressed, I was just sceptical on the high price point. But at the end of the day what you pay is what you get. :)

All in all now really pleased with the headlights.

Upex · April 15, 2017

Good to see it was a simple bulb that made the difference and not something more costly. Mine move a touch over serious bumps, think it's to absorb some of the shock and not be passed to bulbs as much, wife's x5 does it to.

KentIS300 · April 15, 2017

Regarding the shaking I have noticed that my rear passenger side shock has leaked badly and my front both shocks have seen better days regarding leaking as well.

I will sort out the shocks first ... and the look more into the shaking if this is not sorted by fixing the shocks :)