HID headlamp questions.

you have normal halogen headlights

i'm not sure i can explain the difference of how they work, but HID lights are lights that have a color close to white and its brighter and it travels farther.

 

How Stuff Works

 

<_< As I understand the HID headlights...

They are "arc lights." High voltage discharges across points producing the blue-white light. HID = High Intensity Discharge. Since the light is extremely bright, A Prius with HID headlights has a "levelling" system which responds to the weight distribution in the car to adjust the headlights vertical positioning to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. The upper horizontal "cutoff" of the light beam is very sharp and clean. Some Prius drivers have reported being "flashed" by oncoming drivers due to the intensity of their HID headlights. There have been reports of HID headlight systems being stolen since they can be modified to produce a stun gun.

OT but related: In my youth, my dad was a movie theater manager and I enjoyed visiting the projection booth. The light source in the projectors was "arc lights" operating on very high DC voltage discharging between two carbon contacts.

As for me, I have Halogen which are plenty bright for my needs, and I have avoided the added mechanical complexity of the levelling system. FYI: Section 8 of your Owner's Manual "DO-IT-YOURSELF MAINTENANCE" briefly comments on the HID headlights (p.303 in the 2004 Manual), mentioning that 20,000 Volts is generated momentarily when the HID lights turn on.

 

Well... in a few words it projects more light (whiter depending on the temperature code) using less energy.

My 2004 did not include this so... I just went on and added the mod... You can get aftermarket HID kits for the Prius @ ebay or any speedshop. The bulb size is H4 and you should get the Hi/Low combination as the Prius uses the same bulb for Hi and Low beam... If you dont you wont have a Hi beam only a low beam.

As for visibility... It is notable right away... as soon as you turn them on at night. Yes it does blind oncomming traffic if you dont point them down since neither your packege nor mine have the autoleveling... It gives the car another look and you can also see better at night and avoid unexpected things because you see more clearly

 

The easiest way to tell HID or not, is that if you have factory fog lights then, you have HID. They come together as an option.

 

HID Detection

Another way of knowing if you have HID headlamps is if there are yellow "High Voltage" warning labels on the black plastic cowl under the hood. If you have HID lamps, there's a sticker on the black plastic near the lamps.

 

Brighter Halogens

Notwithstanding that the original post was from 2005, I'm adding my 2 cents anyway:

A better way to get HID-like brightness out of halogens is to get brighter, but legal, halogens like Sylvania/Osram Silverstars (but they only lasted a year for Tideland Prius, but they were always on because of Canada's daytime running lights requirements), or better yet, Philips X-Treme Power which are 80% brighter than the OEM halogens (but we don't have any data yet on how long they last ... Tideland Prius, usbseawolf2000 and I only recently put them on on our Prii). The Philips X-Treme Power bulbs cost around 2 for $47.

 

Hi fellow Prius owners.

I have a question I hope someone can provide some insight. I have a 2010 Prius, model II. It comes with halogen headlamps.

Has anyone ever tried to replace the halogen headlamp assembly to a LED headlamp assembly? I purchased LED headlamp assembly pairs and want to swap it into my 2010 Prius model II. I know the LED/HID lamps have auto-leveling, which I don't intend to use with my model II. Aside from that, does anyone know the answer to the following?
1) will I be able to install HID kits on Prius base II models?
2) will I be able to install LED headlamp assembly onto Prius II models?

Your help or any insight will be much appreciated.

 

I know that the GenII Prius has a different set of headlight plugs for the HID lamps, so my guess is that the GenIII halogen Prius wont have the same plugs that the HID Prius has. You have a few options....
1) buy the engine harness from a HID equipped Prius ( over $1,000)
2) locate someone willing to cut the plugs off of a parts car
3) mickeymouse the wiring