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Both Headlights failed Hi-Beam works Fuse & Relays fine

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by akamai123, Feb 5, 2013.

  1. akamai123

    akamai123 Junior Member

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    Hi all,
    I have Prius 2007, base model + package 2 & no upgrades. Not sure if it came with HID or if I was conned into buying one. It does not have a fog light.

    Here's my story:
    Parked the car in front of a restaurant and waited. Turned off the headlights while waiting with engine running. Fiddled with the interior panel brightness dial a bit. When I turned on the car again the headlights woud'nt turn on - both of them. Drove home with hi-beam.

    Checked the fuses H-LP LO for both RH & LH sides. They seem fine. Asked wife to turn on/off headlights from stick - I could hear the click in the relay - so DIM relay is ok. With stick knob set to headlights and car running asked for the stick to be pushed to turn on/off hi-beam- Could hear the relay engage + hibeam on/off. I looked closely to see if the mirror is moving - no movement.

    Just found it is possible for the same bulb to be Hi & lo beams when there is no mirror movement with dual filament bulbs.
    Can anyone recommend a conclusive test to make sure I do have

    1) A bulb issue
    2) Replacement bulb is indeed a dual-filament

    Thanks!!

    Other PC threads I found useful:
    Both headlights out, not HID


    What headlights do i really have on my "2007 Dream Machine" ?
    Both Headlights not working
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    If your car does not have fog lights, then it has halogen headlights.

    If it has halogen headlights, the bulb has two filaments within, for low and high beam.

    If you have a voltmeter, maybe you can measure voltage from the fuse to ground, to confirm that both sides of the fuse have 12V when the headlight switch is on.

    Otherwise, I suggest you purchase two replacement halogen headlight bulbs, then replace the bulb on one side and see what happens. Do not touch the bulb surface with your fingers, use a clean cloth when handling or wear latex gloves.
     
  3. akamai123

    akamai123 Junior Member

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    Thank you! Ordered a pair of Philips 9003 Standard Headlight. Will report back after the fix.
     
  4. akamai123

    akamai123 Junior Member

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    The 2007 model is very different from by 'How to change your Prius HID bulb in 10 minutes" by jnet1 in youtube.
    Took it to two auto workshops near home and both redirected me to Toyota dealer. That convinced me to take the shot. Watched the above video carefully. After going through the first steps, found that in the 2007 Prius I had to unplug the wires first then remove the domed headlight cover. It was quite some work to loosen the domed cover. Got the first headlight in perfectly on the passenger side (more difficult). When it came to the driver side, it required much more musclepower & dexterity to loosen the cover. The clip has to be removed blind. Just practice pushing it towards you and up to dislodge the clip. By the time I was ready to insert the new bulb, my hands were twitching from fatigue. I dropped the bulb and it disappeared to the bottom through a round hole designed as if to suck it in. Called up local autoparts places and none had Philips 9003. Everyone had Sylvania 9003. Not wanting to mix bulbs, had to order Philips again from Amazon. The next try was a 5-minute job!

    Surprisingly both headlights went off at the same instant and both had their lo-beam burnt out. Makes me suspect some electrical malfunction caused it.

    Thanks to Patrick Wong, Priuschat community, not only saved $$, but also got the confidence to do more DIYs.

    Is it ok to let the dropped bulb float around at the bottom tray??
     
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    That's the sort of thing I might do so I can totally relate to your experience.

    If the floating bulb is down in the engine undercover, you might try to remove the undercover so that you can get rid of it. Otherwise it'll probably come loose and fall out somewhere.