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2010 What are these lights and how do you turn them on?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by kilimar, Jul 1, 2021.

  1. kilimar

    kilimar Junior Member

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    Base model. See subject. Thanks!

    IMG_20210701_131248731 (1).jpg
     
  2. Johnny Cakes

    Johnny Cakes Senior Member

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    Running lights also call parking lights. One click past "AUTO"
     
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  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    On my 2010 those top ones are decorative crannies molded into the plastic, and not lights at all. There's a small incandescent bulb poking up above them that does forward parking light duty. Behind the amber area there is another small incandescent for the side marker.

    Both of those real bulbs come on whenever the headlight switch is turned to taillights or headlights (or auto, if you have that, and it's dark out). If they don't, they may be burned out. The row of crannies doesn't do anything. :)
     
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  4. kilimar

    kilimar Junior Member

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    I don't have Auto on my stick. I have three selections. Off, Driving Lights, and Headlights. I guess Driving Lights should turn on that row of LEDs (I guess they are LEDs)?
     
  5. kilimar

    kilimar Junior Member

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    Ah.... that's why I don't see any light out of the top row. But it does look like as if the "bulb poking up" and the side marker lights are all broken. How easy is it to get to those? Are they all W5W (Wedge) and clear?
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The ones in the left headlight are pretty easy. They are small wedge bulbs in little rubbery sockets that twist and pull out of the headlight housing. The one on top, feel for a socket sticking downward below that upper clear portion. For the side marker one, feel for a socket sticking rearward near that amber area. They twist about an eighth of a turn counterclockwise and pull right out.

    The positions are the same for the right headlight, but reaching them without very small hands is more of a challenge because of the intake snorkel (but it's easy to move that out of the way if it comes to that).
     
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  7. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Having started with a 2010-II like you have, I must second Chap's response that those are just decorations, not functional lights.

    But there is a very long ago thread here somewhere from a reader who did convert them into functional lights. It was not a project for the faint of heart. I seem to remember it involved baking the lamp assemblies in an oven to soften the adhesives to allow non-destructive disassembly, before installing real LEDs. In my hands, the disassembly steps probably would have been destructive.
     
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  8. kilimar

    kilimar Junior Member

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    After a lot of time (~30 minutes) turning the wrong direction to open/close -- it is counter to normal operation here in the US. For the lamps, it is clockwise to open and counter-clockwise to close. I replaced three of the four lamps. Although, some of them are hard to remove and get back on, even after I figured out the opposite of normal, lefty lossy and rightly tighty. I left the one where you would need to remove the pink fluid container for another day.
     
  9. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Huh, I didn't even remember that. Sorry if I gave the wrong idea. I guess I just reach in and grab and twist one way or the other till they come out. :)