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has anyone tried replacing the headlight ballast? how did it go? how hard was it?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by yokonzo, Jun 16, 2024.

  1. yokonzo

    yokonzo Junior Member

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    I'm fairly sure my headlight ballast needs replacement, i have both my rear right and front right headlights that go out and require a flip of the headlights off and on to stay on for a little longer, i got pulled over for it the other day but the cop was understanding when I showed him.

    I found one for only $60 and I consider myself at least basically competent on car repairs and very competent on other types of repairs. Has anyone had luck replacing these yourselves? Is it easy? What precautions would I have to take regarding it being an electrical system, i don't **** around with electricity unless I'm positive it's safe.


    Thanks!
     
    #1 yokonzo, Jun 16, 2024
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Okay so the ballast underneath your headlight assembly in the front only controls that lamps h i d bulb It should have nothing to do with what's going on in the back I'm assuming you're saying your brake lights in the back are intermittent the very top LEDs those are LEDs not HIDs so they have nothing to do with any ballast so you may need a tail light after you replace your tail light if you're a curious type you may take the existing tail light you took out apart and see how it all works and you'll see possibly the problem but it's a smart idea to just get a replacement tail light with the tinted brake light or not depending upon the year I like the tinted ones I put them on my lighter model vehicles they just look better but that's neither here nor there they both work the same tinted or not when the LEDs in the back start getting intermittent there's usually something wrong with that circuit board that's in the bottom of the light assembly we're talking about the tail light now You may want for your headlights since you're keeping the HID housings you might want to get the Alla LED conversion It's extremely bright if you put the same LEDs in your fog lights all the lights in the front of your car look very nice and very modern for near nothing and if you don't smack the front end into things normally the bulb should last a long time probably till you're out of the car and they look really good in the HID housings you bypass the ballasts and get your 12 volt supply from the car to run the LEDs and the shutters and you're golden your ballast is irrelevant
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Jun 16, 2024
  3. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    IDK how well (or for how long) cheap aftermarket ballasts work.

    The big wrinkle for replacement is the bulb connector. It goes through the inside of the housing - but it doesn't fit. You have to (carefully) remove the wires from the connector and "fish" them to the bulb. Then refit the connector.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #3 mr_guy_mann, Jun 17, 2024
  4. Carall

    Carall Member

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    You need to replace the light bulbs.
     
    #4 Carall, Jun 17, 2024
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