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I have an 09 RX350 with HID and auto leveling headlights. I recently installed some new Osram D2S bulbs and the the light output is terrible, no difference from the old bulbs I replaced. I can barely tell when my lights are on.
I searched to see if this topic had been discussed but didn't find a thread. I've seen D2S LED's bulbs on Amazon ranging from $70 - $250 with varying reviews. Has anyone installed the D2S led bulbs as replacement to D2S HID bulbs?
What brand, quality, reliability have you experienced.
If the light output is terrible from putting in OEM Osram D2S bulbs then your projector bowls are probably burned, Nothing you put in especially some crappy d2s led bulb is going to fix that. You more than likely will need to replace the projectors. The good thing is the headlights are easy to bake and pull apart and rx350 AFS or bi-xenons are easy to source. Unbolt old projectors, bolt in new and then put in the Osram D2S bulb and you should have much better output.
If the light output is terrible from putting in OEM Osram D2S bulbs then your projector bowls are probably burned, Nothing you put in especially some crappy d2s led bulb is going to fix that. You more than likely will need to replace the projectors. The good thing is the headlights are easy to bake and pull apart and rx350 AFS or bi-xenons are easy to source. Unbolt old projectors, bolt in new and then put in the Osram D2S bulb and you should have much better output.
-Nigel
Bringing this topic up again. I am engaging Lightwerks who can provide new OEM projectors with a clear lense and tuning to maximum output.
Before I do this, is there any risk of messing up the AFS system? I assume I would like to have to re-aim the lights once I get them on the RX?
Bringing this topic up again. I am engaging Lightwerks who can provide new OEM projectors with a clear lense and tuning to maximum output.
Before I do this, is there any risk of messing up the AFS system? I assume I would like to have to re-aim the lights once I get them on the RX?
Thanks,
Nope, but I suppose anyone could mess anything up. (Not knocking you, I don't know your skill level on anything). With AFS there might be a re-sync process but that would be done via TechStream. Plus on start up yours should automatically go through a cycle anyways of "up/down. left/right". So it should go through the test each time the car is started.
More than likely your projector bowls are burned. Eventually happens to most HID systems. I wish there was a place in the USA that would re-plate the projector bowl. There are other countries that do it but finding someone that does it is some lost secret society type stuff... doesn't make any sense. I've thrown out perfectly fine bowls only because I couldn't find a place that would re-plate them. It's a shame really.
Should be a fairly simple process of baking the headlights. (sounds worse than it is, but Lexus uses Butyl so it's super easy to pull the headlights apart), should be a couple screws, remove projector, and then put new projector in. Bake and put the headlight back together.
My CT's headlights I was able to take them apart in less than 40 minutes. Our MB less than an hour..etc. As long as the headlights aren't permasealed (which they aren't), nothing really to worry about.
Caesar over at Lightwerkz is good. They know what they are talking about and he's been doing this for quite some time. I remember when he started his business in the Subie world and that was over 15 years ago.
Nope, but I suppose anyone could mess anything up. (Not knocking you, I don't know your skill level on anything). With AFS there might be a re-sync process but that would be done via TechStream. Plus on start up yours should automatically go through a cycle anyways of "up/down. left/right". So it should go through the test each time the car is started.
More than likely your projector bowls are burned. Eventually happens to most HID systems. I wish there was a place in the USA that would re-plate the projector bowl. There are other countries that do it but finding someone that does it is some lost secret society type stuff... doesn't make any sense. I've thrown out perfectly fine bowls only because I couldn't find a place that would re-plate them. It's a shame really.
Should be a fairly simple process of baking the headlights. (sounds worse than it is, but Lexus uses Butyl so it's super easy to pull the headlights apart), should be a couple screws, remove projector, and then put new projector in. Bake and put the headlight back together.
My CT's headlights I was able to take them apart in less than 40 minutes. Our MB less than an hour..etc. As long as the headlights aren't permasealed (which they aren't), nothing really to worry about.
Caesar over at Lightwerkz is good. They know what they are talking about and he's been doing this for quite some time. I remember when he started his business in the Subie world and that was over 15 years ago.
-Nigel
Thanks again Nigel.
Is the AFS module inside the headlight housing and if it is, is there risk of damage when baking the headlight? before I removing and disconnecting the headlights from the RX, should I turn off AFS?
The AFS module is attached to the projector itself in sort of a carriage type assembly that has motors that "swivels" the projector. You can see the center pin on the front from this picture. Zero risk of damage when baking headlights. Just make sure you pre-heat the oven first and you don't have it at some ridic temp and leave it in there. When I bake headlights, I normally go for 215' F. At around 15 minutes then take them out and if they are still difficult to pull apart after I've taken all the screws holding them together (this part I do before putting in the oven to bake), then they go back into the oven for another 5-minute increments.
They might look different depending on the year...etc. Here is another set and you can see the center pin that would be the swivel point .
You can turn it off, I don't think it matters much since they are going to do their "dance" anyways everytime the car is started up. Just make sure Lightwerkz gets you the correct AFS projector for the RX. The non AFS looks like this. (This is what I used in my CT200h's housing)
The AFS module is attached to the projector itself in sort of a carriage type assembly that has motors that "swivels" the projector. You can see the center pin on the front from this picture. Zero risk of damage when baking headlights. Just make sure you pre-heat the oven first and you don't have it at some ridic temp and leave it in there. When I bake headlights, I normally go for 215' F. At around 15 minutes then take them out and if they are still difficult to pull apart after I've taken all the screws holding them together (this part I do before putting in the oven to bake), then they go back into the oven for another 5-minute increments.
They might look different depending on the year...etc. Here is another set and you can see the center pin that would be the swivel point .
You can turn it off, I don't think it matters much since they are going to do their "dance" anyways everytime the car is started up. Just make sure Lightwerkz gets you the correct AFS projector for the RX. The non AFS looks like this. (This is what I used in my CT200h's housing)