I'm a new TCH owner - a Christmas present for my wife and a GREAT car so far. I'd like to change the headlights to HID's and was wondering if anyone has done this ? I found a couple of sites that sell a plug and play setup but would like to know what I'm getting into before I spend a few hundred bucks, and then get yelled at (not really). Thanks

 

Get yelled at?

Do a forum search for HID's and you will find a few who have done it.

 

Does the TCH not already have HID lights? The headlights on my TCH look like projector lenses. I thought that was HID? No?

 

I had some time and looked it up, they come stock with Aerodynamic multi-reflector blue tinted halogen headlamps.

In the same artical i also noticed, someone here on the forums a few weeks back had left the car sit for 10 days and the small battery was dead because they left the dome lites on, now it states:Battery saver feature-deactivates interior lites after 20 minutes.

 

HID stands for High Intensity Discharge and differs from the more conventional tungsun halogen type lamp found in most headlights (including the TCH.) Because of the extreme heat and light output, virtually all HID headlights are controlled through a projector-type fixture simlar to the design of the TCH projectors. Unfortunately, one could not simply replace the halogen type bulb within the TCH projector headlights with HID lamps as virtually everything (wiring, housing, etc) would melt. This would cause a small problem whist driving at night.

 

Please don't listen to this.

Yes, you can replace the bulbs with an HID kit with no problem at all.

 

The question was aren't the TCH headlights HID? TCH does not come with HID headlights. You can buy an aftermarket kit to CONVERT the TCH halogen headlights to HID. Simply replacing the bulbs won't work. An HID kit will include several componets to handle the different type of lamp, including a ballast and a different type of socket. Virtually everything about HID is different than the standard halogen lamps. To strike an arc in a Xenon lamp (the typical gas used in car HID headlights because of its rapid strike), the ballast will discharge thousands of volts across the gas. Once an arc is struck, the ballast will lower its output to between 50 and 100 v DC depending on the system.

Simple replacement of the standard halogen bulbs with HID bulbs is not possible. It requires a CONVERSION.

 

Simple replacement of the standard halogen bulbs with HID bulbs is not possible. It requires a CONVERSION.

Then the TCH is different from the Lexus because I have bought and installed just the bulbs on 3 lexus's so far and no problem at all.

 

Reread again, he questions a "plug and play" kit, and although what you are saying is correct, with an HID CONVERSION, as he suggests, it is completly possible.

The Lexus is not the same as the TCH, you are replacing HID bulbs with HID bulbs.

 

I'm the one with the dead battery and am interested in reading the article you mention. Can you please post the link so I can read it? BTW, the battery is working fine now, but I am stimied by what happened and what you mention from the article.

Thanks.

Barb