Yep thats right I had my HID's stolen out without even knowing it. I just bought the car in june and got a great deal on it. Noticed that the headlights were kinda dim but didnt think too much of it really. Then about two weeks ago after finding this site and reading about all the mods that are possible I decided to start up a few, well a good deal all at once So as im putting in my intake today I figured Ill install my new bulbs while im already there. After pulling out the bulbs I realized there halogens, which I'm not too happy about.

So are there any options in a situation like this , would insurance pay for the factory HIDs, Im assuming they wont since I bought the car like this not realizing it. If not how much would this run to have everything replaced? Can I go to the dealer with my new intake in or should I take it off first? And anyone have any idea of how they rigged halogens up instead of the HID's? Thanks for any help.


Oh I have a 2000 TL-P I'm a new member and I just have to say love the forums and thanks for the great ideas, Youve all inspired the list below.

 

First, Welcome to AZ!
Second, your HIDs were not stolen, they were replaced with halogens, so your thread title is wrong and insults everyone who's actually had their HIDs stolen. There are quite a few on this board.
Third, you can't report this to your insurance company.
Fourth, are you sure they're halogens and not just HID bulbs that have dimmed? If they're halogens, there ought to be evidence that parts were removed or bypassed.
Fifth, if all the HID related parts were removed and not just bypassed, you're looking at $500 - $1,000 to replace all the pieces.
Sixth, take the car back to the dealer (no need to remove the intake), tell them this car had factory HIDs and ask what happened to them.

 

^ thats IF he bought it from a dealer. if you really did tho, you could def have a field day with them. then again, maybe thats why you got such a good deal

 

I wasent trying to insult anyone who has had theirs ripped out by lowlifes. Ive seen that most of that is happening in NY and NJ and now I'm starting to think about about an alarm. It would be realy shitty to have someone break in just to find out there not HIDs.

Anyway just took a few pictures of the fixture and the bulb, out of focus I know but if anyone can help me out with this.





Pretty sure those are halogen since the bulbs have filaments. Has anyone ever seen this done before?
Is there any way that the balasts are still intact and just bypassed? I could use some help as to a location to look for them since I havent seen them. Thanks for any help.

 

the ballasts are located under the headlights.. at least for the 02-03.. check if its bolted on to the bottom of it.

 

lol, that is the high beam bulb. The hid is in the plastic cover.

 

Forgot to mention more details . You have to twist the plastic cover off and to do that theres a torx head screw on the top side.

 

That looks like the plastic part that guards the HIDs has just been removed altogether.

 

yep that is the bulb in the lowbeam spot, just with no cover on the back. I guess Ill be taking it to the dealer soon unless anyone has any other suggestions?

 

OK this is "weird," The first picture shows the HB3 bulb in the socket and to the left of it is the radiator correct? The High-beam will always be the one closest to the radiator and then the lowbeam will be on the outside near the fender.

 

If the ballast were there would'nt that blow out the halogens? If you have to replace the all the components you should be able to do it for around 300 bux.

 

what part of l.i are you in that they got stolen??

 

Thats my fault for the bad title of this thread, they werent stolen out of the car as I've had it but instead they were taken before I bought it. I got it from a ford dealer on 112 in patchogue, which is why its missing a few things. Next time Ill go to an acura dealer

 

The housing can't possibly manage halogen light correctly since it is designed for HIDs. But good luck to you, I imagine it takes more work to convert a HID car to a halogen one than it does to convert a halogen car to a HID one.

 

The big black rim around where the bulb is plugged looks like where the protective cover used to guard the HID bulb.

 

that sucks!
but i thought SOME* tls dont come with HIDs? or do they all come standard, enlighten me please. hahaha...
but if all fails at the dealership
you can get after market HID kits for 300 bucks, with different selection of colours.
OEM stuff is hella expensive

 

All TL's from 1999 to present have had HID standard.

 

Take a picture of the headlights turned on, please.

 

Not sure if these help too much but I just took them.






Had the flash on for a few of them and im not sure if it helped or hurt it. The first one looks the closest to how they look in person.

Thanks for any help.

 

Okay, the first looks like Halogen lighting, but all the rest look like HIDs.

Hrm..

Leave them on and leave your car with your keys and let them sit for a while. Come back and stand in front of your car and hit the UNLOCK button on the remote.

If the lights are HIDs, they should come on with a bright flash (igniter and xenon gas effect) and then go from a deep blue to a bright white color as they warm up (takes a few seconds).

If this does not happen, then you do not have HIDs. If it does, the lights are HIDs.


Or, go back outside and turn them on then get far away and take a picture so I can see the whole front end of your car. Leave flash off.

 

OK heres an update, havent gotten to get some more night pictures of the lights on but I got to take these.




I just ordered some ballasts and ignitors but i need to know from anyone whos changes their bulbs before, is this what it looks like when you take the cover off the back?


besides the balasts and ignitors i think all ill need is the covers and gaskets and any screws to hold the ballasts and cover in place(in this diagram above numbers 17,10,4,6,and 8).

I could really use some help if someone can tell me if number 10 will connect up to the back of the headlight fixtues that i have. Can anyone tell if they were modified at all for the halogens, or if the parts i need were just ripped out and the halogens stuck there instead?

Before i put some pictures up of what I thought was the low beam but i didnt realize they were the high beams. The lows are the same exact bulb, but they are held in place by one screw and a bent piece of metal. Would take some pictures of them but the one time i took the bulb out it was near impossible to get them to stay in again with the bent wire I had holding them in.

Thanks for any help with this

 

Looks like some owner didn't want stolen headlights anymore... but they got the wrong idea. Criminals know that TLs since 1999 have HIDs standard, so they'd still pry out the headlights. Sure, they were in for a surprise, but the damage would have already been done.

How are you going to re-wire the stuff? Do you know?

Edit: If both highs and lows are 9005 bulbs that might explain the HIDesque glare in the night shots you took. It's hard to tell in pics.

 

Good looking out buddy - you're right, stolen & replaced by some unethical dealer or who not are 2 totally different stories (unlike me whose had his headlights stolen more than once)