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Xenon-Vision's bi-xenon HID conversion plug n play kit install and review

21K views 94 replies 24 participants last post by  sandFJ90210 
#1 ·
Some of you may remember the recent offer of a free Xenon-Vision HID kit from our new vendor/member....well I was the lucky winner! And here is my honest evaluation - I LOVE it!!! Ok, the details...

Before - stock bulbs


After -with 5000k bright white bulbs - beautiful light!!


The kit:


2 slim 12V 35W AC ballasts with mounts
2 Bi-Xenon HID bulbs
Wiring harness/controller

I'm not very experienced with wiring, so laid it all out for a practice run


To look like instructions


And plugged it all together


Then put on mounting brackets


Ready for installation!


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#2 · (Edited)
Edit: metal housing can be unscrewed, and bare bulb carefully passed through, thus eliminating cutting the boot :)

First, swapped bulbs which meant enlarging the opening of the stock

rubber grommet


Nice fit



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#3 ·
Next up, mounting the ballasts. On passenger, it was easiest to unbolt the washer fluid bottle for good access to metal surface that was far enough from the radiator (heat).


Then mark and drill two holes


And bolt it in


Same procedure on drivers - managed to squeeze in front of the battery






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#4 ·
Mounted controller box in front of battery


Ran the wiring from controller under the radiator shroud


To passenger side


Proceeded to plug everything together as I had in the practice run




With this one needing extra encouragement


Attached grounds for each ballast to bolts on outside


And from controller to battery





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#5 ·
Discovered the washer bottle wouldn't return to original position, so used a short piece of metal as extension. I believe it would have fit if the ballast had been about 1/2" to the center lol




The other mistake I made was not painting the holes drilled for mounting, something I'll take care of when weather gets warm again.

Otherwise it was perfect - started the engine and toggled between hi and low beams right away, no problem!




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#6 ·
Night use - wow..... so glad I didn't have these before, or I wouldn't have gotten all those Baha Designs lololol
Lo beam


Hi beam


For the first time ever I didn't feel the need for hi beam !

Good sharp cutoff

Lo (please excuse the amber fog lights )


Hi


And stock for comparison

Lo


Hi


Another view of HIDs against the same wall, but pulled away a few feet

Lo


Hi


Got flashed once so far and may lower the angle a bit.

I'm extremely happy with this upgrade!! I felt everything was good solid quality, and customer service excellent. I can recommend this kit without hesitation [emoji106]


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#9 ·
Haha no kidding! Actually had been running PIAA Extreme White bulbs which had just burnt out (hence the stock bulbs temporarily) but I never really noticed a huge benefit to them over stock, especially for the price :surprise But the change with these is exponential :clap: And cost significantly less than the Lifetime LED bulbs I almost went with. Very happy with this setup :rocker:
 
#10 ·
Looks good :bigthumb:! Keep an eye on the rubber grommet to see if you get any condensation in the housing.

I did the same thing in regards to trimming the rubber grommet and I got condensation when going through a lot of water. My HID bulbs from TRS includes the same metal shroud which can be removed by twisting it off. Once it is off, the shroud can be installed separately. Then the HID bulb assembly can be pushed through the grommet for a tight fit and fitted into the metal shroud.
 
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#11 ·
That's great to know! Didn't realize the shroud could be removed from the bulb. I'll watch for condensation. My understanding is that the OE Rubber grommets are readily available from Toyota, and not expemsive.
Thanks!
 
#13 ·
Thanks! I really can't get over them...the huge advantage in visibility. Wish I hadn't waited so long, but was afraid of the complex install I thought would be involved...like baking the headlamps, setting up a "bridge" to make hi/low beam work etc. Very pleasantly surprised how completely plug play it was!
 
#14 ·
Quite the difference, eh Deb lol!?! Halogens look like candles now. So do these have the bi-xenon actuated flap built in for the hi/lo beam function, or are they a dual filament setup? I'm just curious how the hi/low beam work without the projector. The light pattern looks good on the wall and really lights things up on the road. I'm glad it worked out for you, and congrats on winning!!:rocker:
 
#15 ·
It is a solenoid that rotates the metal shroud.
 
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#20 ·
Deb, great write up with photos.....are you in line at the Turkey Trot at Rausch Creek?
I missed that run alas...work...but our group of Northeasters is phenomenal...
GREAT JOB:cheers:
 
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#26 · (Edited)
This setup has a xenon HID bulb, that physically changes position when switching from high to low beam, and doesn't have a projector to focus the beam of light, therefore relies on the OEM FJ headlight reflector for light output/spread.

A bi-xenon retrofit uses a glass projector to focus the light. Additionally, there's a solenoid activated flap that flips up or down for high/low beam selection. Because the light shines through a projector lens, the beam is very focused with a razor sharp cutoff which you can't achieve with a reflector based light source( *that I'm aware of )

This allows the lights to be a aimed very low as to not bother oncoming traffic, yet the lights still projects very far down the road. It's the next best thing to sunlight lol. I paid about $130CDN for my complete setup.

With the bi-xenon setup, you no longer rely on the OEM reflector, which means that you can paint it any colour that suits your flavour.

Hope that helps.



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#24 · (Edited)
I love marketing :smile Plug and play is removing the old bulb and installing the new HID. Cutting rubber housings, drilling and mounting a ballast is not "truly" plug and play. Having said that, anything we do to our trucks in the after market area requires modifications, i.e.: body mount chops, adding brackets for shock reservoirs, bumpers etc. I just love the way products are described and marketed.

BTY, Great write up and thanks to all the people who had inputs and feedback. I've been looking at light replacements and these are now another option added to the list.

My question is the reliability of the solenoid that moves the bulb in and out for high and low beam. There are no pictures on the website depicting this that I can find. After all things do get jostled around a bit off-road.

I also don't see anything about the daytime driving lights (DDL) which I'm guessing is a non issue with these. I was just wondering if you have to disconnect the DDL relay or does the new wiring harness remove DDL altogether or do they use the lower DDL voltage to operate something else in the ballast?
 
#25 ·
My question is the reliability of the solenoid that moves the bulb in and out for high and low beam. There are no pictures on the website depicting this that I can find. After all things do get jostled around a bit off-road.

I also don't see anything about the daytime driving lights (DDL) which I'm guessing is a non issue with these. I was just wondering if you have to disconnect the DDL relay or does the new wiring harness remove DDL altogether or do they use the lower DDL voltage to operate something else in the ballast?
No issues with the solenoids, had mine installed for ~4 years on the FJ.

Good point regarding DRLs. Yes I did disable mine.
 
#32 ·
Just an update - been about 4 months and absolutely no issues, had maybe 2 people flash me. Think these hit the sweet spot with enough brightness (5k Bright White, 35w) to make a significant difference to me, but not so much it irritates everyone oncoming. Also, I know if there is a problem I have access to excellent US-based customer service :rocker:
 
#33 · (Edited)
FJX2000 reporting here as another satisfied customer! Haven't been able to drive around at night yet to see how they look as far as brightness goes or if there is any sort of vibration in the headlight but just sitting there and looking at them installed, they're great!

Got the 35W 5000K Bi-Xenon HIDs just like Deb and they are a great color! Nice and white versus the blueish ones I've run in past years. I'm sure it will be a brighter light output and look more normal. Just looking at them compared to my halogen fog lights is incredible! They match nicely with my "cool white" Diode Dynamics LEDs in the mirrors though they advertise their "cool white" as being 6000K.

Anyways, here they are! Though it isn't completely dark here, they are looking good!

Arrived SUPER FAST! Was surprised since I placed the order on Sunday and they arrived today (Thursday)! Wow! And the packaging is super nice, professional-looking, and clean. (Versus my most recent packaging experience from DDM Tuning.)




Before:



I was able to install them without having to cut the plastic on the headlight dust guard since the HID bulb actually can come apart in the middle.



After:









HID versus Halogen aka White versus Yellow



Looking good! Hope they perform good as well!
 
#36 ·
More photos! This will show the difference of low and high beams after I adjusted them so oncoming traffic doesn't get blinded. I will show the photos from the camera in 2 different modes.

Low Beam:




High Beam:



Here will kind of show the cutoff. and keep in mind, my headlights have the angry eye decals from Cruiser Gear on them.

Low Beam:


High Beam:


Pretty happy overall! They match my Diode Dynamics mirror LEDs pretty well too!





 
#60 ·
I have one of their kits from 2008 and it worked fine for a "plug and play" kit but it required that you to adjust your headlights WAAAAAY down because there's no way to focus the light beam. Also, the ballasts died after 2 years and I replaced them with some generic ones.

I would simply skip this kit and spend the money now to do it right with a full projector retrofit. I used https://www.theretrofitsource.com/ to buy all of my components for the retrofit. I have been EXTREMELY happy with the retrofit and they outperform the OEM projectors that came on my Porsche.

-B

P.S. If you're still focused on the Xenon Vision kit you can have mine for $40 shipped.

any update on these guys ? holding up ok etc ...I'm in the market for a new kit ...what was the price/any fourm discount? go with the slim ballast? kit i was looking at

Toyota 10000K HID Conversion Kit - Dark Blue - 2 Year Warranty -
 
#44 ·
debFJVT, thank you for your excellent detailed write-up. I've been researching for a headlight upgrade and ready to pull the trigger. One thing confuses me. Your write-up and other members comments indicate that the system projects both High and Low beam by movement of the bulb. When I shop "Vehicle Specific" FJ Cruiser on Xenon-Vision's website it prompts me in a drop down box to select Lens Type: High Beam or Low Beam. What is it that I'm not understanding?
 
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