Everybody,
I bought an '07 Camry LE 4 cylinder/auto with 84k miles a few weeks ago to replace my '95, which I will stop driving soon. When I bought the car, HID lights were installed, which I did not notice until night came when it was used. I removed the HID lights, & installed new Sylvania H11 bulbs & pigtails due to the HIDs were hardwired in. The lights were still dim. I did the H11 to H9 conversion. Apparently, I'm not the only one with dim headlights on these models. The H9s were a little better, but not much. I am replacing the headlight housings in a few days when they come in the mail. I am also going to replace the H11 pigtails with H9 pigtails just because....
My question is on the negative side of the pigtails. What should the ohms be on the negative side of the plug? I don't believe the car was ever in an accident, but not positive. Would it hurt anything if, in addition, to the negative wire hooked up, I also grounded that wire to the existing grounds on each side and below the headlights?
I am getting 12V at idle, & 14V at above idle.
Currently, the car is kind of dangerous to drive on a dark street with out any streetlights on it. The high beams work great. No issue with those.

Thanks,
Chris

 

Install replacement housings and post back.

White/Black wires are ground. Should have 0 ohms (or close to it) to chassis ground.

 

I removed the housings last week and they looked fine. I tried adjusting them and was no help. I took the car to a body shop a few days ago to adjust them since they are professionals in this. They confirmed that the adjustment screws were inop.
This is why I ordered a new set.
I'll report back in a few days with the rresults.

 

Are lights not adjusted correctly or is the output low?

Your not the first to complain of low output.

How to Adjust Your Headlights - Aim Your Headlights

 

low output....the aim is a little off, but not drastically, i don't think....the body shop tech said they weren't way off either, but could use a little adjusting.....
do the other high beams use the same ground? they were fine....

 

It has happened someone tried to install HID lights and screwed things up.

The L high and low beams grounds tie together then ground. Ditto for the R high/low but ground at a different location.

 

I was thinking the same thing about installing the HID lights incorrectly. The way they were installed was that the wring was cut and wired directly to the HID ballasts, not plugged into the HIDs ballasts like I have seen online. The ballasts were then just zip tied to other parts by the headlights. The ballasts were black & were slightly hidden, so I didn't notice them until later. I think he got a unit from another vehicle, not made for use with H11s, and that's why he wired them directly in. The projector housings did not appear to be melted or cloudy at all. More like a frosted glass color. I looked at other projector lights and they were the same way.
Oh well, the housings arrive on Monday & the H9 pigtails arrive on Tuesday. I work both those days, but I should be able to get them installed by then & aimed correctly. I went with H9 pigtails because I will have this car for many years myself & I believe I can modify the housings, rather than the bulbs, to permanently accept the H9s. This should make it more convenient since the H9s don't last as long as the H11s.
I think the H11s may fit into H9 plugs & the H11s still fit into the housings, if i choose to go back to them.
So if the L & R high beams work correctly, then I guess the grounds are okay.
Does it matter which is + or - on the plugs? I wired them so that + was on the left side of the plugs as you are looking down at them from the front of the car while they are plugged into the bulbs.

 

You removed the previous HID system and now have two wires to each bulb that are original wiring style?

The low beams each receive power from their separate headlight relays. Which sends power directly from the battery.

Low beam wires black and brown are +12v. White/black wires are ground.

As I recall the H9 and H11 bulbs have a slightly different base. You will need modify the base to allow one to fit into another style plug. The internet has instructions.

The bulb connections are not polarity dependent.

 

yes, removed the previous HID setup. The original H11 pigtails were cut when the HIDs were installed. It was just wired directly into the HID ballasts w/o plugs.
So if I am receiving 12V at idle & ~14V above idle, then I assume the relays are working correctly.
I did install H11 pigtails & modified the H9 bulbs to fit into the housings and the H11 plugs, but I am going to install H9 plugs instead.
The new housings came in today.
I'll report back soon after installation.

 

Update - The new headlight housings were installed w/ H11 bulbs. No adjustments made. I couldn't tell if they were any better until night time. Night came....much much better!! I adjusted them & put in the H9s. Even better. Not the best, but still decent enough to not have any issues.
So now instead of installing H9 pigtails, I am going to replace the H11 pigtails with new H11 pigtails again due to they became kind of worn out from installing/removing them the last few weeks.

I will probably install 1 H9 & 1 H11 to compare the 2 side by side before I decide which ones I am going with. The H11s were $43/pr & the H9s were $30/pr. I hate to waist either set....

Thank you, once again, for all your help!

Chris