Does anyone recognise this headlight plug?

[Dborn]

I am also contemplating to install LED headlights. My current lights are HID D3S and I have a set of LED D3S equivalent in stock. The current D3S have the igniter and ballast as part of the bulb unit and the aforementioned 3 pin connector. I do not have a diagram of the internal wiring of the headlight unit. So, time to remove the front skirt, remove a headlight unit and poke around in there. An advantage of removing the front skirt is that it gives you a chance to clean out the debris that has accumulated in the radiator fins.
View attachment 245601
Stand by for further developments.

You may find that the bulb part of your led will not physically fit through the hole leading to the lens. The D3 bulb is quite slim. We in Australia changed ours because they were 25 watt so an upgrade to 35 watt made sense. It did. My light output is much better than OEM.

 

[Drewflux]

Has anyone tried replacing the 35W ballast with a 55W ballast? I think that the globe is the same, its just run at higher power (and correspondingly shorter life)

The globes colour temp will also drop when using a higher rated ballasts. 6000k (normaly white with a blue accents) will look a lot closer to a oem 4700k or 5k aftermarket globe

 

[meloccom]

You may find that the bulb part of your led will not physically fit through the hole leading to the lens. The D3 bulb is quite slim. We in Australia changed ours because they were 25 watt so an upgrade to 35 watt made sense. It did. My light output is much better than OEM.

I recently purchased some new Morimoto D3S 35w bulbs to upgrade my headlights. Does anyone know if I need to replace the ballasts as Well?

 

[doctorwho]

I recently purchased some new Morimoto D3S 35w bulbs to upgrade my headlights. Does anyone know if I need to replace the ballasts as Well?

I'd like to know as well, it's my next purchase

 

[ZTrekus]

Yes indeed you do have to change the ballasts. Otherwise your 35w bulb will only emit 25w and you will have accomplished nothing.

But you will be happy to know that the ballasts are cheap and it is not so difficult to pop the headlights out to change them. Just note what Dborn says above about doing a small hole in the plastic part of your bulb to ensure that it fits into place... Look carefully at your bulb and compare it with the crappy 25w and you will see an extra notch in the original. You have to replicate that to make it fit.

 

[Dborn]

I recently purchased some new Morimoto D3S 35w bulbs to upgrade my headlights. Does anyone know if I need to replace the ballasts as Well?

Yes. Use the Osram brand as they are a direct replacement. They screw right in. Just check the connector cable ends. You may need modified ones to make it all work.
As to the bulb itself google the different D series bulbs. The plastic skirt has differing notches to prevent incompatible bulbs being inserted. your new bulbs will need to be notched, I used a dremel tool. But a carefully drilled hole would work too. Just a lot harder and you might damage an expensive bulb.

 

[KRYPTOS]

Just wondering, I have a 2015 Model S P90D and I am finding my HID headlight bulbs are less bright than my other vehicles such as M3 and previous Merc AMG headlight bi-xenons.

Has anyone opened a 2015 Model S P90D headlight and changed their D3S bulbs? Do you have to change the ballast too? There is a video on youtube of an American guy changing his headlight bulbs and I noted it was a 35w bulb. (video here) However, from reading everyone's' post here it looks like the bulbs are 25w and that it comes with a 25 w Osram ballast for Australian and European models?

If so, that means we would have to change the ballast to 35w OSRAM which is inexpensive as I have seen their prices and then can I install an Osram D3S Nightbreaker Unlimited or Osram D3S Nightbreaker Laser bulb?

Does anyone here have experience doing this? If we need to change the ballast too, that means we just have to open the frunk and just get the headlight out? or do I have to take off the bumper first? Thank you in advance.

 

[doctorwho]

I've done the full HID upgrade, bulbs/ballast, reflector, tuning, and the HID lights are now fabulous, far far better than all of the S and X loaners I've driven with LED lights. All the Tesla loaners I've driven have the lights set too low to start with, my original HID lights were the same. Have you tried raising them a little to start with? Have you considered a full upgrade and selling your old lights?
You do need to take the front bumper off just to get to one mounting screw under the lights, otherwise, it would be dead easy.

 

[KRYPTOS]

I've done the full HID upgrade, bulbs/ballast, reflector, tuning, and the HID lights are now fabulous, far far better than all of the S and X loaners I've driven with LED lights. All the Tesla loaners I've driven have the lights set too low to start with, my original HID lights were the same. Have you tried raising them a little to start with? Have you considered a full upgrade and selling your old lights?
You do need to take the front bumper off just to get to one mounting screw under the lights, otherwise, it would be dead easy.

Thanks Michael for your tips! I don't think these lights will get any brighter as I have read in this thread that the bulbs and ballasts are @ 25w.Since switching over to Tesla from my BMW M3, I feel like I'm driving in the dark. So looks like it's going to be a straight bumper removal similar to here and then simply releasing the headlights and changing the ballasts. I'm not entirely sure what you mean Michael by the reflector housing part, as I believe the housing is already a projector housing so no reflectors are required for the upgrade? Also the two ballasts I will be changing I am assuming is to an Osram 35W part 10R-034663 and from there purchasing a pair of D3S Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited or D3S Osram Nightbreaker Laser Bulbs? And that's it? no additional programming? If I get my pry tools sent in by next week, I'll try to write up a DIY
for this thread.

 

[doctorwho]

changing the ballasts will help, but the US standard lights are still rather dim with 35W ballasts. The upgrade adds a larger reflector and lens, both of which are pretty ordinary in the standard HID lights

 

[Dborn]

Thanks Michael for your tips! I don't think these lights will get any brighter as I have read in this thread that the bulbs and ballasts are @ 25w.Since switching over to Tesla from my BMW M3, I feel like I'm driving in the dark. So looks like it's going to be a straight bumper removal similar to here and then simply releasing the headlights and changing the ballasts. I'm not entirely sure what you mean Michael by the reflector housing part, as I believe the housing is already a projector housing so no reflectors are required for the upgrade? Also the two ballasts I will be changing I am assuming is to an Osram 35W part 10R-034663 and from there purchasing a pair of D3S Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited or D3S Osram Nightbreaker Laser Bulbs? And that's it? no additional programming? If I get my pry tools sent in by next week, I'll try to write up a DIY
for this thread.

Having done the job on my 2014 car, you change the ballast and have to modify the skirt of the bulb. Check out the differences between the various D series bulbs on google. What I did to make the D3s bulbs fit was use a dremel tool to physically create the correct cut outs so the bulbs would seat in the existing headlights. You do need to remove both the front bumper and the headlight to do this job. It is virtually impossible otherwise. Even access to do a simple bulb change is incredibly difficult. This needs to be done through the wheel well and is an incredibly stupid design for a consumable part.
Instructions for both headlight removal and bumper removal are on this site.
My headlights are amazing and the job was worthwhile. Take care how you hold the bulb while modifying it. Either wear gloves or use a rag or something, but don’t touch the glass !! (Quartz). Update. Check out this site which explains the S designation in the bulb. What’s the difference between D1C/D1R/D1S and D3C/D3R/D3S? — SHIF Lighting Support

 

[Dborn]

Furthersites to look at.
HID Bulb Types and Identification - D1S D1R D2S D2R D3S D3R D4S D4R etc - SKBOWE PWM filter
The Official Guide To HID Burners (Your Key To Making Sense Of Them All) - HiDplanet : The Official Automotive Lighting Forum

 

[KRYPTOS]

changing the ballasts will help, but the US standard lights are still rather dim with 35W ballasts. The upgrade adds a larger reflector and lens, both of which are pretty ordinary in the standard HID lights

I'll definitely consider that but maybe a bit later when the wife's rage dies down after recently purchasing this ex-demo from Tesla. I did see these Evtuning headlight mods but they charge around 2000 USD for the modification. I feel I'll try the upgrade ballast method and upgrade bulb method my easiest path to slightly improve the lights. I'm thinking 300 for the Osram Nightbreaker Laser bulbs and around $150 for the OSRAM 35W ballasts. I'm going to try to remove the bumper and then remove the headlight then put it back on to check the correct ballast or if this ballast would be ok. From most pictures nad videos from the internet I notice its a 3 screw ballast.

 

[KRYPTOS]

Having done the job on my 2014 car, you change the ballast and have to modify the skirt of the bulb. Check out the differences between the various D series bulbs on google. What I did to make the D3s bulbs fit was use a dremel tool to physically create the correct cut outs so the bulbs would seat in the existing headlights. You do need to remove both the front bumper and the headlight to do this job. It is virtually impossible otherwise. Even access to do a simple bulb change is incredibly difficult. This needs to be done through the wheel well and is an incredibly stupid design for a consumable part.
Instructions for both headlight removal and bumper removal are on this site.
My headlights are amazing and the job was worthwhile. Take care how you hold the bulb while modifying it. Either wear gloves or use a rag or something, but don’t touch the glass !! (Quartz). Update. Check out this site which explains the S designation in the bulb. What’s the difference between D1C/D1R/D1S and D3C/D3R/D3S? — SHIF Lighting Support

Thanks Dborn! You guys are extremely helpful! I will be going for this exact process of removing bumper and headlight. My only question is, I thought the bulb was already a D3S bulb so I was wondering why do we have to modify the skirt? Shouldn't a D3S bulb fit in another D3S housing? Again, thank you for all your help! I'll keep you updated once the parts arrive and I start the procedure.

 

[Dborn]

Thanks Dborn! You guys are extremely helpful! I will be going for this exact process of removing bumper and headlight. My only question is, I thought the bulb was already a D3S bulb so I was wondering why do we have to modify the skirt? Shouldn't a D3S bulb fit in another D3S housing? Again, thank you for all your help! I'll keep you updated once the parts arrive and I start the procedure.

I recall it being the D8S.

 

[Dborn]

I'll definitely consider that but maybe a bit later when the wife's rage dies down after recently purchasing this ex-demo from Tesla. I did see these Evtuning headlight mods but they charge around 2000 USD for the modification. I feel I'll try the upgrade ballast method and upgrade bulb method my easiest path to slightly improve the lights. I'm thinking 300 for the Osram Nightbreaker Laser bulbs and around $150 for the OSRAM 35W ballasts. I'm going to try to remove the bumper and then remove the headlight then put it back on to check the correct ballast or if this ballast would be ok. From most pictures nad videos from the internet I notice its a 3 screw ballast.

That is the correct ballast.

 

[KRYPTOS]

Thanks for your help Dborn. Awesome tips and information mate!

 

[Rayminster]

A very complicated thread!
Can someone tell me a simple answer to what bulb fits the stock Tesla connector without making modifications. I have the blue connector with the notch in the middle.