Does anyone recognise this headlight plug?

[ZTrekus]

I pulled the headlight out of my Tesla today hoping to replace the bulb with LEDs (they arrived from China courtesy of eBay).

BUT when I managed to get one lamp out of the car, it had a 3 pin plug instead of an expected 2 pin plug. Drove around to Revco, Super Cheap Auto, Jay Car, Computer power supply shops - you name it - and none of them knew anything about that 3 pin plug. They all said you had to go back to Tesla. Good advice to be sure. But for the more adventurous of us... Anyone know or recognise this 3 pin plug? You are looking at the xenon headlight of the Tesla Model S:

 

[meloccom]

This eBay item will give you an idea of what to order.
There was a thread that I can't find right now that went into more detail about the differences between Australian Model S headlights and other markets. I understand ours have been de-rated as to be fit any grater wattage requires headlight washers.

 

[ZTrekus]

This eBay item will give you an idea of what to order.
There was a thread that I can't find right now that went into more detail about the differences between Australian Model S headlights and other markets. I understand ours have been de-rated as to be fit any grater wattage requires headlight washers.

Thanks meloccom. I just ordered it. I would have preferred LEDs but any improvement would be welcomed.

 

[Dborn]

72w 6400lm D1/D3/D1R/D1S/D1C Cree Car LED Headlight Conversion Kit Headlamp Bulb
Here is a LED conversion kit with Cree chips. If you get this let us all know the end result, and was it worth the effort. Double the lumens of the Osram product......

 

[Keiron]

I am looking at fitting an LED Bar under the front spoiler zone so as to not impact too much on forward air displacement but the LEDS guys are a lot bodgey!. They quote 4600 Lumens ( for my bar) to get you warm and fuzzy then neglect to mention that optimum output is at 32Volts NOT 12.! The actual light output Ive tested on my first bar is 2150 Lumens @ 1 meter at 12.9Volts. Dont get me wrong its a massive improvement but I get touchy about the deceptions. I could go next step and setup a DC to DC inverter to get the 32 Volts but its getting too hard.
The initial test with the bar held out a window was great!

 

[ZTrekus]

Ok

72w 6400lm D1/D3/D1R/D1S/D1C Cree Car LED Headlight Conversion Kit Headlamp Bulb
Here is a LED conversion kit with Cree chips. If you get this let us all know the end result, and was it worth the effort. Double the lumens of the Osram product......

Ok damn it...I got it!

Expected delivery is around June sometime. Well I always wanted LEDs, so I guess I will hold off installing the 35w xenons when they arrive.

Let you all know how it goes.... Tick tock...

 

[ZTrekus]

I am looking at fitting an LED Bar under the front spoiler zone so as to not impact too much on forward air displacement but the LEDS guys are a lot bodgey!. They quote 4600 Lumens ( for my bar) to get you warm and fuzzy then neglect to mention that optimum output is at 32Volts NOT 12.! The actual light output Ive tested on my first bar is 2150 Lumens @ 1 meter at 12.9Volts. Dont get me wrong its a massive improvement but I get touchy about the deceptions. I could go next step and setup a DC to DC inverter to get the 32 Volts but its getting too hard.
The initial test with the bar held out a window was great!

You could easily get a dc to dc converter from Jaycar... I have bought several of them over the years.

I don't know where you would hide it... In the frunk?

 

[ZTrekus]

An update:

With my LEDs still on order, my 2 35w hids arrived. I was just going to put them on the shelf, but the itch was too great.

I changed the left (passenger) side no probs - big improvement- cooler whiter colour.

But when it came to the driver's side, I found it impossible to loosen the clip around the original bulb. I spent hours of slicing both thumbs, using all sorts of useless tools, then sucked it up and gave up - for the night anyway.

A friend of mine is a mechanic who has a jack as well as his own hoist if necessary. The wheel just has to come off to allow greater access. Once you snake your elbow wrist and hand around it to just clasp the clip with the tips of your fingers, all the necessary energy is gone to loosen it.

Will keep you updated - and will do it all again when the LEDs arrive.

At the moment my car looks like a mad dog. One warm soft light. One Borg cold laser. We had insane, ludicrous...this is just psycho.

 

[Dborn]

So, I take it you still have not done the drivers side? Access is via the wheel wells, I understand? I have never looked into it so have not considered where to start.

 

[ZTrekus]

Update 2:

Jacked the car up and took off the front driver's wheel.

Still had major major problems getting the clip off. Started to cannibalise the frunk to see if access to the light fitting through there was easier and even questioned taking the light fitting out altogether.

I cannot overstate this, but literally hours later, we got the clip off. Then the other problems began (but not really serious ones).

The electrical cable does not fit easily into the new bulbs without vigorous massaging. I ended up breaking the plug on the bulb but thankfully, the broken plastic bit sits inside the Tesla cable sleeve - so no real harm done.

We greased up the clip so that it turned a lot more easily but it was several hours later when we finally managed to get the clip back on - that was part 2 of the nightmare - but worth it.

I told the mechanic to get ready in a fortnight to do it all again for the new LEDs. Keep ya posted! Interesting to see what the lights now look like at night.

 

[ZTrekus]

So, I take it you still have not done the drivers side? Access is via the wheel wells, I understand? I have never looked into it so have not considered where to start.

Yes Dborn

You get in through the wheel well. Just turn the wheel all the way to the side you are changing and take out a few of the plastic clips at the top and near the headlight. You then just bend the coverings down and you will see the headlight. You pop off the rubber dust cover and you will immediately see the back of the bulb. A torch is useful.

Now straddling the bulb is a crescent shaped black clip. Have to turn it slightly anticlockwise to unlock it. Then bulb becomes all loose. Jiggle it out. Unplug it. Lift crescent shaped clip off and put on new bulb. Reverse it all.

Very easy instructions. But it is tight and the headlight hole is small and sharp and the clip is a job and a half to manage from the tips of your fingers only!

 

[meloccom]

That sounds exactly how I had to change the H7 globes on my old Mercedes A Class.
I was lucky that they lasted longer than a year and I got quite good at changing them by feel.

 

[Dborn]

Hmmm. No access through the froot then?

 

[ZTrekus]

Hmmm. No access through the froot then?

Yes, you get access, but it is a sharp hairpin 180 degree turn, so it is just not useful access. The wheel arch is the only viable way. And when the frustration mounts, you will remove the wheel.

Tonight I took my daughter to see Little Mix at Alphones arena and my ears are ringing loudly, not from the music, but from all the screaming from all the teeny boppers... There ought to be a law against it! Anyway, couldn't really test out the headlights under all the sodium lamps on Parramatta Rd, Anzac Bridge and XCity tunnel. But eventually got to my street and they looked really cool! I must say the LEDs will have a hard job to beat them. Huge improvement on the crappy Aussie parking lights. They just sucked!

 

[ZTrekus]

That sounds exactly how I had to change the H7 globes on my old Mercedes A Class.
I was lucky that they lasted longer than a year and I got quite good at changing them by feel.

Yes Meloccom I was muttering under my breath every second today, at least these lights last a while unlike the Edisson bulbs of old!

 

[ZTrekus]

Not to give up on my original LEDs - and also for fear that the new LEDs I ordered will not actually fit the 3ds cable (only the headlight slot),

I ordered 2x these: Buy Products Online from China Wholesalers at Aliexpress.com

Now I know that these are designed to convert LED 2 prong cabling to 3 prong HIDs - but my guess is it will work in reverse! Here's hoping no diodes get in the way... Suggestions dborn??

 

[ZTrekus]

But THIS is why I do not believe it can work in reverse: I cut and paste from this website:

How Do HID/Xenon Headlamps Work and Why Should You Install Them?
-------------
Because of the energy required to run a HID headlight, the HID bulbs do not run on low-voltage DC current, so they require a power pack (ballast) with either an external or internal ignitor, which controls the current given to the bulb. Considering automobiles use a 12-volt electrical system for their lamps and the HID lighting requires over 20,000 volts to ignite the bulbs and then 85 volts to keep them running, the ballast is a necessary part of the system. Apart from turning it on it also regulates the voltage, and is an integral part of the HID system.

The power-up of the bulbs happens in three phases. First comes the ignition, when a high voltage pulse is used to produce a spark which ionizes the Xenon gas, creating a tunnel of current between the Tungsten electrodes. After this comes the initial phase, when the temperature in the bulb capsule rises rapidly, the metallic salts vaporize and the resistance between the electrodes fails.

The ballast comes into function and automatically switches to continuous operation, when all metal salts are in vapor phase, the arc of light has achieved a stable shape and the luminous efficacy has attained its nominal value. Being supplied with stable electrical power by the ballast, the arc will not flicker.
--------------

So this is what is so annoying... Tesla uses the new fandangled HID xenon arc lights which are magical and all.... but let's face it - just not enough lumens as LEDs. SO the new Teslas now use LEDs - you get that?? Leaving us poor Tesla owners with just mere HIDs that are almost impossible to reverse engineer to use LEDs.... Because the cable to the lights are POST balast which provide a symphony of voltages - when all I want are a simple 12-24v steady power supply (how hard is that for crying out aloud?)

FRUSTRATED

 

[Dborn]

This is getting a bit beyond me...

 

[ZTrekus]

I found this to be the best YouTube explanatory video... It roots for our existing HIDs...

I confess I have gone completely nuts and have bought two further HID bulbs.

FIRST: 2 x D3S HID XENON SUPER WEISS 55W GLÜHLAMPEN ABBLENDLICHT 6000 Kelvin

SECOND: NEW! Osram D3S 5000K 66340 CBI Cool Blue Intense HID XENON Germany 20%+ PAIR TWO

And so the project has turned into a research project and has become bigger than Ben Hur.

By far the simplest is to just plug in one of those two HIDs directly into the existing slot and enjoy.

The more adventurist side of me wants to manipulate the setting to get some LEDs going instead.

But I am more than happy to share the fruits of my research with this forum! I am currently at 2x35w HIDs which is a significant improvement from the factory fitted downgraded 2x25w HIDs but it just is not the same as the Prius iTech. Having said that, it certainly is worth the upgrade if that is all you can do!! I'd do that again in a heartbeat. But the others make some really wild claims and so I just have to get to the bottom of it now.

 

[Winston]

I found this to be the best YouTube explanatory video... It roots for our existing HIDs...

I confess I have gone completely nuts and have bought two further HID bulbs.

FIRST: 2 x D3S HID XENON SUPER WEISS 55W GLÜHLAMPEN ABBLENDLICHT 6000 Kelvin

SECOND: NEW! Osram D3S 5000K 66340 CBI Cool Blue Intense HID XENON Germany 20%+ PAIR TWO

And so the project has turned into a research project and has become bigger than Ben Hur.

By far the simplest is to just plug in one of those two HIDs directly into the existing slot and enjoy.

The more adventurist side of me wants to manipulate the setting to get some LEDs going instead.

But I am more than happy to share the fruits of my research with this forum! I am currently at 2x35w HIDs which is a significant improvement from the factory fitted downgraded 2x25w HIDs but it just is not the same as the Prius iTech. Having said that, it certainly is worth the upgrade if that is all you can do!! I'd do that again in a heartbeat. But the others make some really wild claims and so I just have to get to the bottom of it now.

The bulbs in an Australian Model S should be the same as in a US model. The ballast is what is limiting the output. I don't know how easy the ballasts are to access in the Model S are, but those are what need to be changed to get a significant improvement out of the HIDs.