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Old 09-14-2013, 05:03 PM #1
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How To: Headlight Bulb Conversion (H11 to H9 & 9005 to 9011)

I've gotten a lot PMs requesting instructions on doing this relatively cheap light bulb mod, so I decided to make a new thread and make life easier for everyone. Just to be clear, there's already a lot of threads floating around on the internet on how to do this, so I am not trying to take credit for anything. I figured everyone loves pictures and I happened to snap a few when I did this a few months ago, so why not share

Before I begin, please note that this is not street legal nor DOT approved, so proceed at your own risk. Obviously, it's going to be pretty hard to tell since everything looks factory (just brighter), so chances of getting ticketed are next to nil. Also, the factory harnesses and fuses should be able to handle these just fine since we're only bumping up the wattage a tiny bit. Lastly, the slight additional heat generated from the new bulbs should fine as well since it's basically just putting a standard high beam bulb in place of a low beam bulb.

To do this mod you will probably need some wire clippers, small files, needle nose pliers and maybe even a Dremel, if you have. The pictures speak for themselves so you decide on how you plan to attack this. Personally, I just used a wire clipper and a needle nose pliers to nip off the excess material; then cleaned it all up with a variety of metal files.

Parts:
-2x Amazon.com: Philips H9 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1: Automotive
-2x Philips 9011 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive

I ordered these bulbs from Amazon because they were the cheapest and still high quality bulbs, but any standard H9 and 9011 will do. So you can just pick them up at you local auto parts store if you don't mind paying a bit more.

The concept of this mod is to replace the factory H11 low beam bulb with a modified H9 bulb, and replace the factory 9005 high beam bulb with a modified 9011 bulb, respectively. As you can see from the pictures below, the only difference between the bulbs are tabs on the base and/or the plug.

H9 Bulb Conversion:

On the base of the bulb you will see a wide metal tab on the base, this tab needs to be trimmed down a bit to make it go into the headlight housing easier. If you don't feel like trimming it, you might be able to shoe horn it in at a slant (you'll see what I'm talking about if you put the base of the H9 bulb up to the headlight housing); but personally, I rather just trim it off so I can put it in and take it out easier. This does not need to be trimmed to exacting standards, just trim off enough so you can get it past the slot on the headlight housing. It does not have to be perfect or neat either because it does nothing as far as securing the bulb to the housing goes.


On the plug end you will see that there is an extra plastic tab towards the top of the plug, this needs to go or else you won't be able to push the factory plug on. You need to get this as flat as possible and as far down as possible into the inner surface of the plug.


Close up view in case you guys can't see exactly what's going on from the pictures above.

And well, that's all folks! Remember to clean off all the left over debris and wipe down the bulb with a soft towel and 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol leaves more residue) before installing them. Also, don't touch the quartz envelope of the bulb after wiping it down in order to ensure longer bulb life

Since I know someone's going to ask, no I don't have before and after pictures comparing the light output, lol. The color of the light will be a "whiter" light in the sense that it's not as dull/brown looking as the OEM bulb. If you're looking for that cool white HID look, you'll be disappointed. Just picture high beam color output and that's about what you will have.

The pattern is pretty much just like stock but brighter. Glare is controlled just fine because the filament is in the same exact spot as the H11 bulb and you have glare shields built into the headlights in front of the bulbs too.

Please note, this would be a good time to re-aim your headlights and make sure they are not pointed too high because while there isn't any extra glare from the H9 bulbs, the still H9 bulbs are significantly brighter and way more annoying if you're shinning them right into someones eyes vs. the H11 bulbs.

Lastly, this mod works the same exact way if you want to put them in the fog light housings; but I must say that you may or may not want to install them there depending on how you use your fog lights. This is because the tip of the H11 bulbs are dipped with opaque paint to prevent forward glare, and the H9 bulb tips are not. Unfortunately for us, the fog light housings do not have an additional glare shield in front of the bulb, so do this mod at your own discretion.

Happy modding!
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Old 09-14-2013, 05:09 PM #2
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*Edit*
From another Thread...
Quote:
Originally Posted by eddiebx View Post
We need a new rule here, no post about mods without before and after pictures. As a fellow LED nerd, the suspense is killing me, lol...

Last edited by Viper45; 09-14-2013 at 05:24 PM.
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Old 09-14-2013, 08:23 PM #3
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^^I knew someone was going to remember that post! Everyone's a critic

I completely forgot to post the rest of the 9005 to 9011 pictures, so moving on...


9011 Bulb Conversion:

As you can see above, this modification is much more simple since you're only cutting plastic and only cutting the one tab on the base of the bulb.


Here's another view of how far to trim the tab.


Finally, a blown up view of exactly how much to cut off (the section highlighted in red). You probably want to be pretty precise on cutting (at least around the circular part) because from what I remember it was kind of a tight fit.

After cutting this one tab, you're pretty much done! Just clean off the bulb as mentioned above with some isopropyl alcohol and install.
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Old 09-14-2013, 08:33 PM #4
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Awesome writeup!

Usually we don't allow such clear pictures for these type of things, but I guess we'll let it pass just this once...
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Old 09-14-2013, 08:40 PM #5
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I have been running this mod for about 4 months now. Its a significant increase light for $30. Awesome! I agree that the light is whiter and not as anemic looking as the stock bulbs, however it wont compare to other (more expensive) headlight mods. I did 2 3000 + mile road trips with these (I like to drive at night as much as possible) and I was very happy with the results. I have never been flashed by oncoming drivers, which was the only thing I was really worried about. Blinding people who are driving at you seems like a bad idea lol. The modification of the bulbs is very easy especially if you have the proper tools. The drivers side is a bit of a PITA simply because there is not too much room to maneuver.

My only advise is: don't do this mod at night, in your driveway while using your cell phone as the only light source. This I learned the hard way. Oh and remember to put the damn gaskets back on before installation
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Old 09-14-2013, 09:00 PM #6
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I tried my best Jeff, but for some darn reason, my camera just wouldn't go out of focus, and I kept composing the shot perfectly. Sorry to disappoint
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Old 09-15-2013, 02:17 AM #7
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All the headlight chatter lately has me engaged.....

Is the (H11 to H9 & 9005 to 9011) conversion brighter and whiter than installing Philips H11 CrystalVision Ultra Headlight Bulb?

Also, what the legal concern? The Amazon link for the 9011 states "DOT Compliant and Street Legal"
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Old 09-15-2013, 09:16 PM #8
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@Jesse1983 this is worthy of being added Here
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Old 09-15-2013, 11:47 PM #9
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Thanks for the writeup!
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Old 09-16-2013, 12:34 PM #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by syndicate1 View Post
All the headlight chatter lately has me engaged.....

Is the (H11 to H9 & 9005 to 9011) conversion brighter and whiter than installing Philips H11 CrystalVision Ultra Headlight Bulb?

Also, what the legal concern? The Amazon link for the 9011 states "DOT Compliant and Street Legal"
I've personally never used those CrystalVision Ultra bulbs on the 4runner, but I would put money on the H9 conversion being brighter simply because it's a higher wattage and un-coated. As far as whiter or not, the CrystalVision will most likely appear whiter since well...it's tinted in blue, lol.

As I've said before, if anyone is looking for the appearance of HID light color, you will surely be disappointed; but for raw increase in lumens, dollar for dollar, this can't be beat.

The legal concern lies in the fact that you're illegally modifying a DOT compliant bulb for other than it's intended purpose. Simply put, you're sticking a high beam bulb in a low beam position; yet the bulb was certified compliant for use as a high beam and not a low beam.

However, I REALLY doubt anyone is going to get caught unless you have the world's most anal cop or state safety inspector
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Old 01-25-2014, 11:19 AM #11
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Cool

Quote:
Originally Posted by eddiebx View Post
I've gotten a lot PMs requesting instructions on doing this relatively cheap light bulb mod, so I decided to make a new thread and make life easier for everyone. Just to be clear, there's already a lot of threads floating around on the internet on how to do this, so I am not trying to take credit for anything. I figured everyone loves pictures and I happened to snap a few when I did this a few months ago, so why not share

Before I begin, please note that this is not street legal nor DOT approved, so proceed at your own risk. Obviously, it's going to be pretty hard to tell since everything looks factory (just brighter), so chances of getting ticketed are next to nil. Also, the factory harnesses and fuses should be able to handle these just fine since we're only bumping up the wattage a tiny bit. Lastly, the slight additional heat generated from the new bulbs should fine as well since it's basically just putting a standard high beam bulb in place of a low beam bulb.

To do this mod you will probably need some wire clippers, small files, needle nose pliers and maybe even a Dremel, if you have. The pictures speak for themselves so you decide on how you plan to attack this. Personally, I just used a wire clipper and a needle nose pliers to nip off the excess material; then cleaned it all up with a variety of metal files.

Parts:
-2x Amazon.com: Philips H9 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1: Automotive
-2x Philips 9011 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive

I ordered these bulbs from Amazon because they were the cheapest and still high quality bulbs, but any standard H9 and 9011 will do. So you can just pick them up at you local auto parts store if you don't mind paying a bit more.

The concept of this mod is to replace the factory H11 low beam bulb with a modified H9 bulb, and replace the factory 9005 high beam bulb with a modified 9011 bulb, respectively. As you can see from the pictures below, the only difference between the bulbs are tabs on the base and/or the plug.

H9 Bulb Conversion:

On the base of the bulb you will see a wide metal tab on the base, this tab needs to be trimmed down a bit to make it go into the headlight housing easier. If you don't feel like trimming it, you might be able to shoe horn it in at a slant (you'll see what I'm talking about if you put the base of the H9 bulb up to the headlight housing); but personally, I rather just trim it off so I can put it in and take it out easier. This does not need to be trimmed to exacting standards, just trim off enough so you can get it past the slot on the headlight housing. It does not have to be perfect or neat either because it does nothing as far as securing the bulb to the housing goes.


On the plug end you will see that there is an extra plastic tab towards the top of the plug, this needs to go or else you won't be able to push the factory plug on. You need to get this as flat as possible and as far down as possible into the inner surface of the plug.


Close up view in case you guys can't see exactly what's going on from the pictures above.

And well, that's all folks! Remember to clean off all the left over debris and wipe down the bulb with a soft towel and 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol leaves more residue) before installing them. Also, don't touch the quartz envelope of the bulb after wiping it down in order to ensure longer bulb life

Since I know someone's going to ask, no I don't have before and after pictures comparing the light output, lol. The color of the light will be a "whiter" light in the sense that it's not as dull/brown looking as the OEM bulb. If you're looking for that cool white HID look, you'll be disappointed. Just picture high beam color output and that's about what you will have.

The pattern is pretty much just like stock but brighter. Glare is controlled just fine because the filament is in the same exact spot as the H11 bulb and you have glare shields built into the headlights in front of the bulbs too.

Please note, this would be a good time to re-aim your headlights and make sure they are not pointed too high because while there isn't any extra glare from the H9 bulbs, the still H9 bulbs are significantly brighter and way more annoying if you're shinning them right into someones eyes vs. the H11 bulbs.

Lastly, this mod works the same exact way if you want to put them in the fog light housings; but I must say that you may or may not want to install them there depending on how you use your fog lights. This is because the tip of the H11 bulbs are dipped with opaque paint to prevent forward glare, and the H9 bulb tips are not. Unfortunately for us, the fog light housings do not have an additional glare shield in front of the bulb, so do this mod at your own discretion.

Happy modding!
I want to do this H11 to H9 headlight mod but I am afraid the wiring harnes will melt.
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Old 01-25-2014, 11:57 AM #12
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How To: Headlight Bulb Conversion (H11 to H9 & 9005 to 9011)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedy Gomez View Post
I want to do this H11 to H9 headlight mod but I am afraid the wiring harnes will melt.

I've had mine on since September, a few days after @eddiebx posted this. Zero issues and noticeably brighter.

I did both low and high.
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Old 01-25-2014, 02:01 PM #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedy Gomez View Post
I want to do this H11 to H9 headlight mod but I am afraid the wiring harnes will melt.
Won't melt...you would only be increasing the wattage by roughly 18%...
going from 55w to 65w. Equates to around .1 amp. The reason for swapping is the difference in lumen output. There are other threads that discuss in detail, but you end up getting roughly 50% more light output.
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Old 01-25-2014, 02:05 PM #14
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I did mine a few weeks ago and what a difference. Thanks for the write-up. It will save me from a projector swap....for a little while at least.
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Old 01-25-2014, 04:06 PM #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedy Gomez View Post
I want to do this H11 to H9 headlight mod but I am afraid the wiring harnes will melt.
Pansy

But seriously, what @Go JayBee said, it's really not too much bigger of a current draw, you should be okay...besides if you look at your factory high beam and low beam wiring harness, you will notice that the wire gauge is pretty much the same exact thickness; which means H9s shouldn't melt the low beam wires since it's really just equivalent to a high beam bulb.

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