Headlight help

Hi all,
I bought a used 07 Tacoma. First few years the headlights were extremely bright (the low beams).
My friend mentioned that I had HID lights.

A few years later and the beams, both low and high, are remarkably dim. One occasion I replaced the middle bulb after it went out. The new bulb wasn't any brighter. I've also brushed the fog off of the lens exterior.


It seems like there are strips/rings of smaller lights that aren't even turning on. Is this a whole unit that needs to be replaced?

 

If it is HID, I’d say your ballasts are weak.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but what you have are a set of Chinese made aftermarket headlight housings - of which there are literally dozens of out there. Unfortunately, even when they were new, their performance wasn't even equal to the OEM lights that came in your truck. Now, as they've aged, you're seeing the effects of a poor design, poorly manufactured, to very low standards. The sad truth is that nothing you can really do to those bad boys is going to get you decent forward lighting. Oh, and they're illegal as hell too - but the likelihood of actually getting a ticket is pretty low.

If you want my opinion / advice based on many, many years of experimenting with improved lighting on my vehicles, get yourself a new set of OEM (not aftermarket) headlight housings. They're not cheap, but you get what you pay for. As for bulbs and possible upgrades, check out the following thread. Everything you really need to know is actually in the first few pages.

The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID) | Tacoma World

 

Could be the reflector bowl inside the projectors.

 

I second what @Too Stroked says, the upgrade from the thread is awesome.
New OEM headlight housings alone will help, but do the upgraded version and youll be happy!!

 

Well said. Replace those headlight housings with something of quality (OEM).

 

Have these OEM units with brand new lenses on them. BHLM done to them as well.