Celica Forums General Discussion General Headlight Melts Pics!

Well this is just great! I come home 3 days ago and my passenger fog light, which is an MTEC, goes out. I was driving around the parking lot of a local movie theater last night, when my friend who I see walking around says "Hey your front headlights out!" So I thought yea, hes just lookin at my fog. Well, The knob for the fog light is turned to "off" so I realize its my low beam on the passenger side. Sure enough it was. I took pictures this morning of the headlight enclosure, and the whole thing is melted!!! WTF?! So now im just gonna stay to stock low beams and fogs for good. Ill try to post pics...
P.S. My low beams (H7) are MTECs, my fogs (H3) are MTECs and ive only had them for about 3 Months

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Any suggestions? Im assuming i could just go to the dealer and have them install new wiring, and stock lightbulbs.

Looks like you were using a wattage higher than stock (55W). You're lucking the headlight housing itself didn't melt. You'll need to go to a junkyard and find another connector, since Toyota only sells the entire harness ($$$).

MTECS DID THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry to hear bro, good luck on finding that cheap replacemnt

So how much do harnesses cost?! From a dealer

omg!!! please tell me this dont happen a lot with mtecs.

Last I heard, a few hundred, since it's for a lot more than just that one headlight.

A few Hundred I am never going aftermarket with lights again

you did something wrong when they were installed
MTEC's didn't do it.

good luck with that man. I'd go with what Blue_Bomber says and check a junkyard first. Save lots of $$$$ that way!

I've never had problems with PIAA by the way. I've used PIAA's in 3 different cars now and not one problem

LOL, what could he have done wrong? The bulb just plugs in. No secret technique to that. If the bulb itself melted, then he could be guilty of touching the glass with his fingers, but it was the harness that melted.

I had teh EXACT same thing happen to me. I had to actually "rig" mine so that they work now... The guy who owned my car before me put like 100 watt ones in.

any connection could have been messed up, no one can tell...
he prob got the MTEC's from isaac and I have MTEC lows in my celica and haven't had any problems, i love them (except that i'm swappin for full PIAA's)

same with everyone else on here, no one has had problems with MTEC's burning anything up and isaac sells products that won't cause any harm.

So what did you do and how much did it cost Rocketman? Where did you get it done, or did you do it yourself? By the way thanks for the posts guys

Now i have doubts about getting the mtec kit, i don't want to burn mines, so anyone can tell me where to get PIAA or confirm that mtec are really safe?

Yea, i just got done switching every other light bulb in my car back to stock so i dont have to hastle with hundreds of dollars later on. Hopefully you guys wont have as bad of luck as me . If i ever get aftermarkets, it will be the fogs and I would go with PIAA ion crystals. Except instead of installing them myself, Id get a good shop to install them.
Oh by the way, as i just got through switching my other bulbs to stock ones, I saw that the top of the headlight, the glass has actual burn marks. So im sure the whole inside of the housing is melted away as well

i have the exact same problem. and its not a few hundred more like a few thousand. i went to the dealership turns out it ties into the whole electircal system. so you cant just buy that peice. i got some generic peice from some speical auto store for like $6. im gonna put it in soon.

my dad thinks it melted cause it was never pluged in all the way or somethign. but i have the exact same probelm. but my light still works. but i wanna replace that peace cause its all melted and stuff. doesnt look very safe at all.

I'd consider MTECs higher quality than PIAA, and have seen the same problem above happen to many different brands of white/blue/purple bulbs, including PIAA.

i had the same problem when i installed my mcoulugh HID kit i also went to the dealer and they quoted me 1800.00 to fix it.

I just went to a local electrical shop and got it fixed for 40 bucks

ouch

all i did was purchase those white plug ins that got melted... from the dealer i think they were like $2 per plug.

Hmmmm...3 months you say. Seems thats is everybodys time frame for their MTECS to burn out, just like mine did. But sh*t happens right. Yeah sh*t happens to shi**y products IMO. Changed mine long ago back to stock after mine burned out.

Waiting to get PIAA.

awww man... you making me think twice about my MTEC's...

I've had mine for 10 months, *KNOCK ON WOOD*

damn only 3 months. that sucks.

Wow i have no idea what im gonna do...Im gonna get a quote from the same dealer i go to...they are really cool with me and love my car. Hopefully they can get my low beams for a low price, and the fogs they put the mtechs im themselves for free so. Ill see what they have to say tommorow, and i will post what they say, and what im gonna do from there. Man this really blows...im never changing my lights again

I bought the clear corners with hyperwhite bulbs from isaac. I also bought the Polarg Hyperwhite turning signal bulbs from Isaac. Do you guys think those will be a problem? I really dont like the look of the stock amber.

damn that really sucks. I have all around PIAA and nothing bad every happened yet. *KNOCK ON WOOD*

Polarg bulbs actually have decent build quality when it comes to blue bulbs. Instead of spraying on a blue tint like most companies (including PIAA), the color is impregnated into the glass, so it won't fade, peel, or burn off like other coated bulbs tend to do.

what lights do you use, because I had to replace mine and all that I could find at a cheap price were 12v 55w. Those are fine right?

you musta used an MTEC bulb higher than 55W. They make 85/100W ones too I think.

jsut becasue it may work for you and the next guy doesn't mean the guy after is gonna work too no production process is perfect

I kept all my stock bulbs...Just in case this kinda crap may have happened, although i would have never thought in a million years it would happen to me.
P.S. If you didnt keep your stock bulbs, go to a toyota dealership and buy the stock toyota brand bulbs. Just look in your manual, or search this website for the actual sizes and wattages.

Geez, that sucks.

Still, I think everyone is jumping to conclusions. I've had colored bulbs (MTEC now Nokya) in my Celica for over a year, and have had NO problems. Same for many, many other people here.

I still have no concerns about keeping mine in.

If RICK is truly in Madrid, Spain - he did NOT buy those bulbs from EC... we do NOT ship internationally

And for something to burn out like that;

either they were too high wattage...
low quality bulbs...
not securely plugged in...
or there was water/condensation involved during his installation... in which case some non-conductive lubricant should have been used during his installation.

some of you have noticed the thick honey-like gel on your headlamp electrical connectors... it's there for a reason - it's to help prevent what you have seen in the pictures posted above

When mechanics work on electrical circuits (primarily lighting and lighting sockets), they frequently use INOX, which is a good anti-corrosion penetrant and lubricant for electrical fittings & systems. It also unseizes light fittings & switches, keeps them operational & free from corrosion & moisture, can use it on all stop, tail, clearance lights, etc. It is a good anti-moisture product for coils, plugs, distributors, cable joints & connectors also keeps out corrosion to those locations as well ( http://www.lockandsupply.com/inox_lubricant.htm )

Sometimes WD-40 or Valvoline Lubrication Spray is also used - but I prefer to stay away from WD-40 when it comes to plastics.

haha isaac, im not from Madrid, Spain lol...im from Houston...and im not saying its your fault At all. Your a great salesman, and i thank you for the Ecelica Store. I have bought several items from you in the past. Keep up the good work

see, it's not the bulb
it was something else that caused the bulb to do that
check to see how many watts the bulb is

Totally correct. Some guy over here did the same thing to his bulbs. He connected them wrong. The metal clip should go on the bulb a certain way. Not directly on to the plastic clip or you'll melt the shit out of it. I can bet 80% it's the way you put the bulb on.

You have to

1. first put the bulb in the project,
2. put the silver clip to hold it in the project housing
3. put the black connector it's a heat resistant socket with 2 gold prongs you have to depress it on to the 2 light bulb prongs.
4. last plug the white headlight harnesss into the black heat resistant socket.

Some people just do steps 1. 2. - 4. and totally forget about # 3. If you lost the black socket you're assed. The harness will definitely melt like what you guys see in the picture. Their is no way for the bulb to air out the heat and the heat will be directly melting the harness.

I reccomend going to a junkyard and cutting that harness depending on how car the wire got melted and make sure you put that black piece in between the proper way. Very very very important. You can cause serious damage to more you're lucky it's just minor

Trust me I've seen it in a couple Celica's I'm going to try to post a pic what I mean so this makes more sense to those who can't visualize it.

damn!!!

That sucks man, that happened to my Celi too a 2002 model, cost me about 235 to 275 not shure anymore to fix from the dealer, i was using Nokya at the time though

you gotta make sure you use the adapter , the blub plugs into the adapter, then the adapter gets hooked to the wire, you have to remove the stock light from the adapter, i figured that out the hard way , but luckly smelled burning plastic after the first drive

same thing happened to me but the dealer by me sold me just the connector it ran me about $10. i still have the recipt i'll see if it has a part # on there.

OMG I am a new person...
Ok so i just got back from the dealer, which is awesome by the way. I told him what happened, and he said "yea those bulbs, no matter what they say are either hotter or have more wattage then stock, Im not gonna disagree or agree with you, but this is what happens." (I had previously told him about MTECs, and how many many people use them). So he and like 4 other mechanics were checking out my car, asking me about it, and then he pulls the socket out and wow. he just pulls the connector straight out...and guess what theres no bulb. Instead, ashes fall and the bulb was fried somewhere loose in the headlight housing. Everyone there was like "ooohhhh dammnn!" So we go inside, and i tell him I appreciate that hes gonna be able to fix it. I tell him he can keep it overnight, and keep it tommorow. He got my number, and I told him "Hey, when people ask me about celicas, at car shows or meets, Ill be sure to tell them about this dealership and tell them to ask for you." He said "Yea, Theres my cards right there, take the whole stack. I get credit for anyone who comes in." So he says hes gonna charge a BUCK for the fogs, and he will see about the lows. He told me "Yea, im glad you asked for me, because if anyone else were to talk to you then they would have charged you a F*** load. I dont usually charge as much, (in a quite voice), I even let things go for free, haha as we did with you a few times." So i told him again thank you and that i really appreciate it..So now im very happy! Toyota Rocks!!!!

I do not think it is the bulbs fault. That can happen just with any bulb. It just looks like short circuit.

Mine MTECS are running just GREAT after 14 months.

Im actually planing to order some for the high beams

Hey Rick, if you're from Houstin you need to update your profile.

Good your getting it fixed. Let us know how the fix goes.

Hey.. same thing happened to me. The Black socket part(13.40) melted and the white connecter housing(11.92) melted as well. The cheapest way i did was to buy both parts from Toyota and buy some light bulb grease (.99) and connector blades, from autozone,that would fit the white connector housing (1.00).

Put the connector blades in the new connector housing (with bulb grease inside) and spice it back into the wire harness.

Here are the part numbers that from my reciepts.
Black Socket (90075-99140)
White connector housing (90980-10481)

I hope these part numbers help anyone in the future that will come against this problem. All together i spent about $30 to fix...i hated driving with one headlight.