Squirrel Spotter? <-- what is this?

[Infamous_K]

im a TN NEWB, so please bare with me... thanks in advance!

i've been reading about installing HID's and people kept mentioning "cover up the squirrel spotter"..
now i dont know too much about this kinda stuff so i have just gotten my HID installed without covering the "squirrel spotter"... so can someone tell me HOW to do this and if it makes a big difference on my light output blinding others.. pictures would be nice if anyone has...
im such a noob >.<

Thanks Again!

[lammydi]

There is a sticky thread for Official gen 5+6 DIY...scroll down to almost 2/3 of the page you will find General: Covering squirrel spotters

*** READ FIRST -- Official Gen 5 & 6 DIY and General Info Sticky! ***

General: Covering squirrel spotters
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...t=glare&page=2

Oh, and welcome to TN.

[JSM1284]

The squirrel spotters are inside the projector on the cut-off shield. Perform a search and you will get many threads describing easy ways to cover them.

[akide]

ya definately cover them, or while you're driving with HID's with your oem camry projectors/cut off shield, you'll definately blind people..
i drove around with HID's one night after installing without covering the squrirrel spotters and i could see people adjusting their rear view mirror in front of me because of all the glare..

[Infamous_K]

thanks a lot guys!
i will definitely read that thread that you have posted!

i tried a search on google for "squirrel spotter" and nothing about such topic came up...
and yes im a noob to these kinda things >.<

[njerald]

Shows up on my google search.

Try the Search function on this forum next time.

[cosism]

Originally Posted by njerald

Shows up on my google search.

Try the Search function on this forum next time.

Yes, the forum search engine works better. Welcome to the boards!

[Infamous_K]

i must suck at this real bad...
i tried all kinds of searches and couldnt find a single picture on it...
and i post it on here and within minutes helpful TN users are giving me links to it..
i dont know why i didnt bother starting a thread sooner! :\

[workerant]

Give yourself credit for trying to help yourself first before asking for help. If everyone were to start a thread asking for help.. we would be fill with threads asking for help.

Originally Posted by Infamous_K

i must suck at this real bad...
i tried all kinds of searches and couldnt find a single picture on it...
and i post it on here and within minutes helpful TN users are giving me links to it..
i dont know why i didnt bother starting a thread sooner! :\

[LNGasMan]

Just for reference in case another noob comes across this thread.

"Squirrel spotters" refers to the small amount of upward light the DOT mandates to illuminate reflective street signs in the USA. ECE (Europe) does not have squirrel spotters since signs are lit in Europe. The problem on the Gen6 is the projectors are designed for Halogen bulbs and we install HID kits which are 3x brighter. The result, squirrel spotters are 3x brighter and usually blinding to oncoming traffic and the people in front of you. Projectors designed for HID also have these squirrel spotters but are designed for HID so it is not blinding to others. Another reason to retrofit instead of PNP kit.

Inside the Projector, normally there is a flap covering it, I removed the flap on this shield (see crude red arrow):


Picture of halogen projector with PNP HID kit output on garage door, maybe 2 ft away (again, note crude red arrow pointing at squirrel spotter light above cut-off line):



Here is the same halogen projector with HID PNP kit at about 15 ft:




And here is real HID projector, a Lexus RX330 AFS D2S projector with clear lens:

[FlopShot]

Originally Posted by Infamous_K

im a TN NEWB, so please bare with me... thanks in advance!

i've been reading about installing HID's and people kept mentioning "cover up the squirrel spotter"..
now i dont know too much about this kinda stuff so i have just gotten my HID installed without covering the "squirrel spotter"... so can someone tell me HOW to do this and if it makes a big difference on my light output blinding others.. pictures would be nice if anyone has...
im such a noob >.<

Thanks Again!

When I started reading about HID conversion, I saw post after post about how to cover up the squirrel spotters, but I never saw what they actually did. Until I saw this picture and a few others like it. The little rectangle of light above the cutoff line is the squirrel spotter, and because of the angle that the light is emitted, it will cause glare to anyone in front of it. Hope this picture helps you like it helped me.
HID info

[JSM1284]

The light is emitted at a 45 degree angle