H.I.D Installation Question

[smart12584]

I was wondering if anyone has any experience placing the ballast and wiring in the head light housing (inside the with bulb and close the gray cap)?

[AWGD8]

First time I got my HID kit, I paid someone to install it for me. The second time around, I did it myself.

There is no way the ballast will fit inside the headlight housing, inside the gray cap.

The only way to do this is to drill a small hole on the gray cap . The hole should be big enough (but not bigger than the rubber boot) for the connector to fit in and use the rubber boot provided on the HID kit to seal the housing assembly. There are good places to stick the ballast outside the headlight housing . ZIP tie is also recommended for clean installation.


It`s very easy to install it once you remove the front tires and the wheel well cover.

[smart12584]

Thanks for the insight. I recently installed the HID headlights and was able to place all wires and ballast inside the housing be hide the gray piece. My ballast were pretty small so they fit. Was wondering if i should be concerned with heat or not having everything in there?

[AWGD8]

That is a very small ballast you`ve got there? I`m not sure if it will affect the longevity of the ballast due to close proximity with the hot HID filament inside the housing. I much prefer the ballast located nearly around ambient temperature where air circulate.

[SteveTheTech]

I've done tons of these and typically I end up cable tying it to a piece of metal near by and never having an issue with it.

The reliability of these kits can sometime be subpar so always place it somewhere with fairly easy access and even if you have omit a few trim clips on the fender lining to mount it in the cavity inside the fender it needs to be as far away from the action as possible. The 20,000 Volt charge that is required to fire an HID bulb like these going anywhere else will cause problems.

Also a quick tip, measure the rubber grommet and match the hole as close as possible when it comes to running the wires. Do not leave any cap off or the light WILL fill with moisture, and the bulbs WILL fail prematurely.

OH and make sure you turn the lights on and check the polarity before installing fender liner. It is a PITA to go backwards.

[AWGD8]

Great tips Steve...

Never had any problem with aftermarket DDM tuning HID kit. The price is ridiculously insane!

[SteveTheTech]

This is what I've used.
http://www.hidkit.com/

Cheap and fairly simple. There are supposedly only two producers from Korea that make the majority of these kits. It was not worth the investment in a really expensive set since the reflectors within the headlight are not designed for HID anyway so you will never have the dialed in focus that would make a premium kit worth it.

The DDM kits available for anything Infiniti are not the greatest but the price makes replacement a little easier to swallow. Both the DDM and the HIDKITS use the same connectors and bulbs so I bet the only difference is the heat sink structure =.

[AWGD8]

True Steve. It`s not worth buying an expensive HID kit. The cheap ones are 60% better than the stock bulb. =) DDM seems to be an electronic ballast vs. those analog ones from HIDKIT.COM (It has that old ballast design, but I may be mistaken?)

[zarar]

Anyone know what will be the outcome if you don't install a relay harness for an HID kit if your installing both low beams and for foglights? Will it cause flickering or cause the factory harness to burn out? Not too worried about the life of the kit, right now I am installing it myself and am not experience to pull off the bumper on my car, I've decided to go through the wheel wells and make an attempt at it. I'd have trouble installing a relay especially if I can't pull off the bumper. Anyone know how hard it is to remove the wheel well cover? Can it be done with the wheels still attached?

I asked a local shop to install it for me and so far two of them want more than I think it cost to install an HID kit. Idk how hard it is to pull off a bumper but definitely not rocket science to install a kit. First show asked over $500+ for both fogs and headlight install just on labor alone. You'd think they pull off the bumper once, they can hit two bird with one stone?

[AWGD8]

You don`t need a relay harness if installing a Low beam and fogs if both have 35W kit ballast. I had more problem with the relay harness before bec. of the relay switch connector getting corroded during winter season. So when it was time for me to replace my low beam HID kit after 2.8 years, I decided to directly connect all HID Kit to OEM harness and never had a problem . Make sure you don`t get a 55W HID kit and install it directly to OEM harness, this requires a relay harness. And BTW, you don`t need to remove the front bumper to install a relay harness. You can run the harness
in front of the upper front grill. All you need to remove is the black cover on top of the grill when the hood is up.

It is a lot easier to remove the front tires when installing the KIT. You also need to drill a hole on that gray cap (that cap that covers the rear of the assembly light) for the hid wires to go through. Make it a small hole and use the HID KIT supplied rubber seal. Drill a hole smaller than the provided HID rubber seal or boot.

[zarar]

Thank you man, really appreciate the help!

[tpbrown3]

SteveTheTech - I live in Fredericksburg. Just picked up a EX35 and I dont like the lights it came with. If I bought the HIDkit, would you be interested in a install? I could meet you almost anytime. Name it:) Thanks!