HID Sedan Install

[DarkScorpion]

Greetings all from Maxima.org! I'm a new member here (obviously) and a first time Altima owner (08 2.5S), but I've been a member on Maxima.org and a Maxima owner for the past few years so I'm not too noob Anyways, as my first post here, I'd like to help out some of you sedan guys who may be confused about installing HID's, bumper removal etc. YES, I'm fully aware that there are several other HID topics floating around where this may have been clarified, but I'm just trying to clear up a few things for those who still may be confused.

Firstly, though installing the HID's through the wheel wells may seem a bit easier, I found that removing the bumper was MUCH less frustrating and allows for a MUCH better install, especially if you plan on running a relay setup (which I strongly recommend). Now on to business. After reading through this thread, ( http://www.nicoclub.com/articles.php?id=293385 ) there are a few differences between the coupe and the sedan bumper. The sedan has 6 of those pop-up type clips up top, 5 on the bottom and 6 screws on the bottom, along with the two wheel well screws (1 per side). After removing them all, you may remove the bumper (there are little latches that are still holding the bumper near the wheels - just pull outwards and the bumper will unlatch). After removing your bumper, you should be at this point: The red wire that's been circled is the wiring harness/relay connected directly to the battery going down towards the ballast.

Here you can see the harness/relay tied up.

Here's where I ran the harness/relay from the drivers side to the passenger side headlight.

Here's where I bolted on the ballast. There was a random screwhole with a nut welded on (maybe for foglights?) so I took advantage of it and used the nuts and bolts that came with my HID kit. Because there was some stuff in the way, I had to put it in at an awkward angle, but it's holding fine.

Same thing here, except there wasn't anything in the way so I put in straight down with zipties for added security.

And there you have it, just a few things I felt like letting us 4th gen sedan guys know about HID installation And btw, not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but heres where I got my HID's from: http://forums.maxima.org/group....html. It's a groupbuy over at Maxima.org that 's been going on for over a year now - I have the 6000K 50w kit (extra $15 bucks). Quite possibly the BEST service I've ever had, and they're located about 30 minutes from me here in Houston. It comes with the HID kit itself, big zipties, nuts and bolts, and a relay so the HID's run off of the battery; all of this backed by a 1 year no questions asked warranty on all the parts. Also, the relay only uses one of the OEM wiring harnesses (ie drivers side harness) so you wont have the only 1 headlight comes on with auto mode problem. Feel free to ask me any questions, and it's nice to be part of a new community

Modified by DarkScorpion at 1:06 PM 7/12/2008

Modified by DarkScorpion at 1:06 PM 7/12/2008
Modified by DarkScorpion at 1:07 PM 7/12/2008

[cartersaltima]

Im not sure when ill be able to install HID's but when/if i do I will definitely refer back to this page lol. Welcome to Nico! How you like your Altima? What year was your Maxima? Why the upgrade to altima? lol.

[DarkScorpion]

It's going to take a while to get used to, but I'm loving it so far. Just need to get crackin on some suspension mods to tighten things up, feels like I'm driving a boat lol. Thinking about RL endlinks and the Stillen swaybar, but just going to wait 'till the market gets bigger. It's a '97 SE. I still have the Max, but my mom's driving it now since it gets better mileage than her Sequioa.

[Altima2007]

I just did my few days ago....and I used the remove tire method..too lazy to remove bumper

[Major153]

Great Post!

It's always great having a DIY for the Sedan version - there were differences I didn't know about.

I just got my HID kit last night - I'm going to try installing them today!

MODS PLEASE POST THIS ON THE TECH PAGE

Cheers

[saywat]

so the ballast is jus hanging with one screw attached and nothing supporting the back? if so id recommend mounting it so the back of the ballast is sitting on something along with zip tieing it so it doesnt bounce around and the bracket that the ballast is enclosed to isnt that strong to keep the ballast from sliding out

[DarkScorpion]

Well, it's a nut and bolt, and i've got it in there pretty tight. The bracket that mine came with was pretty tough and not flimsy at all, so I didn't see how it could bounce around (I thought of that too).

[ADKSaad1387]

i installed my HID's this morning and let me tell you, 100 times more difficult than installing the intake, wheels, and led's AND subs combined. I ent up having to modify the HID bulb housing part in order to get it to fit into the hole. the install ent up taking 2 and a half hours. 90% was figuring out how to do the first side. but somebody would have to pay me big money if they were to have me install those again.

[DarkScorpion]

That's strange, no modifications should have been needed. Maybe you got the wrong bulb size? Or maybe you were trying to put them in the wrong way (the bulbs can only go in one way).

[ADKSaad1387]

yea i thought it was strange too. i tired every which way but they wouldnt fit. they barely fit after i sanded and filed them down. i got the least expensive kit i could find on ebay. i guess you get what you pay for. but they look great after i got them installed.

[Hiram]

did you install 2 ballasts? how come i only saw one of ballast hanging on where closes to water bottle. i just got my HID kit today, hopefully i can put them on over this weekend. wish me luck that i can do it, becoz this is my first time DIY on my 08 altima.

[DarkScorpion]

There are two ballasts. There's the one next to the washer reservoir and the other is on the drivers side - it's the weird looking silver box that's bent around.

[fame925]

i went to XENONLINK.COM to buy the HID CONVERSION KITS for both low and high beams...and on of the sales reps there told me i need the the H1 KIT for low and the 9005 KIT for high...

is this right cuz i saw some other people sayin they got the H11?

[generic808]

Here's an old an old how-to thread I made a year ago on how to install through the wheel well. It's much faster than removing the bumper.

http://forums.altimas.org/zerothread?id=293744

[Mixturepinoy]

i went to XENONLINK.COM to buy the HID CONVERSION KITS for both low and high beams...and on of the sales reps there told me i need the the H1 KIT for low and the 9005 KIT for high...

is this right cuz i saw some other people sayin they got the H11?

Can someone elaborate on this? I'm looking to order a kit soon, and i was looking at the H11 kit.

[xeene]

it's h11 for low beams. h1 was for previous gen altimas.

[Kirizill]

I noticed that you used a relay, did it come with an extra fuse? If so, where can I purchase just the relay and the fuse kit. I love my on/off feature and i've read somewhere that it's recommended that I install one to prevent the HID kit from failing.

Thanks.

[DarkScorpion]

Yup, the relay wiring harness came with a fuse and fuse folder (i think it was 10A) a few inches away from the battery terminal. My relay actually came with my HID's - I bought the HID's from a group buy on Maxima.org and they included a wiring harness along with the kit. But you should be able to find a relay harness on eBay, though.

[Kirizill]

Yup, the relay wiring harness came with a fuse and fuse folder (i think it was 10A) a few inches away from the battery terminal. My relay actually came with my HID's - I bought the HID's from a group buy on Maxima.org and they included a wiring harness along with the kit. But you should be able to find a relay harness on eBay, though.

Hey Scorpion,

I'm planning on doing the installation this weekend, i've received both the HID kit and the relay.

1. I have not yet taken off the bumper to check where the bulbs connect to the original wiring, however, I noticed the HID kit comes with 2 wires on each bulb. If i'm going to connect the relay kit, it only comes with 1 set of wiring to connect to the original harness. Will this work?

2. Can you list a set of basic tools that you used for the installation?

Thanks for your response

[1125Altima3.5]

A small flathead screwdriver and a slightly larger phillips head will take care of all the pop clips and bumper screws. For mounting, I used JB Weld (high strength crazy glue) to mount the driver's side ballast (slim profile) to the underside of the headlamp and zip ties to mount the passenger side ballast to the frame.

Couple notes:

1) Removing the bumper gives you better access to the frame/mounting holes if you're going to use fasteners to mount the ballasts. However, going through the wheel well allows you to position the ballasts higher in the car. (I wanted to do this to get the electronics as far away from the road surface as possible.) Hard to explain, but basically there's a lot of stuff in the way so your entry point determines where you'll be able to fit your hands.

2) If you have auto headlights you should cover up the light sensor (passenger side of dashboard) with electrical tape or something similar to prevent the HIDs from going on and off in tunnels. That way the "AUTO" position becomes the same as the "ON" position. You can also just use the normal "ON" position for the light switch, but that requires you to rotate through "AUTO" when turning the headlights off (which will cause the lights to warm relight if it's dark outside, which is bad for HID bulbs).

[DarkScorpion]

Hey Scorpion,

I'm planning on doing the installation this weekend, i've received both the HID kit and the relay.

1. I have not yet taken off the bumper to check where the bulbs connect to the original wiring, however, I noticed the HID kit comes with 2 wires on each bulb. If i'm going to connect the relay kit, it only comes with 1 set of wiring to connect to the original harness. Will this work?

2. Can you list a set of basic tools that you used for the installation?

Thanks for your response

Yeah, if you're using a relay you're only going to be using the original harness from the driver's side. I wrapped up the passenger side harness with electrical tape and tucked it away. Basically, the whole point of the relay is to allow the HID ballasts to draw power directly from the battery (instead of from the factory harnesses). The relay only needs 1 original headlight harness in order to sense when the headlights are powered on and switch to direct battery power.