Well guys I finally got my HID lights installed weekend before last and have had plenty of time to test and adjust them. I will go through the step by step install process first... yes lots of pics and then talk a bit about the ups and downs of this upgrade.

I started with this Bi-Xenon HID kit from ebay for $63.
HID KIT Bi-Xenon High/Low 9003 H4 9004 9007 H13 9008 - eBay (item 260702284960 end time Jan-01-11 17:12:04 PST)



So to get started, first prep work I pulled both the batteries and found a spot to mount the ballast on both sides.



I drilled 2 1/4 holes and mounted the ballast brackets with supplied hardware.



Next I had to modify the stock bulb retainer to allow room for the bigger plug of the HID bulbs.



A good saw makes quick work of fixing these. I replaced my headlight lenses about 5 months ago so I do have spares if I mess one of these up.



Here I have one of my old lenses, my bulb adapter and new bulb all ready for a test fit.



The bulb adapter locks into place and fits snug so no water can get past the seal.



The bulb and my newly modified bulb retainer work perfectly.



Lights and ballast installed and wires hooked up on passenger side.



If your running the stock size positive battery cables I found the HID wiring harness will fit right below it in the stock plastic channel in front of your radiator.



I mounted the relay on the passenger side fender right next to the battery and parking lights. The positive feed wire was run the hot post on the firewall solenoid.



Now I have batteries reinstalled you can see how tight the clearance is for the ballast. I think this mounting location makes for a good clean install.



First test and they work! Hi/low test checks out good! Wow they are bright and really lit up my shop.



The after photo does not do the HID lights justice! They are much brighter in person and I have since adjusted them better.


Now to get down to what I like, don't like and what still needs to be done. I love the color of the light, the super white with a just a touch of blue is really easy on the eyes and lets you see a long way. Even with my stock style lenses they are the brightest bulbs I have ever used. That being said I think they were also the best value. I could have got top of the line halogens for about $50 a set locally... for $63 I got these, well worth the few extra bucks.

I notice when I go to high beam the lights go more out then straight up. I may have to modify the lens housing to correct that. I am going to attempt it this weekend and will post a follow on that.

Like I said earlier I replaced my lenses 5 months ago with OEM style. That was a mistake, for the HID lights to work properly you need the clear Euro style lens. I think the reason for this is that the OEM style the lens itself is the reflector and the Euro style the reflector is behind the light. The reflector style lens seems to distort part of the HID light in odd ways. i will be ordering new lenses this Friday to solve this problem.

For those asking "you got great lights but what about the poor drivers you meet on the road?" No I am not blinding anyone, I purposely have them set low and to the right so as not to glare oncoming traffic. Using them daily to drive to and from work in the dark (25 miles each way on a country highway) and I have only been flashed once. This past Saturday I drove down to Susanville, CA and back... about 400 miles round trip. I drove back at night in a snow storm and passed at least 3 CHP's and they never even seemed to pay attention to them.

Overall I love the lights but like I said... get the Euro clear lenses!

 

Looks great Ed.

 

Yeah I'll be installing mine 2 days after Xmas, defiantly helpful with the mounting points, I was wondering how I was going to install them.

 

Glad I could help. I ordered my clear lenses today, should have them to install by next weekend.

 

hey looking good warozz.nice writeup too.

 

Yeap gonna order mine after I do some work on the girl over the holiday. Going full synthetic, switching to warn manual hubs, HID's, and hopefully the tires get here this week...

 

OMG guys I feel stupid!
I Almost don't even want to tell anyone this but I must in order to correct this thread.

I have been tweaking the headlights since first install trying to get them to aline the way I like... thinking I was having a problem with the stock oem lenses redirecting the light I just adjusted them as best I could. Today I pulled it into the shop to try one last time before ordering clear lenses.

Long story short... the bulbs were upside down and the wiring for hi/low backwords!

I found this by trying to adjust them today and the lights seeming to shoot to the right on high beam... I pulled the lights out and they were in correctly by the manufactures marks! I then decided to try one outside of the housing holding it in my hand to see how it operated while my wife switched hi/low for me. I found out the bulbs appeared to be upside down! I tried to put them in the housings upside down, exactly 180 degrees off from the manufactures marks and it worked! Now high beam goes straight up not off to the left! You can bet I will be contacting the mfg to let them know of this problem!

Because of the lights being upside down when I initially did the wiring I had the hi/low backwards, that was a simple change of 2 pins in the connector. Now my lights REALLY work good!
I will take new "after" pictures tomorrow and update this thread to show how much light I gained!

 

HAHA, it could happen to the best of us. Glad you figured it out!

 

When I first installed mine I had two settings, off and high beam, contacted the mfg and they told me to switch the wiring as well. That it's a common problem for older vehicles as they have to make the relay setups to work for everyone.

 

I probably missed this, but what color of bulbs did you get? Also, do post pics of the final setup at night

 

im about to get some 20ks this weekend but my head lights r after market smoked euros the head light and side marker are all one peice so the install will prollable be a pain, i take it u got 5k or 6k HIDs

 

frodfreak, 12k is almost purple light, what color are those 20k lights you're getting?

 

dark blue the 30ks are purple...and here anything over 9k is illegal

 

i got a few buddys with the 12ks and those are blue form the ones i saw but diff companys bulbs will have diffrent color to them as well

 

Yea man but I still felt real stupid!

Easiest way is to just take the pins out of the connecter and swap the wires until it works right... that's how I did it both times.

I got 6k which is just a hint of blue. I took my camera this morning to stop and take pics at the same spot I took the others. I get there and the batteries are dead
I will try again tomorrow.

I think we must be talking different "k" here. are you in the usa or ???