Well after upgrading to '05 Harley Edition Headlights I have noticed that my lights were not as bright as my original '02 headlights with Silverstars. I contemplated buying Silverstars to fit into the '05 buckets but decided to try HID's after seeing how bright they were on Ken's (pwerstroke99) truck with Harley Headlights.

One thing about HID kits available was some people have noticed interference with radio's, tuners and PCM's. This was a deterring factor for me as I didn't want to add something that caused negative effects. There have been lots of discussions about how certain chips couldn't handle HID's, but nobody has ever really nailed down why? After all of my research I concluded that cheap HID kits off of eBay or the net are most likely to blame and the install is another key factor. I decided to go with Retro-Solutions 55W Digital Kit as many other 7.3L owners have had positive results with this kit.

I ordered the Bixenon bulbs in 5000K. The 5000k is a whiter light and is what I was looking for. You can go with a yellowish color (3000K and 4300K) to a blueish color (8000K to 15000K). The lower the number, the better your lights will illuminate the night. As the light color changes, you will loose effectiveness. 4300K-6000K seems to be the "normal" colors most of the people who want more light install. 10000K and above is the HID's that are installed to "look cool"

The kit is well put together and includes everything to install. The wiring harness uses an OEM connector headlight connector to turn the system on. All the other connections are completely idiot proof and can only be hooked up one way. All you need to do is connect a fused power wire (part of the harness) to the batteries positive terminal. I was fully ready to get out my wiring tools and "install" this kit when I lifted the hood. I was surprised when I laid out the components and the harness to find everything was going to work with existing ground locations and no modification would be needed.

One thing I have read over the hundreds of posts on HID's is to use the passenger battery on our trucks for the power. Apparently using the drivers battery can effect the PCM when turning on the HID's. To those who know how the batteries are connected via a large gauge wire it makes no sense that it would matter, but I wasn't going to risk it, so I went off the passenger battery.

For access, I removed the grille and the rubber shroud on top of the header panel. I did not remove the headlights and only removed the passenger battery to get access to what I needed to install the whole kit. I did use self tapping screws to mount the ballasts and relay in lieu of the bolts and nuts provided in the kit.

The ballasts and relay need to be mounted to the structure of the truck. I found on the passenger side that removing the battery and installing it between the battery and the fender provided a great location that is out of the way. On the drivers side, I mounted the ballast to the front cross-member just forward of the battery. The relay was also mounted on the cross-member forward of the battery between the radiator and the windshield washer on the passenger side. This allowed hooking up the fused power wire to the passenger battery simple and straight forward. The grounding is very important in electrical installations. Many people ignore the importance of a ground and have difficulty keeping electrical devices working properly. Each ballast needs to be grounded. On the drivers side there was an existing ground location on the cross-member and that is what I used. Making sure there was a cleaned surface, I removed the bolt, and installed the ringed terminal off of the ballast to this location. On the passenger side there are two ground locations just behind the battery on the fender inner panel. This worked out perfectly to use since the ballast was mounted there also.

Install of the bulbs is as simple as inserting them in the bucket and turning them to lock into the tabs as you do any bulb.

Beyond that, it is as simple as hooking up the connectors and securing the harness to the truck to keep from moving around. You will need to cover the drivers side headlight plug to prevent any shorting or corrosion. I used a piece of wide electrical tape over the end. (This connector is not used as the passenger side connector is only energizing the relay for the kit).

Hope this helps everyone decide or not decide on if they want to go this route. Mostly I wanted it to be out there for everyone to share my experience and to help steer others to a good product that will hopefully save them pain and anguish of buying "cheaper" kits that don't work as well or cause issues.

Here are a few pictures of the kit and the install.

























You can see the difference in the new bulbs to the ones in the fog lights. Much whiter light emitted.



Low Beams



High Beams

 

Very nice and thanks for the write up. I have been looking into HID's for some time and like you I have heard alot about interference with electronics. I see some new lights in my near future.

 

Nice install and write-up! The light output on these 55w HIDs is pretty amazing. It's like driving down a different road at night. Silverstars with stock harness doesn't really compare.

Do you need to re-aim your headlights? That is a frequent HID issue.

If you do encounter tuner interference a RF choke or two will solve it.

 

Nice job Ken. What did that whole kit cost?

 

Total was 152.99 for the kit plus shipping. If you use the name of your favorite fuel as a promo code, you will get 10% off. So price shipped was $152.00.

 

I did end up adjusting them down a little. I had a few cars flash me, so I pulled over into a dark area and found a building to use as a backdrop. The drivers side one was a little high and it could have been that way from the '05 headlight install. With the more powerful bulbs, it probably made it too much for oncoming cars.

Thanks for the link to the RF Choke. I may pick up a few to try some tests out.

 

I got the same kit. Love it! Are you gonna do fog lights too? Make sure you get them capped.

 

I've wanted HID's for a while too now, does anbyody know if the bright box will work with HID's?

 

You wont need it. I never use my brights with my 5000k HIDs.

 

I may end up doing the fog lights too. If I do, I will go with the 4300K most likely.

 

I found the 3000k are perfect for fog. They have enough yellow to enhance the contrast. I also have just the 35watt in the fog position.

 

Great install writeup as usual Ken. I was wondering about how much power these draw compared to my Silver stars? At times with my Pac brake air comprssor, Silver stars, stereo etc my batteries have trouble keeping up especially if truck isn't driven that much in a week.

 

I would say you need a higher amp alternater, like a 200 amp if your drawing that much juice.

 

Dave, I am thinking your batteries are probably getting weak or your alternator is on it's last leg. The batteries should be able to support the headlights on, especially while the engine is running.

 

Ken I didn't do a very good job of describing my situation. Have no problem with battery capacity or head lights when driving. Batteries are about 3 years old and are fine with daily driving. Have had alt checked out in last little while and was OK. Challenge is when only driven a couple of times a week for short distances. Wondered if draw from your new lights was much different from my Silverstars?