HIDs in High Beams (or Low Beams) Write-up!!! - PICTURES!

[clumpymold]

Hey all!

Finally got around to typing this up and organizing the pictures. I recently purchased a new HID kit and decided to put these in my fogs since my fog HIDs started to turn greenish-yellowish (originally blue-ish 6000K). I then decided to put my HIDs from my fogs in to my high beams instead of just throwing them away or selling them.

Anyway, my NEW setup is:

- Low beams --> Philips 6000K bulbs with Hella ballasts (came with headlights) - ~6 months old.
- Foglights --> Xtec 6000K bulbs with Osram ballasts (recently purchased for $290 shipped ) - Brand New
- High beams --> Osram 6000K bulbs with Hella ballasts - ~1-2 years old (estimate)

This write-up will document how I installed the Osram 6000K HID kit into my HIGH beams. This will be essentially the same for installing ANY generic HID kit into the low beams since they are the same bulbs and utilize the same housings. The headlights are ZKWs and the vehicle is a 1997 M3/2.

For those wondering how to install HIDs into the fogs, see my other write-up here: HIDs in Fogs!.

Another helpful link for those trying to solve their "LOW BEAM FAILURE": LBF Fix!.

TOOLS USED:

- Wire strippers (scissors can also be used)
- Scissors (or wire cutters)
- Wire connectors (I used female/male connectors)
- Double-sided tape or Velcro (screws can also be used but more permanent)
- Dremel (or some other method to drill a ~1.0" hole into plastic)
- 9mm (or is it 8mm?) socket (to remove top two headlight bolts)
- Ratchet and 6" extension (for bottom two headlight bolts)
- Screwdriver (to remove front side corners)
- Long pliers or adjustable wrench (to adjust headlight bolt backings)
- HID kit with grommets, Xenon bulbs, ballasts, and connecting wires

This is the kit I used:



BRIEF SUMMARY OF INSTALLATION:

The main difference between an HID kit and a regular halogen bulb setup (other than the filament and the gas in each of the bulbs) is that the HID bulb needs over 20,000 volts initially to light up the bulb. This power is provided by the ballast which takes the normal 12 volts from the battery and increases it briefly to ~23k volts. What you're basically doing is swapping bulbs but, in addition to this, you're going to have to wire a ballast between the battery and the HID bulb. This is done by rerouting the original power and ground wires BACK OUT of the high beam cover to the ballast and then BACK IN to the HID bulb. You'll need a nice set of projectors to project the HID light (e.g., ZKW, Hella, Bosch, Depo, DJ Auto) vs. the stock headlights which will not be able to disperse the light from the HID bulb properly. Then you'll have to find a nice location to mount the ballast.


REMOVING HEADLIGHTS:

- Okay, first off, remove driver's side headlight by unscrewing the two top bolts and bottom two bolts (need extension for bottom) using a 9mm socket and ratchet.
- Unclip front side marker using a screwdriver to hold clip back
- Remove headlights from car
- Take back cover off high beams by undoing top clip then pulling cover outward from the top down:




REROUTING WIRES:

- Drill hole about 1.0" or so in diameter in the back of the cover (sorry for the fuzzy picture):



- Push grommet on HID bulb through the hole (the grommet should have two of its four holes taken by the HID bulb wires - one for power and one for ground). First picture is before the grommet was pushed through (for estimate on how big the hole must be). Second is top view with grommet pushed through. Last is back side. (I already have male connectors on these wires since these bulbs were from my foglights.):





- Looking at the high beam wires from the back of the headlight, you should see one WHITE wire that is normally plugged into the bulb for power. Another wire is BROWN for the ground.
- Cut the WHITE wire, remove the stock high beam bulb, and reroute the wire out through one of the grommet holes (one out of the two unused):



- Tap into the BROWN ground wire using another wire and reroute that wire through the final grommet hole (I used good ol' speaker wire ):



- All four grommet holes should now be occupied.
- Place and lock HID bulb into high beam bulb holder and clamp down (be careful not to touch the bulb as your oils will expand and cause damage to the VERY hot HID bulb).
- HINT: Do NOT make the power and ground wires directly from the HID bulb too short as it will be VERY difficult to place the cover back on the headlight but do not make it too long as you'll have to fit all of it into the housing (ask me how I know ).
- Connect the WHITE wire from the original high beam bulb to the RED (or power) wire going to the ballast via the "funny, very difficult to remove" connector.
- Connect the BROWN wire from the original high beam HOUSING to the BLACK (or ground) wire going to the ballast via the same connector (you'll see TWO white wires coming out as I extended my speaker wire using white wire with a black stripe).



- Add female and/or male connectors to these two wires and prepare to connect the ballast wires (I used female connectors since my ballast wires already had male connectors).

MOUNTING BALLAST AND REPLACING HEADLIGHT:

- Find a nice safe location to mount the ballast. I used the metal bumper support underneath the headlight. I already have one there for my low beams so this one was a tight squeeze. I had to position it accordingly to fit. I also used INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH Velcro to hold the ballast down (worked AWESOME).



- Replace headlight carefully and adjust so that the bottom of the headlight is 2.5mm from the bumper and 1.5mm from the top of the hood when closed (this is my passenger side BACK, by the way). I can post a picture of the front view of my headlight off, if requested to see how to position it properly.




- Test lights and smile at how much brighter your high beams (or low beams) are compared to stock.

Here are some shots of the final product:



New fogs on LOW LIGHT SETTING:



Just my Lave Lighting Angel Eyes (LLAE) kit and new fogs on LOW LIGHT SETTING:



For those interested, here are the comparison pictures. I decided NOT to put each kit into the low beams and, instead, just take some pictures of the bulbs themselves when powered on. Here is the Xtec 6000K bulb (on left, blueish) and the Osram 6000K bulb (on right, greenish):




Philips 6000K bulb:



ALL THREE (From left to right - Philips, Xtec, & Osram):




Okay, that's it for now. I hope this was helpful. If ANYONE has ANY questions, please feel free to leave a message here or email me at: clumpymold@sbcglobal.net


I will post WALL shots soon (or sooner if requested enough ). I FINALLY aimed them yesterday but didn't have time to take the shots.

[clumpymold]

Here is one picture with fogs on, direct view (I'd have ALL three on but I can't figure out how to keep the fogs on when I hit the high beam switch - I TRIED this write-up but only achieved the ability to turn my fogs on withOUT the key in the ignition: ALL ON Mod . Anybody care to help me?



As for the headlight, as requested, here is what I mean by the measurements. The first picture has the gap that should be 2.5mm (circled in red). The second picture has the side view of the headlight. The hood should cover the top of the headlight ~1.5mm (it's hard to see mine since I've got eyebrows on but you get the picture).




Also, a few VERY important modifications you will need to do to actually keep your HIDs running. You'll need to change your fuses in your fuse box. I have a picture here of my fuse box. The RED circle you see in the lower right of the picture are the fuses to change. Change them to FIFTEEN amp fuses (as shown). If you were to add low beams, you'd change the two fuses circled in BLUE to 15 amps each (as shown). If you were to change your fogs, you'd need to change the ONE fuse circled in GREEN to THIRTY amps (as shown).



Alright, will try to post wall shots soon!

[Soup Nazi]

Nice writeup.
Thank you.

[Gizmo318i]

I think the final picture gave me arc eye. Will send the doctor's bill in the post...

Looks really good, def a big improvement over stock headlights...Now I want some....

[active9x]

http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/headlamp-harness.html

Read up on this. It might work cool for now but you have to look long term.

Other than that, That HID setup look nice as hell dude, I cann't wait for money so I can get HID too.

[clumpymold]

Originally Posted by active9x

http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/headlamp-harness.html

Read up on this. It might work cool for now but you have to look long term.

Other than that, That HID setup look nice as hell dude, I cann't wait for money so I can get HID too.

Thanks! I'll look into that but I've had no problems for the past 6+ months with any of my kits.

[doodle]

I wish I had this a couple months ago, nice write-up clumpy!

[m3fosho]

thanks for the write up clumpy...i'm getting the xtec hid h1 kit for my low beams tommrow and i can't wait!!!

[Droptop///m]

Wow!! Very nice man, and great writeup! I wish I had the funds to put in the HID fogs. Your car is comin along nicely, keep up the good work

[DDEM3]

AMAZING!!! Im loving it man, and i can only imagine how much light the car is putting out! I feel bad for those that are in front of you

I need to come down and take a peek at the setup hehe

[e30matt]

Now all you need are HID brake lights, turn signals, reverse lights, side indicators, and gauge faces, and you'll be set!

Lol, just kidding. Nice work.

How much of a delay is there between when you hit the high beams and when they actually come on?

[Coupe E36]

nice.. great writeup, when i have the money i will def. use this writeup.. as for the fog lights staying on trick, mite wanna message Behmer (Sean) i remember he has done the trick on his car..

[dave is cool]

Hot

[clumpymold]

Thank you all for the great compliments! You guys are the reason why I do these write-ups.

Originally Posted by m3fosho

thanks for the write up clumpy...i'm getting the xtec hid h1 kit for my low beams tommrow and i can't wait!!!

Awesome! The kit looks great so far and I have no problems whatsoever. Great price too.

Originally Posted by Droptop///m

Wow!! Very nice man, and great writeup! I wish I had the funds to put in the HID fogs. Your car is comin along nicely, keep up the good work

Your car is pretty bada$$ too! You can always just buy some used cheaper ones. Still a great upgrade IMO.

Originally Posted by DDEM3

AMAZING!!! Im loving it man, and i can only imagine how much light the car is putting out! I feel bad for those that are in front of you

I need to come down and take a peek at the setup hehe

Yeah, I try to imagine it too. If only I could get ALL three on at the same time.

Originally Posted by e30matt

Now all you need are HID brake lights, turn signals, reverse lights, side indicators, and gauge faces, and you'll be set!

Lol, just kidding. Nice work.

How much of a delay is there between when you hit the high beams and when they actually come on?

Haha, I was thinking of getting a set in my reverse lights or something. But have a switch so that it can be turned on from the car. Just to annoy tailgaters.

As for delay, there is pretty much none. I actually thought it would be bad as well but it's like stock, to be honest. VERY fast.

Originally Posted by Coupe E36

nice.. great writeup, when i have the money i will def. use this writeup.. as for the fog lights staying on trick, mite wanna message Behmer (Sean) i remember he has done the trick on his car..

I actually think I asked him (don't remember). I'm not sure if he even did the install himself. He just referred me to a link (the one I posted above). That write-up is pretty bad. VERY hard to understand and he hasn't replied in a while.

If ANYONE can help me try to get all three on at once, I'd GREATLY appreciate it.

Thanks again you all!!!

[clumpymold]

[ddnmkun]

will that be a problem if i use fuse 15 instead of 7.5?

[clumpymold]

Originally Posted by ddnmkun

will that be a problem if i use fuse 15 instead of 7.5?

Nope, shouldn't be. I haven't run into any problems so far. It WILL be a problem if you run anything less than 10 amps though since they'll keep blowing out and you'll think somethings wrong.

[clumpymold]

Bumpity bump. For anyone wondering about how to install HIDs.

[oracle]

Everybody, i live in Singapore and its illegal to have HIDs in cars that doesnt come stock.

So i was just wondering is there anyway to say, reduce the intensity of the light output with a switch or something? This way, i could get away with all the Traffic Police stops hehehez

Thanks

[clumpymold]

Originally Posted by oracle

Everybody, i live in Singapore and its illegal to have HIDs in cars that doesnt come stock.

So i was just wondering is there anyway to say, reduce the intensity of the light output with a switch or something? This way, i could get away with all the Traffic Police stops hehehez

Thanks

Not that I know of. These don't work with dimmer switches. Sorta like how you can't use a dimmer switch for fluorescent light bulbs.

You CAN, however, put some film over your headlights to decrease the output but then why even get them in the first place?

I believe it's illegal here in CA and most states to put HIDs in cars that don't come stock with them either (but we do it anyway). But how do they know what comes stock? Make your car look nice enough and it'll be believable IMO.

[clumpymold]

Originally Posted by clumpymold

If ANYONE can help me try to get all three on at once, I'd GREATLY appreciate it.

Thanks again you all!!!

Quoting myself here :

Oh, for those wondering about the "all on" mod, see here:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?p=2613848

Sorry, forgot to link it.

[BiMMa b0i M3]

nice and very informative, ill definately make use of the info

[clumpymold]

Bumpin' for the newbies.

[clumpymold]

Bump.

[YAYO]

U Hid Freak !!!!! Good Job