wiring help for HID head lights

[Seanz0rz]

if you flame me for this, i will flame your vehicle...

with that said, i acquired a set of 35W HID lights. got a super great deal, like OMFG. BUT, the kit refuses to work with my headlights. the instructions are printed on a 5x8 page, so no help there. i have read that our headlights have a switched ground, but i am unsure what that means for my HID's. does anyone have any experience in this area? i would really appreciate the help.

[MillerPKA]

flame on :)

if you're interested you may want to post at yotatech or t4r, a lot of the new and beginner owners seem to get hid kits, you'd get a better answer there.

and don't tell anyone, but pm me some pictures and a review once you get them working..hopefully they do. mostly interested in the cut off, or lack thereof

good luck!

[YotaFun]

Sean curious, what is the manufacture of the lights?
Also curious, are you using the 96-98 style headlight or the 99-02 style?

When I get home from class I will get he diagram and try to help you trouble shoot this.

[Rock Slide]

Sean, I hope you're already running the clear style headlights...the frosted ones don't work well with HIDs:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h225/broncosi/4run_headlight_comparo.jpg

[YotaFun]

Lol rock slide that's whi I asked lol.

I am hopefully getting a set soon....

[Seanz0rz]

old style. again, question is not about anything other than my wiring. although i think ive got that figured out but id still appreciate any input.

[Rock Slide]

Yeah Avy, I was just trying to expound on what you had asked. :D

Sean, I did a projector retrofit on my clear headlights some time back. As far as the wiring, I just purchased a simple PnP wiring kit off ebay for around $30. Had all the connectors, relay, yada, yada, yada. Very simple to install.

Don't know why I'm telling you this...it's obviously no help for your situation. Like Weston said, many of the folks on t4r and some on yt have Pnp HID kits. I'd post over there...

And just for flaming fun, HIDs look awful in frosted lenses :hillbill:...even more so w/o projectors retrofitted in. But I'm sure you already knew that.

Good luck on the wiring. Wish I could be of more help.

[MillerPKA]

Bill how much would it cost for you to complete a retrofit if i sent you my housings? I'm still contemplating this and haven't seen a job as nice as yours

[Seanz0rz]

wiring fixed. hard to troubleshoot and problem solve with its dark and you have a 103 degree fever.

thanks.

[Rock Slide]

Eh, for you Weston, how about a cool grand? :D lol, no seriously, I currently have so much going on, I barely have time to sleep...much less have time to complete a few retros. Guy stopped me in a parking lot here in town just last week and asked if I'd do a retro for his '00 4Runner, I had to tell him the same thing.

If I can ever seem to slow down, I'll give you a shout. Who knows, if I have enough ppl hit me up for one, I may just have to make time. :)

Great work Sean.

[MillerPKA]

I mean I can try to get a group buy going at yt and t4r if you can come up with a solid figure and process. I just dropped $1300 on the 4runner literally within the last 5 minutes, I can't express how far down this is on my priorities haha. Nonetheless, still interested if its you doing the work

[Rock Slide]

$1300 huh...I know how easy that is to spend. What did you end up getting if you don't mind me asking?

Like I said, I'm crazy busy at the moment (and will continue to be for sime time), but if and when I ever get a break, I'll def give you a ring.

[MillerPKA]

I'm taking her to the mountains twice for snowboarding in a couple months so I'm not risking anything. This is what its at now, ladder will be on this weekend or Monday, the rest will happen October 2nd. Factor in labor thanks to ACC because my time is more important than my money, definitely don't have the time or tools to get this done in 1 day, I can't afford anymore.

- Gobi rear door ladder
- Upper/lower ball joints both sides
- Inner/outer tie rods both sides
- Sway Bar Bushings front
- CVs both sides
- Spark Plugs
- Starter contacts
- Optima yellow top

[Rock Slide]

Good thinking. Good time to get all that done now and not have to worry about any of it failing up in the mountains.

[4x4mike]

How are you liking your lights Sean? What temp bulbs did you go with again? Any chance for some beam shots?

I remember from Pismo that one of your ballasts was near the battery and you said the ballasts get hot. About how hot do they get? Any concern about that much heat near the battery? Are the ballasts sealed so they can be put on the radiator support?

[Seanz0rz]

i love the lights! i had one ballast die at pismo. not sure what happened if it was vibration or not properly sealed or what. got a replacement and it works great.

i believe they say "weather resistant" so i am hesitant to strap them to the core support. i did move the ballast from the battery to the inner fender.

ill get some pictures of them at some point.

[4x4mike]

Did you get them replaced under warranty? Is there a way they can tell you how it died?

Bruce says they can get wet as do others. Some also say you've got to seal them up. I ordered the DDM's and when they come I guess I'll have to figure something out based on the wire lengths.

[Seanz0rz]

the person i bought it from replaced it no charge (its not exactly the same ballast, but very very close)

when the sun goes down ill take some pictures. ill snap some pics of the wiring too, what i did to make them work.

[Seanz0rz]

camera pretty much refuses to take decent night shots of anything. ill try with dads more adjustable camera this weekend.