Everyone,

Received the HID setup pictured below for Xmas. The setup is off of a newer model Nissan Maxima. The bulbs are nearly identical to my H4 PIAAs so we're planning to mount them in the H4 headlamp holders using the stock popup headlights.

I've read in other threads that the stock harness could have a hard time handling the ballast draw during the ignite phase of lamp lightoff. Anyone have comments or experience with this or my light setup in particular? My son has a similar setup on his '95 240SX and has had no problems. Let me know what you know, and thanks in advance!

 

I've always thought HID's draw less current than halogens.
I have a set on one of my FD and no issue what so ever. Its not the maxima HID's but hella 4100K.

 

Why don't you play it safe and measure the current before and after the install?

If it increases, then use the stock wiring to trigger a relay..

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, then it would be worth paying an auto electrician a few bucks to do it properly. Do the install work yourself, just have him wire it...

what are you going to do for highs? Hard to tell from those pictures if there is room for a high globe as well... I just took another look at your picture.. do have the ballasts as well?? And the lenses?

Some nice folk over at Hidplanet.com if you want to talk to those that have been there and done that..

Good luck with it, let us know how it turns out...

 

Thanks herblenny and gotorx7!

I rarely use my high beams and from what my son is telling me these will be significantly brigher than my PIAA Super Whites. Ballasts are built into the bulb assembly and as far as the lenses go, I'm just planning to dremel a couple of standard H4 holders, solder or JB weld the HID bulbs in and use the "stock" holes and lenses. I will post pics while we're doing the install along with a pic of one side with HIDs and one with standard lighting so everyone can see the difference.

 

Hids use a significant amount of current only when igniting, after that the current draw is minimal. Its just like starting a car in a way, it takes more fuel to actually start then it does to idle. Conventional light bulbs do not need the extra boost of current because they are more like resistors with a constant resistance/load. Many aftermarket kits suggest using a relay as a saftey precaution.

 

And from what it looks like you only have the igniters, not the ballast.

 

If your worried about current consumption, build you a relay to handle the current. You can pick one up @ any car audio/security shop and do it yourself. They are only about $5-10dlrs. Bosch SPDT relay

#85 = ground

#86=12v from the light switch(fused)

#87= 12v from battery or ign(fused)

#30= output to the HID ballast

There is also an 87a on the relay, but you wont need it for what your doing.

Hope this helps....

oh yea on#87, you can wire it up constant or to ignition. Like some of the BMWS or Mercedes. That way you dont accidently forget to turn them off...they come on/off with ign.

 

I posted this for someone else a couple weeks ago... Also what are you planning on using for high beams?

www.partsexpress.com

-1 Bosch Relay (comes with a cool 'how-to' manual for different applications)
-1 5-Pin relay socket- (for clean look)
-1 30amp fuse and holder
-2 15amp fuse and holder
-some 12awg and 14awg wire
-soldering supplies
-heat shrink
-electric tape
-wire covers
-round connectors for grounds and battery postive
-maybe male/female connectors for quick disconnect areas

That should be enough for your low beam HID harness. Let me know if you need a diagram and if you need help with high beams, etc.

 

How do you get as sharp of a beam cutoff as is depicted in that picture? What is your setup?

I drive on some 'dark desert highways' and the headlights in this RX7 are HORRIBLE...in desperate need of upgrade, just for safety sake. However I dont want to throw a set of HIDs into the reflective housings and blind oncoming traffic with the spray...

 

Audi RS6 Bi-Xenon projectors retrofitted into the stock housings.

 

Very nice.

 

Youll be fine

 

If you use the stock bulb locations and reflectors won't that be blinding for oncoming traffic due to the lack of a proper focus/cutoff?

 

install the hid u wont have problemscause its never gonna over heat it not one of those halognes that have like 100watts it wont melt ur harness etheir

 

So how do I get myself a set of those...and how much is it going to cost me?

 

You can get the projectors on ebay; they usually go for about $100-$200. The good thing about your existing setup is that they are compatible with the projectors that you need. Had you received an aftermarket HID kit you would need to purchase new bulbs and ballasts in order to use them with the projectors.

Alternatively you can purchase an H4 adapter (casperselectronics.com) but I would not recommend it since the output quality may be questionable. The setup PandazRx7 is about as good as it gets if you wish to retain the stock pop ups.

 

I don't think it's a great idea to hook it up directly...there WILL be very high load while igniting the bulbs at first, and the way the FD is designed the combination switch is where the juice comes through. On a 10+ year old FD wiring system, I think less than $40 bucks to make a nice new harness is cheap insurance. Plus it feels good to do something right the first time. You do not want to find yourself with a wiring issue in the future...

I highly recommend anybody looking to do HID's to check out this site first.

http://faqlight.carpassion.info/headlamp-harness.html

 

No I don't blind anybody except when I hit the high beams...hehe. The Audi projector has cut-off shield like any other projector. The FD fluted lense only causes a slightly fuzzier cut-off, that's all.

 

I bought an H4 HID kit for my stock pop-ups and wired it directly into stock OEM wiring harness. This was over two years ago and the only issue that I had was the high voltage line from the ballast broke due to the motion of the pop-ups. I fixed it and things are all good.

There wasn't an issue with the current draw of the HID's and the OEM wiring harness. *My HID kit came with Anti-glare shields that sat over the bottom of the bulbs when mounted in the OEM housings. This helped ensure that I wasn't blinding on coming traffic.

 

Hey guys,

Got the units installed last weekend and wanted to share pics of the final install and beam pattern. Just a tiny bit of cutting required to make everything clear with the lights in the "down" position. I like the fact that everything moves with the headlight assembly. Less movement and stress on the HID wiring harness. Also, the pattern is pretty low. Went for a test drive and passed approximately 25 cars with only 1 flashing me, so I think the beam height is about right. All in all, a fairly easy install and very clean final product!

 

More pics of stock bulb (far side) versus HID (near side) as well as pattern shot.

 

So did you mount the ballasty INSIDE the flip up housing?

 

jpandes,

Not sure what your mean for sure by "Ballasty." Unlike 3 piece aftermarket HID kits, mine was an OEM out of a 2004 Maxima. Everything pictured in my first post of this thread was all that I needed to make my system work. Just mounted it to the side of my flipup headlamps to minimize harness flexing, modified the bulbs to fit the H4 holders, and that was it. Drove 30 miles last night after getting my rear pillowball bushings replaced and no one flashed their high beams at me. Even went past a few cops with no problems.