Ted Y Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Parker rocks. He spent his afternoon installing a custom set of HID headlights on my car. I pretended to help but let's face it, I know when to stand aside and let an expert do his thing. I owe you one. I will post up pics soon...WITH POINTING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blk n Blu Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Was this something other than plug and play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Y Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 It turned out to be. He had to splice some wires because of a different ballast. It was a complete custom housing as well. They work great. What a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Fangs Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 It was pretty straightforward. The most annoying thing was trying to decipher the directions, which used different components than the ones we had. Things like "hook a ground wire here", when where they wanted the wire hooked was not a ground. Or "put the yellow wire on fuse 8" but there was not a yellow wire in the whole kit. I thought we may be screwed when we tried to test fire the ballasts until I realized the ballasts the company sent us had the power and ground terminals opposite of what the car had. The most challenging part (other than four 4 mm screws torqued to about 80 foot pounds) was nothing more than soldering a longer harness with the right connector ends and hunting down a lighter that could melt the heat shrink tubing. We also had to unpin and re-pin a couple of connectors to work with the high beams and reroute them so they would not be tighter than a banjo string when the headlights popped open. All in all, it took about as long as an aftermarket "should install in under two hours under ideal conditions" kit normally takes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Ok, that sounds WAY different than the kit I've got. Mine really was a plug and play. Connector to connector, mount the balasts and done. I'm thinking of removing mine however. Since it's running on "normal" system power, it acts really funky. Sometimes I've got to "fiddle" with the lights to get everything to come on. Most times my dash lights and tail lights won't come on if I turn them on with the stalk, so I have to use the "twilight" feature to "fix" that. All in all I'm not happy with them...other than the look and somewhat better visibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Fangs Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 That is interesting feedback. I am interested in the long term functionality of this kit. The ballasts are the smallest I've seen for an automotive application. Usually the ones I have installed are bigger, but they have been "angel eye" conversions. Yeah, poor Ted, this kit was really not user friendly at all. I can be hyper-critical of install instructions, though, since that is sort of my gig. We got it knocked, though. I am sure he will pop in here later with all of the sordid madness that was "HID Install 2011". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Pedal Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I put HIDs on the Jeep and had a problem with them flickering constantly. I added some capacitors to them and the problem went away. They work great now. Sean, maybe this could help your issue too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCMSH Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Ok, that sounds WAY different than the kit I've got. Mine really was a plug and play. Connector to connector, mount the balasts and done. I'm thinking of removing mine however. Since it's running on "normal" system power, it acts really funky. Sometimes I've got to "fiddle" with the lights to get everything to come on. Most times my dash lights and tail lights won't come on if I turn them on with the stalk, so I have to use the "twilight" feature to "fix" that. All in all I'm not happy with them...other than the look and somewhat better visibility. Sean you sure your stalk isn't wearing out? Pretty well known issue with all of the above symptoms; there is a "refresh/rebuild" procedure on the big board and I think Chuck has done it on his and it don't cost a dime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I've never heard of the issue before. Do you have a link Jim...problem only started after I put in the HID though. Dave, do you have a link or directions for adding said capcitor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCMSH Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I've never heard of the issue before. Do you have a link Jim...problem only started after I put in the HID though. Dave, do you have a link or directions for adding said capcitor? I love this, hijacking the crap out of Ted's thread.....[snicker] Here ya go bud..... CF headlight switch DIY fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Fangs Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Here is the rebuild procedure for the stalk http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-tech/1826359-headlight-switch-failed-decided-to-repair-instead-of-replace.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 Thanks for the links guys...I'll check them out when I get on a computer...and Jim its not a real hijack since we are still talking about HIDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Y Posted December 25, 2011 Author Share Posted December 25, 2011 Yeah, my involvement consisted of fetching Coke Zeros, finding two screws, plugging in the high beam sockets and driving to Checker/O'Reilly. Parker didn't even make fun of my tools. I just tried to entertain him with conversation. I know what I'm good at and who to call for things I'm not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Y Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 Pictures: (Sorry, my car was dirty) Stage 1: Stock headlights removed Stage 2: Install the world's smallest HID ballasts and solder in the proper wiring and socket plugs that were not included in the all inclusive kit with bad instructions. (This is where I would have been screwed without Parker). Stage 2a: After driving to the local O'Reilly, fetch Parker another Coke Zero and a plate of home made stir fry (I love friends who work for food) Stage 3: Install the HID lows and Halogen highs Stage 3b: Activate proper lighting for a C5. Not pictured: Installing shrouds and aiming. The "two hour install" accomplished with $20 worth of extra parts in 4 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Fangs Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Awesome pics, dude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Y Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 Sometimes, I drive around in the day time and just turn them on, because I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Nice work Parker and that is a MUCH NICER set than what I had...those look great!!! I love them. On a side note, I pulled mine out and followed the directions from the links Parker and Jim gave. Not as exactly straight forward as the guy made it seem. Took quite a lot of little tweaking to get everything working right...but it is all good now. Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blk n Blu Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 WOW! Awesome pointing Ted and nice work Micheal. Those look like a nice set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FNBADAZ06 Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Very, very cool !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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