71'AirStrike

Hello all, I wrote this paper to try and contribute back to the vette community. You folks have helped me many times and I wish to return the favor. First off I am not an electrical guru, if there is a discrepancy please feel free to tell me. I wish to add this to the Tech forum and I want it to be correct/ safe as possible.

Ok a little education; fear not there will be a recess. HID stands for High Intensity Discharge. It works similar to those florescent tubes at your work. There is no filament like a regular light bulb, just a gas that burns evenly. The advantage of not having a filament is a longer life span (700hrs vs. 7000hrs) and it is very resistant to vibration.


The system is quite simple.

The headlight: self-explanatory.

The Igniter: This unit has 2 sets of wires on it. The input set from the ballast (brown and orange) and the output set to the headlight (blue, black and a special black). The special black wire is actually very similar to the ignition wires on your distributor (but smaller). The reason is because the igniter sends (briefly) a 25,000-volt charge to the headlamp upon initial startup. After startup the headlamp consumes only about 3.5 volts. The special black wire cannot be cut/changed in any way.
“Why do I care about changing the special black wire chad?”
Well let me tell you, the wire length from the headlamp to the igniter is about 7 inches (some units are 14” but not many) and once you account for popup headlight movement your mounting options are very limited.
All other wires can be cut and extended/shortened as needed.

The ballast: simply put this converts the electicity into a different format. I could go into more technical detail but that would bore you worse than the Anna Nicole Show.


Wiring harness: just a simple 30 or 40 amp 12volt relay, and 30-amp fuse.

Ill go into brand name recommendations and what groceries list you will need at the end of the paper.

Step one LOCATION, LOCATION, and LOCATION
You must decide where to mount the parts. The headlights… well that should be obvious. If it is not I suggest you stop reading and stay away from sharp objects.

The ballast can be easy to mount if you are not afraid of extending/shortening wires. Your options are wide open. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box, you could mount them underneath the drivers seat if you wanted. I chose the passenger side near the upper A-arm. I do not have the factory radiator overflow tank installed, so I have some choices.




The tough one is where to mount the igniter. 7” inches is not a lot to work with (just ask my girlfriend LOL!) I chose the only place available to me.



Behind the low beam headlight there is a small piece of real estate. I chose a metal mounting location for stability.

Where to get power? With any HID setup I suggest getting a direct feed from the battery, or tie off from the positive post of the altinator. I chose the latter.

Wire runs. Id advise to think ahead and “map” out where you plan to run your wires. My set up was fairly complicated, and I decided my wires should follow the factory path as much as possible.

There are 2 relays in this setup. I hid mine in a secret place by the ballasts (I did this cuz A/C will eventually go into my car and I will have to move a few things). You have flexibility on where you can put them, but bear in mind heat, water, dust and access to replace if necessary. The more you think ahead and map out the easier the installation will go.

Step 2
Installation of the headlights/ igniters. First remove the lower grill for easy access.
The turn signal bulb should “twist lock” and come out of the grill.




Next remove the headlight bezel. Remove the 4 screws (2 small and 2 medium) then massage the bezel out. I usually turn it downwards and slowly coax it out. Don’t get frustrated you can do it. Just remember how you do it so you can get it back in later.




The rest of this install is what I did for my car. Your install may be different. Season to taste.

Step 3 Igniter install
I had some hard core industrial Velcro I cut and glued to the bottom of the igniter. I used a Rubber lined clamp loom as a bracket. Both of these items can be found at your local Home-de-Pot. I used the Velcro mainly to hold the igniter in place while I screwed in the nylon lock nuts.




Step 4 nose wiring

For my car I had to extend the Orange and Tan input wires from the ballast to the igniter. I extended them by about 6 to 7 feet each. I also tapped in my yellow relay “trigger” wire into the “low-beam” circuit.




I then routed the 3 sets of wires (left headlight, right headlight and one yellow trigger wire) up the driver side of the car. Following the factory Vacuum lines that power the pop up headlights. It comes in between the wheel well and radiator support (be mindful of the heat). I followed the vacuum lines into the engine compartment.

Step 5 Engine Compartment wiring
For my application I already had a wire loom (the black plastic shielding you see) running across the front of my engine for my electric fans. The wire routing I chose for the HID was the same path.




If you wish to keep a “clean” look I suggest routing the wires in this direction.




Step 5A grounding
Find a suitable clean location for your ground. (Mine was off of the radiator support)

Step 6 Install Power supply
Disconnect the battery (bye-bye radio presets). Connect the power feed to the alternator (or battery if you decided to make a fresh run) with fuses. Run the wires as you see fit to your Relay/Ballast location.

Step 7 Ballast /Relay installation

This is an example of the wiring diagram for the HID system. The Relay codes should be correct and the wire colors may be accurate. Please look closely at your equipment for veferication of color codes (if your color blind, then pay someone to do the job)




It’s up to you, but the last man who was perfect ended up being nailed to a cross. With that in mind before installing the relays and ballasts, just connect the wires and let the relays/ballasts drape across the fender. Vefery that you made the right connections and proper grounds. Then power up your lights to see if there are any problems. This stage it’s easier to troubleshoot problems than when the gear is stuffed into the car.




OK if every thing works and there is no fire, clean up your wiring and install the ballasts/ relays.




Once you have installed the Relays and Ballasts vefery your work again. Check for clearances and no wire rubbing.
Keep in mind that the equipment that is in the nose of the car is subject to a harsh environment. Heat, rain, extreme wind, vibration ect.ect. If you plan ahead this setup will last a long time




As you can see the factory High Beams Pale in comparison to the “LOW” beam HID

Now I’m ready for a night cruse.



GROCERY LIST

Ok for the parts you need.
I bought a supposed complete kit from HID4LESS.COM. Worst mistake in my life. Awful company, awful customer service.
I could have bought the stuff A-LA- Cart and saved $150 bucks. My mistake your gain.
Here is what you need

New glass headlamps that will fit an H4 style of bulb. http://www.cibie.net/ sells the glass headlamps that will drop right in.
MODEL# 5.75-HCR 5 3/4" E-Code Halogen Low/High Beam - Cibie H4 - $55.00

Warning, I have spoken to the owner (seem like a really nice guy) but I have not done business with him. I cannot vouch (good or bad) his business practices. My gut feeling says good but don’t hold me to it.
Second Warning: I have tried 3 aftermarket headlamps and NONE of them will work. The ONLY one I have found (through extensive and expensive research) is made by a European company called Cibie.

A HID System
There are several after market companies that sell an H4 drop in HID system. They’re around 200 bucks or so. The 2 major makers are Phillips and Sylvania. I have no facts on quality of either but I’ve heard some good things about the Phillips. Either system should work. When you research into this you may find some units that have the Ballasts and Igniters combined as one. There is nothing wrong with that but keep in mind that may make the unit bigger and MABIE sportier to install (remember the 7” limit thing)

Relays 12volt 30/40 amp
I like Hella Products, but Botch (sp?) makes a good product also. I suggest you spend good money and get quality products. The “light bulb” of a HID is $100 by itself; don’t blow it by putting a cheap 75-cent relay on it. I suggest looking for a “weather” proof model that comes with a wiring harness. I think they are about $20 apiece.

Fuses
Simple to get. Again get the good stuff. There are weatherproof units out there also.

WIRE and SPLIT LOOM

Wire you can get at most electronics stores. I suggest after you determine witch wires (if any) you will extend, make the effort and color match and proper gauge the wire. It will save you hours of troubleshooting in the future.

estmated cost=around $400

Before I post this to the tech forum Id like any feedback to help “polish” this paper. Don’t worry you wont hurt my feelings if there is a criticism.

Cheers
chad




[Modified by 71'AirStrike, 8:50 PM 5/22/2003]


[Modified by 71'AirStrike, 9:38 PM 5/22/2003]


[Modified by 71'AirStrike, 3:21 PM 5/29/2003]

ZD75blue

How much brighter are they from stock?

I like the long life bulb idea!

Thanks for the documentary

ZD

Alwyn678

VERY impressive post.......Lot of good information there..this should be archived for sure :cheers: :cool:

71'AirStrike

way way way bighter. Honestley 10 fold, atleast.

Metal Wulf

:cool: I want to eventually do the HID conversion :thumbs:

goofygrin

:thumbs:

I can't get my headlights up though unless I "help" so I will probably hold off on this for a while, but great writeup!

Here's the image you goobered up:

Weird Science

ok, constructive critisism. I can't tell how much this will cost me unless I add up all the parts and I'm too lazy for that. A line about how much the conversion is will quickly tell me if I'm interested or not.

71'AirStrike

Good point! I agree you are too lazy :jester

it is done..

LFZ

excellent write up...i'll definitely be add this to the list of projects later this year!

Chris69

I like the picture with the two pigs!!

joe73vette

Very nice write-up. But, why did you put HID in the low beams, not the high beams? Joe

71'AirStrike

Thank you
I use low beams 90% of the time. So if I spend good money on something I might as well use it. eh?
From my research, there is no such thing as HID high or Low beam, just HID. A car (like BMW) uses HID for its High and Low beam. Each beam has the same intensity, just different aiming points.

DMONSVETTE

Quite possibly one of the best write-ups I have seen yet.
Thanks for sharing I know it took alot of work to create this write-up.
A+
:thumbs: :seeya

stinky

Excellant post my man, bookmarked this sucker for sure. Loved the humor, thanks. I don't have any technical comments except to ask when you'll be over to do mine, I'll help-hold the beers. :D

Missileman

How did you set up your fibre optics for your low beams with the HID system? I would assume they are not attached to the bulb.

BB wowbagger

Thats really interesting..Nice write up.. :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

groovyjay

:iagree: :cheers:

77Dream

:cuss Thanks, now I have to add this to my list of "to-do's". As if I didn't have enough planned. I hope your gonna help me pay for this. :lol:

Great job! :thumbs:

Desertdawg

Humor??? I didn't see any humor. :p:

Suggestions,. clean your carpet. :eek: and if your going to post a pic of the female form, Please make it worth looking at.

Nice work Chad. when are you going to do mine? so those runs up to see you guys will be better on the way home in the dark. :cheers:

71'AirStrike

for you desert dawg, Id be glad to help in any way. Just give me a green light

wolf, wolf
chad