HID Retrofit lights in Stock Halogen housings.

[tah]

I just bought a clear set of used headlights with the 350Z conversion kit. This includes the "modified" back plates with the ballasts mounted.

Here's my problem.......

I'm not sure what bulbs are in the assembly and can't find any measurements/specs online to easily identify them, but they DO NOT aim correctly.

They were REALLY high when I installed them so I adjusted them down to a somewhat reasonable level. Now the entire light (inside the assembly) is so low that my high beams are worthless. They're pointing at the road barely ahead of the car and the HID's are still a little high. No one here doing the H7 HID conversion has indicated they have a problem like this.

Does this sound like I need the H7's and might have the D2R or D2s in there now? If so can I just change the bulb or will I need to modify the harness or ballast?

Thanks for any help..........

[juniinc]

350z is DS2 , the reason it is shooting so high is DS2 requires a special projector housing. H7 should work if its filled w/ zenon High Intensity Discharge.

Edited June 20, 2008 by juniinc

[tah]

I need to replace the 350Z bulbs with H7's.

Seeing prices all over the place from $30 to $120 each.

Any suggestions or recommendations?

Also do the DS2 and the H7 fit the same connector/socket? I don't have a H7 here to compare.

Thanks.........

[juniinc]

Tah My suggestion would be ordering a new H7 HID kit that will sit properly.

I've installed plenty of these but not sure if the factory nissan ballast is gonna be compatible with those after market bulbs?

I need to replace the 350Z bulbs with H7's.

Seeing prices all over the place from $30 to $120 each.

Any suggestions or recommendations?

Also do the DS2 and the H7 fit the same connector/socket? I don't have a H7 here to compare.

Thanks.........

[tah]

Tah My suggestion would be ordering a new H7 HID kit that will sit properly.

I've installed plenty of these but not sure if the factory nissan ballast is gonna be compatible with those after market bulbs?

Guess what, this is EXACTLY what I did yesterday. I didn't think I'd ever get an answer here and finally got a decent picture of both bulb bases. Didn't look like they would fit the same connectors so I ordered the CQ Lights 5000K complete kit.

Thanks for the advice anyway, sounds like the best idea. (especially since that's what I decided ;) )

[itzbob46]

Tah My suggestion would be ordering a new H7 HID kit that will sit properly.

I've installed plenty of these but not sure if the factory nissan ballast is gonna be compatible with those after market bulbs?

Guess what, this is EXACTLY what I did yesterday. I didn't think I'd ever get an answer here and finally got a decent picture of both bulb bases. Didn't look like they would fit the same connectors so I ordered the CQ Lights 5000K complete kit.

Thanks for the advice anyway, sounds like the best idea. (especially since that's what I decided ;) )

Tah......Your new kit should come with capacitors in the line......I bought the same kit and it was missing the capacitors...they provided replacement harnesses at a later date. Note the problem that I'm having with the kit (see this entire thread).......perfect lighting, but usually my oil and batt idiot lights come on when the HIDs are turned on. Let me know how yours turns out.

Bob

[tah]

Well I got the CQLight kit today and seem to have a problem.

If I understand correctly things should go in this order..........

Vehicle----Capacitor----Ballast----Igniter----Bulb

But........the Capacitor has two plugs keyed differently. In other words it plugs into the Vehicle side fine but not the ballast side. If I leave out the capacitor the vehicle plug fits into the ballast plug fine.

I don't plan to "leave out" the capacitor so I sent CQLights the issue.

Anyone else seen this?

[986fan]

I thought that I read somewhere that the warning light issues mentioned earlier were only to do with the

newer (987) cars. My 2001 S has never had a problem. What models were being referred to?

Edited August 24, 2008 by 986fan

[itzbob46]

I thought that I read somewhere that the warning light issues mentioned earlier were only to do with the

newer (987) cars. My 2001 S has never had a problem. What models were being referred to?

I'm talking about a 2001. Glad that you are not having a problem. What kit did you use???

Bob

[Westcoaster]

Tah My suggestion would be ordering a new H7 HID kit that will sit properly.

I've installed plenty of these but not sure if the factory nissan ballast is gonna be compatible with those after market bulbs?

Guess what, this is EXACTLY what I did yesterday. I didn't think I'd ever get an answer here and finally got a decent picture of both bulb bases. Didn't look like they would fit the same connectors so I ordered the CQ Lights 5000K complete kit.

Thanks for the advice anyway, sounds like the best idea. (especially since that's what I decided ;) )

Tah......Your new kit should come with capacitors in the line......I bought the same kit and it was missing the capacitors...they provided replacement harnesses at a later date. Note the problem that I'm having with the kit (see this entire thread).......perfect lighting, but usually my oil and batt idiot lights come on when the HIDs are turned on. Let me know how yours turns out.

Bob

Bob, no problems with warning lights on my 2006.

BTW, what capacitors? My kit looks exactly like the pictures on the CQ Light website; bulb, ballast, ignighter... no capacitor. What are they supposed to do?

Edited August 24, 2008 by Westcoaster

[Westcoaster]

I thought that I read somewhere that the warning light issues mentioned earlier were only to do with the

newer (987) cars. My 2001 S has never had a problem. What models were being referred to?

Warning messages about 'dipped lamps' (burnt out bulbs) seemed to appear with the introduction of the 987. I get those messages on my 2006.

BTW, just a suggestion, add the year of your Boxster your signature, a lot of questions are model dependant and this would save a bunch of time. :)

[986fan]

What kit did you use???

CQ 5000K

[nightghost]

hey guys

i have the same thing with my car i went for 8000 K and light is great.th only problem is that they will burn it out in about 1.5 year . its cheap to replace

[itzbob46]

I finally removed the entire kit. No problems since. Must be defective. I'm gong to try to get a refund.

Bob

[97boxsterred]

Here is a link to a video on how to install aftermarket Xenon HID lights with Ballast in your Boxster or 911. Its very easy and takes only 30 minutes per light. Everything plugs in smoothly, no wires to cut.

http://www.youtube.com/autosupermart

[itzbob46]

Here is a link to a video on how to install aftermarket Xenon HID lights with Ballast in your Boxster or 911. Its very easy and takes only 30 minutes per light. Everything plugs in smoothly, no wires to cut.

http://www.youtube.com/autosupermart

Interesting......My kit was more complicated including an igniter and a large capacitor as well in series with the ballast. I wonder why I had those problems. I may write these autosupermart guys and ask some questions about their return policy and the probs that I had.

Thanks, Bob

[lucky_topher]

Here is a link to a video on how to install aftermarket Xenon HID lights with Ballast in your Boxster or 911. Its very easy and takes only 30 minutes per light. Everything plugs in smoothly, no wires to cut.

http://www.youtube.com/autosupermart

Interesting......My kit was more complicated including an igniter and a large capacitor as well in series with the ballast. I wonder why I had those problems. I may write these autosupermart guys and ask some questions about their return policy and the probs that I had.

Thanks, Bob

i'm wondering about the complications and difficulties...

my install was so easy, and the kit as super cheap... and from a reputable seller (not just any ebay whatever)

bulb went in, drilled a hole in the headlight cover for the wires (came with grommet too, to waterproof), then plugged those wires into small box then that box into headlight thing... one piece, easy as hell

[Westcoaster]

Mine is from CQ Light and works like a charm....

Edited September 20, 2008 by Westcoaster

[986fan]

Mine is from CQ Light and woorks like a charm....

Ohhhhhhh yeahhh...........just took a nice cruise looking at that brilliant white crosswalk paint........ :thumbup:

[itzbob46]

You guys with the CQ system are lucky. I either had a defect in my CQ kit or there is something weird in my electrical system that only shows up with this HID installation. Congratulations!!!

[vbhagwan]

Great writeup and followup commentary. I too interested in doing the HID retrofit, but without having to drill any holes in the plastic cover. I have seen online items at vertexauto which come with pre-drilled covers but are a bit expensive, and no one here appears to have used them. I saw a post on pg 7 with a kit from Xenon Expert that doesn't require any drilling and claims of everything fitting well, but their site doesn't mention anything of that nature.

The question is - has anyone successfully done the HID retrofit while keeping everything as stock as possible (in other words, without having to drill a hole into the plastic cover)? All input appreciated.

Edited September 22, 2008 by vbhagwan

[Westcoaster]

Great writeup and followup commentary. I too interested in doing the HID retrofit, but without having to drill any holes in the plastic cover. I have seen online items at vertexauto which come with pre-drilled covers but are a bit expensive, and no one here appears to have used them. I saw a post on pg 7 with a kit from Xenon Expert that doesn't require any drilling and claims of everything fitting well, but their site doesn't mention anything of that nature.

The question is - has anyone successfully done the HID retrofit while keeping everything as stock as possible (in other words, without having to drill a hole into the plastic cover)? All input appreciated.

I fit everything into the stock housing, no drilling of the back cover. The only thing outside of the housing is the relay I used to supply power to the system. I used the stock ground and the positive line is fed through the vent tube, a quick disconnect on this wire is all that you see attached to the housing. If you have a 986 there should be no reason you couldn't use the stock wiring, my 987 required separate power to bypass a different problem (see my post).

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...c=11244&hl=

[vbhagwan]

I fit everything into the stock housing, no drilling of the back cover. The only thing outside of the housing is the relay I used to supply power to the system. I used the stock ground and the positive line is fed through the vent tube, a quick disconnect on this wire is all that you see attached to the housing. If you have a 986 there should be no reason you couldn't use the stock wiring, my 987 required separate power to bypass a different problem (see my post).

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...c=11244&hl=

Thank you for the response and for the link, Al! I need to understand what you mean by the vent tube, and (going by its name) whether I will be 'blocking' it if I pass wiring through it. This pic of yours (http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=8197) is helpful, but leaves me with a couple of questions:

* Is that a pic of the inside (towards the bulb) side of the black plastic cover, or the outside of it? I haven't opened mine yet, but my guess would be inside.

* I don't see any vent tube in the above pic - is that vent tube built into the plastic cover, or is it located someplace else?

Thanks again!

[Westcoaster]

I fit everything into the stock housing, no drilling of the back cover. The only thing outside of the housing is the relay I used to supply power to the system. I used the stock ground and the positive line is fed through the vent tube, a quick disconnect on this wire is all that you see attached to the housing. If you have a 986 there should be no reason you couldn't use the stock wiring, my 987 required separate power to bypass a different problem (see my post).

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...c=11244&hl=

Thank you for the response and for the link, Al! I need to understand what you mean by the vent tube, and (going by its name) whether I will be 'blocking' it if I pass wiring through it. This pic of yours (http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=8197) is helpful, but leaves me with a couple of questions:

* Is that a pic of the inside (towards the bulb) side of the black plastic cover, or the outside of it? I haven't opened mine yet, but my guess would be inside.

* I don't see any vent tube in the above pic - is that vent tube built into the plastic cover, or is it located someplace else?

Thanks again!

This picture that you refer to is looking at the inside of the rear cover of the headlight assembly, this is the cover that you would remove to replace a bulb or gain access to the internals. With careful thought, some good double sided tape and some small tie straps I managed to neatly mount everything into that cover. The first picture below shows all of the wires and connectors installed, the 2 wires near the top with exposed spade connectors are for power, the black connects into the ground wire of the original OEM socket, the red to the wire to the lead fed through the vent tube and to the relay supplying power from the battery (I used an insulated 'bullet style' connector for easy removal). The blue and red wires to the right connect to the HID bulb.

The breather (vent) tube I am referring to is on the main assembly, it is about 1/4" or 5mm in diameter so one wire passing through it will not completely block it, there is a small piece of foam in the tube (to prevent insects from entering I suspect) that I removed and saved for replacement if/when I sell the car and want to remove the HID kit. (see yellow arrow)

Everything I did to mount this kit can be removed in very short order, my theory is never take short cuts and make it so when things are removed you can not tell that it was ever there. Why take chances on your pride and joy!? B)

Edited September 22, 2008 by Westcoaster

[vbhagwan]

This picture that you refer to is looking at the inside of the rear cover of the headlight assembly, this is the cover that you would remove to replace a bulb or gain access to the internals. With careful thought, some good double sided tape and some small tie straps I managed to neatly mount everything into that cover. The first picture below shows all of the wires and connectors installed, the 2 wires near the top with exposed spade connectors are for power, the black connects into the ground wire of the original OEM socket, the red to the wire to the lead fed through the vent tube and to the relay supplying power from the battery (I used an insulated 'bullet style' connector for easy removal). The blue and red wires to the right connect to the HID bulb.

The breather (vent) tube I am referring to is on the main assembly, it is about 1/4" or 5mm in diameter so one wire passing through it will not completely block it, there is a small piece of foam in the tube (to prevent insects from entering I suspect) that I removed and saved for replacement if/when I sell the car and want to remove the HID kit. (see yellow arrow)

Everything I did to mount this kit can be removed in very short order, my theory is never take short cuts and make it so when things are removed you can not tell that it was ever there. Why take chances on your pride and joy!? B)

Thank you for the speedy response! Completely agree with keeping things as stock as possible. The pics (esp. the one with the arrow) helped a bunch - I am sure my 2001 halogens will be a bit different, but with my Bentley and the pics here I should be able to figure out what goes where :)

One quick question - I am considering the 4300K/5000K H7 Kit found here: http://www.xenonexpert.com/ddm_kit_sale.html

Is that the 'correct one'? As I understand, my halogen housing should require D2R as opposed to the projector beams' D2S type (IMO needed for 987 models since their non-xenon low-beam was also a projector one).