DIY upgrade to take the Halogen headlights to HID?

[Westcoaster]

WC - from scanning some other forums, the Porsche system may be using electronic switching which may not put out a nice straight DC output. For instance, the circuitry may put out a low voltage square wave when running the DRL's and switch to a higher voltage, but still running a square wave of the same duration, or increase the duty cycle of the square wave, to produce the required higher light output for the full strenght headlight. In either case, the HID's see a square wave and are therefore getting turned on and off many times/sec and don't like this as it extinguishes the arc but doesn't allow enough time to reignite. Bottom line is to find that electronic box and bypass it. I'd be surprised if one of the mfr's or dealers of HID's haven't come across this problem before. Hope this helps in your search for an answer - I'm intrigued by this too and will follow up more and publish a more definitive answer if I find it.............The square wave scenario might be consistent with the inability to trigger the relay also.........

Wow, first post and an excellent one at that! Welcome to the forum as well.

After some discussions with the gang at work yesterday we thought that this might be the case as well. The voltage as measured with a multimeter was consistant with the battery voltage ~ 14.4v with the engine on. With regards to the relay, when the DRL was active the frequency of the buzz was lower then it was with the headlight switch on. My plan today was to bring home the scope to "see" what the voltage actually looked like. Your hypothesis about a square wave makes sense, quite the solution for DRL's but hey, these cars are quite advanced in many ways.

What I was thinking was designing a circuit that could sense (read) this voltage and trigger a switch that activates the HID ballasts. It might even be possible to descriminate between the low duty cycle signal and the full on duty cycle and keep the headlights off thereby keeping the headlight off until the headlight switch is moved to the full on position.

So, assuming that your ID is the same as you ride and you don't have factory HID, you would be in the same boat as I am should you be considering a DIY upgrade...

Some brain storming could be in order :thumbup:

Edited January 25, 2007 by Westcoaster

[whitecayman]

WC - from scanning some other forums, the Porsche system may be using electronic switching which may not put out a nice straight DC output. For instance, the circuitry may put out a low voltage square wave when running the DRL's and switch to a higher voltage, but still running a square wave of the same duration, or increase the duty cycle of the square wave, to produce the required higher light output for the full strenght headlight. In either case, the HID's see a square wave and are therefore getting turned on and off many times/sec and don't like this as it extinguishes the arc but doesn't allow enough time to reignite. Bottom line is to find that electronic box and bypass it. I'd be surprised if one of the mfr's or dealers of HID's haven't come across this problem before. Hope this helps in your search for an answer - I'm intrigued by this too and will follow up more and publish a more definitive answer if I find it.............The square wave scenario might be consistent with the inability to trigger the relay also.........

Wow, first post and an excellent one at that! Welcome to the forum as well.

After some discussions with the gang at work yesterday we thought that this might be the case as well. The voltage as measured with a multimeter was consistant with the battery voltage ~ 14.4v with the engine on. With regards to the relay, when the DRL was active the frequency of the buzz was lower then it was with the headlight switch on. My plan today was to bring home the scope to "see" what the voltage actually looked like. Your hypothesis about a square wave makes sense, quite the solution for DRL's but hey, these cars are quite advanced in many ways.

What I was thinking was designing a circuit that could sense (read) this voltage and trigger a switch that activates the HID ballasts. It might even be possible to descriminate between the low duty cycle signal and the full on duty cycle and keep the headlights off thereby keeping the headlight off until the headlight switch is moved to the full on position.

So, assuming that your ID is the same as you ride and you don't have factory HID, you would be in the same boat as I am should you be considering a DIY upgrade...

Some brain storming could be in order :thumbup:

WC - thx for the welcome! Tell me what you see when you scope the signal. Btw, whitecayman is close but not exact - I've got a '05 Boxster, no HID's - I picked whitecayman as I was toying with getting one when I signed up. Instead of trading I'm now just thinking of tinkering with the ragtop, adding wheels, HID's, lowering it a bit, etc. I've thrown too many dollars at trading cars the last few years and decided I'll probably have just as much fun tinkering with it - cheaper too! It is such a fun car so why not keep it? More power, etc seems to just get me in more trouble.....

I like your idea of using the original signal as a trigger. If the square wave theory is right then just bypassing it would probably bring a 'headlight out' warning or something - seems the factories want to warn of us everything! Keep me posted on the HID's! Good luck...

[Westcoaster]

Hey there whitecayman, here is what I see on my car. The voltage measures out at 14v and as you can see from the picture there is a drop in voltage about every 9 milliseconds that lasts for about 1 millisecond, it is a continuous waveform who's values don't change irregardless of the headlight switch position.

I like your idea of using the original signal as a trigger. If the square wave theory is right then just bypassing it would probably bring a 'headlight out' warning or something - seems the factories want to warn of us everything! Keep me posted on the HID's! Good luck..

As for the warning message, I have never seen one yet, I have had both headlight assemblies out while the car was running, had the HID kit connected (even though it did not stay lit), and only one headlight installed, not one message.

With this type of output it is no wonder that the HID ballast doesn't stay lit, also explains the buzzing from the regular relay.

For us in Canada the other option is to set the HID kit to come on anytime the engine is running, that's what is happening now anyway! <_<

[Westcoaster]

Well, I also checked the voltage at the front marker light with the engine running, more unusable signals!

I figured the marker light was nice and handy to the front storage compartment but it will not work either.

The battery voltage is clean and free of all signal variances, a suitable source for the HID kit but it still leaves a need for a way to trigger a relay that supplies this voltage to the HID kit.

Still looking... :lightbulb:

[Westcoaster]

Well, they are in and working, I completed the installation of the CQ Light 5000k HID kit a couple of weeks ago and wanted to dive them a few times

before posting my observations.

Wow! Are these bright, I thought that the stock halogens were good but these cook!

Since these installs have been profiled before I will only touch on the main points.

1) I found a place to get and ignition key controlled 12v feed, the fuse panel of course! The fuse panel is laid out in 4 rows in my car, and row C-9,5

and row D-4,8 provides 12v 'ignition-on'.

2) From this point I connected through a fuse to a master off switch (I wanted to be able to run the car with the headlights off) then through the firewall

to a 30A relay mounted in the area ahead of the front cowl (where the battery sits).

3) main power for the ballasts come from a 20A fused direct lead from the battery positive terminal, this connects to the relay.

4) The relay controlled 12v splits to to lines, one for the left ballast and one for the right. These lines run to each headlight assembly and enter through

the breather tube found on the headlight assembly. I measured the current draw on these ballasts: 3.4 amps.

5) Ground for the ballasts are the regular ground wire used in the stock halogen connector, for the relay directly back to battery.

Pictures:

p1) The CQ Light kit

p2) The ballast

p3) Bulb comparison, note the halogen filament and HID arc chamber positions match, ideal for proper alignment to the reflector

p4) Installed into the back of the headlight assembly rear cover

p5) HID 33.1w pattern and brightness from the same distance and position, I measured the height and cutoff, exactly the same as stock!

p6) Stock 55w halogen pattern and brightness

Edited June 10, 2007 by Westcoaster

[justinfielding]

Al, you have email

for those ina similar predicament there are solutions int he form of additional wiring harnesses, or most likely in line resistors to fool the cars diagnostics.

In the uk these people are about the best seller, they have fitted loads of kits themselves to all sorts of vehicles - a quick browse through the FAQ and customer reviews section should identify any issues you are likely to experience.

www.hids4u.co.uk

Did you use their H7 Ultimate HID Xenon Conversion Kit for your 987? I'm looking for a Boxster at the moment; if I can cross factory xenons off the list of must have options then I think it'll be slightly easier to find what I want!

[Westcoaster]

Al, you have email

for those ina similar predicament there are solutions int he form of additional wiring harnesses, or most likely in line resistors to fool the cars diagnostics.

In the uk these people are about the best seller, they have fitted loads of kits themselves to all sorts of vehicles - a quick browse through the FAQ and customer reviews section should identify any issues you are likely to experience.

www.hids4u.co.uk

Did you use their H7 Ultimate HID Xenon Conversion Kit for your 987? I'm looking for a Boxster at the moment; if I can cross factory xenons off the list of must have options then I think it'll be slightly easier to find what I want!

Justin, if you are asking me which kit I used, it's in my post above, it's from CQ Light www.cqlight.ca

But I take it you are in the UK?

[justinfielding]

Al, you have email

for those ina similar predicament there are solutions int he form of additional wiring harnesses, or most likely in line resistors to fool the cars diagnostics.

In the uk these people are about the best seller, they have fitted loads of kits themselves to all sorts of vehicles - a quick browse through the FAQ and customer reviews section should identify any issues you are likely to experience.

www.hids4u.co.uk

Did you use their H7 Ultimate HID Xenon Conversion Kit for your 987? I'm looking for a Boxster at the moment; if I can cross factory xenons off the list of must have options then I think it'll be slightly easier to find what I want!

Justin, if you are asking me which kit I used, it's in my post above, it's from CQ Light www.cqlight.ca

But I take it you are in the UK?

Not to worry, I brought a 987 with Litronics.

[Westcoaster]

Al, you have email

for those ina similar predicament there are solutions int he form of additional wiring harnesses, or most likely in line resistors to fool the cars diagnostics.

In the uk these people are about the best seller, they have fitted loads of kits themselves to all sorts of vehicles - a quick browse through the FAQ and customer reviews section should identify any issues you are likely to experience.

www.hids4u.co.uk

Did you use their H7 Ultimate HID Xenon Conversion Kit for your 987? I'm looking for a Boxster at the moment; if I can cross factory xenons off the list of must have options then I think it'll be slightly easier to find what I want!

Justin, if you are asking me which kit I used, it's in my post above, it's from CQ Light www.cqlight.ca

But I take it you are in the UK?

Not to worry, I brought a 987 with Litronics.

Cool, where's the pic? ;-)

[justinfielding]

Here you go.

[Westcoaster]

Here you go.

Very nice, is that Black or Basalt Black? Sport Design wheels?

[justinfielding]

Yep 19" Sport Design wheels, all the extras (PASM, Sport Chrono, PCM etc), Atlas Grey with black leather memory sports and matching hard top.

[SLATEGREYTERACOTTA]

I bought a US boxster and imported into canada, with DRL made by the dealer.

I then bought a BeamBoy HID from HK and installed it, no warning. only think i noticed is a very slight flicker, and only if i look at the light for a long time...no problem at the beam it produces...

i believe mine is a digital kit cuz i don't see the ignitor... only a ballast and wires

but it seems to work great and no warning light

and it's on all the time because it is also the DRL

[Westcoaster]

I bought a US boxster and imported into canada, with DRL made by the dealer.

I then bought a BeamBoy HID from HK and installed it, no warning. only think i noticed is a very slight flicker, and only if i look at the light for a long time...no problem at the beam it produces...

i believe mine is a digital kit cuz i don't see the ignitor... only a ballast and wires

but it seems to work great and no warning light

and it's on all the time because it is also the DRL

Hmmmm, the all important question; what year of Boxster?

[SLATEGREYTERACOTTA]

I bought a US boxster and imported into canada, with DRL made by the dealer.

I then bought a BeamBoy HID from HK and installed it, no warning. only think i noticed is a very slight flicker, and only if i look at the light for a long time...no problem at the beam it produces...

i believe mine is a digital kit cuz i don't see the ignitor... only a ballast and wires

but it seems to work great and no warning light

and it's on all the time because it is also the DRL

Hmmmm, the all important question; what year of Boxster?

2005 boxster S

[Westcoaster]

I bought a US boxster and imported into canada, with DRL made by the dealer.

I then bought a BeamBoy HID from HK and installed it, no warning. only think i noticed is a very slight flicker, and only if i look at the light for a long time...no problem at the beam it produces...

i believe mine is a digital kit cuz i don't see the ignitor... only a ballast and wires

but it seems to work great and no warning light

and it's on all the time because it is also the DRL

Hmmmm, the all important question; what year of Boxster?

2005 boxster S

Very interesting, I would like to read more about this kit, this may be the first kit that works with the 987 headlight electrical connections without modifications.

I went to their website but it is mostly in Chinese, it was tough to see the actual kit, did you take pictures of your?

Did you install it yourself and did you use the power from the stock bulb socket?

Did you purchase the kit locally, how much?

[SLATEGREYTERACOTTA]

Ya i didn't do anything other than popping out the housing and connecting it to the bulb connector of the H7....didn't do any modification, no wire cutting and no connection to the battery....

and the kit has like ballast thing and the bulb ... i saw some other kit that has another part called the ignitor... but this kit the guy said it works for all european car....

i was doubtful at first but the deal is good... it cost 1880 Hong kong dollar which is about 244USD and it's all made in Japan

[Westcoaster]

Ya i didn't do anything other than popping out the housing and connecting it to the bulb connector of the H7....didn't do any modification, no wire cutting and no connection to the battery....

and the kit has like ballast thing and the bulb ... i saw some other kit that has another part called the ignitor... but this kit the guy said it works for all european car....

i was doubtful at first but the deal is good... it cost 1880 Hong kong dollar which is about 244USD and it's all made in Japan

Ya a bit more expensive then some, but if you can save the hassle of any extra wiring, not to mention the OBC errors then it is likely worth it.

Wheredid you order it from?

Thanks

[SLATEGREYTERACOTTA]

Ya i didn't do anything other than popping out the housing and connecting it to the bulb connector of the H7....didn't do any modification, no wire cutting and no connection to the battery....

and the kit has like ballast thing and the bulb ... i saw some other kit that has another part called the ignitor... but this kit the guy said it works for all european car....

i was doubtful at first but the deal is good... it cost 1880 Hong kong dollar which is about 244USD and it's all made in Japan

Ya a bit more expensive then some, but if you can save the hassle of any extra wiring, not to mention the OBC errors then it is likely worth it.

Wheredid you order it from?

Thanks

that stores sell some taiwanese and made in china brand at a lower price but i decided to go with the japanese since the owner said it should not bring up any error message.

I got it on my trip to hong kong

[berty987]

I beleive there are two voltage versions available for HID systems 55 and 35W. The 35W is the same as used on the OEM units (which are the same as Toyota units I am told) Those that have fitted the 35W kit do not appear to have the bulb warning issues on 987 models. The 986 models have a different control unit and are less sensitive to the wattage of the HID kit.

[Westcoaster]

I beleive there are two voltage versions available for HID systems 55 and 35W. The 35W is the same as used on the OEM units (which are the same as Toyota units I am told) Those that have fitted the 35W kit do not appear to have the bulb warning issues on 987 models. The 986 models have a different control unit and are less sensitive to the wattage of the HID kit.

Just to keep things clear, the 'W' stands for watts not voltage, a measure of how much power it draws from the system.

I have a 987 and a 33W HID kit installed, and I do have the bulb warning issue because the kit could not be connected directly to the power lead for the original halogen bulbs due to a DC pulse on that circuit which prevent the electronic ballast from working correctly. This is why I was interested in the kit SLATEGREYTERACOTTA installed. It would be just my luck if the CQ kit I installed is the only kit affected by the pulse I mentioned.

Edited November 5, 2008 by Westcoaster

[percymon]

Hi Al - its been a long time since i've been back reading posts on here - i'm so pleased you managed to get your kit to work in the end, even if it wasn't without some turmoil.

No issues with mine still, although i've only added less than 2k miles in the last 15 months :(

[Westcoaster]

Hi Al - its been a long time since i've been back reading posts on here - i'm so pleased you managed to get your kit to work in the end, even if it wasn't without some turmoil.

No issues with mine still, although i've only added less than 2k miles in the last 15 months :(

Hi David, yes working, other then manually having to 'turn it on' it has been working fine! I really don't mind, it is nice to be able to have the headlights off if you so choose, stealth mode...

It would seem that I drive a bit further then you, I added about 12,000km this past year.

I even added an electric air horn to replace the stock unit, sure gets their attention now! :P