Those of you with HID's

[MSHardeman]

The Xenon Riders hi/lo kit to be exact. Where the heck did you put the ballasts for the HID's? There just doesn't seem to be enough room anywhere to put the ballasts and the relay that comes with the kit.

Any descriptions would be appreciated...pictures would be even better.

[VX crazy]

How big are they? When I had them, there was room on the inside of fenders to mount them.....not fenders but you know what I mean.. Ryan has this exact set up, you should email him and I am sure he would send you photos of his.:bgwp:

[LittleBeast]

Yeah no problem I can snap some photos tomorrow probably. But I have the cone filter on the right, so lots of room over there. On the battery side I put it in between the front bumper and battery tray.

Oh and Mark how are those rims, did you have them put on ever?

[rowhard]

Well, I double stacked them, since I have the headlights and the Hella Micro DE's both converted to HID's on the front side of the radiator bulkhead. Think I had to move one of the horns.

[pbkid]

i think i put mine right behind the headlights...but mine arent that brand...

[MSHardeman]

You know, the more that I look at it, the more I tend to lean towards Rowhard's mounting placement. I don't know why I was trying to force them into the engine compartment. There is a nice flat spot on the bumper side of the radiator bulkhead with a grommeted hole right there for all of the wires to run through. I will have to move one of the horns, but that shouldn't be a big deal.

Did you guys use the supplied ballast mounting brackets, or the double sided 3M sticky pad? The brackets are kind of flimsy, and I don't know how well they would hold on to the ballasts off road, and I really don't know if I trust tape to hold them on either.

Ryan, I STILL haven't mounted your rims up yet. I will need new tires when I get back from Moab, and I was planning to have them mounted to your pristine rims to use as my summer set. I have a plan to powder coat the old rims and use them for winter.

[Ldub]

Mark...

I placed one of mine behind the air filter box (after removing it)

Also, a hole drilled, then painted with primer, & don't forget a rubber grommet.
In the bulkhead, on either side of said ballast...
Would allow you to re-enforce the double stick with a zip tie...:naughty:

[pbkid]

i would DEFINATELY use the bracket...

2 sided tape is NOT going to cut it with the amount of dust and dirt in moab and colorado mark...

[etlsport]

can you take some pics of your install? since both of my headlights blew from my overcharging alternators, i just threw in the crappy stock bulbs i had laying around and ordered a set of HIDs w/ my tax return.. so they should arrive thursday!;Db;

[MSHardeman]

etlsport,

I ended up putting the ballasts on the bumper side of the radiator bulkhead because there was more room there and I was tired of tearing my hands up trying to jam them in the engine compartment.

I did mount the relay for the system on the engine bay side of the radiator bulkhead because it needs to connect to the battery and one of the original headlight plugs.

You can run the wires to and from the ballasts through a grometted (sp?) hole at the lower outsides of the radiator bulkhead.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/HID_02.JPG
Both ballasts installed on bumper side of radiator bulkhead.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/HID_05.JPG
Driverside ballast. Grometted hole is at the lower right below the ballast.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/HID_06.JPG
Relay mounted to engine bay side of radiator bulkhead.

The ballast brackets in the kit I bought are pretty flimsy, so to make sure that I didn't lose a ballast while offroading in Moab, I took Ldub's suggestion and drilled a hole on either side of the ballasts and zip tied them down.

Let me know if you need any more information, or if you need more pictures.

Oh, forgot to say that if you do mount the ballasts this way you will have to move one of the stock horns on the passenger side (there is one right where the ballast is located on that side). I just extended the wire and mounted it to an existing tapped hole just below the horn that is closer to the center of the VX.

[etlsport]

awesome thanks, that gives me a really good idea of what will be involved

heh luckily for me, i removed that horn long ago when i installed my air horn

[MSHardeman]

I thought you where the one that installed the air horns, but I couldn't remember. I also put the bit about the horn in there in case others read it for their HID install.

I think the most time consuming part about the whole thing was running the wires so that everything looks as factory as possible. My hands are completely torn up from trying to squeeze into tiny spaces to zip tie the wires down.

Have fun with the install, and let me know if you need any more info.

[Marlin]

I have a different brand, but my ballast looks exactly the same. I put mine under the factory airbox and right under the passenger headlight on the fender well. Fit perfect. Used supplied bracket and selftapping sheet metal screws...

[etlsport]

they arrived! im stoked.. cant wait to install, did have one more question though, i think i remember you ordering from xenonrider.com right?

the wiring on the back of the bulbs seems pretty huge, do the wires that hold the stock headlight bulbs in place fit over them? and ( i havent really looked that closely yet) is there a way to disconnect the wiring from the back of the bulbs in order to fit the dust boot on the wire after install?

[MSHardeman]

etlsport,
I did order mine from XenonRider, but I would assume (you know what they say about that) that most of the kits are very similar. The XenonRider bulbs did fit in place of the old standard bulbs, but there was a way to "screw", or unlock, the part of the xenon bulb with the wires and the bulb itself off of the shield that surrounds the bulb. Once the bulb is off of the shield, it's the shield that gets held in place by the stock clip. After the shield is in place, the bulb then feeds in through the back of it and locks back into place.

The base of the bulb was a lot bigger than the standard bulb, and I had to cut the tallest tier of the rubber dust shield off to allow the xenon bulb to fit in.

I can take some pictures if you need me to.

See you in Moab.

[pbkid]

Once the bulb is off of the shield, it's the shield that gets held in place by the stock clip. After the shield is in place, the bulb then feeds in through the back of it and locks back into place.


thats standard when installing an HID kit on a car that isnt HID ;)

[LittleBeast]

etlsport,
I did order mine from XenonRider, but I would assume (you know what they say about that) that most of the kits are very similar. The XenonRider bulbs did fit in place of the old standard bulbs, but there was a way to "screw", or unlock, the part of the xenon bulb with the wires and the bulb itself off of the shield that surrounds the bulb. Once the bulb is off of the shield, it's the shield that gets held in place by the stock clip. After the shield is in place, the bulb then feeds in through the back of it and locks back into place.

The base of the bulb was a lot bigger than the standard bulb, and I had to cut the tallest tier of the rubber dust shield off to allow the xenon bulb to fit in.

I can take some pictures if you need me to.

See you in Moab.
I did not do any mods to the rubber boot besides take it totally off, install bulbs, then feed wires through rubber boot and reinstall boot, then I used some automotive duct tape to seal the boot a little better tnan stock I would not cut the boot as this is not necessary. The boot goes on and off very easily it pops in and out off place.

[MSHardeman]

Ryan, I tried to fit the dust boot around the base of the bulb and it was such a super tight fit that it was starting to push the bulb around and I was afraid that it might screw up the lights alignment and I would start blinding airplanes. I didn't want to cut anything (I never do on that car), but it seemed to be the best way to make everything fit. The dust boot still fits snuggly against the bulb, so I don't think that I'm going to have any dust or water issues.

If you don't HAVE to cut the boot I wouldn't. It just worked better for me to do a little trimming. I always try to keep everything original, so I'll probably try and find some unmolested dust boots to keep around in case I ever go back to standard bulbs.

[Ldub]

I always try to keep everything original, so I'll probably try and find some unmolested dust boots to keep around in case I ever go back to standard bulbs.

Yeh...that'll happen...:smilewink

[LittleBeast]

Ryan, I tried to fit the dust boot around the base of the bulb and it was such a super tight fit that it was starting to push the bulb around and I was afraid that it might screw up the lights alignment and I would start blinding airplanes. I didn't want to cut anything (I never do on that car), but it seemed to be the best way to make everything fit. The dust boot still fits snuggly against the bulb, so I don't think that I'm going to have any dust or water issues.

If you don't HAVE to cut the boot I wouldn't. It just worked better for me to do a little trimming. I always try to keep everything original, so I'll probably try and find some unmolested dust boots to keep around in case I ever go back to standard bulbs.

Mark, I know exactly what you mean, I debated doing the same thing.

[pbkid]

Yeh...that'll happen...:smilewink

x2

[MSHardeman]

I know, I know. I've heard nothing but "Once you go HID you'll NEVER go back" and I tend to agree. It's not like I'm ever going to sell Vicki so I don't know why I keep all the stock parts on hand; I just do.

To tell you the truth I haven't used the HID's since I let them warm up for the required ten minutes the day I installed them. It stays light so late around here that I haven't had a need for them yet. Maybe I'll do a midnight run tonight just to give them a workout.

[pbkid]

I know, I know. I've heard nothing but "Once you go HID you'll NEVER go back" and I tend to agree. It's not like I'm ever going to sell Vicki so I don't know why I keep all the stock parts on hand; I just do.

To tell you the truth I haven't used the HID's since I let them warm up for the required ten minutes the day I installed them. It stays light so late around here that I haven't had a need for them yet. Maybe I'll do a midnight run tonight just to give them a workout.

you should....you will be extremely happy ;)

i drive around with them on all the time...even during the day now. just because it makes stitch look awesome :naughty:

[etlsport]

wow!! these things rock.. super bright and look awesome, i went with the 6000k kit.. i find myself driving towards stores now just to catch the reflection in the window ;Db; but now i do need to find bulbs to match that will fit in the stock housing.. my piaa W2s are pretty white but look yellowed in comparison to the hids

[MSHardeman]

I LOVE these things. I took my first evening drive with the HID's and those things are rediculous. The road side signs are SO bright now that I almost need shades to tone them down. Super cool.

On a somewhat similar note; how are the lights supposed to be aimed? I've seen the aiming instructions in the manual, but I don't really have time now to check them before Moab. My lights seem to be aimed sort of up and to the right (passenger side). The cut off line on the road in front of me is nice and level so I know both lights are aimed at the same height. I would suppose that up and to the right would be the best way to aim them because you wouldn't blind oncoming drivers, and you would illuminat road side signs.

I'll check the light aim after Moab, but I wanted to get a quick opinion.

[LittleBeast]

Yes mine are the same way and yes most auto lights are designed this way

[etlsport]

heres a side by side of my vx with spike's vx.. he is running silverstar ultras, im running HIDs (6000k) both are lowbeam

not the best photo, was taken with my phone, but you get the idea :cool:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/medium/SNC00106.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=13879)

[pbkid]

I LOVE these things. I took my first evening drive with the HID's and those things are rediculous. The road side signs are SO bright now that I almost need shades to tone them down. Super cool.

On a somewhat similar note; how are the lights supposed to be aimed? I've seen the aiming instructions in the manual, but I don't really have time now to check them before Moab. My lights seem to be aimed sort of up and to the right (passenger side). The cut off line on the road in front of me is nice and level so I know both lights are aimed at the same height. I would suppose that up and to the right would be the best way to aim them because you wouldn't blind oncoming drivers, and you would illuminat road side signs.

I'll check the light aim after Moab, but I wanted to get a quick opinion.

actually mark, you should adjust yours slightly, due to the fact that your VX is lifted, and aftermarket lights like these have "spray" your going to be blinding a lot of people..

ill help you out in moab if you want