I've been on hiatus for a while now (2nd year grad school sucks!) but I'm back and I had a question I was hoping I could get some help with. One of my headlights went out so I decided it's time to go ahead and get some HID's. I'm sure this is a commonly covered topic (I'm very capable of using the search button). I was just wondering what the common consensus was on the best place to get them from and if anyone has an estimated cost. I don't mind paying a bit more for a better set, but I want to get an idea of how much I'll have to plan on investing since paycheck doesn't come in till next Friday and I'd like to have them installed ASAP.

 

The last car I installed them on was my 73' Duster and that was a McCulloch set that was very nice and an exceptionally clean install.. Lol the real reason I'm writing is I would love to see some pictures of your system..? Do you have any you could share? Eric

 

WhiteSTR,

Thanks for the response, I believe I've heard them as the universal HID kit option. I don't have any pictures just yet of the system, but I can take a few snapshots once I clean her up a bit. The car's been parked in the parking lot lately since it's so cold. To make it even better, I overheated the amp over the last weekend. I'm waiting to get back in touch with this JL Audio shop that's handling the shipping/repair transaction for it. Though it kinda blows having to pay almost $200 for having an amp that's over a year old. =/


Though I'm also a member of ClubLexus (my second car is a Lexu SC400), and they say the one of the best "bang for your buck" HID kits was from a company called DDM tuning. Has anyone heard of them? Though I'm not too concerned one way or another about the price as long as it's reasonable, I was attracted to the fact that they're the only company I know of that is offering a lifetime warranty on the HID kits. I'm interested in them since I won't have to buy new bulbs etc if anything goes wrong after I install them (comes in handy since I don't know how soon I'll be installing the STR HID housing).

 

Update:

HID's ordered- H7 4500Ks to replace the stock bulbs that blew. Should have them on by next weekend. Once they're on I'll take photos of the headlights and the system once it's been repaired.

 

as a side note, the jl 500/1 (actually all jl amps) have thermal overload protection in them. Who told you that "you overheated it"? i call BULL****!!

 

and i get HID kits for 90.00 with single filament bulbs. Micro ballasts (they fit on motorcycles quite well too). Just ask me about these kits anytime, i have alot of experience installing them.

 

Well I'm not sure that it was "overheated" per say, but the thermal light is flashing now on it, and seeing as how I'm not a JL mechanic I can't take it apart and see what the problem is. The local shop charges $30-60 to diagnose the problem and it'll cost $180 to have a new 500/1 sent in IF it doesn't turn out to be an issue with running the 500/1 on the 12W7. I think the issue may have been when I put it in that I didn't have a cap installed, or at least I'm hoping that's all it is. I don't want to have to deal with trying to get a whole new amp other than the 500/1 unless I'm buying a used upgrade.

Thanks for the heads up on the HID's that would be great seeing as the only HID kit I've done was on my SC. That one was a simple plug and play but from what I think I remember its not quite as easy on the S Types just because you can't access the bulb as easy.

 

As long as you have a ANL inline fuse you really don't need a cap.. It's more of just marketing BS so kids can open their trunks and show people a big shiny tube with LED's and LCD screen that says the battery voltage.. Run it with an ANL inline with a 100amp fuse and the amp has internal fuses as well and that's all you need.. Also what you'll notice after you do the HID's is that you headlights won't dim when the bass hits anymore because the ballast control the voltage and eliminates that annoyance.. Eric

 

okay do me a favor........dont pay anything to have that thing fixed. Get it back in your possesion, get your serial number, PM the serial number and ill call my boys at JL and get it fixed for you. I have been dealing with JL since the early 90's. Being in the car audio business for over 20 years, and also using their products on tv, i still have some favors there if you know what i mean.

 

Perhaps that may be the issue? I don't think I have an ANL fuse, I think I have the standard 100watt AGU type. I had the AGU setup prior to the install of the JL Audio setup, but since everything is down now anyway I'll switch to the ANL.

That would be awesome! I'm in the bed at the moment but I'll PM the serials to it in the AM. Everything is still in the trunk and untouched at the moment. I didn't want anything touched before I was ready to diagnose it and fund fixing it because I was kinda out of $$$ when it happened. Now that I'm back working at the (legal) drug store, I can fund minor repairs and start saving for the eventual transformation I wanna do on my spare car (eventually 1JZ or 2JZ to a Lexus SC).

 

Soooo I got in the car to make a quick stop today and I had the seats dropped down bc I was going to take the amp off the back of the box to get the serial number after my exams and noticed something interesting. The power light came on WITHOUT flashing the thermal light. Surprised by the sighting, I decided to turn the amp on at the deck to see if it would work, thinking that it wouldn't. To my disbelief it played for a few moments before shutting off (no power showing, and I don't believe I saw the thermal light flash while I was staring at it).

This leads me to believe that this may be a wiring issue. When I get back from my exam (I have one at 1:00 and one at 3:00) I'll take pictures of the setup and the wiring. It looks as if it may possibly an issue with the ground wire. I'll take pictures of it, but it kind of looks like it may not be making a good connection to the amp (like the copper part may be having too much stress from the wiring length may have caused it to go loose). I'll take pictures, and then try loosening it and readjusting it and see if that works. Hopefully it will, and I'm not losing my mind!!!

 

Check your ground is good, I actually just used the same grounding location in the trunk that the factory battery used with great success.. Also check to make sure your remote wire is hooked up properly and is getting a switched current.. I actually just tapped into on of the factory subs power wires (because I removed them) and it was only putting out 6volts, but it worked fine.. Also with a JL 500rms amp you should be using 4 gauge wire.. You can get away with 6ga, but if you having heat problems, that's usually a result of the power/ground wire being too small.. Eric

 

I just checked the wires and I was able to find the problem- A BIG ONE. It turns out that when I paid to have my 4 gauges installed these ******** only did the power cable and NOT the ground cable. It appears as if the ground cable that should have been swapped out wasn't and it's overheated and melted. I'm just hoping its not melted COMPLETELY to the inside of the amp because I' not sure it that black connector section can be removed. Hopefully I don't have to pay the price because some @$$hole decided to half step a simple wire swap.

I'm trying to look for the receipts, but in the mean time when I spoke to the shop it looks like they conveniently "can't find me" in their computers even though I was able to provide a receipt for the first time I came in the week before. They're trying to charge me $35 to swap the cable without it now but even still there's no guarantee that it will work if the cable turns out to be melted on the inside.

 

Update- I wasn't able to get the ground out to switch to the 4 gauge just yet (thanks to the company that left it there to get FUBARed to begin with), but I did manage to scrape away some of the plastic to where it's at least functioning and playing long enough to tell the amp isn't blown.The question is now, how to remove the melted wiring in order to get the 4 gauge ground in there that they were supposed to have put in to begin with. I'm going to try and get it done on Sunday- but if not they're trying to charge me $35 to fix the situation and put in the wiring (which I'm not even confident they'll do without trying to screw me over again).

 

I used an Allen Wrench to push back and break the majority of the melted plastic out of the way but still I can't manage to get full visibility to the hex key to take the melted plastic out of the way. There's a bit left before I can take it out of the way and be good to go but its getting cold outside and I have work tomorrow so I'll try it on Sunday. It's such a pain because I think that little piece is the only thing in the way before I can swap out the wires!!! I just want this fixed along with the hid's so I don't have to worry about needing anything done before I leave for spring break!

 

Yeah this happened to me a few years ago as well.. The stereo shop hooked up my components wrong and blew one channel on my amp and the whole thing was trashed.. It annoyed me soo much that I learned how to do everything car stereo related myself and now I'm much better off.. I actually have done some really crazy fiberglass box installs and a few competition box builds.. Its really quite amazing when you get into it.. I kind of outgrew the whole REALLY loud system phase, now I'm just an audiophile that'll never be happy with a factory sound system again lol..

 

Yeah I got irritated when they told me they wouldn't cover it too- and the JL Audio certified shop in the area said they couldn't even fit me in for a consult on it for another week from this Tuesday coming up. I finally got frustrated and just took the whole thing apart (no- I'm not an audio technician but I work well with my hands). It took me a bit to get to the area where the problem was- but I don't even have parts to fix it so it was more like an exploratory journey. Now the big question is should I just go pick up another 500/1 or grow some cogones and upgrade to the 1000/1 while its on my mind. =D

 

Yeah, just do it! the 500/1 is okay on the 8" or the 10" but your W7 is starving for more power.. the 1000/1 would be perfect.. then go with KnuKonceptz, JL, Stinger, or Kicker for your wire.. Upgrade to 0 gauge, get a good ANL fuse and then your W7 will kill babies.. Lol its one of the best SQ subs available.. What kind of box are you using right now?? because I may be able to take some measurements from my trunk and design something custom and ported that will really unleash that sub.. I could send you a cad doc. and all you have to do is cut the MDF and put it together..

 

Yeah I sent a few emails out this weekend about upping to the 1000/1. I was looking at a replacement 500/1 but the only few I found used already sold. Since they're $400 to $500 brand new and that's the same price range for the used 1000/1 I found locally I'm hoping I can talk the guy into separating the amp from the amp/sub combo he has (he also has a 12W7 with box he wants to sell it with). Since everything will be down for the next few weeks on account of not being able to drive until the HIDs get installed (my headlights are out right now) I'm looking at remodeling the trunk. I think this is the car's way of telling me it didn't appreciate not being attended to for the past 2 months! It's a good thing I just started working though or I'd be SOL! I think I should have at least $400 or so coming in though- and that's going directly to the system. Then after that its new tires up front.

 

I made offers on 3 different 1000/1's and they all sold before I got a response back so it looks like I may just be getting another 500/1 for $200 shipped.