First of all, the connectors aren't even plug 'n play. Apparently I have to splice or solder the ground wire into the harness. Then there's the issue of cramped space. Then there's the issue of having to drill holes into the back of the covers. Then there's the issue of the bulb holding pins not being able to snap into place with the new bulbs. And in addition to all that, somehow one of my high beam lenses has crud in it on the inside from when I fixed the adjusters, so have to figure out a way to get like a bottle brush in there and clean it. After like 45 minutes of messing around with the HID lights I just put my old bulbs back in... And I can't get the back covers back on. I'm just so frustrated. Any other kind of bulb and it would be so easy to install. I seriously have to figure out a way to tap into the ground wire, maybe solder it if I can find an extension cord. I'm just frustrated, this project is way more complicated than I anticipated. I was expecting to have them done by now.

 

04xtype04, if you read my comments about installing the HIDs into the low beams, I mention taking off the front bumper cover. This actually makes the job much easier and quicker. This then allows you to have the headlights out to have easy access to the wiring and whatnot. Then all you have to worry about is mounting the ballast once the headlight housing is back in place (lots of room to do that with the bumper cover off).

Yes, you are correct in that you have to cut the connector off of the factory wiring to splice in the wiring for the ballasts. I highly recommend keeping the splices inside the headlight housing as this will protect them from the weather and result in a much longer lasting connection. If you insist on making a splice outside of the headlight housing, I highly recommend getting yourself some "Raychem WCSF-050 heatshrink". Once you work with this stuff, you will never want to go back to anything else for on a car. If you solder the wires to each other and put this over it (leaving atleast a 1/2" extra on each end in overlap of insulation and Raychem), it will be as if you had one solid piece of wire. If you are worried about it surviving under hood conditions, don't. I use it at work to survive a nuclear reactor meltdown (yes, I work at a nuclear power plant). I don't think the under hood conditions are as bad as that.

If you need some other pointers, let me know. I will pass on what I know.

 

Seriously the last thing I wanted to do was take off the bumper again. This project is just a pain in the ***. I also don't have an extension cord to solder the wires, so I probably have to take out the headlights. Also, I have to clean out the inside of one of them, so it's another project I wasn't planning on. Should have just left the headlights alone for a while.

 

Did you get the H1 kit? I recall I didn't have to splice any wires when I installed mine. Was plug and play. Maybe they sent the wrong kit (from where you bought it)?

 

Yea it's an H1 bulb but it has a + and - wire, where as the stock bulbs just plug into one socket where the + and - wires go into. It's pretty simple, I just have to connect them up, either splice them or I was thinking I could just attach them to the socket and wrap them up with electrical tape to hold them in place. Only thing delaying me is I have to make a hole in the back of those plastic cover things.

 

04xtype04, when making the hole in the back of the cover, get yourself one of the stairstepped drill bits. It goes through the plastic really nicely and I want to say that the 3/4" step is what fits the grommet really nicely. Sure the bit is like $15, but well worth it in saving time and also is useful if you are doing some other projects to where you need to enlarge holes to make things fit.

 

I didn't see your post in time but I did end up buying a little dremel kit, which probably wasn't the easiest way to do the job, but they are fun to use and I was able to eventually make the holes.

The HID install was a lot of work today. Thought it was going to be a bit easier. My first plan was to solder the ground wire into the back of the stock bulb socket and plug the positive into the socket. Well I did that and the lights didn't turn on. Probably was a short somewhere. So I ended up having to chop off the stock bulb sockets and solder the new wires to the + and - wires. It was a lot of work because the wires are really short and space is crammed. Then I had trouble getting the wires through the hole in the housing, and putting the covers on. Had to fiddle with it a while but it looks good. Driving at night feels a lot nicer now.

 

I went to take a picture of my new lights and I turn them on and only the drivers side was on! So I disconnect the ballast and reconnect it and fiddle with the wires and it would just turn on for a split second when I plugged it in then turn off. So I was thinking there was a short in the wiring or it was a bad ballast or something. So I switch the passengers' side with the drivers' side ballast and it works fine. So I plug the other ballast into the drivers' side and it works too!? So now they are working again, but I didn't do anything other than that. I thought it might be a fuse at first or something. This is just frustrating. One day and already a headlight is out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I don't have any other issues with it. This is exactly why you shouldn't buy the least expensive HID kit you can find from China. If the ballast turns out to be on the fritz, I am going to try to get a replacement or upgrade to a better kit. They were supposed to be AC but when I got them they had no mention of being AC. They almost look like the Xentec's so I'm guessing they are DC even though I specifically asked them to send the AC kit. I was just hoping they'd work and I'd save a little money but I can already see why it would've been wise to spend a little more on a good kit. Any ideas? Now both ballasts appear to be working. Will post the results after a while.

 

If you go after new ballasts, look into the MAXLUX ballasts. I have installed them and have not had any further issues. Yes, they cost a little more (about $30 each), but the quality and longevity is well worth it. May want to also look into getting some 9006 bulb bases and wiring those in place of the connectors that came with the kit. I spent $10 on a set of high temp 9006 connectors at the local auto parts store. But, the seals on these are much better than what came with the kit and will handle anything I will toss at them.