HID/LED Question.
#21
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Thermo, above for the melted connector you instructed Patriot to unplug the headlight housing. I've had trouble in the past getting any of the connectors on this car disconnected. What is the trick? Are they snapped together that well or am i missing a latch....any help would be thankful.
#22
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myjag, the clips that hold the headlight connector in are a royal PITA to get loose (atleast for me). There is a lock on the connector that you have to undo. If you look at the connector, there is a bump on the one long side. If you look inside the bump, you will see a little lever there. I forget if you have to lift up on it or push it in to get it to release. But, once it is released, the plug will come right apart.
#23
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bevoh, the complexity of installing HIDs is a function of which kit you get. If you look at the kit that Boss Fury is looking at buying, that makes installing the fog lights about as easy as it comes as you don't even have to cut any wiring. The hardest part of that is finding a good spot to mount the ballasts. I found that you can put the ballasts between the bumper cover and the supports for the bumper cover and that holds things pretty well. Then you just need a single zip tie to make sure that things don't move. May be wise to tie some of the wiring into place so it is not flopping around.
As for the headlights, this is not quite as straight forward. You will end up cutting wires to do this mod. You will also end up drilling about a 3/4" hole in the back of the headlight cover to install a grommet to allow wires to run in and out of the headlight housing. The slim ballasts fit nicely right under the headlight housing. LIke I mentioned before to Boss, HIDs are polarity sensitive. So, make sure you get the red lead to the positive wire and the black lead to the negative wire.
As for the headlights, this is not quite as straight forward. You will end up cutting wires to do this mod. You will also end up drilling about a 3/4" hole in the back of the headlight cover to install a grommet to allow wires to run in and out of the headlight housing. The slim ballasts fit nicely right under the headlight housing. LIke I mentioned before to Boss, HIDs are polarity sensitive. So, make sure you get the red lead to the positive wire and the black lead to the negative wire.
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bevoh, the headlights are not that bad. If you look at your local hardware store, they have what are called "step bits". They are shaped like a triangle and have about 9 steps to them to drill holes in varying sizes. Measure the inside dimension of the seal that comes with the HID grommet and drill a hole for that size. If anything, go a little small. You can always make the hole bigger. As for the wiring, you will have as I recall a brown wire and a yellow wire. The brown wire is the positive wire, the yellow is the negative wire (double check with a multimeter as I am running off of memory here).
It really is not a hard thing to do. Just have some crimp tubes (aka, butt splices) and use those to make your connections. The hardest part of this mod is simply getting the plug off of the headlight assembly so you can have some room to work. But, even that is simple once you get it figured out.
It really is not a hard thing to do. Just have some crimp tubes (aka, butt splices) and use those to make your connections. The hardest part of this mod is simply getting the plug off of the headlight assembly so you can have some room to work. But, even that is simple once you get it figured out.
#25
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Boss, doing the low beams is easy. You will need to get H1 bulbs. THen you remove the headlight housing, mount the HID ballast under the headlight housing and then you drill a hole in the back of the headlight housing cap to allow you to run the wires in and out. If you need me to go into more detail about this, let me know. I have done a few X-Types this way and it is much easier than you think.
Now, for the fogs. This is something that you will need to look at very closely when buying your HID kit. You need an H11 fog light. The HID kits are going to come in 2 flavors, those that have the H11 base included and are only an H11 kit and then you have the "universal kits" that apply to like 10 bulb styles and the bulb doesn't have the necessary base to make mounting easy. In this case, you have to modify the H11 base that you have now, fit the universal bulb into the holder, and then silicon seal the bulb in place. I have done the bulbs both ways. IF you can, get the H11 specific bulb kit even if it costs you $10 more. It will be well worth your time. Again, if you have any questions about this, let me know. Been there, done that.
Now, for the driving lights in the high beam housings. The big thing with this is getting the base out of the headlight housing. I HIGHLY!!!!!!! recommend doing this when you have the headlight assemblies out for the HID conversion. The issue is that the bases are in there pretty good (just held in by friction). But, what ends up happening is people fight to get it out and they end up breaking the supports for the headlights, leading to the headlights not pointing where they need to and either buying new headlight assemblies or spending time fixing the supports. I have also seen more than my fair share of people having issues buying the cheap W5W LED bulbs. One set I played with, the solder joints literally corroded away and the bulb disintegrated inside the housing. Others seem to have a short life span. So, again, what you pay for is what you are going to get. I have an option, but you have to be willing to do some more leg work to make it happen. I have been using them for 4 years now and no issues. The side marker lights use the same bulb as the running lights in the high beam housing.
Now, for the fogs. This is something that you will need to look at very closely when buying your HID kit. You need an H11 fog light. The HID kits are going to come in 2 flavors, those that have the H11 base included and are only an H11 kit and then you have the "universal kits" that apply to like 10 bulb styles and the bulb doesn't have the necessary base to make mounting easy. In this case, you have to modify the H11 base that you have now, fit the universal bulb into the holder, and then silicon seal the bulb in place. I have done the bulbs both ways. IF you can, get the H11 specific bulb kit even if it costs you $10 more. It will be well worth your time. Again, if you have any questions about this, let me know. Been there, done that.
Now, for the driving lights in the high beam housings. The big thing with this is getting the base out of the headlight housing. I HIGHLY!!!!!!! recommend doing this when you have the headlight assemblies out for the HID conversion. The issue is that the bases are in there pretty good (just held in by friction). But, what ends up happening is people fight to get it out and they end up breaking the supports for the headlights, leading to the headlights not pointing where they need to and either buying new headlight assemblies or spending time fixing the supports. I have also seen more than my fair share of people having issues buying the cheap W5W LED bulbs. One set I played with, the solder joints literally corroded away and the bulb disintegrated inside the housing. Others seem to have a short life span. So, again, what you pay for is what you are going to get. I have an option, but you have to be willing to do some more leg work to make it happen. I have been using them for 4 years now and no issues. The side marker lights use the same bulb as the running lights in the high beam housing.
I so far I have the bumper off and my fog lights out, not sure what to do next, I didn't even start on the low beams.
~Boss
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zach, I have had LED lights in my running light spots (inside the high beam) for 5 years now. No issues. BUt, like was mentioned, I don't use my high beams all that often. The bigger problem I seem to see is that the LED lights are using surface mount LEDs and they are using a very little bit of solder to hold the chips in place. As a result, the humidity in the air is enough to cause the solder to start to corrode and with very little corrosion, the solder joints fail, leading to the lights no longer working. I solved this issue with my car as I went a slight different route in that I used some 10MM 285K MCD leds and then put a resistor in series with the bulb socket. You can then roll the leads of the LED to fit into the factory socket and it all works good. Then all you have to do is protect the spots where you soldered in the resistor. I have found that using some Raychem WCSF-050 shrink tubing is perfect and it will make things last for a long, long time.
If you need more info, let me know. I will pass on what you need to know. If you are worried about the Raychem tubing surviving the under hood temps, don't. I use this stuff at work to survive a nuclear disaster (literally). It is GOOD!!!! stuff.
If you need more info, let me know. I will pass on what you need to know. If you are worried about the Raychem tubing surviving the under hood temps, don't. I use this stuff at work to survive a nuclear disaster (literally). It is GOOD!!!! stuff.
#29
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I just upgraded my headlights and fog lights to HID 5Ks. I took a lot of pics to share with everyone. What I have here is a basic run down of what I did, feel free to dig deeper and ask questions.
I got the Maxlux H1 kit for the headlights, and the H11 for the fogs. The H1 kit is a plug and play replacement for our headlights, has the same little bumps on the plug body and a flat edge that fits right in where the halogens would.
For the fogs the H11 are a good fit, but they need to be RTV’d to the housing, there are no clips to hold them in place as with the headlights. I used zip ties to hold them in place while the RTV cured.
I took my time and pulled the bumper cover, which holds the fogs, pulled both headlight assemblies out of the car and spent a day doing the R&R, even polished up my lens covers.
Below is a picture of the bumper cover removed in the carport. This is actually a pic of the re-assembly. I set it on ottomans and used a trash can so it wouldn't fall over, then inched it towards the car and set the fog light ballast into the chassis on little fun shelves I found in there.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79680-hid-led-question-img_20140407_183117_zps839c11ef.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Here's the headlight HID lamp. The way it works is pretty cool. How Do HID/Xenon Headlamps Work and Why Should You Install Them?
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79681-hid-led-question-img_20140407_163603_zps53100be6.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
HID on the left, Halogen on the right.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79703-hid-led-question-img_20140407_163935_zpsf361a83f.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
I also got the adjusters for the headlights. push pulls are at the top of the headlamp assy and the horizontal slider sits at the bottom.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79682-hid-led-question-img_20140406_162325_zps615d42ee.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
I used simultaneous channel locks to pry the lens covers off. Slowly....they put Gorilla snot in the groove or something, don't crack the plastic. I had to cut the Gorilla snot to get the lens covers off.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79683-hid-led-question-img_20140406_181651_zps8266b21c.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79684-hid-led-question-img_20140406_184116_zpsc540698b.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79685-hid-led-question-img_20140406_184731_zps82542aad.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Got them all apart. I ended up polishing the lens covers with headlight paste since I had them off the car and I could get around the sides with a buffer.![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79686-hid-led-question-img_20140406_162239_zps095535a1.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
I did not wipe the chrome pieces, they were basically clean with a little dust. I just sprayed the shiny surfaces with compressed air. Rather surprising for a 12 year old car. The head lamps are well sealed and difficult to separate.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79687-hid-led-question-img_20140406_185157_zps646845c8.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
The chrome pieces have each 3 tabs that also go into the Gorilla snot perimeter. They appear to have their own sub slots.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79688-hid-led-question-img_20140406_185821_zps7eb20e45.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
"Chrome piece" removed - bare light assembly
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79689-hid-led-question-img_20140406_185949_zpsb6549090.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Hi beam / Low beam assy removed from housing.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79692-hid-led-question-img_20140406_192108_zps0613a8d9.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Here we have the new headlight push/pull going into the old socket cup. The cup is stretched and won't hold the ball end. I ended up squirting a little RTV in the cups and then jamming the ball ends into them, and let them set over night. Below that, you can see the new horizontal slider piece installed.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79690-hid-led-question-img_20140406_174848_zpsad12abaf.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Had to pull the cup and knock out the old plastic ball end that was stuck. I glued the cup back in place with Super glue.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79691-hid-led-question-img_20140406_171033_zps5ac2aa69.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Here is a new HID plugged into the headlight housing. Fits nicely; the original clips still work.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79693-hid-led-question-img_20140407_163712_zps8453456c.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Drilled a 1" hole in the back of the light cover. The grommet seals it up nicely
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79694-hid-led-question-img_20140407_164427_zps6e73a730.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
This is the back of the hi beam, I replaced the adjusters, but left these halogen as they are bright at the flick of the switch, unlike the HIDs which take about 5 secs to full brightness.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79695-hid-led-question-img_20140407_164712_zpsfed26782.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
High beam adjuster slides into a groove.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79696-hid-led-question-img_20140406_191825_zpsc3149c0a.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Somehow I didn't get many pics of the flog light install. The first is taken sitting at the driver's front wheel looking fwd with the bumper cover afloat.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79697-hid-led-question-img_20140407_183153_zps5c1e3d8e.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Next we have a top view with the HID harness's in place. As I moved the bumper cover back into place I zip tied the extra harness length to the body along with the ballasts.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79698-hid-led-question-img_20140407_183130_zps77813a60.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
And, ignition!
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79699-hid-led-question-img_20140407_212935_zpsa2beddc6.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
I got the Maxlux H1 kit for the headlights, and the H11 for the fogs. The H1 kit is a plug and play replacement for our headlights, has the same little bumps on the plug body and a flat edge that fits right in where the halogens would.
For the fogs the H11 are a good fit, but they need to be RTV’d to the housing, there are no clips to hold them in place as with the headlights. I used zip ties to hold them in place while the RTV cured.
I took my time and pulled the bumper cover, which holds the fogs, pulled both headlight assemblies out of the car and spent a day doing the R&R, even polished up my lens covers.
Below is a picture of the bumper cover removed in the carport. This is actually a pic of the re-assembly. I set it on ottomans and used a trash can so it wouldn't fall over, then inched it towards the car and set the fog light ballast into the chassis on little fun shelves I found in there.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79680-hid-led-question-img_20140407_183117_zps839c11ef.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Here's the headlight HID lamp. The way it works is pretty cool. How Do HID/Xenon Headlamps Work and Why Should You Install Them?
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79681-hid-led-question-img_20140407_163603_zps53100be6.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
HID on the left, Halogen on the right.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79703-hid-led-question-img_20140407_163935_zpsf361a83f.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
I also got the adjusters for the headlights. push pulls are at the top of the headlamp assy and the horizontal slider sits at the bottom.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79682-hid-led-question-img_20140406_162325_zps615d42ee.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
I used simultaneous channel locks to pry the lens covers off. Slowly....they put Gorilla snot in the groove or something, don't crack the plastic. I had to cut the Gorilla snot to get the lens covers off.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79683-hid-led-question-img_20140406_181651_zps8266b21c.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79684-hid-led-question-img_20140406_184116_zpsc540698b.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79685-hid-led-question-img_20140406_184731_zps82542aad.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Got them all apart. I ended up polishing the lens covers with headlight paste since I had them off the car and I could get around the sides with a buffer.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79686-hid-led-question-img_20140406_162239_zps095535a1.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
I did not wipe the chrome pieces, they were basically clean with a little dust. I just sprayed the shiny surfaces with compressed air. Rather surprising for a 12 year old car. The head lamps are well sealed and difficult to separate.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79687-hid-led-question-img_20140406_185157_zps646845c8.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
The chrome pieces have each 3 tabs that also go into the Gorilla snot perimeter. They appear to have their own sub slots.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79688-hid-led-question-img_20140406_185821_zps7eb20e45.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
"Chrome piece" removed - bare light assembly
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79689-hid-led-question-img_20140406_185949_zpsb6549090.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Hi beam / Low beam assy removed from housing.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79692-hid-led-question-img_20140406_192108_zps0613a8d9.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Here we have the new headlight push/pull going into the old socket cup. The cup is stretched and won't hold the ball end. I ended up squirting a little RTV in the cups and then jamming the ball ends into them, and let them set over night. Below that, you can see the new horizontal slider piece installed.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79690-hid-led-question-img_20140406_174848_zpsad12abaf.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Had to pull the cup and knock out the old plastic ball end that was stuck. I glued the cup back in place with Super glue.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79691-hid-led-question-img_20140406_171033_zps5ac2aa69.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Here is a new HID plugged into the headlight housing. Fits nicely; the original clips still work.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79693-hid-led-question-img_20140407_163712_zps8453456c.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Drilled a 1" hole in the back of the light cover. The grommet seals it up nicely
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79694-hid-led-question-img_20140407_164427_zps6e73a730.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
This is the back of the hi beam, I replaced the adjusters, but left these halogen as they are bright at the flick of the switch, unlike the HIDs which take about 5 secs to full brightness.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79695-hid-led-question-img_20140407_164712_zpsfed26782.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
High beam adjuster slides into a groove.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79696-hid-led-question-img_20140406_191825_zpsc3149c0a.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Somehow I didn't get many pics of the flog light install. The first is taken sitting at the driver's front wheel looking fwd with the bumper cover afloat.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79697-hid-led-question-img_20140407_183153_zps5c1e3d8e.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Next we have a top view with the HID harness's in place. As I moved the bumper cover back into place I zip tied the extra harness length to the body along with the ballasts.
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79698-hid-led-question-img_20140407_183130_zps77813a60.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
And, ignition!
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79699-hid-led-question-img_20140407_212935_zpsa2beddc6.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
![](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/attachments/x-type-x400-14/79700-hid-led-question-img_20140407_212922_zps38390ce1.jpg?dateline=1397114063)
Last edited by Patterson; 04-10-2014 at 02:37 AM.
#30
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#31
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Thermo, true enough! They were very tough to separate, I didn't think of heating them. Also, I wanted to use some Raychem shrink tubing that you've mentioned to insulate the soldered fog light wires, but I don't own a blow dryer and my gf was out of town. Must visit Harbor Freight for a real heat gun. I ended up wrapping them with electrical tape.
This was a cool project and I put everything back together so that I don't have to touch it for a few years! I just want to set it and forget it, like the guy on TV
This was a cool project and I put everything back together so that I don't have to touch it for a few years! I just want to set it and forget it, like the guy on TV
![Smile](https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif)
#32
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