Figured I would share. I decided that my 100w halogens just weren't bright enough anymore, so I decided a retrofit was in order. I ordered up a DDM Tuning 55w 5000K Slim Ballast HID kit (I already had one on hand from a motorcycle- didn't wind up working properly in that application) to begin the fit.
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-35W-55W-Dual-Motorcycle-HID-Kit
I've had success with DDM Tuning, and all of my buddies use their lights. If you are willing to wait for their shipping, then it's worth it (they are local, but 55W kits are mail order only).
DISREGARD THE FOLLOWING STEP. See post #12 for proper installation.
Really all I had to do was remove the old bulbs, fit the new bulbs, and solder the bulbs to the wire. I decided not to use the plugs for the initial installation, but they will be going back in when I find the time to do some soldering (and when I get more heat shrink tubing). I taped the ballasts to the support rods for a temporary "test run" fit.
At this point I still wasn't sure with how I wanted to mount them. Everyone I know just zip ties them to the inside of the fender- I am however incredibly annoyed at such lazy-ness and that is not acceptable to me for a permanent fit. I remembered reading about RadioShack project boxes one time in a magazine article, but I didn't know if they would be big enough to house 2-3 ballasts if I wanted to go that route. I cruised on by just to check them out, and they happened to have a pretty big box that I knew could house at least 6 full size ballasts comfortably, so I bought it. Was about $8.
De-soldered my ballasts from the bulbs, drilled a hole in the box, ran the cool rubber boot i got with the lights, and began re-soldering wires. I had to extend the wires from one ballast all the way to the drivers side which was over 6 feet.
Got them all installed nicely and then went to flip the switch to turn them on. BUZZ. One of the lights didn't fire up- the drivers side. Takes several attempts to get it to fire.
Got my troubleshooting hat on and began switching ballasts. Then bulbs. all with the same result. It became apparent that something was up with the wiring running to the drivers side, and after going through it making sure all of my solder joints were correct, I still couldn't figure out what was up. Finally I came to the conclusion that perhaps the wire is creating too much resistance for the fire up. These bulbs need about 25Kv to ignite so the wire was causing too much resistance- possibly it was tricking the ballast into thinking there is a short somewhere so it shut down for safety.
Anyways, I decided the best route was to get another smaller project box to mount on the drivers side.
Didn't have a cool rubber boot for this one, so I applied some electrical tape and kind of jammed the wires through it to seal it off.
Soldered the lights up and they flick on perfectly every single time without hesitation. To mount the ballasts inside of the boxes I used some 3M double sided foam tape- DON'T use more than a 1" long piece or you will never get the ballast out in one piece as I discovered... 1" strip is more than enough to hold it in, I fear that not even a nuclear warhead could remove the other ballast. Don't know HOW I got this one out but it took a long time, a lot of patience, a lot of heat and a lot of elbow grease. Even then it tore the back metal plate off of the ballast, so I had to spend some time carefully straightening it back out and then I stuck it back in, luckily it fits snugly and flush.
There's plenty of room in each box for more components. I am going to move the relays and fuses for the lights into the bigger box. Here's what they look like:
Yes, the bulbs are a different color. I may have ordered a 6000k initially, and thought it was a 5000k, but it's not that noticeable on the trails. I have adjusted them ever since, and I have seen objects over 4,600ft away with ease (as per google earth ruler tool). The next step is to retrofit the headlights to HID's- not sure if I want to go to projectors or use a high/low beam HID light. After that will be another pair of spots on the windshield with the DDM Tuning 55w HID's.
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-35W-55W-Dual-Motorcycle-HID-Kit
I've had success with DDM Tuning, and all of my buddies use their lights. If you are willing to wait for their shipping, then it's worth it (they are local, but 55W kits are mail order only).
DISREGARD THE FOLLOWING STEP. See post #12 for proper installation.
Really all I had to do was remove the old bulbs, fit the new bulbs, and solder the bulbs to the wire. I decided not to use the plugs for the initial installation, but they will be going back in when I find the time to do some soldering (and when I get more heat shrink tubing). I taped the ballasts to the support rods for a temporary "test run" fit.
At this point I still wasn't sure with how I wanted to mount them. Everyone I know just zip ties them to the inside of the fender- I am however incredibly annoyed at such lazy-ness and that is not acceptable to me for a permanent fit. I remembered reading about RadioShack project boxes one time in a magazine article, but I didn't know if they would be big enough to house 2-3 ballasts if I wanted to go that route. I cruised on by just to check them out, and they happened to have a pretty big box that I knew could house at least 6 full size ballasts comfortably, so I bought it. Was about $8.
De-soldered my ballasts from the bulbs, drilled a hole in the box, ran the cool rubber boot i got with the lights, and began re-soldering wires. I had to extend the wires from one ballast all the way to the drivers side which was over 6 feet.
Got them all installed nicely and then went to flip the switch to turn them on. BUZZ. One of the lights didn't fire up- the drivers side. Takes several attempts to get it to fire.
Got my troubleshooting hat on and began switching ballasts. Then bulbs. all with the same result. It became apparent that something was up with the wiring running to the drivers side, and after going through it making sure all of my solder joints were correct, I still couldn't figure out what was up. Finally I came to the conclusion that perhaps the wire is creating too much resistance for the fire up. These bulbs need about 25Kv to ignite so the wire was causing too much resistance- possibly it was tricking the ballast into thinking there is a short somewhere so it shut down for safety.
Anyways, I decided the best route was to get another smaller project box to mount on the drivers side.
Didn't have a cool rubber boot for this one, so I applied some electrical tape and kind of jammed the wires through it to seal it off.
Soldered the lights up and they flick on perfectly every single time without hesitation. To mount the ballasts inside of the boxes I used some 3M double sided foam tape- DON'T use more than a 1" long piece or you will never get the ballast out in one piece as I discovered... 1" strip is more than enough to hold it in, I fear that not even a nuclear warhead could remove the other ballast. Don't know HOW I got this one out but it took a long time, a lot of patience, a lot of heat and a lot of elbow grease. Even then it tore the back metal plate off of the ballast, so I had to spend some time carefully straightening it back out and then I stuck it back in, luckily it fits snugly and flush.
There's plenty of room in each box for more components. I am going to move the relays and fuses for the lights into the bigger box. Here's what they look like:
Yes, the bulbs are a different color. I may have ordered a 6000k initially, and thought it was a 5000k, but it's not that noticeable on the trails. I have adjusted them ever since, and I have seen objects over 4,600ft away with ease (as per google earth ruler tool). The next step is to retrofit the headlights to HID's- not sure if I want to go to projectors or use a high/low beam HID light. After that will be another pair of spots on the windshield with the DDM Tuning 55w HID's.