Fitting aftermarket HIDs

[Conan_the_Librarian]

Today I was mostly fitting some after-market HIDs that I bought because I gave bum advice. (Don't feel guilty Darren! ) Turns out that they would not fit the dipped beam on the projekt but would replace the Fogs. So here goes. This process is also the same for any after market HID.

To make this easy just remove the bumper and trims below the headlights.

2 bolts in the lower outer grills here:



This is the kit I am using and the pair of LED sidelights next to them I got here. I already have a pair of these on the S8 along with after market HID dipped beams.



Remember to ease out the inner wing liners or the bumper will not come away. Once it's off you have unfettered acces and a great mounting point for the ballasts.



As you can see I have cable tied mine in place with 4 butch ties. The kit comes with mounting brackets but as I used this method on the S8 and have had no issues, I have done it again. When I get the HIDs for the dipped beam I will mount alongside or maybe piggyback.

The rear cover of the cluster neads a hole cut in the bottom for the wiring.



Once done you can see the difference with the side lights



The fogs:



A couple of tips.

A. The ballasts need a lot of voltage and only one would fire if the engine was not running. Took me a while to realise this. The fogs would splutter and then only one would light on the battery alone.

B. Fitting the bulbs was fiddly and in the end I removed both clusters. The first came off to repair and had gone back on before I started the HID. The bulbs have a plastic moulding and are thicker than the metal ones that they replaced, so a little bit of judicial bending was required to get the locking spring back in.