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HIDs in High Beams (or Low Beams)

Author : clumpymold Posted on : 04/11/2004
Model : BMW, 3 - Series (E36) 1991-99 Category : Lights - Headlights
Source : http://www.bimmerforums.com
 
Finally got around to typing this up and organizing the pictures. I recently purchased a new HID kit and decided to put these in my fogs since my fog HIDs started to turn greenish-yellowish (originally blue-ish 6000K). I then decided to put my HIDs from my fogs in to my high beams instead of just throwing them away or selling them.

Anyway, my NEW setup is:

- Low beams --> Philips 6000K bulbs with Hella ballasts (came with headlights) - ~6 months old.
- Foglights --> Xtec 6000K bulbs with Osram ballasts (recently purchased for $290 shipped ) - Brand New
- High beams --> Osram 6000K bulbs with Hella ballasts - ~1-2 years old (estimate)

This write-up will document how I installed the Osram 6000K HID kit into my HIGH beams. This will be essentially the same for installing ANY generic HID kit into the low beams since they are the same bulbs and utilize the same housings. The headlights are ZKWs and the vehicle is a 1997 M3/2.

TOOLS USED:

- Wire strippers (scissors can also be used)
- Scissors (or wire cutters)
- Wire connectors (I used female/male connectors)
- Double-sided tape or Velcro (screws can also be used but more permanent)
- Dremel (or some other method to drill a ~1.0" hole into plastic)
- 9mm (or is it 8mm?) socket (to remove top two headlight bolts)
- Ratchet and 6" extension (for bottom two headlight bolts)
- Screwdriver (to remove front side corners)
- Long pliers or adjustable wrench (to adjust headlight bolt backings)
- HID kit with grommets, Xenon bulbs, ballasts, and connecting wires

This is the kit I used:


BRIEF SUMMARY OF INSTALLATION:

The main difference between an HID kit and a regular halogen bulb setup (other than the filament and the gas in each of the bulbs) is that the HID bulb needs over 20,000 volts initially to light up the bulb. This power is provided by the ballast which takes the normal 12 volts from the battery and increases it briefly to ~23k volts. What you're basically doing is swapping bulbs but, in addition to this, you're going to have to wire a ballast between the battery and the HID bulb. This is done by rerouting the original power and ground wires BACK OUT of the high beam cover to the ballast and then BACK IN to the HID bulb. You'll need a nice set of projectors to project the HID light (e.g., ZKW, Hella, Bosch, Depo, DJ Auto) vs. the stock headlights which will not be able to disperse the light from the HID bulb properly. Then you'll have to find a nice location to mount the ballast.


REMOVING HEADLIGHTS:

- Okay, first off, remove driver's side headlight by unscrewing the two top bolts and bottom two bolts (need extension for bottom) using a 9mm socket and ratchet.
- Unclip front side marker using a screwdriver to hold clip back
- Remove headlights from car
- Take back cover off high beams by undoing top clip then pulling cover outward from the top down:


REROUTING WIRES:

- Drill hole about 1.0" or so in diameter in the back of the cover (sorry for the fuzzy picture):


- Push grommet on HID bulb through the hole (the grommet should have two of its four holes taken by the HID bulb wires - one for power and one for ground). First picture is before the grommet was pushed through (for estimate on how big the hole must be). Second is top view with grommet pushed through. Last is back side. (I already have male connectors on these wires since these bulbs were from my foglights.):


- Looking at the high beam wires from the back of the headlight, you should see one WHITE wire that is normally plugged into the bulb for power. Another wire is BROWN for the ground.
- Cut the WHITE wire, remove the stock high beam bulb, and reroute the wire out through one of the grommet holes (one out of the two unused):


- Tap into the BROWN ground wire using another wire and reroute that wire through the final grommet hole (I used good ol' speaker wire ):


- All four grommet holes should now be occupied.
- Place and lock HID bulb into high beam bulb holder and clamp down (be careful not to touch the bulb as your oils will expand and cause damage to the VERY hot HID bulb).
- HINT: Do NOT make the power and ground wires directly from the HID bulb too short as it will be VERY difficult to place the cover back on the headlight but do not make it too long as you'll have to fit all of it into the housing (ask me how I know ).
- Connect the WHITE wire from the original high beam bulb to the RED (or power) wire going to the ballast via the "funny, very difficult to remove" connector.
- Connect the BROWN wire from the original high beam HOUSING to the BLACK (or ground) wire going to the ballast via the same connector (you'll see TWO white wires coming out as I extended my speaker wire using white wire with a black stripe).


- Add female and/or male connectors to these two wires and prepare to connect the ballast wires (I used female connectors since my ballast wires already had male connectors).

MOUNTING BALLAST AND REPLACING HEADLIGHT:

- Find a nice safe location to mount the ballast. I used the metal bumper support underneath the headlight. I already have one there for my low beams so this one was a tight squeeze. I had to position it accordingly to fit. I also used INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH Velcro to hold the ballast down (worked AWESOME).


- Replace headlight carefully and adjust so that the bottom of the headlight is 2.5mm from the bumper and 1.5mm from the top of the hood when closed (this is my passenger side BACK, by the way). I can post a picture of the front view of my headlight off, if requested to see how to position it properly.


- Test lights and smile at how much brighter your high beams (or low beams) are compared to stock.

Here are some shots of the final product:


New fogs on LOW LIGHT SETTING:


Just my Lave Lighting Angel Eyes (LLAE) kit and new fogs on LOW LIGHT SETTING:


For those interested, here are the comparison pictures. I decided NOT to put each kit into the low beams and, instead, just take some pictures of the bulbs themselves when powered on. Here is the Xtec 6000K bulb (on left, blueish) and the Osram 6000K bulb (on right, greenish):


Philips 6000K bulb:


ALL THREE (From left to right - Philips, Xtec, & Osram):


Okay, that's it for now.



Also, a few VERY important modifications you will need to do to actually keep your HIDs running. You'll need to change your fuses in your fuse box. I have a picture here of my fuse box. The RED circle you see in the lower right of the picture are the fuses to change. Change them to FIFTEEN amp fuses (as shown). If you were to add low beams, you'd change the two fuses circled in BLUE to 15 amps each (as shown). If you were to change your fogs, you'd need to change the ONE fuse circled in GREEN to THIRTY amps (as shown).
 

Pictures

Picture 1
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Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
Picture 8
Picture 9
Picture 10
Picture 11
Picture 12
Picture 13
Picture 14
Picture 15
Picture 16
Picture 17
Picture 18
Picture 19
Picture 20
Picture 21
Picture 22

Click on the thumbnails to see larger images.

 

References

  • http://www.bimmerforums.com
    •  


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