HID, pleasure &... pain

[matuva]

Hi all,

Do any of you already install an HID kit for the 9006 bulbs (low beam) on a K1500 - mine is year 1996- ?

I did today.

I received my kit 2 days before and was very excited. It took around 2 hours to install the kit, lot of waste of time to find where and how fix the ballasts securely, but when the job was finished, I was full of hope and was ready to go for a drive tonight to show buddies :D

But, when I first switch on the lights, .... nothing! Nada! Rien! :(

I swap the bulbs, double check the connexions, double check the wiring diagram, still nothing

Before I claim to the seller (chinese), can you tell if there is something special about the Chevy K1500 electricals? Not sure but I recall now that i have read somewhere that not all HID kits are equals and not all can fit a K1500.

Anybody heard about that?:confused:

Thanks.

[TurboDiverArt]

Hi all,

Do any of you already install an HID kit for the 9006 bulbs (low beam) on a K1500 - mine is year 1996- ?

I did today.

I received my kit 2 days before and was very excited. It took around 2 hours to install the kit, lot of waste of time to find where and how fix the ballasts securely, but when the job was finished, I was full of hope and was ready to go for a drive tonight to show buddies :D

But, when I first switch on the lights, .... nothing! Nada! Rien! :(

I swap the bulbs, double check the connexions, double check the wiring diagram, still nothing

Before I claim to the seller (chinese), can you tell if there is something special about the Chevy K1500 electricals? Not sure but I recall now that i have read somewhere that not all HID kits are equals and not all can fit a K1500.

Anybody heard about that?:confused:

Thanks.
Do you have a link to the kit you bought? eBay link or something? Is it like this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HID-Xenon-Kit-9006-8000K-GM-GMC-Chevrolet-Envoy-Blazer_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQihZ009QQi temZ190128248360#ebayphotohosting

I have been thinking of doing this conversion myself. There should be nothing special about the installation. If I understand the install correctly you are only using the factory wiring as a trigger to have the ballast send power to the bulb. The ballasts are wired directly to the power source and ground. You only need a power signal to tell the relay to sent power to the HID slugs, this is the factory wiring.

My suggestion is this. At the ballast/controller, check the power from the battery/alternator (which ever is used). Check the ground from the ballast to the battery ground terminal (not just chassis). Then check each headlight signal from the factory wiring through the connectors to the ballast/controller to make sure you are getting a trigger signal. If all this tests out correctly then you need to test out the signal out of the ballasts to the HID slugs. If no signal out of the ballasts but you have power in and a trigger voltage then you probably have a bad ballast. If the ballasts are putting out power but not igniting the slugs then you either have a bad slug or a grounding problem.

I'm very interested in how this works out for you. What condition are your headlight lenses in? Foggy, new, aftermarket?

Thanks,
Art.

[matuva]

Do you have a link to the kit you bought? eBay link or something? Is it like this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HID-Xenon-Kit-9006-8000K-GM-GMC-Chevrolet-Envoy-Blazer_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQihZ009QQi temZ190128248360#ebayphotohosting


Art,

here's the link to the item I bought : http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=012&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=220097821942&rd=1,1

I have seen the item you linked and I'm waiting for a reply to a question I sent the seller about this kit to fit or not a chevy truck.


I have been thinking of doing this conversion myself. There should be nothing special about the installation. If I understand the install correctly you are only using the factory wiring as a trigger to have the ballast send power to the bulb. The ballasts are wired directly to the power source and ground. You only need a power signal to tell the relay to sent power to the HID slugs, this is the factory wiring.

My suggestion is this. At the ballast/controller, check the power from the battery/alternator (which ever is used). Check the ground from the ballast to the battery ground terminal (not just chassis). Then check each headlight signal from the factory wiring through the connectors to the ballast/controller to make sure you are getting a trigger signal. If all this tests out correctly then you need to test out the signal out of the ballasts to the HID slugs. If no signal out of the ballasts but you have power in and a trigger voltage then you probably have a bad ballast. If the ballasts are putting out power but not igniting the slugs then you either have a bad slug or a grounding problem.

Apparently, for this 9006 kit, the factory wiring doesn't only act as a trigger but also as power source : the original socket plugs in the ballast; from the ballast you have 2 wires connecting to ths bulb, that's all.
see pic of the notice...
May be a good idea to check the grounds, will do tomorrow.
I'm actually posting too here : http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1864390&posted=1#post1864390
A guy answered me saying he met the same trouble with one kit, trouble solved by exchanging the kit...:mad:


I'm very interested in how this works out for you. What condition are your headlight lenses in? Foggy, new, aftermarket?.

They are new , about one month ago, and aftermarket. Here is how they look like : http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150137683799&fromMakeTrack=true

I have the same head lights but not this HID kit.

[stingthieves]

And I understand that my vain rebuttal of your purchase will not help your pain.

But to anyone else contemplating buying this cheep junk --DON"T The light spectrum illuminates things 2 miles down the road yet darker objects will not be apparent till you are right on them because your eyes will not see them in this light. Combine that with the terrible optics of the OEM composite assemblies and you really are wasting your time and money. Individual bulbs from the front end of an 88 or 89 will fit and are far superior if you don't want aux lamps on the front of your truck.

rewire your headlights with either one of the kits from the contributing vendors or follow the clear instructions I used
http://www.vclassics.com/archive/relays.htm
Then purchase and install - with similar relays - some hi quality ROUND driving lamps if you still want to pierce the night.

[Shikaroka]

I agree with Sting.

HIDs in these crappy OEM lights is just a bad idea. HIDs should only be used with lights designed for HIDs or at least projector style lenses.
The focal point is all wrong with these bulbs when used in these DOT headlights. You will not put as much light where you need it and you will most likely blind oncoming traffic.

I have HIDs in other cars, so don't get me wrong. HIDs are great! (in the right headlight)

I just recently replaced the headlights in my Suburban with some new (OEM style) units. I then put 9005s in both sides and wired them up with relays. They are a great improvement and put the light mostly where it's needed.

I'd say the DRLs on our trucks would interfere with these kits and not send them enough juice when the lights are not turned on.

[Dmax son]

I got this hid kit. It is from elegante by tyc.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/88-99-CHEVY-PICKUP-TRUCK-SUBURBAN-HID-CLEAR-HEAD-LIGHTS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33710QQihZ005QQi temZ150137683799QQrdZ1

It comes with new housings, with the low beam designed for the hid light. It also has a complete plug in wiring harness, that takes power off the battery. Similar to the headlight harness that kennedy sells. You dont have to do any custom mounting. The ballast are mounted to the headlight mount, all you do is unbolt the stock headlight and mount and bolt on the new headlight and mount, and run the plug in harness.

Bryan

[matuva]

Yes, I did see them too. But with $135 shipping to my country + 39% additional taxs on the all thing (item value + shipping), I gave up.
I have the same headlights.

So you say the power is coming straight off the batteries?
Wonder if it is not the key...

[a5150nut]

I got this hid kit. It is from elegante by tyc.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/88-99-CHEVY-PICKUP-TRUCK-SUBURBAN-HID-CLEAR-HEAD-LIGHTS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33710QQihZ005QQi temZ150137683799QQrdZ1

It comes with new housings, with the low beam designed for the hid light. It also has a complete plug in wiring harness, that takes power off the battery. Similar to the headlight harness that kennedy sells. You dont have to do any custom mounting. The ballast are mounted to the headlight mount, all you do is unbolt the stock headlight and mount and bolt on the new headlight and mount, and run the plug in harness.

Bryan

So Bryan, can you see a nickle on the road at a quarter mile on a dark night? :D Do they work well? Are they worth the money? And how do they see in weather?

[a5150nut]

Yes, I did see them too. But with $135 shipping to my country + 39% additional taxs on the all thing (item value + shipping), I gave up.

There has to be a way around that. I had relatives in Rangoon Burma for a number of years. We would wear shoes around the house for a week, squeeze a little tooth paste out of the tube, ect. to get around the import duties. Just couldn't look new.

[TurboDiverArt]

Art,

here's the link to the item I bought : http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=012&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=220097821942&rd=1,1

I have seen the item you linked and I'm waiting for a reply to a question I sent the seller about this kit to fit or not a chevy truck.



Apparently, for this 9006 kit, the factory wiring doesn't only act as a trigger but also as power source : the original socket plugs in the ballast; from the ballast you have 2 wires connecting to ths bulb, that's all.
see pic of the notice...
May be a good idea to check the grounds, will do tomorrow.
I'm actually posting too here : http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1864390&posted=1#post1864390
A guy answered me saying he met the same trouble with one kit, trouble solved by exchanging the kit...:mad:



They are new , about one month ago, and aftermarket. Here is how they look like : http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150137683799&fromMakeTrack=true

I have the same head lights but not this HID kit.
I have the same clear headlights. I put them on with regular 9006 bulbs (upgraded wiring) but didn't do too much. I'm currently running the 4-bulb 1989 setup. It's marginally better than the stock setup but you can actually aim them individually which is worth something.. If you can get the HIDs to work with the clear Diamond type headlights and it's good I'd be very interested. I

[matuva]

Hiiiiiiiiii haaaa!!!! hi pye - hi pyo. Alleluia!!!!! THEY WORK!!!

It was as simple as turning 180

[TurboDiverArt]

[QUOTE=matuva]Hiiiiiiiiii haaaa!!!! hi pye - hi pyo. Alleluia!!!!! THEY WORK!!!

It was as simple as turning 180

[Shikaroka]

My assumption is your setup is the 8000K ones. I think they are the clearest ones (white/clear, not blue).

Art.

8000k is getting fairly on the blue side.
6000k-6500k is bright white.

I've tried everything from 4100k to 12000k.

[matuva]

[QUOTE=TurboDiverArt]Congrats, this is great news! You've driven at night I assume. In dry conditions? Big difference in the amount of light the HID

[matuva]

Art,

you're lucky guy. We have heavy rains this evening and I just finished drive testing on wet roads and under rain.

No miracle, wet roads still swallow lights,...but, if it's a true fact that there's less difference between halogen (xenon) and HID, there's a real improvement between stock bulbs and HID.

Anyways, the real difference is not just in front of your truck : HID improves a lot by making things on the border of the road and marks on the road very clear, so, even if the road still appears dark, I can say you can drive a lot safer under the rain with HID.

I confirm : forget about 8000K and above : the bluish tint will make you blind under wet conditions, HID or Halogen.

[Dmax son]

If you go to the photo album and look up my user name, I put pictures of my hid kit in there.

Bryan

[TurboDiverArt]

OK, so what's the conclusion here? DMAX Son, it seems you are pleased with these lights? Better than stock? I know Matuva is pleased.

Is there a consensus regarding which is clearer? Anyone know what light range Stock OEM HID lights are from GM? 4300K or 6000K?

Thanks,
Art.

[EdHale]

My concern is that stock light bulbs do not produce UV radiation. The HID units do produce UV and in large quantities. How fast will the plastic headlight assembly lens turn yellow under this UV radiation? Yes I knoww the sun produces UV as well and the lenses do yellow through the years, but how much faster will this occur with a UV source from inside as well? I would like to upgrade to the HID's, but don't want to have to replace the lens assembly after just a few months. I do a lot of night driving when the units would be on a lot. Does anyone have any long term usage of HID's and their effect on the plastic lens assemblies to report? Thanks. Ed

[TurboDiverArt]

OK, so what's the conclusion here? DMAX Son, it seems you are pleased with these lights? Better than stock? I know Matuva is pleased.

Is there a consensus regarding which is clearer? Anyone know what light range Stock OEM HID lights are from GM? 4300K or 6000K?

Thanks,
Art.
Anyone have data on which light range the stock GM HID's are? At $125 I'd give them a try even if it's only a little better than stock.

Art.

[matuva]

I can't see blue effects in GM HID, so I bet they are 4300K or 5000K

[TurboDiverArt]

I can't see blue effects in GM HID, so I bet they are 4300K or 5000K
I agree. I wasn't sure if they were 4300K or 6000K. 6000K seems to also be white but I'm not sure. I'm ready to buy a set and try them out. I also like the fact that if they die you can unplug them and plug in a stock bulb in a pinch. Haven't seen a set for sale that are 5000K, only 4300K and 6000K but then I haven

[Dmax son]

Yes, I'm very pleased with the lights. If you look at how much kennedy's headlight booster is at $145, new headlight housings at about $100, new low beams at $40 and new hi beams at $40, For a total of $325, and I paid $299 for the complete kit. The optics were designed for the hid low beams, which is the only way hid lights are dot certified. The lights output far exceeds the original headlights. I can see things off to the side of the road a lot better, countless number of animals have ran out, but I see them long before they can getting in the road. With how white the light is, it is alot less fatiguing to drive at night.

I don't think uv radiation is going to be a big problem, I'm pretty sure that a number of the factory installed hid lights have composite headlight housing also. From all of the factory hid lights, I don't remember seeing any that have yellowed.

As far as I know, from all of the reading that I have done on hid lights, the only street legal color output is 4300k, I guess that it is as close to suns color output.

Bryan

[Shikaroka]

I don't think uv radiation is going to be a big problem, I'm pretty sure that a number of the factory installed hid lights have composite headlight housing also. From all of the factory hid lights, I don't remember seeing any that have yellowed.



All OEM HID headlights use a projector style glass lens. They may have a plastic shield out front, but the lens is still glass.



As far as I know, from all of the reading that I have done on hid lights, the only street legal color output is 4300k, I guess that it is as close to suns color output.

Sun light is about 6500k.

Do these lights leave the low beams on, when you turn on the high beams (unlike the factory lights)?

HIDs are not meant to be swithed on and off quickly. This wears out the ballests (ignitors) very quickly. That's why they don't work well for high beams. Cars that have OEM HID highbeams use a Bi-Xenon setup that moves a reflector to re-aim the lights higher, while leavning on the same bulb. You can also buy HID bulbs that have an Xenon low beam and a Halogen high beam made into the same bulb. That way the Xenon bulbs stays on when the high beams are switched on.

[matuva]

Sun light is about 6500k.

so high? I thought day light was in a range from 4300K to 6000K If you look spectrum sheet analysis on most advertisements, 6000K already starts showing this blueish tint.



Do these lights leave the low beams on, when you turn on the high beams (unlike the factory lights)?


On mine yes : I've got the kit from Mrtaillight.com wich keeps the low beam on while I switch to high beam.

Great! :D

[TurboDiverArt]

I just ordered a 9006 low beam HID 4300K setup for my truck. At $106 shipped I figure it can't be bad. I've already spent way over that trying to get better light.

I'll let you how I like it when I install it. Thanks for the help!
Art.

[Shikaroka]

so high? I thought day light was in a range from 4300K to 6000K If you look spectrum sheet analysis on most advertisements, 6000K already starts showing this blueish tint.


I may be off a little, but not much.
My information comes from my other hobby, marine aquariums. For best coral growth, a color temperature of 6500k is preferable. For best appearance, a high kelvin (8000k-12000k) is preferable, but that slows down the growth.

[JohnC]

Google "Color Temperature". Depends on how you define "daylight".

[TurboDiverArt]

Matuva,

I got my HID's today. Couple of questions if you don't mind. Where did you mount the ballasts? They don't seem to have a mounting bracket or holes or anything. I was thinking if finding something to wire-tie them to on the firewall.

The instructions aren't all that helpful. They talk about needing to use a 21mm hole saw on the headlight housing, not too sure about that. My assumption is that the HID bulb just slides and locks into place the same way the factory bulb does.

My assumption is that you take the factory headlight wiring and plug it directly into the connector on the ballast? Making sure to get the orientation of the plug correct... :)

Then you simply connect the two single wire leads from the ballast to the two single wire leads on the HID. The HID's have another connector similar to the one on the ballast. Looks like you could connect the factory harness directly to the HID bulb but that wouldn

[TurboDiverArt]

I installed them today. Haven't tried them out at night yet. I now see what Matuva meant about the connector being backwards. How stupid is that? For anyone else who buys them, if you get no power to the bulb put the factory harness connector in 180-degrees into the ballast. It's very difficult to get in this way but this should solve the problem. The ballast apparently has a polarity check and doesn't pass voltage to the bulb if the polarity isn't correct.

After checking voltage and getting to the point of just ripping it out and sending it back I remembered what Matuva said and then it made sense.

Art.