HID install issues

[DrewFlu33]

Well, I did it...

And by "it" I mean broke the clip on the back of the headlight. Driver's side.

I've got the DDM kit and finally tore into it last night. After getting the clip unhooked and swung across and removing the old light, I went to installing the HID bulb. As I was putting it in, "pop!" The little cheap metal clip comes loose at the pivot point. It really didn't seem like anything broke, just that it came loose. It's so tight in there that I just couldn't get a good look to see what the case is, though.

Well after that, I stuck the bulb in the slot and left it for the night for fear that I'd have a boot-sized dent in the side of my CX. I haven't got to the passenger side yet.


I'm planning on taking the air box out tonight to get a better look, but I have a couple questions in the meantime.

I've read that breaking the clip = new headlight assembly. I'd like to avoid that if at all possible and am hopeful that I really didn't break anything. Does anyone have any sense as to how that metal clip attaches?

Ideally I'd love to find that there's a notch that the pivot side fits into where the clip is held in place by the tension when it attaches on the other side. Considering that it just came loose (i.e. nothing seemed to have broken, I didn't put any pressure on it when it popped out), I'm hopeful that's the case.

Second question: If I can get the clip to work, I'm not very concerned about this part as I think the clip is plenty to keep the bulbs from bouncing. But if not...Has anyone got the stock rubber boot to work with this kit?

I've got the spacers that fit behind the bulb that matches the stock bulb adapter/spacer, so if I could get that boot to fit I think it would hold the bulb in place sans clip.

As it is, it seems the DDM kit (at least mine) was built a little stupidly, at least for application on the CX-7. While there is a rubber grommet with the kit, the spades that plug into the stock headlight plug are on the "inside" of it. In other words, I can't push the grommet up into the headlight assembly as a seal since there are wires that have to run on the outside of it, back to the stock plug. I suppose I could cut the grommet and pull the spades back through, but I'd rather avoid that. Alternatively, I guess I could shove the grommet in there with the wires hanging out, but again, not ideal. Even then, I'm not sure it'd be tight enough to hold the bulb in place.

If I could modify the stock boot to fit around the DDM wiring harness and hold my bulb in place, it would be ideal. However, as it is, the only way I see that working is making a cut from the center of the stock boot to the outside so I can slip the wires into the hole then fish the spade wire out. I'm a little leery of doing that though, as I'm worried it will no longer stay in place on the back of the headlight assembly.

If I drill it out then seal it with the supplied grommet as DDM suggests, I still have the problem of the spades/stock plug getting outside the boot. Maybe just drill some holes in the boot to pass spades out of to get to the stock plug?

Sorry for the wall of text--just trying to be as descriptive as possible.

Any ideas or tips?

[DrewFlu33]

Ended up getting it to work. For anyone who runs into similar issues, here's what I did:

Pulled the spades out of the DDM grommet. Problem solved there--they came out MUCH easier than I anticipated.

Cut small notches around the center holes of the factory dust boot. It ended up marring more than I wanted, but I was able to fit the new bulb, spacer, and grommet through.

The factory boot holds the bulb in place well on the driver's side. The passenger side clip came undone quite easily, and I was extremely careful when putting the bulb in, so the clip is still in tact over there.

All in all, I'm a little disappointed in the brightness. I'm sure it's because I'm used to factory HIDs dating back to my 2005 STi, 2010 G37, 2009 335, and 2003 FX35. They make the car look quite good, however, which is half the battle, right?

Also, FYI for anyone looking at this install for themselves: My factory bulb plug had two blue wires running into it, so it wasn't obvious which was hot and which was the ground. The fact that the plug is hard to see when installing through the fender made it that much worse. I finally was able to get a good look at the plug and wires. The hot wire is solid blue, while the ground has a dark brown or black stripe on it. It's not easy to see, but trust that it's there. Maybe this will save somebody from blowing fuses or worse!

[tommydorsey]

I tried and tried to get HID bulbs working on my CX-7....35W, 55W, Philps bulbs, non-Philips bulbs. In the end - they were never nearly as bright as stock. Not sure why, but it's such a PITA to work on I just gave up.

Jim

[DrewFlu33]

Yeah, I'm supremely disappointed in the brightness myself. It seems like they're aimed at the ground--I'm going to take a shot at adjusting them upward to see if it makes any difference.

[Ozynigma]

You guys talking the dipped projector lights or the high beams? I installed a Chinese eBay kit in my high beams a few years ago and they are impressively bright once warmed up. It's illegal in Australia to retrofit HID's into dipped beams unless they have self levelling and lens cleaning.

Also those clips are absolute bastards to work on, particularly on the left with the air box still on. I managed but if I did it again I would remove the air box.

[DrewFlu33]

I installed mine into the low-beam projectors. I don't think I'd want HID highs as they take too long to warm up.

No such laws in the US, at least as far as I know.

As for the clip--yes. Just...yes. What a pain.

[Ozynigma]

They take a while to warm up the first time but then respond quickly on successive attempts. Mine is a 35w, cheap and now about 5 year old kit. There are now higher output kits that also promise faster response.

[DrewFlu33]

Alright, so I've had these things on the car for a few months now, and let me just say: I absolutely hate them. They are so dim that I've been driving at night several times and had my passenger ask, "Are your lights on?"

As I suggested earlier, I thought my issue was that they were aimed too low. After aiming them up, there's still no improvement. Just absolutely shameful--so much dimmer than the stock halogens it's ridiculous.

Is it possible I ended up with duds or something like that?

Has anyone successfully ran the 55W DDM kit? I'm scared to fry wiring and I love the look of the vehicle with the HIDs, but I can't handle not being able to see at night anymore.

If the 55W kit won't work, I'm going back to halogens.

[tegxsi]

What color temperature bulbs are you using? Is the bulb sitting flush? I think you are using H7 bulbs and in some cases bulb adapters are needed for it to sit properly.
I'd stay away from 55w... they have been know to burn off the chrome reflector coating over time due to the extra heat. You can't expect to install an HID bulb in factory halogen housing (especially projectors) and expect factory HID performance. Halogen housings just weren't designed that way. All you can hope for is to have more light and a decent cutoff.

They do have HID ballasts that have very short warmup time...80-90% brightness in about 1 second depending on bulb quality. It's usually the cheaper kits that take longer to warmup.

[mazafoger]

hid 35w is complete S@#T. No light on the road at all! only looking good. i have them for 5 month just dont have time to switch back to oem halogen55w. You can install $10 relay and put 55w hid u not gonna fry any wire with relay but for me more scary to fry mirror inside head light. i dont know if 55w hid is the sane temp. (F) as 55w halogen bulb??? head light cost more money than ebay $20 hid. f f f and one more time f for 35hid in my mazda. I believe original oem 55w halogen is the best for this car or original xenon$$$ cost of OEM xenon headlight super high. +1 for halogen.

[Ozynigma]

Originally Posted by mazafoger hid 35w is complete S@#T. No light on the road at all! only looking good. i have them for 5 month just dont have time to switch back to oem halogen55w. You can install $10 relay and put 55w hid u not gonna fry any wire with relay but for me more scary to fry mirror inside head light. i dont know if 55w hid is the sane temp. (F) as 55w halogen bulb??? head light cost more money than ebay $20 hid. f f f and one more time f for 35hid in my mazda. I believe original oem 55w halogen is the best for this car or original xenon$$$ cost of OEM xenon headlight super high. +1 for halogen.

I think you are missing the point. 35W HID and 55W Halogen is referring to the power consumption of the bulb, not the light output. If properly set up 35W HID will piss all over 100W Halogen for light output. I am running them in my high beams only with great results. Its usually illegal to run them as replacements for dipped beams, it is where I come from anyway.

[DrewFlu33]

Sorry for never responding.

I'm using 5000K bulbs, and they are sitting flush. I had to use the spacers in the back to get them to stay in place.

I've actually been having some back-and-forth with DDM about my problems and they've been relatively helpful.

They seem to think the 55W bulbs wouldn't be a problem.

I also asked about their "premium" versus regular kits and was told the ballasts were higher quality (I've had some intermittent issues with my passenger side one) and that the bulbs are about 20% brighter.

Off the cuff, I asked about retrofitting one of their HID projector kits into the CX-7 light assembly and the guy I've been talking to said it could be done, then suggested he'd want some measurements before deciding which one they carry could work best. He did say I'd have to make some mounting brackets to fit.

Anybody have any experience messing with this? I'm probably biting off a little more than I can chew, but these lights just suck right now! Obviously I'd be looking at removing the entire front bumper and both full light assemblies.

[DrewFlu33]

By the way, here's a crappy picture of what my lights look like on the road. Maybe hard to tell in the photo, but they look pretty blue to me. I suppose it's possible they aren't really 5000K (shipped wrong by mistake) and that's why they're so dim.

[Easter Bunny]

Based on the photo I would say they are 6000k if not higher.

[DrewFlu33]

Interesting. Again, tough to tell based on the terrible photo, but it agrees with what I see when I'm driving.

For reference, all the other cars' headlights are standard halogen. I've also noticed them being significantly bluer that other (stock) HIDs, but just assumed this was the difference between 4300K and 5000K. There really shouldn't be that much of a difference though, based on what I've read.

[kbezon]

What I read after installed my Ebay HID on my CX-7 , is that the HID will not work well with the projectors lens !

So I am waiting to get my H7 X-Treme vision 130%

[Easter Bunny]

Wut?

[kbezon]

Originally Posted by Easter Bunny Wut?

HID does not work well with Projector lens

[Easter Bunny]

Originally Posted by kbezon HID does not work well with Projector lens

False.

[Fingerlicker]

Maybe you need to buy the OEM HID lens's that mine has? I have OEM HID's on the low beam and they work fine...Obviously. that might help in projection and the lack of making the bracket that the MFG is requiring. Just a thought.