Silly HID question

[Grangey.]

Hi all,

About to order this HID kit Audi A4 01-03 Canbus MID Slim HID Conversion kit H7 35w | eBayilly question though, will these/do all HID kits need a cable running to the battery directly?

The reason I ask is Im pretty sure Ive heard from numerous sources that the HIDS4U kit is plug and play, ie no running wires- could be wrong on this so just hoping someone could confirm!

Many thanks
Grangey

[quattrojames]

They just plug into the exisiting H7 bulb connection, no additional wiring required.

[benjie]

Changes to MOT rules in 2012 - Are you ready? - Autoblog UK

Read the section on called "Lighting" before you buy!

[simon.m]

Changes to MOT rules in 2012 - Are you ready? - Autoblog UK

Read the section on called "Lighting" before you buy!

mine just passed its mot fine mate alot of places dont care if they are lined up ok and both come on at the same time with no flickering i asked a few mot places b4 i put mine in

[Grangey.]

Thanks James, just what I was after

and benjie, thanks- but yes HIDs have been illegal techically since retrofit kits first came on the scene many many years ago, these MOT requirements arent that new and like anything- garages seem to exersize their own judgement on whether to bother with this rule or not.

So I want to upgrade my high beam bulbs now too... which ones will give me a goodish colour match to 8000k HIDs? 100w? 55w? anything else to look out for?

Also, it is a H7 for high beam aswell right?

Thanks

[quattrojames]

H7 main beam bulb yes.

I'm not aware of any halogen bulb that will match 8000k HIDs. I bought some cheap 100w "Xenon white" ebay jobbies 3 or 4 years ago which have lasted well, but they're still very yellow against my 6000k's.

Personally I'd never go above 6000k. In fact I'm looking to drop to 4300-5000k soon.

[Grangey.]

Another question as the HIDs turned up today (great service from HIDs direct).

Im going to fit these into the headlights like many guides.... but I havnt got the meterial handy to make the plates. Can someone just confirm/clarify that I will 100% need to make a plate and seal it etc?

I assume I would as having to cut through to the head light and not cover it up would surely lead to condensation etc?

PS James- duely noted, the reason I went for 8000k though is because I've had experience of them on my old civic and was impressed by them, Il see what I think of them in the a4 though with projectors and may look at buying some 4300k bulbs

Thanks
Grangey

[Grangey.]

here they are;



they dont look like a slimline kit to me though, not that i really know what a slimline kit looks like..... I hope they fit in the headlight! :S

Anyone else got this kit? The instructions seem to say il need to drill out a part of the headlight bit..!!!?! Is this true?!

This is the HIDs-Direct kit off ebay...

thanks
Grangey

[bez101]

thats the slim kit from hids yes
you need to drill the back cover not the headlight use a step drill and on the wires theres a gromit so get it nice and snug to stop water geting in the unit
the ballast should fit niceley under the headlight out of sight
use these for the holes perfect every time TZ Titanium Step Cone Drill Bit Hole Cutter 4-12mm 4-20mm & 4-32mm, Storage Case | eBay

[Grangey.]

I was going to fit the HIDs in the headlight like some of the guides suggest (using the OEM xenon compartment) which i believe involves cutting through into the main headlight housing- which is why I wondered whether this is why it needs a cover?

oohh dear, I didnt realise it would involve drilling, now I dont trust myself lol. Thanks for the tip on a step drill, I think a friend has one that I can borrow and Im sure it will all start to make sense when I actually start the job, at the moment im just worried about too many things!

[bez101]

the ballast doesnt go INSIDE the light
it goes on the under side of the light

[bez101]

i have no idea what guide you have seen

[bez101]

Hid kit - Diy guide for the b6

check this link all you need to know is in there

[Grangey.]

thats exactly what im reffering to- so in that guide he makes a cover- its this im querying if I 100% need if I am to locate the hids the same way? (bare in mind im on the assuption that OEM compartment is on the top of the headlight, if its on the bottom then I can see it will deffinatley need it to actually hold the ballst bit (the square bit) in place- but at the same time if its on the bottom i dont know why it would need to be sealed as surely this risks trapping in water that you may not want to trap?)

I will be following this method exactly including using a soldering iron with cutting attachement to make the hole.

The drilling bit I am querying is on the HID instructions it appears I have to drill out a holder of some sort (like a disc) to sit the actual HID bulb bit into which comes from the headlight... I dont know if this is only for some cars or whether I'll need to do this on mine is all as Iv seen chatter of having to trim some thing to make the HIDs properly H7 (although this didnt reffer to my kit specifically)

[bez101]

i think i know what you mean
right the ballast goes on the bottom the hole you see is for the wires to go through
but with the kit you have theres a gromit on the wireing if you get the hole perfect size the grommit will seal the hole
the cover has been added just to hold the ballast and cover the hole from any water geting in
you can cut the hold seal it with gromit and do it that way no real need to cover it

i never make a cover and i use sticky pads to keep the ballast inplace
the bulbs are a direct fit
no cutting involved to fit them

[Grangey.]

perfect thank you

[Oranoco]

It's a breeze fitting these HID kits, I converted my B5 inside an hour and that included taking the tools out to the car removing the lamps and taking them into the house for a cuppa and bacon sarnie whilst doing the required bits

Don't worry about teh MOT as they dropped a boob with the new regs so as long as they provide a good beam pattern and are aimed right they can NOT fail you. However that doesn't make them legal and technically they are illegal. Then technically OEM HIDs aren't legal under UK law but EU legislation over rules it.

[les hook]

I've been informed that a car will fail the MOT After April 2012 if it has aftermarket HID's and doesn't have a levelling system and cleaning system as follows

Quote from the AA website
Headlight requirements are updated to take account of the particular characteristics of High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps.
HID headlights can cause dazzle if they are dirty or aimed too high so car manufacturers must fit headlamp cleaning and levelling systems. Where HID or LED dipped beam headlamps are fitted the tester will switch on the headlamps and check the operation of any headlamp levelling and cleaning devices fitted.
The car will fail if a headlamp levelling or cleaning device is inoperative or otherwise obviously defective.

Quote from Auto Blog website

Vehicles fitted with aftermarket HID systems must also be fitted with properly working washer and levelling systems

I've been thinking of getting mine removed

Are the above quotes correct?

[4NT]

Nightmare. Next they'll be wanting candles in there, it seems that doing anything is covered by some kind of legislation these days.

I'm gonna stick with Halogen for now and see how this pans out when folk are getting MOT's during April I reckon.

Good luck all..

[Grangey.]

les/4nt the above has been the case ever since aftermarket HID kits became availible, it is nothing new at all.

[stu_m]

Personally I'd never go above 6000k. In fact I'm looking to drop to 4300-5000k soon.

I dropped from 6000k to 4300k and also went to 55w the difference is amazing

I put the 6000k in my high beam and they work really well although they are too blue for me so I will be swapping the bulbs for 4300k

[stu_m]

So I want to upgrade my high beam bulbs now too... which ones will give me a goodish colour match to 8000k HIDs? 100w? 55w?

8000k hid's would be a great match lol

Although I'm pretty sure you will swap them as I bet they will be too blue and you also loose light the higher you go! I struggled with the 6000k that I had in!

[PetrolDave]

I've been informed that a car will fail the MOT After April 2012 if it has aftermarket HID's and doesn't have a levelling system and cleaning system

Then you've been informed wrongly - if you read the ACTUAL guidelines that are issued to the garages there is NO requirement for either self levelling or headlight washers to be fitted, but IF they are fitted they must work (the requirement for them to work IF fitted is what changed from 1/1/2012).

[les hook]

Petrol Dave, do you have a link to this information?

Les

[PetrolDave]

Petrol Dave, do you have a link to this information?

I've already posted the link in the B7 Forum, where exactly the same misinformation was being spread.

But here it is again MOT testing manuals and guides

[Grangey.]

Well, thats annoying, theyre really not that slimline. unlike all the how to threads where the ballst thingy only take ups up half the oem bit- these ones take up all of it, and is too thick to case in.

WTF

Headlights are already out now so I dont fancy sending them back... but I dont see why these are so different

[quattrojames]

You don't have to mount the ballasts there. There's plenty of places to tuck them away in the engine bay.

[Grangey.]

yeah but it just made the job look soo simple you know? no messing about, theyre just there. I think I still may be able to squeeze them in there just, il have a proper play tomorrow in the daytime when I can see what im doing!

[pink.teg]

Oh well past m.o.t. With not one single problem
On another note I'm sure the hid 6000s
I had in and super white side lights which are blue
Had not even entre the testers brain cell ,,

[Grangey.]

ok theres no way im going to be able to mount the ballasts in the OEM position annoyingly, so can anyone recommend anywhere out of the way and out of sight to mount them???

[quattrojames]

Do you have any of the engine covers on your car?

Mine are mounted on the aircon pipes on the offside, and the abs pump on the nearside, both hidden under the respective covers.

[Grangey.]

Damn, nope no covers else that would have worked a treat

Think ive found two positions, drivers side should be nicely out the way I think and hope- although il just have to remember to disconnect the HIDS whenever I next remove the headlight, passenger side ive found one spot but its waaay to on show for my liking, but im contious of warning lights comming on when the ballast is in certain positions... so I might pop it there for now (very easily accessed) until i figure out somewhere better

actually the passenger side one where im thinking is probably the same place as yours- you just have a cover hiding it, I may just get the cover...

[quattrojames]

The covers are cheap, £10-£20 each depending which one, a worthwhile addition either way.

[simon.m]

i have mine mounted in the sides of the front bumpper just in front of the wheel liner loads of space in there and very easy to get at from under the car

[Grangey.]

Well that was the biggest pain in the freeking bottom Ive had in a very long time!

So.... theyre in, along with some LED sides and 100W mains, great.

BUT

Basically on my kit at least, the wires werent long enough. So i cant mount the ballasts anywhere really and at the moment theyre kinda wedged pretty mutch on top of the headlights. My issue is the ballast needs to be somewhere close as due to the wires being so short, 2 of the 3 connections finish basically just as they come out of the light casing, so if I tried to mount and fix the ballast anywhere I would have no way of disconnecting them again should I need to take the headlight out again in the future!

I came out where the OEM ballasts fit which also makes it slightly trickier actually slotting the headlights back in but got there, so I may make some further modification for this in the future. Im sure it may have been easier comming straight out the back of the light, but that wouldnt have looked OEM which is what I was ORIGINALLY (lol) going for.

aaand to top things off... I lost my torx head down the engine bay... and as these lovel A4s have covers under the entire stretch of the car.... I cant find it.... so now cant do the lights up properly!

So slightly frustrated to say the least, I did want this to be a quick pull the lights out, drill a whole, fit, wack it back in, but no.

Anyway, does look alot better and Im going to go for a spin tonight to see the difference it makes at night!

Crappy pic;

[Grangey.]

i have mine mounted in the sides of the front bumpper just in front of the wheel liner loads of space in there and very easy to get at from under the car

Yeah I would have loved to get in there.... but my VOTEX kit means I cant really get under there without there being a dug out under the car

[quattrojames]

When I've dropped things down through the engine bay before I've always managed to locate them by thumping the undertray and listening for the bounce... and then 'bump' it to the edge and get it out. Right royal pain in the ass though.

[simon.m]

well i had to jack the car up a bit but is a good place if you do need to hide/store them it cant be that hard to take the under tray off to get the bits you guys keep dropping lol