I was looking at some neat diesel truck videos on dieselcentral.com website and started looking at readers rigs and someone said that they had done an HID conversion in their stock light housings (2001). Does anyone have any information as to how they might have done that?

 

HID conversions are a piece of cake for vehicles that have separate low/hi beam bulbs.

I don't know what kind of headlights a 2001 has, but I know that on my 2006 I could have done an HID conversion, but I would have lost hi-beams.

You can find HID conversion kits on ebay. 300 bucks or so. ballasts/igniters and bulbs.

 

the 2005 and up have the 9008 bulb. older trucks have 9007. i did the HID conversion. i hvae had it for a couple of years. it is a true hid and has a controller to be able to have the high and low beams. the hid bulb doesnt have a filament, but the high/low controller that comes in the kit, changes the position of the arc inside the bulb. GO INTO THE EXCURSION FORUM NOW AND YOU WILL SEE THE PEOPLE THAT I AM TALKING TO RIGHT NOW ABOUT THE SAME THING. AND YOU CANT FIND ANYONE OUT THERE WHO SELLS A HID KIT NOW THAT STILL HAS USE OF THE HIGH AND LOW BEAMS. ALL THE ONES NOW LOOSE THE HIGH BEAMS.

 

I have a 2002 F-350 with a set of Audi A6 Bi-Xenon true HID lights installed in the back of the stock housing. The housing is painted black inside to give it a pretty stealthy look. It gives you high and low beam with a shield moved by a solenoid for high beam. They are amazing to drive with and no problem with other drives unless I pull up behind a low car at a stop light. Then I see them reaching for their night position on their mirror. I'll see if I can post a picture. Mike

 

how did you install them? hot glue?

 

found them.... GETHIDs.com, they have dual beam hid kits. over $450....

 

Okay, if you can figure out (I'm new at this) how to get to my album, the title is KG7VL (my ham radio call), it has pictures of the front of the truck and the HID lights. I hope it works. Mike

ps check out www.HIDtech.com for more info.

 

I have come across a HID conversion kit from my brother-in-law so I already have the kit. I guess my main question is, are all of the HID kits the same? (i doubt it)
Also, ive done some looking and found a type of headlight assembly called "projector headlights" and the seller says that it uses the stock 9007 bulb for high/low but the housing has a spot for a fog light, would that work out to put the HID in place of the fog light and retain the stock high/low bulb?

 

those projector housings you speak of use seperate low and high beams. this is possible thru a wiring adapter that is included with the housings. you could look up what bulbs are used in the fog light part of it and get a HID kit for that.

 

Hi, A headlight that is designed to use a filament uses a parabolic reflector to concentrate the filament glow (ie. the bright spot) through the reflection in the reflector.

If someone, and they do, puts a HID conversion bulb in that headlight, the HID bulb uses an arc that goes the length of the bulb, rather than across the bulb as in the case of a filament. What happen is now the parabolic reflector still reflects the light, but in a different place than was intended. What you end up with is a lot of money for a HID bulb, ballast, etc. that really isn't usable. The glare to oncoming traffic is objectionable (remember the HID puts out about three times the light of a filament bulb).

You will be hassled by the law and overal the light doesn't do a good job of lighting what you want, the road ahead. The setup I am using is made from the lights in an Audi A6. They are projectors that don't use the stock housing's reflectors and you can see the reflector area has been painted flat black. The lights shine the light exactly where you want is and I never get anyone flashing at me when I'm on low beam. When I switch on high beam a solenoid in the projector moves and allows the light to go up above the sharp cutoff normally in low beam.

The HID bulb never switches off and on, except when I turn the headlights off or on. If you use a seperate HID bulb for high beam, each time the light is turned on it goes through a warmup period and if you do it regularly, you will comprimise the life of that HID bulb and when they first come one the HID is not nearly as bright as after it's been on several minutes. I recently went skiing in Canada and a friend with a Chevy diesel was riding with me, he commented that my lights on low beam were amazing on how well they lighted everything in front of us and the shoulders of the road. The only real way to have a high and low beam with both HID is to use a projector such as mine.

The only problem I have noted is when behind a car that is low enough to get below the cutoff of my low beam (only happens at a stop light or within a few feet of the car ahead) they get blinded by the HID light in their mirror. I usually can tell when I see them switch their rearview mirror to the night mode. Use of any color other than the factory color (ie. Kelvin temperature) reduces the light output. Bosch has spent a lot of money perfecting their designs, most of us can't afford to try to reinvent what they have done.

I hope this helps, I know I went through the looking for HID bulbs online that would fit the stock headlights, bottom line, it's a waste of money. Good luck. Mike

 

Mike, did you do the install yourself? Or did you get it retro fitted at a shop? Mind if I ask what it cost? If you did do it by yourself, how difficult was it? The truck looks great, keep up the good work.
Tom

 

Tom, I found them for sale from a guy that did it himself. He got the parts from www.hidtech.com. I did the install on my truck. The hardest part I guess is getting the lens off of your lights. You put it in the oven and bake it at a certain temperature and a certain time. Then you do the install though the back of the housing. You need to seal it all from the back and make a housing for the projector. He used some plastic plumbing parts from Home Depot, but you can buy fancier ones to cover the housing. I liked the way he did it with the flat black around the lights. Then I mounted the ballasts with 3M VHB (very high bond) tape and finished the wiring. Again you can find the info online about how long to bake, etc. The cool part is the lenses say all the appropriate DOT approved, etc. stuff, so if a cop ever looked it wouldn't be hard to convince them it's an approved light. The back of the lights look a little rough (lots of sealant and such), but you can't really see it because of where it's located. I think I paid about $800 for the whole thing. I don't think you can get all the parts for much less than that. I think the hardest part would be getting the lights pointed the right direction prior to firmly attaching it to the housing. You want to be able to adjust them to the proper height, etc. Anyway, it was a very good investment. They really are amazing lights. Take care, Mike

 

Kg7vl, Here Is Where I Disagree. If You Never Had The Hid Conversion Kit Or Never Saw One Installed, You Wouldn't Know. First Off, The Law States, That You Cannot Alter The Lighting System At All, Other Than A Dot Approved Replacment Bulb For The Lighting That Comes Stock To Your Truck, Not The Vehicle That You Took Them From.


So That Shoots Your "dot Approved" Legality Thing Right Down The Tubes. Secondly, What You Are Wrong About Is The Looks Of Your Lights Would Make A Cop Notice Them Even More Than A Hid Conversion In The Stock Location With Stock Housing. Thirdly, What You Are Wrong About Is The Light Beam Pattern.


My Hid Kit Is An Exact Replacment And Because I Am Using The Stock Housings, My Light Beam, Pattern, And Concentration Is Exactly As It Is Stock, Except 4 Times As Bright. Fourthly, What You Are Wrong About, Is That My Hid Kit Does Not Have A Seperate High Beam. The System Has A Controller That Changes The Voltage At The Ballasts, Which Changes The Position Of The Arc, Which Is Not The Entire Bulb Area, And Because Of The Specific Area Of The Changed Arc It Reflects Differently In The Housing, Giving You A High Beam. And Since The Bulb Is Already Powered Up, There Is No Delay Of A Full Bright High Beam. Fifthly, What You Are Wrong About, Is The Price. You Spent $800?!?!?! Thats Over $300 More Than I Spent. And I Guarentee, My Lights Are Just As Bright.

And I Will Never Get Hassled. At All. The Inspection Mechanic Can't Tell That I Even Have Aftermarket Lights. Yours On The Other Hand, Yours Would Be Noticed Immediately, And Would Fail Inspection. So Finally, What You Are Wrong About Is The Waste Of Money. I Think It Was On Your Part, Not Mine. Gee, It Seems Like You Are Wrong Alot. If I Were You, Next Time, You Should Do More Research First, Then You Can Do Some Typing. Remember, Just Because You Have Them, Doesn't Mean That They Are The Only Ones And The Best Ones. And Like I Said You Bought Yours Done Already, And You Even Said They Look A Little Rough. If I Were To Do The Job, And Spending That Kind Of Money, Maybe I Would Have Been A Little More Careful. As Far As Aiming, I Never Even Touched Or Removed The Housing. So, Factory Aimed. No Worries Here. And Lastly, I Do Have One And Only One Comment, From The Pics, They Do Look Good In Your Truck. I Wonder If They Look Good Up Close???? spray Paint And Plumbing Parts, Not On My Truck..................................

 

*sprays water* "Down boy! Down!"

Easy, Racer... to each his own. I liked the way KG7's lights looked, so I asked about them. I like the idea of a projector in the housing because it gives a VERY crisp light cut-off on the road. "He used some plastic plumbing parts from Home Depot, but you can buy fancier ones to cover the housing." (Note the last part of that sentence. You wouldn't need plumbing parts on your truck) If you don't like how his turned out, don't say anything. I think they look great, and don't so much care what the back of my headlight, covered by metal, looks like.

Yeesh.


Tom

Just a note, by not capitalizing every word in your post, it makes it much easier for others to read...

 

So what's the point? You lights look stock, which isn't what I was looking for. Most of us on here change the looks of our trucks from stock, because that's just too ordinary. I didn't see a link to the manufacturer of your lights to back up what you say (seems everything I've read says HID is three times brighter, yours are four times brighter..... maybe you bought the hype). When the high dollar cars put on HID lights (Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Cadillac, and even the new Miata) they all seem to use projectors. I wonder why your stock looking lights don't seem to hold favor with the manufacturers. The lights I have were an option that cost well over a thousand dollars. When I bought mine, I got the Ford housings with all the projector parts and electronics. The cost of those items was pretty much what I paid without having to go through the labor or trial and error to make it all work, and my truck doesn't look "stock." Where I live I don't have to get inspected, but when I did live where I got inspected, it was a joke (the guy had to ask the color of my truck, he didn't even look at it). I never said my lights were legal, only that you could make an argument that they were. I'm sure yours aren't legal with 4 times brighter bulbs in them. Mine do look terrific up close. The fancier covers for the housings are chrome or gold plated, etc. I liked the flat black look much better. Changing the voltage of the arc does not sound like an optimum way to operate the bulbs, I'd love to see more on that. You didn't mention whether you get flashed from other drivers with you four times brighter lights in stock housings..... HIDtech (whom I've never done business with) has actual photos of the light output of projectors, why don't you take some similar photos and let us see how great your lights are. I'd be curious how they get the arc in the same spot as the filament bulbs, that were designed for your housings, in the same exact location, but gee you didn't address that. It seems to me you spent $500 on a bunch of hype, not proven technology. Well put up or shut up, let's see some photos or the tests from a reliable source on your lights. I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the proof. Heck just a picture of your lights on high beam and low beam shining on your garage wall would tell us a lot. Again, put up or shut up. Mike