HID Install

[jona2125]

If anyone is interested, I finally got finished with my HID install. I got the headlights in about a week ago, about 45 mins to do. Today I finally tackled the fogs. I aimed them higher and put the new HID's in in about an hour and a half, it was really cold and i wanted to make them perfectly even with eachother when I adjusted them. They are 6000k for both. The headlights are 50w and the fogs are 35w with the slim ballasts, both digital because digital has less problems with not working correctly. If anyone can chime in on this, I couldn't tell which bulbs were the 50w and which were the 35w. I assumed the ones packed witht the ballasts were the 55w (I had the slim ballasts from my truck that I used for the fogs) and the bulbs I bought for the fogs were the 35w but after the install I can't be too sure. I think I got it right but the fog light projecters are a hell of a lot better than the headlights so thats what threw me off. But anyways heres some pictures, don't mind the dirty car. The night shots are without the fog lights in yet. I will take new night shots tonight and post.

 

just fogs

 

 

both fogs and headlights

 

[FFHdriver]

Please explain how you raised the fogs. Is there a screw and which way do you turn it? I want to tell my dealer. TIA

[jona2125]

Please explain how you raised the fogs. Is there a screw and which way do you turn it? I want to tell my dealer. TIA

There's a few ways. One is to jack it up or roll it up on ramps and pull out 5 screws (7 millimeter socket head) per side that go along where the wheel well cover meets the bumper on the bottom of the left and right front side then use a flashlight to see the T15 Torx head screw on the right side of the fog light housing. Turn it counter clockwise to raise it I believe.

 

The next way is the same thing but without raising it. Thats how I did it and it was a pain to work but I got it done.

 

The third way is to crawl under there and you will see a hole about the size of a silver dollar where the screws you take out are. You can mcguyver a swivel attachment with the torx driver in it on the drivers side no problem but itd be a reall honest pain to do the passenger side.

 

I say the easiest way to do it is method one. I say it shouldnt take more than 20 minutes.

Edited February 18, 2010 by jona2125

[lrymal]

Be sure to produce a list of components, brand, part numbers... Although ''search'' will bring these up, it would be a good idea for enthusiasts to be able to have easy access.

 

Great photos and congratulations on your work....

[jona2125]

Be sure to produce a list of components, brand, part numbers... Although ''search'' will bring these up, it would be a good idea for enthusiasts to be able to have easy access.

 

Great photos and congratulations on your work....

Thank you. I ordered everything from http://www.carhidkits.com/

 

Products are: 50w 6000k Xenon HID Kit (H11 Bulbs), 6000k Xenon HID Kit with Digital Slim Ballasts. They are found on this page http://www.carhidkits.com/xenon-hid-kit-99/

 

Just enter the make/model/year i.e. Ford/Fusion/2010 and then select what location the bulbs will be put in i.e. Fogs, High Beams, Low Beams. The total cost for me was $289 because I already had the digital slim ballasts from my truck so I only needed the 50w kit and another set of bulbs. To do a Fusion it would be between $130 to $230 for just low beams depending on whether or not you are doing the 35w or 50w. It is cheaper to select the normal analog HID Kit and click the upgrade to digital slim ballasts for $20 because it saves you alot of money rather than buying the digital kit for $150. An example would be right now the analog 6000k Kit is $79.99 and for $20 you only pay $110 plus shipping and handling so around $125 vs the digital kit which would be $175. The digital kit is highly reccomended because you don't get flickering problems from my experience but i'm not 100% sure, i know I havent had any problems yet. The fog lights would be the cost of another kit.

 

Here's some night photos.

 

Fogs and Headlights on

 

Headlights only

 

Just Fogs again

 

Fogs from front

 

Both

 

 

They are both 6000k but the smaller projectors of the fogs give off a whiter light vs the headlights which is more blue. Maybe in the summer I'll fiddle around with the projectors to try and get a sharper cutoff and a better spectrum.

Edited February 18, 2010 by jona2125

[blueandred]

Are the low beams H11 or H1? I thought H11 were small and only used for fog lamps.

 

Was it difficult to install the low beams?

 

Thanks

[jona2125]

H1's are small. H11 are the bigger ones and are used in the low beams and the fog lights on our cars. With PNP (Plug-n-Play) HID kits, all bulb sizes are the same essenentially, its a rebased d2s bulb so they all have the same size actual bulb part, but the base is what is different so it can fit in all the different holders, ie H7, H11, H1, 9007, etc.

 

The low beams werent too bad. removal of the coolant overflow tank was neccessary tho to get to the passenger side, and even with that out it was tight. drivers side wasnt bad. i managed to put it in without removin anything. the fog lights were easy, you just remove the bottom piece that goes along beneath the bumper and you have easy access. it was about a 20 minute job for the fogs, a 45 minute job for the low beams. it is such a major difference and improvement. surprisingly the low beams arent allowing the full potentional of light. they are more focused on long distance light rather than the road. the fog lights are so fine tuned that without them the road directly in front of the car is poorly lighted. facing a buidling at 20 feet away i cant even tell the difference if my headlights are on or not. the only way i know is because i can see the headlights cutoff line show up higher than the fogs. other than that at short distances the fog lights really help out driving, they also hit the sides of the road better. ive tried driving at night without the fogs to see the difference and its night and day. the headlights are very week at shorter distances for some reason. the fogs really kick in added light that make driving at night on dark roads safer. HID's are a deffinate reccomendation for increased visibility

[installer]

Hey guys,

 

New to the forum, and I'd like to say you've got a great spot here. Lots of great info, and the cars look really sharp!

 

I've got a friend with an '09 Ford Fusion SEL, and he wants to upgrade to 6000K HID's in the lows and the fogs, and needs me to install them. I own a Grand Am myself, and know for me to install HID's, I have to disable the DRL's for them to work properly, or they'll fry the ballasts. So for these cars, do the DRL's need to be disabled? Also, are you guys running them off the stock wires, or running relays to handle them? Thanks,

 

A.Hodder

[bbf2530]

Hey guys,

 

New to the forum, and I'd like to say you've got a great spot here. Lots of great info, and the cars look really sharp!

 

I've got a friend with an '09 Ford Fusion SEL, and he wants to upgrade to 6000K HID's in the lows and the fogs, and needs me to install them. I own a Grand Am myself, and know for me to install HID's, I have to disable the DRL's for them to work properly, or they'll fry the ballasts. So for these cars, do the DRL's need to be disabled? Also, are you guys running them off the stock wires, or running relays to handle them? Thanks,

 

A.Hodder

 

 

Hi installer. :D Yes, to avoid issues the DRL's must be disabled.

 

The DRL's are are enabled/disabled through the SJB (Smart Junction Box). And the SJB is accessed through the Ford Diagnostic system. So unfortunately, a Dealer visit is required for enabling/disabling.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

[installer]

Hi installer. :D Yes, to avoid issues the DRL's must be disabled.

 

The DRL's are are enabled/disabled through the SJB (Smart Junction Box). And the SJB is accessed through the Ford Diagnostic system. So unfortunately, a Dealer visit is required for enabling/disabling.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

 

Ok, so he needs to go to the local dealership, and request the DRL's be disabled? Won't they just tell him that's illegal, and not do it? Is there a walk-around for it, or is it hardwired/encoded into the SJB? And, are the DRL's on this car just the high beams on half power? If so, since I'll only be putting HID's in the lows and fogs, will the DRL's not be an issue? And, to end off my string of questions (lol), is there anything else that needs to be done when installing HID's in the Lows/Fogs, EX: Run a relay instead of using the stock wiring?

[danager]

What country/state/province are you in? I live in Canada, no luck getting DRL disabled in Canada. Somebody had a point that the Lincoln uses the fog lights for DRL as they are not HID. Not sure if the dealer is able or willing to do that to the Fusion. In your case, that would not matter as you are planning on upgrading the fog lights as well. Not sure about the high beams as an option, again a trip to the dealer is the only way to be sure.

 

As for additional parts, you may need an additional kit to prevent the BOW (bulb out warning), some people have needed it, so have not. Some kits come with it, and some claim their ballasts do not need it... No other upgrades to the wire gauge or relays needed.

 

Once somebody else has the a bullet-proof plan for the Canadian owners, I plan to upgrade my low beams.

 

good luck

 

Dan

[installer]

I searched around some more, and came to a forum called FordFusionClub. Aton of those guys have bought HID's and just went plug and play, no DRL disable via the SJB (Or any way for that matter) The way around the BOW is using a Digital Ballast, rather than an Analog. For some reason the Analog will trip it, and the Digital one won't.

 

I'm in NL, Canada btw.

 

So has anyone here on the forum tried a HID install without disabling the DRL's, and how did it go?

[installer]

Anyone?

[bbf2530]

Ok, so he needs to go to the local dealership, and request the DRL's be disabled? Won't they just tell him that's illegal, and not do it? Is there a walk-around for it, or is it hardwired/encoded into the SJB? And, are the DRL's on this car just the high beams on half power? If so, since I'll only be putting HID's in the lows and fogs, will the DRL's not be an issue? And, to end off my string of questions (lol), is there anything else that needs to be done when installing HID's in the Lows/Fogs, EX: Run a relay instead of using the stock wiring?

 

Hi installer. :D Sorry, missed your post. So, let's try to answer your questions one at a time:

When we are discussing having the Dealer disable DRL's, we are referring to U.S registered vehicles, not Canadian. As you know, DRL's are required by law in Canada, so they can not be legally disabled. And no intelligent Canadian Ford Dealer would do so.

There is no owner performable "walk-around". It is accomplished through the SJB and must be performed by the Dealership on the Computer Diagnostic system.

The DRL's on the Fusion and Milan are in the low beam position (not "half-power" high beams). The DRL's on the MKZ are in the fog light position (due to the optional factory HID's in the low beam position).

Bottom line is that to get HID's to work in the low-beam position on a Fusion/Milan, you will need to disable the DRL's. And since you live in Canada, you can not do that.

In addition, keep in mind that the problems with aftermarket HID/DRL incompatibility is a completely different subject than the BOW (Bulb Out Warnings). Solving a BOW does not cure the DRL problems.

 

I am a long time member of The Ford Fusion Club. Other than anecdotal and unverified stories from a few short time members (who never provide any specific information), the bottom line is that HID's do not work with DRL's in the low beam position. If you try to install aftermarket HID's on your car, you will have some sort of problem. Whether it is non-firing and unreliable lights, BOW's (Bulb Out Warnings), etc.. Again, that is specifically why the MKZ (which has available HID's) uses the fog lights as DRL's.

 

Also, keep in mind that for cars that did not come Factory HID equipped, all aftermarket HID kits are illegal for installation for on-road use in the U.S, Canada and Europe. Absolutely no exceptions. I realize some people do not care about the legalities. However, for those who might care, there are many reasons for why they are illegal and I will elaborate if anyone would like to understand why.

 

Hope this information helps.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited April 13, 2010 by bbf2530

[installer]

Thanks for the reply, it was helpful!

 

Now, after doing some poking around on other forums, I have found a possible walk-around. The low beams on this car are used for DRL, as you've said, meaning they get a fraction of the 12V they would get at "full" low beam power. Now, a HID ballast will go insane below 12V, blinking and the like, and eventully burn it's ballast out. What I have seen is a relay system combined with a capacitor. The relay will pop on at 12V. Now, say the DRL's send the low beam bulb 9V (Just a random number, I haven't actually measured it yet) Obviously, the relay will not eneggize, and if on the low beam line, the lows will not energize at all, and you'll get a BOW (I know this warning is a different issue than DRL's, but a BOW is annoying, obviously) Now, attach a Capacitor on the line as well (In a certain arrangement, details to come after I try it) Not just any capacitior, but one that will take the 9V, charge until 12V, and discharge at 12V, providing 12V to the low beam, as it would on normal, night-time operation, when the DRL's go out (2500 microfarads in the 9V case) Now, the ballast would have 12V and be happy, and if you're using a digital ballast, there should be no BOW. The only catch is, you're low beams are constantly on (While the car is running anyways) If you can live with that, then to Canadians, I believe it's possible.

 

I'm also aware of the HID law. My opinon on it, depends on the headlight design and the bulb temp (color) If you retrofit projectors in a halogen housing and aim them correctly, and use a bulb color of 8000K or under, 95 times out of 100, an officer won't look at you twice. If the reflector doesn't scatter light every where (seems to be the case with these cars from pictures I've seen) and again you aim them properly and use an appropriate temp bulb, chances are you won't get looked at twice. With my car, i refuse to install HID's in my headlights until I get my projectors. However, the client (Guy that wants me to install) is aware of the laws, and since he doesn't care, I'm just being paid lol. That being said, I won't let him leave the garage with that HID setup in if I think he's going to be blinding everyone. They will be aimed properly.

 

I'll run it by him that I'm not sure if it'll work, if he still wants to go ahead, I'll try the relay/cap setup out, and post up if it works or not.