Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery
Now you real work starts. You have to remove the headlight in order to put the new bulbs and all the wiring in place. To remove the headlight there are three bolts. Two are easily accesible but for the third you have to remove the 2 side bolts that hold the front bumper on. If you remove these 2 side bolts on the bumper you should be able to pull the bumper far enough out from the fender to get to the bolt holding in the headlight as shown in the picture.
This is one of the other two bolts to remove to take out the headlight.
This is the other of the two bolts to remove to take out the headlight.
This picture shows the location of all 3 bolts that need to be removed to take out the headlight. Once all the bolts are removed you can unplug the harnesses for the bulbs and remove the headlight from the car.
Now that you have the headlight out make sure you put it on a surface that will not scratch the headlight itself (ie. towel). First thing you need to do is remove the rubber grommet.
Next you want to remove the pin that holds the bulb in place. To do this you first need to loosen the screw and then remove the pin.
Now this was the hardest part of the entire install for me. You have to reshape the pin to hold in the new HID light. The first pin took me almost an hour to finally get it to hold the light in really tight, after I figured out what shape I wanted the second pin was a piece of cake.
Finally you can put your rubber grommet back in place and your headlight is ready to go. Repeat the last steps for the other headlight.
This picture shows where I decided to mount the box that comes with the kit for the driver side headlight. You are free to mount it whereever you want but I found a true lacking of space made this a harder task then I would have expected. I managed to use zip ties and double sided tape to hold the box in place.
Next you have to run the ground wire from the box to the chassis of the car. Conveniently enough there was already a wire being grounded less then a foot away from the box so I just decided to use this spot. You can use any ground but make sure there is no paint on the surface as you want a good ground.
This picture shows where I mounted the box for the passenger side headlight. Once again I used zip ties to hold the box securely in place.
Now you need to run the ground for the passenger headlight. Once again there is a wire already being grounded close to the box so I used the same spot again.
Next you want to run the power wire from the HID harness to the positive terminal of your battery.The last few steps I did not take pictures of as its pretty self explanitory but you need to finish connecting the harness to the HID box if you have no done so already. Also run the ACC (headlight on) connector from the harness to the factory ACC (headlight on) in the driver side headlight area. I'm sorry as I have no picture of this but the connector is very easy to find as there are only once of its shape and you disconnected it earlier to remove the headlight.Lastly, you need to reconnect the negative terminal of your battery.Now that everything is hooked up turn your headlights on and make sure everything works as it should. If all goes well you will have a nice bright glow from your lights and a warm feeling inside :). Now bolt your headlights back in place and reattach your bumper; time to enjoy the lights.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
how to smoke taillight
This is a cheap and easy mod that I think looks really good on a black colored car. I will warn you that if you tint your tails really dark your car may not be street legal anymore and you could get pulled over and ticketed. Check your state laws before doing this mod, here is a link so you can look up statutes for all states. These laws are in place for safety reasons. Other cars need to see your car so don't go too dark. To balance out my darker tails I installed super bright halogen 1157 bulbs. They claim to be 50% brighter and I can tell you that they are much brighter than normal 1157 bulbs. Only use transparent spray paint when you do this, the light still needs to pass through. I used 2 cans of VHT Nite-Shades and one can of gloss.
Tools Needed:
Screwdrivers
Sockets, socket wrenches
Parts/Supplies Needed:
VHT Nite-Shades
Gloss spray paint
Paper for masking
Painters tape
Rubbing alcohol
Towels
Newspaper
1) Remove the two 10mm bolts that hold the RH corner section of the tails. Pull the corner section of trim back in the trunk and you will see these bolts. Do the same for the LH corner section.
2) Once you have the two bolts out pull straight back and the section will pop out. Once it's out unscrew the screw circled in this pic and twist the bulbs out. Set the corner tail sections aside.
3) Remove the trim piece under the trunk hood. On each side, remove these 5 8mm bolts. You need to take out the rubber plugs in the corners to see the 5th bolt. Unclip the wiring harness and set the inner tail sections aside.
4) Prep the tails for paint. I used some grocery bags and blue painters tape to mask off everything I did not want painted. Once masked I cleaned the plastic with rubbing alcohol and a towel. It is important to get everything off before painting, especially old wax. You want your paint to bond straight to the plastic. Do not touch the area to be painted because fingerprints will show. Even little specs of dust will show so the plastic needs to be spotless if you want a good paint job.
5) Apply the first coat of transparent lens paint. This pic shows the result of one full scan of VHT Nite-Shades on LS tails. Spray the paint on 12-18" from the surface. The key is to do many light coats. I just walked around this table one coat at a time. Just wait a minute or so for the paint to dry and then repeat until the can is empty or you have reached your desired tint level. After one can I recommend letting it dry for about an hour before applying a second can. You need to be patient with this. If you spray too close in hopes of saving time there is a good chance you'll botch the paint job. When you start painting, it will look like almost no paint is being applied, don't worry, many light coats is best! And obviously, make sure you paint in a well ventilated area!
6) This pic is the result of 2 cans of VHT Nite-Shades . As you can see the finish is very dull. I used a full can of Painter's Touch Gloss spray paint I picked up at Home Depot to put some shine back on my tails. Apply the gloss as you applied the tint. This is where you really have to be careful not to get too close because it looks like it isn't getting glossy, don't worry. Again, a lot of thin coats is better than a runny paint job.
7) Wait about 24 hours for the paint to cure.
8) Finish off the tails by applying one or two coats of wax.
9) Attach your tinted tails and take a look!
Tools Needed:
Screwdrivers
Sockets, socket wrenches
Parts/Supplies Needed:
VHT Nite-Shades
Gloss spray paint
Paper for masking
Painters tape
Rubbing alcohol
Towels
Newspaper
1) Remove the two 10mm bolts that hold the RH corner section of the tails. Pull the corner section of trim back in the trunk and you will see these bolts. Do the same for the LH corner section.
2) Once you have the two bolts out pull straight back and the section will pop out. Once it's out unscrew the screw circled in this pic and twist the bulbs out. Set the corner tail sections aside.
3) Remove the trim piece under the trunk hood. On each side, remove these 5 8mm bolts. You need to take out the rubber plugs in the corners to see the 5th bolt. Unclip the wiring harness and set the inner tail sections aside.
4) Prep the tails for paint. I used some grocery bags and blue painters tape to mask off everything I did not want painted. Once masked I cleaned the plastic with rubbing alcohol and a towel. It is important to get everything off before painting, especially old wax. You want your paint to bond straight to the plastic. Do not touch the area to be painted because fingerprints will show. Even little specs of dust will show so the plastic needs to be spotless if you want a good paint job.
5) Apply the first coat of transparent lens paint. This pic shows the result of one full scan of VHT Nite-Shades on LS tails. Spray the paint on 12-18" from the surface. The key is to do many light coats. I just walked around this table one coat at a time. Just wait a minute or so for the paint to dry and then repeat until the can is empty or you have reached your desired tint level. After one can I recommend letting it dry for about an hour before applying a second can. You need to be patient with this. If you spray too close in hopes of saving time there is a good chance you'll botch the paint job. When you start painting, it will look like almost no paint is being applied, don't worry, many light coats is best! And obviously, make sure you paint in a well ventilated area!
6) This pic is the result of 2 cans of VHT Nite-Shades . As you can see the finish is very dull. I used a full can of Painter's Touch Gloss spray paint I picked up at Home Depot to put some shine back on my tails. Apply the gloss as you applied the tint. This is where you really have to be careful not to get too close because it looks like it isn't getting glossy, don't worry. Again, a lot of thin coats is better than a runny paint job.
7) Wait about 24 hours for the paint to cure.
8) Finish off the tails by applying one or two coats of wax.
9) Attach your tinted tails and take a look!
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