Inpro Headlights and Bosch HID Xenon install

[STORM 2 0]

Hi folks -

I finally decided to make the most of my Inpros and install a HID kit.

There are so many kits out there, and I'm no professional so I decided to go for the Bosch kit - seeing as the car is full of Bosch bits anyway and I thought german-german compatibility.

 

I got the kit off ebay - some guy selling them from China- but the kit is stamped 'made in Germany@??? Anyway if you do go for one- make him a low offer - I got mine for £15 less than his asking price.

 

The kit looked pretty good quality with excellent connectors and the ballasts too.

 

You have to cut a 30mm hole in the back of the twist cap to get the bulbs in (H7 remember!) . I used some silicone sealant to try and preserve the chamber containing the bulb unit.

 

Otherwise its a very easy install taking less than an hour.

It took me a bit longer because I had to remove Gavin's headlight loom because the kit won't work with it. That'll be finding its way onto ebay later

 

The difference is absolutely amazing. I would say about 10x better. Looks fantastic as well.

 

A couple of points:

 

The lights wont come on unless the engine is on - if the key is in accessory position they flicker on then off after a couple of minutes - battery issues maybe?

 

They flicker into action - a bit like a fluorescent light and then slowly get brighter changing colour as they go. Mine are the 6000K - a good balance between brightness and bling I supposed.

 

Went for a drive - kept expecting everyone to flash me but no-one did. The road signs were reflecting back and you could see for a few hundred yards!! And that was with street lamps!

 

Its early days obviously, but i am well delighted - recommended to anyone with Inpros to make the most of the projector lens.

 

I'm not sure what the effect is with the original headlights - I would have thought the reflector housing and the lens might cause problems - but maybe someone on her has done it.

 

See the pics - but its impossible to effectively demonstrate the difference with photos for obvious reasons.

[Andy665 0]

I'd say that installing HID's in my In Pros was the single best thing I've done to mine, makes driving at night so much less stressful - never used main beam since

[Mystic Rado 0]

The reason the lights won't come on unless the engine is running is that HID takes a massive intitial surge of power to actually strike the arc. If you're not running an uprated loom with them, there's probably not enough voltage at the ballast to strike the arc initiially - after the spark up, they actually use less power than stock halogen bulbs.

 

Generally, if you can, it's probably a good idea to use an uprated loom even with HIDs - apart from anything else, it'll stop the headlight switch from overheating and failing.

 

As far as standard Corrado headlight go, as I posted elsewhere, I fitted a hids4u H4 bixenon kit to mine with disappointing results. Very poor beam pattern and disappointing light output overall. I've seen a few postings suggesting that the shield housed inside the headlight unit is to blame, but generally, HIDs in reflector lights have a bad rep for causing glare. They work much better in projectors, even halogen ones like the InPros, though the best solution is probably to retrofit a complete HID projector into an InPro-type housing with clear glass lens.

 

I've seen a few people post about fitting kits to their original lights, but no-one's ever come back with positive - or any - feedback afterwards, or not that I've seen anyway.

 

There's a US site for HID weenies with a useful forum at http://www.hidplanet.com/forums. Lots of useful info in a slightly sad, obsessive sort of way....

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

Not a C, but I have a HID kit on my Passat's Projector Angel Eyes too.

A well worth it upgrade, and although a grey area with MOT, if it's installed correctly and you've bothered getting your alignment checked out, they shouldn't really have any problem with it.

 

It does however highlight one thing - how naff the actual manufacturing of these after-market lights are... compare to OEM projector lights (which you get on the Passat B5.5 for example) and they're a different league!

 

But, irrelevant for C owners ;)

[STORM 2 0]

Thanks, Mystic for clearing that up - as for using an uprated loom - the one I had on there wouldnt allow the HID kit to work - maybe due to the fuses break point??? I dont know ---any ideas?

[Mystic Rado 0]

Thanks, Mystic for clearing that up - as for using an uprated loom - the one I had on there wouldnt allow the HID kit to work - maybe due to the fuses break point??? I dont know ---any ideas?

 

Depends a bit on how the kit is wired, but probably your best bet would be to get a loom made up so power from the battery goes direct to the ballast using a relay switched by the original low beam feed to trigger the HIDs on low beam and a separate circuit for the high beams, so they're also uprated. You could then, if you wanted, I think, wire a diode in so that the low beam HIDs stay on when the high beams are activated.

 

That might be worth looking into because you want to switch HIDs on and off as little as possible to maxmise the life of the bulbs and ballast and if you're driving in conditions where you're switching from dip to main frequently, I'm guessing the HIDs will be going on and off every time.

 

I'm no electrics expert, but that's pretty much how I understand it. There's a load of info on that American site I linked to above, have a look in the 'University' bit of the forum and there's some detailed stuff on making looms.

[Mystic Rado 0]

Oh, and you might need uprated fuses to cope with the initial increased draw from the HIDs, if that's the problem you're having with your original uprated loom.

[STORM 2 0]

cheers mate

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Goodo, am hopefully fitting one of these kits at the start of next month to fit into my angel-eye units. Was also thinking about spraying the inside of the housing black like JBOB did on his rado to give a meaner look.

 

Speaking of looms / relays, the HID kit I fitted to my mate's X reg Alfa 156 came supplied with some sort of upgraded loom / relay wiring kit but we never used it in the end and just wired it in directly from the ballasts ?

 

Will update when kit purchased and fitted,

 

Cheers

[STORM 2 0]

Hi Tartan Judge,

I would be interested to know the details of any upgraded loom you use with the HID kit because I couldn't get my loom liked by the kit.

Having 'tested' the setup I have had about 1/4 of drivers flash me - I think I need to lower the angle of the headlight due to the high intensity light.

 

The other thing is that I regret not getting a Bi-xenon setup. I found that once my eyes had adjusted to the bright low beam, flicking into high beam was like switching the lights off!! The high beam is now complete pants!! especially without the upgraded loom.

 

Let us know how you get on anyway....

[tonedef 9]

I haven't fitted HIDs to my Inpros yet but I did mod the wiring a bit when I installed them to have both lamps on with main beam. I simply spliced a wire into the main beam wires (white on RHS, white/black on LHS) to switch a pair of relays, the output from the relays then splices back into the low beam lights (yellow on RHS, yellow black on LHS). On low beam the projector lights using the standard wiring, on high beam it switches through the relay, if the relay fails I will still have the high beam.

 

Must try it with HIDs next :lol:

[sim0n_parker 0]

what happnes with he main beams?

if u flick of main beam and goto normal beam wont you have no lights for a split second whilst you wait for the HIDs to ignite and get warm.

 

simon

[tonedef 9]

what happnes with he main beams?

if u flick of main beam and goto normal beam wont you have no lights for a split second whilst you wait for the HIDs to ignite and get warm.

 

simon

Don't know as I've not bought any yet! Hoping that because my dip beam is on all the time it'll make no difference, imagine it would be a problem if you were using the standard Inpro setup though?

[sim0n_parker 0]

anyone else know?

[Mystic Rado 0]

You'd want to wire it so the low beam is constantly on, I think using a diode, so that switching onto mains doesn't switch off low beam otherwise yep, you'll have a delay while the HIDs fire up and you'll also reduce bulb life with switching it on and off.

[corradog60stage4 0]

the BOSCH, Philips, and OSRAM kits you see on Ebay are actually not made by these companies and just someone rebranding some cheap HID kit with a big name brand to lure in unsuspecting buyers. These kits are not high quality as some name brand such as McCulloch that have been in the business when HID's first came out. You will notice that the longevity of these cheaper brands is short and the warranty that the sellers offer is bogus too. If you need warranty you will have to pay shipping which is not cheap both ways and sometimes the seller will require a processing fee or something so at the end you are paying for the replacement.

 

I have three kits made by McCulloch on my corrado and boy they light of the road with over 19200 lumens.

[STORM 2 0]

Why do you need 3 kits on one car? 2 for a bi-xenon setup but whats the third for?

And where did you get the kits? I'm after a bixenon setup now

[Phil K 0]

Foglights?

[STORM 2 0]

AHHHHH silly me :)

so where did you get your kit from ? what would you advise for a bixenon setup?

[corradog60stage4 0]

some members was asking me how hard is it to install and if I have them installed in my ride as well.

 

So let the pics speak for themselves as I have three kit. Yes 6 ballasts and 6 HID capsules installed in my project Corrado. If you want the stealth look it will take more time to install the ballasts away from sight.

 

installation of 4 ballasts first

checking for clearance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

three igniters per side

 

all that spaghetti going through this hole

 

 

individual fuses for each HID light

loomed the wires

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

they are going into my euros.

 

 

HID foglight installation

 

 

 

 

today i was playing with my HID setup and remembered some members asking me for pics of the lights on.

 

so here are some pics but unfortunately they are not taken at night.

 

they are taken inside the garage and beam is on the garage door.

 

the high beams are a bit too blue for me so I will be changing them out. I'm not a fanatic in tinted blue lights as they look more rice than nice.

 

 

 

 

After getting all the ballasts, igniters, etc... installed into my c. The high beams wires are not long enough to connect them to the igniters.

It would be a big job to relocated them so I thought about it and came up with HID Amp connector extension.

some people would wonder what the hell is this guy talking about? There is nothing on the market for these and because of my situation make a pair of these would save me time and work just the same. Innovation works!!!!

 

So here are some pics because I know all of you love my pics.

 

Parts you need:

 

AMP connectors.

consists of male and female nylon connectors, male and female metal terminals, silicone seals, locks, etc... of course you need TV-20 silicone wires.

how it should look once finished

 

strip and leave about 5 mm of wire exposed

pass the silicone seals in first and note direction.

female terminal with silicone wire position before crimping

after it is crimped

push terminal through connector

do the same for the male terminal

pass it though and use locks to secure in place

finished product

you can see each wire has a different connector as this wire is used to extend only.

 

here it is now in use

 

lights on

[STORM 2 0]

great set of pics mate - i like the way you set up the wiring

I need a 6000k setup for H7 bulbs for the high beam - where can i buy the Mcculloch set?

[corradog60stage4 0]

great set of pics mate - i like the way you set up the wiring

I need a 6000k setup for H7 bulbs for the high beam - where can i buy the Mcculloch set?

 

 

Yes it is much easier to install all 6 ballasts when I removed the old tired motor with the stage 4 one.

I like the fact that all 6 ballasts is hidden.

If you are interested in in McCulloch I can hook you up.

just send me a message.

thanks

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Am currently deciding whether to get a 6000k or 8000k Xenon HID set-up for use with my In-Pro Angel Eye projectors. Most OEM HID's are 6000k but I do quite like a bit of the blue colour but not too much, and am not sure if you can see enough blue with the 6000k bulbs or too-much with the 8000k set-up.

 

Can people who have either 6000 or 8000k HID set-ups tell me how they compare in looks or even if they have any pics ? Am totally not interested at all in the ultra-blue / purple kits / HID bulbs I have seen on a lot of chavved up motors as they just look silly and seem to attract a lot of unwanted attention from the boys in blue. However, I think a small amount of blue tint to the light output does look quite nice and softens I think the ultra-white, harsh HID light you get out of the 4000k "daylight"kits.

 

Andy665, Storm 2, corradog60stage4 , and any other forum users who have fitted these kits, what K rating are the HID kits you are running ?

 

Also I can't decide whether or not to go for the bi-xenon HID set-up or just the normal H7 dipped-beam set-up, as there is only aroound £20-£25 difference in the kits price. Plus the fact that if I got just the standard H7 dipped-beam kit I think the full-beam normal halogen bulbs would become almost defunct, as it wouldn't compare to the new dipped bulbs output at all ?

 

For those that have purchased bi-xenon HID kits and installed etc, are they just as easy to set-up and install into the headlight housing ? Is there any differences in wiring etc. ?

 

Any help is much appreciated.

[Mystic Rado 0]

I had an hids4u H4 Bixenon kit in my standard 'rado where, as I've posted elsewhere on the forum, it was absolute pants and didn't suit the Corrado headlight design. Took it out and, out of interest, stuck it in my Mark 2, where it actually works very well in a conventional round headlight. There's loads of light, a good cut-off and a little hint of blueness to the light, but not too much. Dip is great, main beam less so. It's a 6000k kit, I wouldn't get an 8000k set-up, you'll have less useable light and far more of a blue-ish tinge, I think.

 

I didn't realise you could get an H7 bixenon kit. One thing that's weird if you mix Xenon high beams and halogen high beams is the strange mix of light colour - white and yellowish - which I don't really like. I guess you'd get that if you stuck a bixenon in the low beam side and stayed halogen in the main beam ones.

 

But as far as bulbs go, 6000k I'd say.

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Sorry, did actually mean H4 bulbs, got mixed up there. So you reckon a 6000k H4 Bi-Xenon HID kit would be the one to go for then mystic rado ?

 

Anyone else have any opinions ?

 

Cheers