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HID KITS - INSTALLATION GUIDE

TheHole

TAF Member
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Location
Lee on Solent
Car
Honda 2.2 i -ctdi
As you many have seen there is now a HID guide on the forum, explaining the colours, intensities etc.
Some one... Not mentioning his name *Cough* crespo *Cough* took my idea and made it 'his own' ;) (Cheeky man! :lol: )

So Anyway, back on topic and let’s get grubby!

First things first... you will need:
About 2 hours maybe 3 depending on how confident you are. I can do this in roughly 90 minutes from getting tools to putting them back with everything working.
1 Kit of HID's
A set of sockets / ratchets
A big flat blade screwdriver
A Phillips screwdriver
Double sided sticky foam
Mentholated spirits (to clean, not to get high on!)
A hand drill / Pillar drill (preferably the latter of the two)
A hole cutter / wood hole cutter (21 - 23mm dia)
A sharp knife
Some wood.
Some carpet / foam or cardboard
Rubber gloves (thin ones)
Cable ties or insulation tape.
Toilet paper / cloth

Optional:
Beer
Tea
Blood
A new found issue with torrets
A set of girly hands


After chilling out and reading this once, print it out and take it outside to help you. I have installed Hid kits in to 4 separate Accords now (this will be my 5th time, but second time on my own Accord) and I must admit I have found a good way of getting things done with as little fuss as possible.

To start off with, let’s open the bonnet and take off the front panel
DSCN9585.jpg

To do this you will need a fat flat screwdriver.
DSCN9586.jpg

Prise carefully up like this:
DSCN9590.jpg

DSCN9591.jpg


And out comes this:
DSCN9595.jpg
 
Do all the ones on this panel and put them all to one side. Remember where the different length clips go!
DSCN9596.jpg


Next...
Lay on the floor with the above screw driver and a 10mm socket & ratchet. Sorry no picture here.
You will need to take off the following bits (I am missing a few unfortunately as the garage who resprayed my front bumper didn’t re use all the fixings :( ).
DSCN9597.jpg

DSCN9599.jpg

DSCN9600.jpg



Once all those parts have been removed, again put to one side in a manner that you will remember what order everything goes back in.
Next there is 1 cross head screw in each wheel arch just by the top of the bumper / arch join. Remove these and place with the above parts.
DSCN9601.jpg

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This part is where you HAVE TO TAKE YOUR TIME, especially if this is the first time you have taken the bumper off yourself.
You will need to be firm yet gentle with your bumper here. Take your time and you won’t damage anything. Rush and you will regret it.

Prise the corner of the bumper away from the arch and work your way around to the front of the car.
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Then to the same thing starting from the other side:

Once this has been done the bumper should be attached by these plastic lugs:
DSCN9607.jpg



Now time to make use of that carpet / cardboard / foam you have. Lay this down directly under the front bumper like so: this will stop the bumper getting scratched whilst you work. You can completely remove it, but its simple enough just to leave it on.
IMAG0473.jpg


Lift the bumper up and towards you and lower it slowly on to the carpet like so:
IMAG0475.jpg
 
Now if you look in these areas you will see a nice flat area to stick your ballasts down to:
IMAG0478.jpg


Closer:
IMAG0479.jpg


You will need to do a small bit of jiggery pokery to get the ballasts to fit, move the cable supports down and hold in place with tape or cable tie. (drivers side only)

Clean these areas well with some meth’s and toilet paper or some cloth you have lying about. Ensure the area is dry and then get ballast.
Stick double sided sticky foam to one side of the ballast. Don’t be shy with the sticky stuff, the more you use, the less chance it will move.

Once you’re happy, peel off the other side of the tape and then stick the ballast down in position likes so: Old ballast has been there for 4 years and not moved :) and its not that dirty either.
IMAG0477.jpg


Repeat the above steps for the other side.

Now both ballasts are fitted you are nearly ready to fit your HID bulbs. (SEE EXTRAS FOR DIFFERENT INSTALLATION)

Get your 10mm socket and undo the battery earth to chassis and hook over here:
IMAG0489.jpg

IMAG0491.jpg


Undo the 10mm bolt on the washer neck and remove the filler top.
IMAG0493.jpg

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Push the neck of the washer bottle back to here and it should stay there until you are done:
IMAG0497.jpg


Now remove the weather proof backing (caps) from the lights:
And place on the piece of wood you have got for the task.

Place both caps down on the wood next to each other and you will see a small depression (injection moulding mark) in the centre of the cap (I can’t show you this as I have already drilled mine!).
Put the centre of the hole cutter here and drill your hole. They should turn out like this:
IMAG0502.jpg


Showing the tool
IMAG0503.jpg
 
Neaten up with a sharp knife. - I always cut the hole smaller than what the instructions say because I want a good fit of the rubber bung.
Ensure your connectors of the HID bulb can go through the hole. If they cant, make 'ears' like I have, or widen the hole slightly more with a sharp knife / hole cutter.

Once they fit through your ready to progress :)

Remove your old headlight bulbs and place somewhere out of the way.
Old (halogen) H1 Vs HID H1:
DSCF3424.JPG


Both H1 bulbs will go in to the headlight with the 'return electrode' at the top...
The return electrode is the ‘bar’ on the Hid.
These bulbs are delicate and need to be handled with care. Ensure your take your time fitting them and be careful.

Once the bulb is located, hold it in place whilst you reclip the metal pressure latch to hold the bulb in place.
IMAG0506.jpg


Once its clipped in, try and gently rotate the base of the bulb, it should not move if located properly, if it turns then it is not located correctly so retry the steps above.

Fit the opposite side bulb using the same method.

Connect the Blue colour wire from the car harness to the Blue wire on your HID loom
Connect the Black colour wire from the car harness to the Black wire on your HID loom.
IMAG0507.jpg


Now this is where the option of 'girly hands' comes in to use. Space from here on is a little limited (well it is for me) and it can get rather frustrating.... bring in option 'A new found issue with torrets'

Slide all the cables through the hole in the headlight cap (make sure you put them through the right way ;) ) and then slide the cap all the way down to the headlight.
If you can, start to pull the rubber bung through the hole in the cap, although I normally do this once the cap is securely fitted.
IMAG0508.jpg

IMAG0509.jpg


Fit the cap back in place:
IMAG0510.jpg



Pull rubber bung though to mid point where it now seals the unit, like so:
IMAG0511.jpg
 
Before you go any further hook the HID Bulb up to the ballast and turn your dipped beam lights on, Ensure both sides work before continuing.
If one or both lights do not function then turn off the car and trace the wiring to see if you have left something unplugged.

Once they are both functioning,:
IMAG0513.jpg

(35w on the left 55w on the right)

Ensure the car is off and unplug the bulb harness from the ballast and route the wires properly from the back of the headlight down to where the ballast is fitted. Make this as neat as you can, as hopefully you will only do this once.

Once your happy that the wire routing is correct, the HID's are now working and your feeling proud of yourself... now you have to put the front bumper back on :(

I have found the best way to get the bumper back on with minimal fuss is to lift the bumper and relocate it on those plastic lugs that where mentioned earlier:
DSCN9607.jpg


Once the bumper is hanging there, get under the car and ensure that the under tray connected to the bumper is below the engine under tray.

Start to push the bumper back in to place, aligning up the catches as you work around... Start from the middle and work your way out doing both sides at the same time.

Once the bumper is clipped in to place. Look at the front and make sure it is 'square' or in the middle / the gaps look right around the headlights etc.

Once your happy, start replacing all the bolts and plastic catches until your car is re ***embled.

Pack your tools away and grab a beer! You have just installed a HID kit on your own and made night driving ALOT safer.

Now, with anything like this... I am aware there will be some people who might not be very spanner wise. So... if you plan on tackling this job and think you might need some help, PLEASE feel free to drop me a PM a few days before you do the job and I will give you my mobile number, so if you get stuck I can talk you through what ever the problem is :).

I hope this is of some use and helps people on here do this fantastic & cheap mod.
 
***EXTRAS***

Different installation of the HID Bulb.

An old Mod (CJ) did this as he was a perfectionist. If I have the time in the future I will also consider re-routing the harnesses but for now I will live with the previous method as shown above.

CJ wanted his Install to look as OEM as possible.
To do this he used the OEM HID entrance in the bottom on the headlight as shown below.
IMAG0481.jpg


You have to remove both headlights and carefully cut a hole here.
Once that is done you then install the bulbs and route the wiring through the base of the headlight to the ballast.
The install is very similar to the previous method, but this takes a lot more time to do hence why I have not done it yet.


Information on ballasts:
DON’T bother getting the full sized ballasts any more, they are bulky and very difficult to fit.

Below shows a Slim & a Medium sized ballast.
The Slim kit is tiny (35w) and I would recommend these to anyone. They have nearly the same footprint as a credit card but are deeper.
The medium ballasts.. well I was a bit annoyed I got these in the 55w kit, but they still fit (just).
IMAG0483.jpg

IMAG0488.jpg



Disclaimer:
Whilst I have put this ‘HOW TO’ guide together to aid you in the installation of your HID kit, I cannot accept any responsibility for any damage or self injury that occurs during this process.
If you don’t feel confident about what you are doing STOP and see ***istance.
These ballasts and bulbs operate at high voltage and the bulbs get extremely hot. Extreme caution must be used when handling these products. DO NOT attempt to handle a ballast or bulb when it is in operation.
 
I've no interest in HIDs, but credit to you -that's a great write up!
 
Excellent Writeup mate. Very detailed indeed and there's nothing else I can think of to add.
This should help a great deal of members.
Well done fella.
 
excellent write up mate.

ill give you a well earned rep point when I am on my PC.
 
Excellent stuff!

Is the bumper dropped solely to house the ballasts? If so then I ***ume its nit possible to mount them inboard somewhere? Id be a lot happier personally if the bumper hasnt got to be removed.

Thanks once again for a brill effort!


Paul
 
Great write up Adam any chance of doing one for the 8th gen :lol: Just been looking at it again but its a bumper off and headlights out job :(
It annoys me why Honda put these bulbs in such stupid places as its almost impossible to just change the bulb let alone doing a hid conversion.
Anyway rep point mate for sharing this with us.
 
Simply superb this write up such good work Adam, thank you very much it will help alot of the newer members alot.
 
Excellent stuff!

Is the bumper dropped solely to house the ballasts? If so then I ***ume its nit possible to mount them inboard somewhere? Id be a lot happier personally if the bumper hasnt got to be removed.

Thanks once again for a brill effort!


Paul

Paul,

there is a bolt at the bottom of the headlight which needs to be removed and you need the bumper lowered to get access to it.

Great write up Adam, the only thing i done differently was to route the cables through the bottom of the light ala CJ. Its not difficult at all, but this is definitely a cracking write up.
 
Paul,

there is a bolt at the bottom of the headlight which needs to be removed and you need the bumper lowered to get access to it.
Adam doesn't use that, just mounts the ballast on the little ledge below the headlight, and cable ties the cables up. Paul if you don't want to take the bumper off you can leave the ballast hanging down anywhere you like, but honestly having been one of the cars Adam fitted HIDs to I can say it's not as scary as it sounds. The worst bit is pulling the bumper to unclip it, and then knowing which bit has to overlap what when putting it back on.
 
Paul,

there is a bolt at the bottom of the headlight which needs to be removed and you need the bumper lowered to get access to it.

Great write up Adam, the only thing i done differently was to route the cables through the bottom of the light ala CJ. Its not difficult at all, but this is definitely a cracking write up.
Thanks - maybe a daft question byut why do you need to access that bolt? Apologies if I missed it in the write-up!

Paul
 
Thanks - maybe a daft question byut why do you need to access that bolt? Apologies if I missed it in the write-up!

Paul

Trev covered it in the post above, it was my mistake. When i done it, i removed the headlight so i could drill the bottom of the headlight which means my cover isn't drilled. You need access to that bolt to remove the headlight. As Adam left the headlight in place, you wont need access to that bolt - my bad, sorry :blush:
 
Sorry Guys. maybe i should have added the fact you can mount the ballasts anywhere you want them.

TBH though, dont be lazy and stick them in the engine bay, i did this and no matter where you try and hide them, they stick out like a sore thumb! Hence mounting them where they have mentioned.

If you want to route the wires through the internals of the headlight, the bumper will need to be dropped to gain access to the necassary bolts.
I didnt take my lights out as i didnt want to have to re allign them.

Brett, your only in bristol. If you come here then i will do the install for free and do a write up ;).. obviously you get the HID's.. im not payin for them :p
 
Also wanted to say sorry for the quality of some of the pictures.... it was 6am when i started....

my neighbours think im mad... really dont know why :huh:
 
I might take you up on that Adam lol.
If the head lights need to be taken out whitch I rhino they will is it possible to mark there position.This will prevent realignment
 
I might take you up on that Adam lol.
If the head lights need to be taken out whitch I rhino they will is it possible to mark there position.This will prevent realignment

Brett, could you take some pictures of your engine bay please ?

Yes im sure we could mark up the headlight somehow to mount it correctly again.
:)
 
Excellent write up dude. Have some pointage.
 
It may be worth merging my FAQ thread with this excellent installation guide and moving it to the DIY area so that it doesn't get bumped in to non existence.

That way everything you will ever need to know will be contained in the one thread in an easy to find place.



http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/topic/8040-hid-kits-the-definitive-guide/
 
Brett, could you take some pictures of your engine bay please ?

Yes im sure we could mark up the headlight somehow to mount it correctly again.
:)
Ok mate i will take some in a couple of days as its dark in the morning and night.Im getting a lift to work most of the week so wont see the car in daylight :)
 
Nice write up Adam, great pics..
 
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