2015 Yukon HID Conversion from The Retrofit Source

[toi]

Yes ,just wiggle it back in with a medium force

 

[BeavOR]

Yes ,just wiggle it back in with a medium force

Thank you on so many levels....worked great and saved me from much embarrassment:

1) from having to go to the dealer for a replacement bulb, and watch the service advisor smirk at me

2) from my wife ridiculing me for not being able to change a light bulb

3) from my brother and father who obviously would have loved to tell the story of the time I took the car into the dealer for a bulb replacement

4) I can't even imagine how terrible it would have been if my buddies found out

In the end "F" GM for not telling me that in the manual.

Thanks again!

 

[mau1976]

I bought a Philips HID conversion kit, and the first day it was working fine. Then a couple days later the driver side bulb went out, I turned off the lights and then back on and that seemed to help. Then the lights started flickering, therefore after reading a lot of things about HID conversion kits, I decided to try the Retrofit Source, the guy I talked to assured me that they were going to work, so I followed his instructions. A day later after I installed them, the lights were flickering like strobes, and then both would turn off. By the time I got home from work, and try to remove the kit, 4 of my LEDs on the DRL (I have 16' Tahoe) went out. I put back the halogen, even though I hate the way they look. I do not know what else to try. I have read every single comment in this thread, and it seems that there is not a single kit that will work. I wonder if there is a way to cut the wire that powers the DRL LEDs. I saw some used headlights on eBay going for $600.00. I was even thinking of buying a new pair, but I am not sure if they are just plug and play.

 

[BuffaloBigJ]

I bought a Philips HID conversion kit, and the first day it was working fine. Then a couple days later the driver side bulb went out, I turned off the lights and then back on and that seemed to help. Then the lights started flickering, therefore after reading a lot of things about HID conversion kits, I decided to try the Retrofit Source, the guy I talked to assured me that they were going to work, so I followed his instructions. A day later after I installed them, the lights were flickering like strobes, and then both would turn off. By the time I got home from work, and try to remove the kit, 4 of my LEDs on the DRL (I have 16' Tahoe) went out. I put back the halogen, even though I hate the way they look. I do not know what else to try. I have read every single comment in this thread, and it seems that there is not a single kit that will work. I wonder if there is a way to cut the wire Xenon option. I saw some used headlights on eBay going for $600.00. I was even thinking of buying a new pair, but I am not sure if they are just plug and play.

Go with led bulbs, I had similar issues with the hid and switched to led quite some time ago and have never looked back. The light output is less than hid but much brighter than stock. The appearance is just like hid as far as color and look.

If you do decide to go with led, get the fan less ones...

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[mau1976]

Go with led bulbs, I had similar issues with the hid and switched to led quite some time ago and have never looked back. The light output is less than hid but much brighter than stock. The appearance is just like hid as far as color and look.

If you do decide to go with led, get the fan less ones...

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Do you have a link of what you got by any chance?

 

[fire730]

Subd for this answer too.

Don't feel like dealing with HID issues on my wife's truck. But something has to be done cause the halogens are Horrible.

 

[BuffaloBigJ]

Subd for this answer too.

Don't feel like dealing with HID issues on my wife's truck. But something has to be done cause the halogens are Horrible.

Do you have a link of what you got by any chance?

Ebay item # 272119539702

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[mau1976]

I am going to give it one more try, I will do a combination of the Philips kit, and parts of the Retrofit source, I will let you guys know how it works. If it fails, I will give a try to the LEDs.

 

[toi]

http://www.xenondepot.com/H11-HID-Kit-Xtreme-HID-p/xt-h11.htm

i installed this kit with philips bulb upgrade. no problems so far. happy camper here.
its been 3 months. southern california though, so no really cold mornings or bad weather here.

 

[mau1976]

Day 4

Today as I was leaving for work, I unlocked the vehicle and only one of the lights turned on. The driver side did not turn on, by the way this light bulb gets power from the passenger side. I jumped in the vehicle, turned it on, and the light was still off. I turned on and off the lights, and finally at the forth time it came on.
I also received a couple notifications from onStar yesterday about a malfunction on both headlamps. However, yesterday both lights were working fine, so I do not know if those notifications are real time updates. Today, after the incident in the morning, I drove the vehicle a few times for short trips, and the lights work completely fine. I will wait a little longer to see if I have any other issues.

 

[pro510]

So after trying HID's and giving up on them, and trying a pair of LED's with ribbons which also flickered, I seem to have found a pair of LEDs which work 100% for me. I have had them in for about 3 weeks now with no issue. These are true plug and play, no ballasts, no cables to run, just open up the dust cap, plug in the bulbs and put the dust cap back on. They do have a fan in them to keep cool, and that did concern me due to potential heat build up, but so far they have been OK. I went with them because they are 55w per bulb and assumed therefore the truck wouldn't reject them or need resistors. And they are cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331903157305

 

[Steve1081]

If you install a canbus on both factory low beam connectors and run one to a relay that is powered directly off the battery (as described in this thread) you should not have any issues. I have an intermittent issue with mine firing but that is not a vehicle issue it is an issue with the ballast firing.

If you are getting error messages it is because you aren't running canbus.


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[pro510]

If you install a canbus on both factory low beam connectors and run one to a relay that is powered directly off the battery (as described in this thread) you should not have any issues. I have an intermittent issue with mine firing but that is not a vehicle issue it is an issue with the ballast firing.

If you are getting error messages it is because you aren't running canbus.


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I did all that with the HID's. I had the canbus and relays hooked up to the battery per the instructions. I never got any errors, just one ballast gave up after 2 weeks and needed replacing, shortly after the other bulb started flickering. At that point I wasn't going to waste any more time sending stuff back. So for me they were just bad quality and didn't last. I was probably unlucky.

The LED's on the other hand are like installing a normal halogen bulb and have proven to be more reliable. YMMV.


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[Steve1081]

I still have some DDM tuning ballasts in my BMW that have been in there for 5+ years with no issues. I might just go back to them.


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[mau1976]

No issues for the las 7 days.

 

[mau1976]

Over two weeks without issues, I am officially a happy camper!

 

[AngelXL]

Anyone have use this brand? It looks pretty straight forward install.

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=jlbfU9ShwPY

 

[OilfieldTrash78]

Any long term reports on kits that are still working? I have a Xenondepot kit on the way, and was just curious!

 

[Monkeyemano]

DDM kit still going strong. Zero issues.

 

[Vanquish Auto]

Installed the Morimoto Elite H11 HID system (3Five 35W ballasts) from The Retrofit Source with optional XB 35
4300K bulbs and Canbus H11 harness (update: the driver side bulb occasionally does not fire with the Canbus harness. I believe a few other on here have reported this as well and TRS recommends the relay harness, I may be switching...). Total cost was $170.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems/morimoto-elite-hid-system-h11.html#.U1icku29LCQ

As others have stated the driver side bulb is super east to get to and has a ton of room to work with for mounting the ballast. So I did this side first .

Used the included mounting bracket and some heavy duty exterior double sided tape for the ballast and the same double sided tape and black zip ties for the Canbus.

Tape I used: (way better than the white stuff)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004Z4BV/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1398316664&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

I used a 1" spade drill bit in the headlight cap for the cable pass through. This might not be the ideal tool but it actually made a pretty clean hole. Just keep the bit mowing fast...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0001LQYJ4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1398316872&sr=1-2&pi=SX200_QL40

Now for the pictures:

Driver side ballast mount. There is a hole right there already with pretty easy access behind it to be able to hold the included nut and lock washer. This mounting solution is not fancy but is super easy and sturdy with the double sided tape. The included hardware worked perfectly with existing holes. So no drilling your brand new truck.

You can see the Canbus in this shot zip tied behind the fender wall. Out of sight and sturdy with the zip tie and mounting tape.

Here is a shot of the wiring. I utilized an existing cable mount below the light that is holding the hood release (I think) to keep the cables looking neat.

On to the passenger side... All you need is a flat screwdriver to remove the hose clamp that holds the MAF and air intake tube to the air box. Once that is loose there is a cable management thing attached holding the MAF cable to the airbox. You will need to pull that out as well. Then you just pull up on the air box and 3 rubber grommets that hold it into place will pop loose. From there I rotated it slowly up and out being careful not to pull on any of the hoses in the area. Tight fit... But not too bad.

Once that is out of the way you will be able to see a space below the washer fluid reservoir that is a perfect fit for the ballast.

The cables are long enough to run under the airbox back to the light from here. Here is a shot of the Canbus which was mounted again with a zip tie and mounting tape under the bracket that holds the air box.

There is also a funky plastic sheet between the airbox and light that has two pop pins (not sure if that is a technical term... But I'm sure you know what I mean). That had to be removed to get the cap off the headlight. It already has holes in it you can run the cables through.

Once the airbox is back in you can't see anything that has been installed underneath.

Now for the light output shots:

Driver side HID passenger side still stock:

Output with the left HID and Right stock: (unfortunately forgot to take any output shots before taking the driver side light out)

Output of just the left HID:

Output of just the right stock light. seriously!!

Both HIDs in now...

Down my street. Much better!!

Various cutoff shots. My house is yellow so it makes the light look a bit yellow but it is pure white and matches the LEDs perfectly! In person the color difference is very noticeable and the HIDs look great!

Overall the install was easier than most HID kits I have done just because there is so much more room under the good of these trucks. The light output seems great to me.

I do need to get on some level ground and make sure I don't need to adjust the lights. It didn't seem like the cutoff moved but it is a little hard to tell and I don't want to be blinding anyone.

On the past I have used DDM kits with no complaints (they still work on 3 cars) but the quality and light output on this Kit is definitely better. For this truck it is worth the money!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Update 8/22/2015:

Since I started this thread. I am sad to say that I retract me recommendation of TRS. I have an intermittent ballast and like others they want me to take it out of the car and cut it up to get a replacement. That is not too convenient for a car that carries my family. It needs headlights.

Customer service is rude and they don't seem to care at all that this post sent many customers their way. I would look elsewhere for a quality HID kit. TRS charges a premium price and can't back it up with customer service.


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Very sorry to hear about your complaints and the poor customer service you experienced with them. The two most important factors for us in becoming sponsors of this great forum was to provide an even better customer service and provide an actual solution for your truck's headlights in a completely plug and play without all the complicated relays and headlight malfunctioning nonsense.

Many of the forum members are already very happy with our true hid system that is designed for your truck and a 3 year warranty that is just impossible to beat right now.

For more information and to learn more about the correct system for your truck look no further than our 35W Can Bus Kit in any color of your choice, nothing else is needed to get them done.

https://vanquishauto.com/headlight-bulb-low-beam-h11-3018.html