tast101
Supporting Member
Brought over from TF.com
chris48559 said:There seems to be a lot of questions going around about HID's, auto headlights, and all things related. Through installing my own I researched as much as possible so I figured I would put it all in one thread for others searching for it.
To start, HID kits can be purchased from a number of places, here are the ones I have used or spoken to people who have used them.
-hidgate on ebay (comes with warranty I believe)
-vvme (google, they ship from china, I used these and recommend them, also the cheapest I have found but still a quality product)
-DDM tuning (again google for site, ship from CA comes with a warranty)
-xenon depot (site vendor, great kits from what I hear, can be found in the vendor forum)
Let me go ahead and add this, if your HID's don't work at first try to flip the plug.
Now some faq's
1) HID's in the stock housing:
Yes it works, yes its brighter, and if aimed correctly will not blind other drivers. Projectors are always a better option, but the price for me personally was just not worth it. Do not get ebay projectors with plastic lenses. Period. If you want projectors do it right or stick with the stock housing, either way HID's will greatly increase your vision at night.
2) Ballast Mounting:
There are various locations to mount the ballast first lets start with the lows. The ballasts can be mounted on the radiator shroud either on the headlight side or radiator side. I mounted mine on the radiator side, I drove around in heavy rain and snow and not once did they get more than a few drops of water. Some people have mounted them behind the headlight assembly as well. Now for fogs. I mounted mine on the skid plate, I stuck them as far to the middle and as high as possible. Again, after some rain and snow driving I checked and both remained completely dry. There are many places once you crawl and look under the truck, I just found this to be the easiest and it kept them completely dry. Yes, a separate ballast is required for each light.
Here is where I mounted mine (not my pic but same place)
3) HID's in the high-beams
Some do it some don't, I didn't because I rarely use the highs. If you flash them a lot I would say skip the highs, shortens the life of the bulb. There is a time period in which the HID's need to warm up, if you click the highs on you will have a low light output for a few seconds between the time the lows turn off and the highs warm up. If you put HID's in the highs I would recommend the 4 high mod.
4) 4 high mod
-03-06 http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8838#post8838
-pre 03 http://www.tahoeforum.com/showthread.php?t=16761
5) Auto-on Headlights
Probably one of the most asked question I have seen. With HID's if you run a harness than all is well with auto-on. However, with no harness the ballast is starved for power at start up and the lights flicker, this will reduce the life of both bulbs and ballasts. Auto-on lights can be disabled by connecting 2 wires at the BCM. To get to the BCM first remove the dash around the ac/radio/steering wheel, simple pull this piece off. Then you will want to unbolt 2 bolts holding the panel under the steering wheel on. There will be 3 connectors that can be seen. They are j2, j3, and j4 (left to right). To disable auto on you will want to work with only j3 and j4 (middle and right units). You can simply run a wire from the white wire on J3 (wire A4) to the black wire of J4(wire B7). This can be done in various ways, using a quick tap connector to run a 18 gauge or smaller wire between the two. You can also strip back some of the insulation and solder the connection (preferred). I will admit I used quick taps but I made sure to tighten the connection and tape all wires. I have used quick taps before and it lasted the life of the vehicle, but soldering is still the better option. You can also run a wire from the terminal of each wire if you would like. As a safety precaution unhook the negative side of the battery before doing any of the above. Here is a photo to help.
6) Harness, yes or no?
First off I do not have a harness, I have had absolutely no issues at all. Both of my kits are 35w however. If your wondering 55w will be much brighter than 35w and without a projector housing you run the risk of blinding oncoming drivers. A relay is always a good idea, especially if you leave auto-on enabled, this will provide the ballasts with constant power thoughout the cranking cycle. With a 55w kit run a harness, just to be safe. With a 35w kit I, and many people I have talked to, are running 35w kits without a harness just fine. So, in summary, 55w kit=harness, 35w kit=up to you (might as well considering they are cheap from ebay).
This is just a quick (and long lol) write up on some common things, if anyone has any input please feel free to add anything. I am by no means a professional and do not claim to be so all opinions and criticisms are welcome Thanks! (note: these are not my pics I am only using them as an example)
Just ran out and grabbed a few pics..here you go
Lows only (slightly downhill)
Lows and highs
Lows and fogs
Lows only, even ground (wet)
6000k VVME HID's
Last edited:
