Lex Talionis

dudes... it has been a rare rain here in SoCal so.. PLUS, when not raining I was installing accessories: splash guards. HID, hitch, emblem... photos are coming when weather clears and and can take some.. promise

no worries... glad you made it over yourself ,,,, and can now take over fielding the questions & PM's

I am going to report initial SUCESS with my digital, 5000k, 35w kit from retro-solutions. now, I say initial as I have only seen in the day, not night and no real tests - so I reserve the right to change my mind IF night time shows something I cannot see now (flickering or static interference - which digital are not suppose to do). It was a piece of cake to install. seriously. maybe 15 minutes to install... I spent more time, no joke, placing the ballast and there is a perfect vertical spot on each side to place them near your lights and I just used double sided foam tape and attached the wires by a few zip ties to surrounding wires for additional cleanliness and ballast support. looks clean and semi-factory. easy access still to get to, yet out of the way. The one thing that was a bit surprising, despite having read it many times, is the buzz they give off. wow, little louder than I expected IF the hood is open, but can't hear with car running and hood closed of course. hint 1.. on this kit you will have 2 pig tails (loose ends of blue and black) on each light side from the HID kit that get pushed into the factory harness left open by the old bulb removal. the HID Blue goes in the brown with blue stripe and the HID black goes in the black with green stripe. Now, your colors might vary, but the goal is to match the HID blue to a wire with a blue and the HID black to a wire with black. Todd says it does not matter really, but hey, this is 'correct' way to do it if you want to get picky.. and I did hint 2.. REMOVE the opaque plastic ring that sits behind the orange/red seal (pull it over the seal or pull the seal of and take that off) - that should not be installed! good luck all. .. I will report back after a night or usage and see how it really pans out. (yes, pictures will come at a later date... trying to get accessories mounted and taking photos, just not uploading them yet until have time and all done). UPDATE: just went out and checked them out. wow... sweeeet. just a tad hint of blue in 5000k and hella nice looking. turn on the brights and you are like ick... the brights I did not do of course.. just saying if you do it you will see just how yellow and dingy and low light they are compared to white, clean, bright light. wow.

don't know about 'in writing' - I think I have seen it in some places, can't recall. I think that PW you signed was to cover their a$$ incase rebates went down at the time you took delivery and you got pissy about it. But, the converse is true that if the rebates improved, they gotta give them to you.. in the time i watched in the last 6 weeks, they have improved in APR, lease, cash back, etc.

yeah, I can talk to the Satellite.. still learning commands, but have a few basics I can do with it.

just talked to them and they say this device will not work and the reason is that they to tie into the Nav disk wires and those are internally mounted in the nav head unit and not accessible so this harness/kit - or any known kit - will not allow this as Ford closes this avenue off. they said they might be working on something, but options are limited given accessibility to tap into the wiring. they told me to keep an eye on this company also: http://www.navtv.com/ - but when calling them, they have no solution and seem to think it cannot be done in a DIY kit. they can do it for you for $800 IF you remove the nav radio and send it to them yeahhh right

just got off phone with a tech.. here is what he said, confirms my guess.... because we have the interactive Nav system that has: Nav, CD, Satellite, User Device, FM, AM.... we need to prompt the system to let it know which device we want to talk to as it does not know if you want to talk to the iPod or the Nav map or the Satellite radio. That is why we get these prompts... So, the point is, even if you are using the iPod, you still may want to talk to the Satellite so you have to tell it first what item you want to interact with via voice and then interact with that item. He claims a Sync only system does not have this setup as it knows you only want to talk to the USB/ipod or phone.... less choices means less interaction.. so in my case, as I have the full nav with cd, satellite, phone, radio, user device... I have to hit the VOICE button and say USER DEVICE to let it know I want to talk to the iPod and not the Satellite and then give my command "play jimi hendrix". BUT, If while using the iPod I want to switch to Satellite, I have to hit the VOICE button and say SATELLTE and then give it the command "play channel 101" he confirmed this on his test bed machine in front of him, with his coworkers while I confirmed on my Sync.. as further proof, my nav system will not respond to the term you guys use of USB... I must use USER DEVICE I kind of understand the logic as to why... kind of wish it would just know i am on USER DEVICE and not have to be promoted again... but it also makes sense that while on USER DEVICE I might want to tell the nav/map some directive so it needs to know which to listen for and activate.

BUT ... I have a theory.... do you guys have the Nav and Sync or just Sync? I wonder if those of us that have Nav have the additional prompts you do not have as you do not have the nav so do not get prompted for: Nav, CD, Satellite, User Device as it knows you are only taking to the uSB port? what say you?

UPDATE: Well.... got to snooping....That system is made by Gentex and is distributed after-market by the Mito coporation to other resellers (Part#:50-GENK242 $379-410) I gave them a call and they said it is 100% possible to retro fit on a Ford and not loose the auto dim or Sync!!!! So, you would tie your backup camera into this new mirror. the only issue is that the sync 'tube' (a white microphone tube) needs to be exposed and likely at the headliner. so... maybe some luck in this direction. not cheap mind you, but looks to be 105 DIY!

crazy.. what you say seems right, but even the above directions show it is suppose to work they way it is working for me...

SO here are some facts on the car I have not covered that might be of interest... Some of you recall this whole thread I had about hating the chrome clads and refusing to buy the car with them. No way! So, I went to the dealer and told him I wanted the Premium Painted 18" Aluminum wheels (64p) that come as an upgrade on the SEL to make it happen. Well.. THEY LOOK AWESOME.. no one has this setup that I have seen or found on the web and the dealer has never this configuration as it is just not done as they had to have my car and swap wheels. They did it for me as it was my 1 big request and man, I am stoked I did it. Picture (to come) will tell the tail but they look TIGHT. And to top it off, to get these wheels they ordered a second car at the same time they ordered mine just to get them, so they were brand new and never test driven to boot! How can you beat that? And, they also gave me $489 for the "down grade" nice! I have to say, I am very stoked with the car on first 12 hours. Beautiful. I am sure there will be issues I need to address, but it is just the tits (as SHIZZY would say). WHAT I HAVE DONE: -all weather floor mats -weather-tech cargo liner -ALS bumper guard/saver -custom rear emblem -splash guards (I have some great tips on installin these) -Curt hitch (also have tips on this beast install) -HID digital install, 5000k, 35w -20% charcoal tint front 2 windows -lug nut locks -Infinity Kappa 682.7cf speakers all around -Stubby aluminum mini antenna -LED super white license plate, map, dome, cargo -custom built LED puddle lamp bulbs -custom built internal light shut off switch -rearview camera -BAMR control panel light mod FUTURE DO (unknown when): -Steeda High Velocity Cold Air Intake -further misc LED bulb changes (i.e., turns, corners, brakes) -gas hood struts -hitch wiring kits -DVD after market headrests

Well.. the Conquest cash rebate has been discussed here in several threads.. you can search for more details but it is essentially 1000$ cash for getting out of a comparable non-Ford car into a Ford if you can prove you are the owner of said car. This is very regional in nature incentive. As a matter of fact, it does not come up as an incentive on the website for my zip like it did for others, but thank God others here mentioned it here and I got to digging around and just decided to go to my dealer with it. I did not ask him, I took in my title of my VW and told him I would be doing the Conquest incentive (that Jedi mind trick thing).... and it went for it. So I was very fortunate there. Kind of basic summary of cost, as there is a LOT of variance out there so it is so hard to compare mine to yours to others to get comparable pricing. For example, did you get White Sand Tri Coat for an extra 421$, doc fees vary, x-plan or not, incentives you scored, Job 1 or Job 2 build (as the base price of the car and the Vista roof rose on Job 2) changes costs by about 250$.... So for me, I got X-plan on a FULLY loaded 2008 Limited White Sand Tri Coat. Only thing I did not get was the DVD entertainment system. Other than that, I got it all. Plus, as you see, I got incentives and money back for the wheels I wanted.. but in the end, IIRC it was about 32500 out the door. Can give more details when I dig back up the paperwork. Pictures are forth coming this weekend - will start a whole Gallery as I plan a lot of mods and accessories. I have to travel to AZ from CA for a big triathlon race this weekend, so will get a road trip and photos during that time.

so if you are listening to a track.. you can just push the VOICE button 1 time and say "play jimi hendrix"? On mine, you have to hit the VOICE button 2 times, then say "USER DEVICE" and then it responds back "USB" and then I can say "play jimi hendrix"... have to do that every time! if you only hit 1 time VOICE it gives you all the prompts, if you hit is 2 times is when you can then say USER DEVICE and then say a command and bypass the prompts... but this is wrong, no? Does your nav display on the top tabs say USER DEVICE? Mine does, and then within that I select USB. am I doing something wrong here? UPDATE: sure enough... seems like I am doing it right.. http://www.syncmyride.com/Own/Modules/Supp...ails.aspx?hdi=3 seems rather cryptic system needing extra clicks/commands to work

yeah, I actually have a reason to celebrate Pres day now

I just took delivery and have this same issue.... once i get to playing a song, I press the Voice button and I have to listen to all the prompts again from this female voice... I cannot just say PLAY jimi hendrix right from what I am listening to - no way this can be right I have not read the manual yet, but it drove me bonkers on the way home. I hope this is not the way it is. I have a iPod Nano with Apple cable which is 100% supported..

whose chad? I bought through Todd - who is retro-solutions.com.. and yes, they only do digital HID kits.

So, I think I scored big on my new loaded "Job 2" 2008 Limted Edge in white sand tri coat I just took delivery on :happy feet: When I ordered, exactly 6 weeks ago, the only cash rebate was 1000$. As we know, you cannot lock in rebates until you take delivery.. well, I hit the jackpot by waiting as I see it. By ordering and painfully waiting, not only did I get a car built just for me (had 9 miles on it) I was able to take advantage of the now $1500 cash rebate PLUS my dealer was having a 3 day presidents day sale ending today for an extra $1000 PLUS I was able to score the Conquest cash PLUS I got $490 back for those bogus chrome clad wheels as I traded for a brand new, never used set of Premium Painted Aluminum wheels (wait to you see these wheels - tight - they ordered them new for me) PLUS waived the docs fees PLUS he gave me the Edge rubber floor mats AND the splash guards free ...... ALL of this on top of an already solid reduced X-Plan pricing... And it gets better... I then used my United premium card and put the max they would allow - 10k - on it so now I just earned 10k airline miles as well. I wanted bad to put the whole 32k on the card and get a free ticket, but he said they just could not as it cost them money as it is.. so I didn't complain. X-Plan -1500 -1000 -1000 -490 & got wheels I wanted +free all weather mats and splash guards +airline miles --------- = SCORE! and to top it off... they came to me and picked me up today from my house in my new car damn... what a great deal and they started me out feeling real good about them and this deal (as compared to my last VW purchase 7 years ago).

that relay test is a good first trouble shooting step to see where you stand with non-digital ballasts. good call. however, whether you prove it to be the relay need on non-digital ballasts or not, I would still want the digital ballast installed in the end. That Digital vs. conventional HID specs chart is pretty convincing info over at retro-solutions website. I will post up my results as soon as my kit is installed tomorrow. I opted to not do the relay - as you now already - so you and I are about to get a little bit more definitive on this Edge vs HID issue in the coming week. good luck. BTW, I could see how going to a 20amp from 10amp could be a real potential issue as it would allow more load to flow prior to blowing the fuse - which could be a potential issue. no guarantee, just a potential as those fuses are there to be blown. kind of sounds like if people are going from a 10 to a 20 and stopping that flickering, that only some seem to report, it must be just about exhausting that 10amp and 20 gives a buffer.

correct me if I am wrong, but your first troubles did not involve digital ballast HID kits? and now you have ordered a digital ballast kit yourself to try IIRC? it seems them being digital is one of the key factors in success or not. also, the good thing about the retro-solutions kit is that if you feel it necessary, they have an inexpensive relay kit (like $10), but as that transcript showed elsewhere I posted, and Tiffany talked about with digital ballast installs they do at their shop, you should not likely need that. I am predicting success for you this time We will find out Tuesday as I have my kit sitting here ready... and I just got a call that the car is in and they are prepping it out..... so I will know my Tuesday

no worries.. I also had a phone call of about 20 minutes with him where I asked him stuff as well. That email transcript does not do justice to what I was told and wrote - by someone who has sold and installed hundreds of these kits all over the USA and Canada and clearly has actual electrical knowledge of car systems and what he sells as well - but it was the best I could offer and it really also pushed me over the 'edge' (no pun intended) to make the jump into HID's and feel comfortable with it as he was the first gut to step up with real answers and reasons. BTW, not sure where you got that username... it is the retro-solutoins guy that I am speaking of.

my bad... posted wrong URL - it is reported spam link and I I did this digital kit 35w, 5000w, lifetime warranty, blah blah blah... as my other posts shows in the other thread, spoke with the guy, ultra knowledgeable, very helpful. if you use him, tell him you saw it here now, whether you use cbren71's kit sold here or retros (or someone elses for that matter) just DO NOT USE the eBay VVME, flashplus guys.. O my God.. horror story to work with, worst seller I have ever dealt with as it was a horror show and had to get eBay and PP involved (but I prevailed).. so stay clear of them!!!

use the search feature here and you will find a LOT of data that has been covered. read up on those.