PrinzII Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Writeup Rough Draft Items needed a) Cable ties Speedclip(s) c) Socket wrench with 10mm socket 1) Remove old bulbs by twisting the bulb clockwise and then disconnect the bulb from the harness. 2) To make things easier, connect the wires to the ballasts and install the ballasts before installing the bulbs. I did the following for my install: - Low Beam Passenger side install is similar to Lex's as it is right by the washer fluid reservoir - Low Beam Driver's side install requires the installation of a speedclip in a 2" oval hole in the fender - High Beam (Both sides) are installed lower in the engine bay closer to the fenders. There are two 10mm bolts that could be used to secure the ballasts. Remove the bottom most bolt and secure the ballast bracket by reinserting and tightening the bolt. Repeat on other side. 3) Connect oval connector from ballast wires to headlight harness. Note: Ensure connection is secure, otherwise, it will not work. 4) Remove bulbs from plastic tubing in package. These twist off. If you have a rubber piece for sealing the wires in a firewall, you can cut that off since you will not need it. Insert bulbs in the socket and twist counter clockwise to secure. If you are having difficulty inserting the bulbs, change the orange rubber seal to the one from the original headlight bulbs. Makes the install much easier. Repeat for other side and/or other bulbs. 5) Connect bulbs to ballast by inserting into the proper round connector. These connectors are foolproof in that they are designed to connect to the opposite connector on the ballast. Repeat for each bulb. 6) Turn on the lights and enjoy your handiwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Ballast mounting points Driver's side: Passenger's side: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 who's HID kit is that? those ballasts do not look at al like the retro-solutions kit.. at least that I have. What do you mean by this mention of the speedclips "Low Beam Driver's side install requires the installation of a speedclip in a 2" oval hole in the fender"? Are you calling that black device that holds the ballast a "speedclip"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 (edited) who's HID kit is that? those ballasts do not look at al like the retro-solutions kit.. at least that I have. What do you mean by this mention of the speedclips "Low Beam Driver's side install requires the installation of a speedclip in a 2" oval hole in the fender"? Are you calling that black device that holds the ballast a "speedclip"? This is one I got from a different vendor before retro came on the scene. I bought these from one of the vendors of a Maxima forum I moderate. The vendor is http://shop.3bspecialties.com/main.sc . The one I have is also a digital ballast, 6000k, and 35 watts. I elected to go with high and low beam HIDs because the roads in some parts of AZ are pitch black and you need as much light as possible. However, the black device that holds the ballast is a bracket. The speedclip I mentioned is a u-shaped piece of metal that can clamp in the oval hole and tightens when it is screwed in. Examples shown here: The speedclip is quite sturdy and I do not have any vibration. Edited February 25, 2008 by PrinzII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 "is a u-shaped piece of metal that can clamp in the oval hole and tightens when it is screwed in" okay.. but tightening down what? what is it doing? I understand what hole it goes into, but not what it is holding and tightening down and keeping sturdy? neither the description or diagram elude to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 "is a u-shaped piece of metal that can clamp in the oval hole and tightens when it is screwed in" okay.. but tightening down what? what is it doing? I understand what hole it goes into, but not what it is holding and tightening down and keeping sturdy? neither the description or diagram elude to this. In the above pic, the bolt that is holding that ballast in place has the speedclip in the oval hole I mentioned earlier. The clip clamps on the rim of that hole when the screw is tightened. I can take a different pic to better explain it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 okay...so the speed clip is an additional method to hold the ballast in place it seems, you have the black clip that holds the ballasts and then you have this speed clip as an additional ballast securing method and the type of this clip method is attaching to this "oval" hole... if I have that straight.. I do not have those. I just used foam back stick tape and my digital ballasts have a screw hole - see my photos in gallery - that I just used a self tapping screw to bolt into the plastic for added support to the foam tape... I guess it is my ballast's version of the "speed clip" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Aaaah. In my case, no extra holes had to be drilled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Aaaah. In my case, no extra holes had to be drilled. well, no and that is because you installed it in a preexisting hole using that clip.. which limits you to where you could have installed as you had to find that hole or a similar hole for the clip and work there. In my case, I installed where I wanted as I wanted and drilled a small hole where I wanted as backup for the tape. I guess 6 of 1 half dozen of the other as they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiaquessa Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 OK- I just got done installing the HID kit from retro solutions. Two things- First, is there supposed to be 2 spade type terminals that go into the cars light harness? My kit has them, but they don't seem very water resistant. Second- My light beams seem more jagged than the halogen bulbs were. With the halogens, I had a definite line of light, and with the HID, that line is gone, and the light beam seems scattered all over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) OK- I just got done installing the HID kit from retro solutions. Two things- First, is there supposed to be 2 spade type terminals that go into the cars light harness? My kit has them, but they don't seem very water resistant. yes, those pigtails, as per other posts where I mention how the colors line up wire to wire, push into your factory harness. may not seem water resistant, I just electrical taped mine like 99% of the other stuff under the hood is. pretty high up connection, so I am not worried.. but a boot of some type would be nice. Second- My light beams seem more jagged than the halogen bulbs were. With the halogens, I had a definite line of light, and with the HID, that line is gone, and the light beam seems scattered all over. yes, I agree on this 100%. I noticed while driving in AZ recently. Just this very morning I started having emails with Todd about it and he is going to have me check a list of a few things... but my personal guess is that it is our stock not HID compliant reflectors. it is noticable and I would like to correct it if possible, but could live with it if not. I was going to wait until I had cause and fix before I posted about it, but since you mention it.... this is an overlay of what I am seeing... I will post up when I check his 4 points and we will see if this is adjustable. sorry for crap photo, but the goal was nothing more then to try to snap a photo so I could outline the edge to make a point. Edited April 16, 2008 by Lex Talionis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazman1117 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) I ordered the 55w 5000k from Retro-Solutions.... Got em super quick, the guy is really great. Quick painless install and they look great, and they WORK!!!!!!!!!!! Major improvement over the other POS I tried! Edited February 26, 2008 by chazman1117 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiaquessa Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Yes!!- your picture looks exactly the way my lights look. I don't know, if there isn't some sort of fix, I might go back to the stock lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiaquessa Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I ordered the 55w 5000k from Retro-Solutions.... Got em super quick, the guy is really great. Quick painless install and they look great, and they WORK!!!!!!!!!!! Major improvement over the other POS I tried! How is the beam on your lights. Is it scattered, or is there a line of light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 How is the beam on your lights. Is it scattered, or is there a line of light? yeah..chime in here as I am curious also chazman if you see jagged edges or a clean line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazman1117 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Its scattered b/c of the reflector being optimized for a halogen incandescent bulb. This is the primary reason aftermarket HID lights aren't street legal. That being said it is not as bad as I expected it to be. I will see if I can get a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiaquessa Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 You know what guys- I think we're just going to have to wait until someone comes out with a complete headlight module that has a projector bulb built in. Then we can install our HID kits. Thats probably the only way to achieve the look we're all looking for. Stupid A$$ Ford. They could have saved us all this damn trouble. :angry2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 You know what guys- I think we're just going to have to wait until someone comes out with a complete headlight module that has a projector bulb built in. Then we can install our HID kits. Thats probably the only way to achieve the look we're all looking for. Stupid A$$ Ford. They could have saved us all this damn trouble. :angry2: They could have done this from the jump, but how much of the cost of engineering this would have been passed on to us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiaquessa Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Retro- I did exactly that. After removing the plastic disk, I seated the red seal all the way down. Putting the bulbs in the housing was a snap, they turned in just like the stock bulb. So I know my bulbs are seated properly. Its just the scattered light pattern that bothers me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Guys, in regards to the bulbs, be sure to take off the red rubber seal and them remove the plastic ring and screw cap. Then replace the red rubber seal all the way back down on the base before install. Quite frankly, I am amazed they will fit otherwise, but since they do this is a crucial step when installing on the Edge! yep.. just got off the phone with Todd this am and we got to talking about this plastic piece and sure enough, as you can see in my photos, I left on that plastic opaque ring that sits behind the red rubber seal thinking it was used to sandwhich in the rubber seal.. :wacko: , so for tiaquessa and I, this just might be the reason for the whacky jagged pattern we are getting as that piece is not allowing the bulb to go in and seat the full distance into the reflector it is suppose to. In retrospect, I recalled thinking it odd that the bulb did not turn home as far as the OEM did, but it did turn home and stay solid so I assumed that is just how it was, and this piece is the reason why! I will report back tonight the effect removing that piece had on my light pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) For giggles, I took some pics of the beam pattern and I am getting the same kind of scattering that Lex mentioned. However, I do realize that we are putting HIDs in a housing meant for halogens and there can be some variations of results. Therefore, I, as well as other drivers, can live with it. retro: For the High Beams, I took the red rubber seal from the halogens and installed it on the base of the HIDs. I may try that with the low beams to see what happens. tiaquessa: If Ford made the Edge with HIDs, the bulbs would not be H11 or 9005. They would be a variant of a D2 (D2R or D2S) and they can get pretty pricey. For instance, when I had my '02 Max, the replacement D2R was $200 for one bulb. I am sure it may be cheaper now. Edited February 26, 2008 by PrinzII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Retro- I did exactly that. After removing the plastic disk, I seated the red seal all the way down. Putting the bulbs in the housing was a snap, they turned in just like the stock bulb. So I know my bulbs are seated properly. Its just the scattered light pattern that bothers me. wait... so even after doing this you have that jagged edge still? well, here are other things he requested I check, you might as well: 1) Which direction does the ceramic covered wire next to the bulb face? In some H11 apps it can face up or down, but down is the correct orientation. 2) See if it is an additive effect of the two beam patterns on top of each other. Cover up one side at a time to see what one projected beam looks like. 3) Look at the glass lens of the projector. (lights off) and see if it has concentric rings embedded in it. These are fresnel optics and will purposely distort the beam pattern at about 50-75 ft. or even farther depending on your aimed height. 4) also, make sure you seated the gasket on the bulb before install, they are purposely not seated correctly to fit securely in the bulb protectors. 5) remove that opaque plastic ring (I added this one to the list based on what I just learned and kind of related to #4) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiaquessa Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) So what your saying is that we shouldn't be ordering the H11 bulbs for the HID kits? Edited February 26, 2008 by tiaquessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 For giggles, I took some pics of the beam pattern and I am getting the same kind of scattering that Lex mentioned. However, I do realize that we are putting HIDs in a housing meant for halogens and there can be some variations of results. Therefore, I, as well as other drivers, can live with it. yep, I pretty much said the same back in post #63, but I still wanted to make sure everything was done correct and that could be done to minimize the effect knowing we have stock projectors... but yeah, I can live with it. the good thing is, at least for me, it tipped me off that the plastic piece was suppose to have been removed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) So what your saying is that we shouldn't be ordering the H11 bulbs for the HID kits? no, he's not saying that... he is saying that IF an HID solution would have been used OEM from the factory on the Edge, we would not be using an H11 bulb and we would be using a much costlier bulb (i.e., D2R) as OEM would not even use the H11 system we are putting in after-market. Edited February 26, 2008 by Lex Talionis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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