Hurtman Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 (edited) I received my kit from Retro-Solutions. It's a 55w, 8000K, H11 for my wife's 2009 Edge Limited. The kit came with the relay harness, which I am going to install. Here are a few pics of the kit/harness and an explanation of where they connect. The installation manual was not clear about the capacitor connections. I e-mailed Todd Strong, he got back to me in a couple of minutes and verified that I had everything correct. Great customer service. Edited November 17, 2009 by Hurtman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyrog17 Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 I received my kit from Retro-Solutions. It's a 55w, 8000K, H11 for my wife's 2009 Edge Limited. The kit came with the relay harness, which I am going to install. Here are a few pics of the kit/harness and an explanation of where they connect. The installation manual was not clear about the capacitor connections. I e-mailed Todd Strong, he got back to me in a couple of minutes and verified that I had everything correct. Great customer service. Cool! Shots of them on at night/installation in the engine bay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Cool! Shots of them on at night/installation in the engine bay? FYI - if you search here for HID or retro solutions, you can find (1) install photos (2) engine bay photos - I think some even in my gallery for example (3) night shots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazedUp Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 I hope you have better luck than I did with that HID kit. Let us know how they work out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurtman Posted November 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 The install took me about two and a half hours. It took me so long because I had a set of 35w 8000 HIDS in the lows from Euro Effects. That set did not have a relay harness and sometimes the passenger light would not come on. I moved that set to the fogs since the fogs don't run on a pulsed system and I won't have the light out issue. I had to remove the lower valance and the inner wheel wells to access the fogs and place the ballasts. That was a PITA, lying on the floor and trying to screw in the ballasts. I felt like a contortionist. I did get them secured in a good location though. That set is closer to the ground so I took my time and taped all connections to help with making them water "resistant". I put the Retro Solutions with relay in the lows. I'm kind of anal so I took my time running the wires, making the connections and securing everything with zip ties and electrical tape. The install was smooth with no problems. The lights lit up like they were supposed to. My wife drives the Edge so I will take some pics of the engine bay and them some pics of the lows and fogs when she gets home from work and it gets dark. The Euro Effects seem a little bluer than the 8000 Retros. Night time will give me a little better view though. The Edge has all red LEDS in the interior lights and the puddles so I put two red LEDS in the glove box, since the Edge didn't come with any sort of glove box illumination. I used a pin switch from NAPA and spliced into the hot and ground from the auxillary plug in the dash. The rear of the glove box has little round textured circles from the injection molding so I used these to perfectly space the LEDS. I used quick disconnects in both the hot and ground so I can remove the glove box when I have to change the cabin air filter. I also put a 10amp fuse in the line, just in case. I will also include a pic of the glove box. Pics are coming soon... On another note I bought a set of 9005 LEDS from superbright for the high beams. Todd from Retro Solutions was right. They are barely noticeable when the lows are on. The LEDS are not bright enough to use in any form that is supposed to light your way. I'm going to use them as lighting for the engine bay when the hood is open, I have the adapter/holders and pin switch. Just need time to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurtman Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) Here are the pics. Sorry about quality but all I had was my phone. I threw in a couple pics of my truck. A 2007 F150 with a 6" lift and 35X12.50 tires. Awesome in the snow/off-road. If you look close you can see two ballasts on each side, one for the fogs and one for the lows. Also in here are pics of the two LEDS in the glove box and the pin switch. You can also see how white the two LEDS are in the rear license plate light. Edited November 17, 2009 by Hurtman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) I put two red LEDS in the glove box, since the Edge didn't come with any sort of glove box illumination. I used a pin switch from NAPA and spliced into the hot and ground from the auxillary plug in the dash. The rear of the glove box has little round textured circles from the injection molding so I used these to perfectly space the LEDS. I used quick disconnects in both the hot and ground so I can remove the glove box when I have to change the cabin air filter. I also put a 10amp fuse in the line, just in case. I will also include a pic of the glove box. Pics are coming soon... I have done similar. I also put pin switch system with LEDs in both the center console and the glove box - both with butt connectors for quick release if needed. nice added feature. and heck, what's to say about HID other than, there is no other way PS - like that snow! I ran with a t-shirt tonight on the beach at low tide and sunset Edited November 17, 2009 by Lex Talionis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurtman Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 I have done similar. I also put pin switch system with LEDs in both the center console and the glove box - both with butt connectors for quick release if needed. nice added feature. and heck, what's to say about HID other than, there is no other way PS - like that snow! I ran with a t-shirt tonight on the beach at low tide and sunset Yeah Lex, I know your in Cali. I like the beach, but just for vacations. I'm in the Southwest foothills of the Denver suburbs. We got about 10" of snow Saturday into Sunday. We get a lot of snow this time of year, hell we have several ski resorts open for the season already. That's why my wife drives the AWD Edge and I have the lifted F150. We need AWD/4 wheel drive here. Plus it's fun to pass the tree-huggers from Boulder in my truck while they struggle with their Prius or Subaru that has four inches of ground clearance. They do wave at me though, they just don't use all their fingers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Talionis Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Yeah Lex, I know your in Cali. I like the beach, but just for vacations. I'm in the Southwest foothills of the Denver suburbs. We got about 10" of snow Saturday into Sunday. We get a lot of snow this time of year, hell we have several ski resorts open for the season already. That's why my wife drives the AWD Edge and I have the lifted F150. We need AWD/4 wheel drive here. Plus it's fun to pass the tree-huggers from Boulder in my truck while they struggle with their Prius or Subaru that has four inches of ground clearance. They do wave at me though, they just don't use all their fingers... my brother lives there - Broomfield. I love CO, next best state to CA. we had a home in Breck growing up so we could skit the summit, love the mountains - if I moved, it would be to CO. I was there 2 times this year alone doing run races: Pikes Peak and Mt. Evans. Spent a lot of time up off peak to peak highway - up Bouldr canyon - riding and trail running and shooting in the open park system. I know Boulder like the back of my hand. Spent lots of time out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Hurt, does your "auto on" lights work properly at night with the HID's ? Both lights would fire when unlocking via fob, but when entering vehicle and starting car, passenger light would go out......Todd sent me a tap in cap and it blew out the SJB smart junction box....to the tune of $500 just for parts, and another $500 for labor. Through my trial and error and correspondence via e-mail, this is why they now offer an "edge specific" harness. I spent $200 for the kit and was only refunded $150.....and now I am out $1,000 for repairs to the SJB. I hope you have better luck with your kit. BTW, with the pulsed electrical system and extremely high voltage of HID's, this will rapidly deteriorate the ballasts, and if you think the "lifetime warranty" will cover this....think again. They will find a way in the small print to deny replacement of ballasts and or related components.I installed silverstar ultras after the debacle of the HID's....and the light obviously is not as bright as the HID's but much brighter than stock.....there is no jagged cut-off like I had with the HID's and the light travels further in front of the vehicle and wider. Don't get me totally wrong here, Todd @ retro did work with me well throughout this ordeal, but things could have been handled differently to please the consumer. BTW, the kits he sells are the same cheapo kits others sell for $89.99.....I know this for a fact. Once I saw the aluminum foil coated cardboard "suitcase" I knew this to be true upon further research with other HID companies. There is a reason there is no phone number available @ retro-solutions. Have a nice day. Hope you have better luck with your Silverstars than I have. I average burning one out every 12 to 18 months; maybe the Ultras will have a longer life. AND YES I do not touch the quartz. I do like them , running one in my motorcycle. It’s kind of scary, only 1 headlight! A friend gave up on them, in his Land Cruiser. And now :backtotopic: I just ordered some 6000K 55W for the MKX, Thinking about some for the motorcycles. ab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurtman Posted November 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Yes "Blazed" the Auto-On functions normally. Absolutely no issues so far. Sorry about your problems, could be the kit, could be the car, or could be operator head space... Give it a rest man, there are dangers in life, you just got stung. The reason for it? Who knows. Cool Lex, were going out to Cali in the spring for vacation, probably, L.A., Hollywood, etc... all the touristy places... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazedUp Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 I hear ya Hurt, glad you are happy. I usually do shoot the right person..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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