JOYRIDER Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) So after much research I pulled the trigger on a kit that The Retrofit Source recommended for my 2011 Edge Limited, the 35 watt 9006 Elite Kit with a stand alone can bus. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=3957 So I'm well into the install today and the bulbs simply won't fit into the housings like the OEM do. The tabs are obviously different sizes. Is this normal? I've seen a lot of Retrosolutions kit installs by others which are 9012 bulbs - why the variation in bulbs? (9006 vs 9012, etc). I get that both may be suitable replacements for our OEM H1R2 bulb but is one better and why? Edit: To be specific, I could get 2 of the tabs to 'seat' in, not a third though. Seems to me this would make for a beam that is not aligned properly. On top of that, I did a test fit of all the other connections and the OEM connection to the halogen bulb will not connect to the TRS supplied connector (See below) I'm calling them tomorrow, but unless I've totally missed something I'm disappointed so far. Spent a good hour getting both OEM bulbs back in the damn housings. Thanks for any insight! Edited January 29, 2012 by JOYRIDER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlepse Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Haven't done HIDs yet but will try to help out since I have messed around with the bulbs. The 9012 is the stock size (HIR2) but many aftermarket HID companies don't carry that base since they have a 9006 which is very close. The only difference is the tabs on the 9012 are slightly bigger. So because of this tab difference the bulb fit can be a little tricky especially in these housings where you can't really see what you are doing. I recently put in modified HIR1 bulbs to test and had the same issue at first. I thought I got the bulb in then when I took a closer look I realized only two tabs caught. When I took it out I realized I was off and needed to rotate the bulb to get the tabs to line up correctly...then I was good and the bulb sits flat in the mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOYRIDER Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Yep thats what kept happening - I'd get 2 in and 1 would be out. I messed with this for over an HOUR to no avail. My fingers are all skinned up from trying to contort them in there and get them seated....it all has to be done blindly. With HIDs does the bar pictured below have to be orientated a certain way? The bigger problem I suppose is the 2 connections pictured at the top not matching up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlepse Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Not sure on the bar position...just know when I did the HIR1's I had to put the HIR2 back. Not fastened but put back so I could see how the tabs needed to be oriented. Then I pulled it out without rotating and checked the HIR1 bulb tabs to match up as best as possible. Like you said it is a pretty blind operation especially if you have sausage fingers like me so anything you can do to line it up helps. Luckily with the HIR1 it has a connector like the HIR2 so I could use it as a reference. But I just had to take my time and make sure the bulb was good and flat before turning. I found that they got stuck fairly easily if only two tabs grabbed. At one point I thought about pulling the housings. When you say the connectors don't work is it due to the blue tabs on the stock connector? I know other hid kits I had they only supplied blade connectors to slide into the stock connector so I am not sure what to suggest here. Luckily it seems Retro rep gets back to people very quickly here so hopefully you'll be set soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOYRIDER Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 No not due to blue tabs on stock connector - the male prongs on the TRS supplied connector do not match up with the OEM female inputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOYRIDER Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 For the record, the 9006 bulbs in this kit, even with trimming, WILL NOT FIT 2011+ FORD EDGE correctly. The return wire shadow is a problem and is not solved by rotating the bulb. After hours of trying to make this work and calls with The Retrofit Source they simply said "We've made a note that this kit will not work with 2011+ Edges or Explorers." I'm stuck with removing the installed kit, holes in the back of my bulb covers and the cost of return shipping on a "premium, quality" product that they obviously didn't do their due diligence on before recommending it for our trucks. Lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlepse Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 That is very strange....I know others have installed 9006 HID kits without the same issues. Before you send it back maybe do an image search and see if that wire is in the same place relative to the tabs as yours. Maybe you just got a bulb with a rotated base? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOYRIDER Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 That is very strange....I know others have installed 9006 HID kits without the same issues. Before you send it back maybe do an image search and see if that wire is in the same place relative to the tabs as yours. Maybe you just got a bulb with a rotated base? Does the position of the return wire (aside from casting an unwanted shadow) have any bearing on the light output, beam pattern etc? ie is there a position it needs to be in for optimal output/beam pattern? I suppose I could just trim the tabs ALOT more so that it could fit in any way I wanted it to if that was the case. Just seems like I'm taking something that is a science and hacking away at it to make it fit, regardless of outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlepse Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I don't know since I don't have them. But before you go cutting them up more and possibly having an issue returning them I would really check if other 9006 bulbs have tabs in the same spots in relation to the wire or if they differ from yours. If I remember right your top cutoff was OK (as good as it will get with stock assemblies) but you had a shadow from the wire. It does stand to reason that reorienting them will help but I am not sure if that just moves it to be visible when you use high beams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdach Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Retro-Solutions does sell a 9012/HIR2 kit. Not sure if it was available back when you bought your 9006 but may want to try an exchange if you still haven't resolved the issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgieguy Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I bought a 9006 kit from DDMTuning for $45 and it fit perfect. All the tabs fit and alignment afterwards was minimal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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