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DIY: Convert 9005 bulb to fit 9006 harness. Increase visibility!

129K views 63 replies 28 participants last post by  bluedevilz 
#1 · (Edited)
Not sure what to write for the title. Mod's feel free to change/edit it for a better description.

This DIY article is for converting a high beam (9005) bulb which has about 10 more watts than a regular low beam (9006) bulb. This means increased brightness/visibility at night :). Consider it an alternate solution to HID's, projectors, and the rarer HIR bulbs etc...

Before you begin, I want to say that this is not going to be a day and night difference but its quite worth it considering it takes 10 minutes to do. The bulbs are cheap and even cheaper if you have a set of 9005's lying around somewhere (like I did) I'd say they're similar to HIR's... Look's totally stock, just brighter! Not sure if the reach is the same though.

Feel free to check out the video and pics I took before you decide to do this :) (They're at the bottom half of this post.

What you need:









We need to remove those two guide tabs to ensure a proper fit of the 9006 harness.









The base of the 9005 is also smaller.
I used the rubber seal from the old 9006 bulb
to make sure there are no leaks when it's in the headlight housing.







And that's it! Go ahead and hook it up to your car and test it out!

=========================================================

Video and Pics!
YouTube - 9005 vs 9006 bulbs

Underexposed this shot a bit to show you the difference:



[above] You can kind of tell the left light is more "filled" with light.



[above & below] If you can tell, the left headlight (or right side of the pic) has more fill



From far, it doesnt look different to a normal 9006 halogen:







Final Two:





and thats it for now!
 
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#6 ·
Thanks! ;) :thumb::biggrin:
Nice write up.
Thank you :redface:
good stuff.. added to index
Cool! Thanks!
Just curious, Are you sure it wont effect the wiring or anything because 10 watts more power is quite a difference on the power drain.
No, I'm not sure and I forgot to mention it. However I'm quite confident it won't drain the harness. I've seen the same mod done on older Acura's, Accords, BMW 3 series.. Toyotas etc.. and no issues.

I figured the harness going into the 9006 and 9005 are coming from one source.. that it should be ok. I check on the wiring after driving at night for 40 minutes and it looks and feels fine :)
 
#54 ·
10 watts = .833 Amps. Is that really enough to make a difference?

I did this on my Integra a few years ago. The connectors melted from the extra wattage. Becareful.
Was that really because of the extra wattage? Just looked and the car side connectors on the low beams are made of the same material as the high beam connectors. If that were the case, the high beam connectors would have melted long ago.
 
#8 ·
Thanks! hoanger! I guess it must be the monitor you're viewing it on or the pics are too small.?? I'll admit, in the video you cant really tell plus the left beam (9005) is aimed lower than the right.

I can provide larger pics if it helps. I posted small ones for bandwidth's sake :)
 
#9 ·
while the wires are thick enough, u prolly should just go with HIR 9012s for a replacement, they will last longer and have the same output as the 9005 with the wattage of the 9006!!! as for high beams, the 9011 is 65W with 2 times the output of the 9005!!!
u make the call people
they are pricey bulbs at bout 30 a bulb after shipping (one vender on ebay, or get them from john deere!)
 
#17 ·
Awesome! Glad it helped :thumb:
I did this for the exact same reason as you :laughing:

so basically you putting a high beam bulb into the low beam spot?

am i getting this right?
Yes, I basically put a high beam bulb in the low beam housing :)

thats fine as long as someone around here can say the HIRs look whiter than a 9005 bulb! and i am :p no need to edit for now!
One of the mods in my area have HIR's. I'll drop by his place ASAP and get some comparo pics for the heck of it. In the mean time, you should try it and take side by side pics eh? :biggrin:
 
#27 ·
you will need the 9006 HB4 to properly fit the fog light bulbs. but you can use this DIY to make the 9005 HB3 bulbs (which is for high beam) fit properly for the fogs or low beam.

Great write up!!! i actually didnt know about this. I am working on mine right now

Thanks!:dancing:
 
#31 ·
oh wow is that right??? well i havnt done mine yet but putting the high beam headlights was one of my main plans....:shady: anyone else with the same problem??? burning of the harness or wires? i dont want that to happen to mine...

Oh well now i guess i have extra pair of 9005ssss....
 
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