My Civics HID DIY Installation

[TafEx]

Glad to hear the install went well, Coastale!

And I use Photobucket.

[Coastale]

I mentioned a new location to mount the ballast and I found it to be really convenient. After receiving the kit, I inspected the contents and found that the mount had three holes on top which seemed to align perfectly with some device that is under the lights on both sides. I took a gamble and went to the hardware shop and bought the proper bit to get this off: a T-30 Torx (or starbit). After taking it off, sure enough, the two outer holes on the ballast did in fact align and (remembering the stern works of OE "Zipties are for losers") had myself a bolt on location for the ballast. I know that some have cautioned against having the plugs pointing "up" but after connecting the 9006/5 plug I put electric tape around it just to be sure. I'm very happy about the whole job and want to again thank everyone who has posted about this because it has been very helpful.



Mounting Location: Bolt-on.


Before I mounted it/her.


What can I say, I'm one of the rare 5000k people. People go back and forth between 4300 and 6000. I found the middle ground. "Put the piece in the middle like mo-ney!"


And it looks somewhat purpler/bluer than this.

[asndragonboii]

nice.. i also got 5000k

[marc-o-lishuz]

That's exactly where I mounted my ballasts too! But I did it without taking the bumper off... what a bishhh that was!

[Orient Express]

Here is why.

The reason that this bracket uses torx bolts is that is the airbag collision deployment sensor that you are bolting to.

The 2 issues are

- That because the ballast is so close and in front of the sensor, it may or may not function correctly in a collision, and may or may not signal the airbag to deploy. I'm sure that the big empty space in front of the sensor was a big reason you mounted the ballast there. That clear empty space is there for a reason.

- Even though the ballast and the deployment sensor are shielded from EMI radiation, having the ballast that close to the deployment sensor could cause a malfunction of the airbag deployment system due to EMI leakage into the airbag system. The EMI that I am talking about is the "whine" you sometimes hear on your radio when the lights are on.

- Lastly even if this was a safe place to mount the ballasts, having the power connector pointing up as in they are in the pictures will allow moisture to collect over time in the connector housing which will lead to a malfunction of the ballast electronics. Connectors should always point down so that they can drain if they get moisture inside them.

So all in all, a good try, but with too many liabilities to make it practical over the long term. I cannot recommend anyone to mount their ballasts like this because of the safety and reliability issues I have listed above.

[Liu]

Yes, I find the easiest spot which is identical on both sides of the car would be to place it here:



There is a hole on both sides of the fender perfectly made for the ballast mount.

[crableg85]

so u have to take of teh bumper to install these

[Yodums]

Not at all. Just read the first post. All you have to do is pull the fender liner.

[crableg85]

im talkin about teh drivers side thugh in the pic he has the bumper of

[crableg85]

.....

[Yodums]

Not sure I follow or if we're talking about the same thing.



You can see a piece of his bumper on the left hand side.

[Orient Express]

For the complete 411 on how to do this, go to post #1 in this thread.

Removing the bumper is not necessary! Everything is done via the wheel well.

[rwburnett]

Very impressed with Orient Express! A great asset to the community. Just ordered the kit from the recommended eBayer. You're not getting a cut of his sales, right? Would certainly be a resourceful way to deal with a Porsche payment... Can't help but think striker 1818 proves that post count can sometimes be inversely proportional to IQ...

[kronusthebonus]

You know, in comparing my old 2003 CL-S headlights to my new FA5's, the CL doesn't use projectors for its HIDs... With that in mind, it does have what appear to be like, "Eyebrows" that angle inward on the headlight. I'm going to assume this gives the appearance of a "cutoff". I wonder if someone has manufactured these for our headlights.. Let me try to post up a pic...



This would be interesting to try if people are having top-side glare from the flare ups...

[Yodums]

I'm pretty sure the CL-S's headlights use a reflective housing for their HID setup, similar to the CSX. They aren't projectors. I'm not entirely sure whether the brows serve a function or not.

[asdf0123]

wow your cutoffs are actually clean....doesn't look like theres any glare.

[ThaJazz]

I installed my PnP's taking off the bumper because I wanted the access to different ballast mounting spots. I put mine beneath the lights, horizontally and back a little in front of the wheel wells. For me, it was a good experience because I hadn't taken the bumper off before, as well as let me make a clean install. Thanks DIYers for the thread!

[MetalTark]

Crap - I just noticed the other night I'm down a headlight. I'd like to get a spare, or a couple of spare bulbs to test it out and see if it was the bulb that burnt out, or the ballasts... or it something could have come loose... Anyways, Where should I get a couple of replacement bulbs that would match up with my 6000K kit?

[Orient Express]

Visit the ebay store referenced in my DIY. He also has replacement bulbs etc.

[Yodums]

You don't need a spare bulb. All you need to do is just swap the ballasts and that should tell you exactly what's wrong. I just bought a ballast replacement from him. 2 day shipping from China. Amazing.