To those who installed an HID Kit, where did you put your ballast?

[Swiper185]

 

[Joe4short]

Not to sound like an ass, but wrapping something hot in something that is flammable sounds like a terrible idea.

The ballasts are made of metal because they act as heatsinks - you want to affix them to metal, to DISSIPATE heat; not wrap them in insulating cardboard and absorb all the heat back into the ballast.

Think about what you're doing. You're trapping in heat in something that gets hot anyway - not only are you impacting longevity of the ballast (heat and electronics don't mix well), but you've also created a fire hazard.

In my previous vehicles, I'd stick them on the inside of the fender with some 3M double sided tape. You can also put tape them on top of the front bumper bar (the metal piece). They've held up fine for over 5 years.

I would strongly recommend you re-place the ballasts. Also, please use electrical tape and not masking tape...and don't put something that can get hot on top of the fusebox.

As I was looking at his pictures, and I share the same concerns that you wrote. I hope he found a better mounting place for those ballasts and removed that cardboard. Should anything go wrong with these kits and he takes it into Honda for warranty and they find a melted fuse box cover or burn marks from the cardboard he'd quickly regret not going the extra mile with the install.

 

[Joe4short]

S

I've had $25 kits, and $125 kits. The only HID kit I ever had that was consistent and without issue was the DDM kit I got. No flicker, no issues ever, had it for a while. Can't go wrong, their kits are affordable and they have a warranty. Mount the ballasts so they stay cool

Same, I used a 55w 6K HID from DDM on my 2009 Honda Civic. Used it til 2016 up to the moment I totaled my car in an accident.

 

[pez195]

S

Same, I used a 55w 6K HID from DDM on my 2009 Honda Civic. Used it til 2016 up to the moment I totaled my car in an accident.

Did you have to use any relay harnesses? By any chance do you have any pictures as to where you mounted the ballasts and the wiring?

 

[davemarco]

Did you guys manage to get this wired to the fuse box? I'd like to avoid having wires going directly to the battery (looks ugly), but I was unable to get the configuration in @Snoopyslr 's thread to work (I matched his attachment points on the fuse box for positive and negative exactly). It only seemed to work when hooking the positive and negative wires up to the positive and negative terminals of the battery directly.

 

[Snoopyslr]

Did you guys manage to get this wired to the fuse box? I'd like to avoid having wires going directly to the battery (looks ugly), but I was unable to get the configuration in @Snoopyslr 's thread to work (I matched his attachment points on the fuse box for positive and negative exactly). It only seemed to work when hooking the positive and negative wires up to the positive and negative terminals of the battery directly.

The two posts on the fuse box are direct connection to the positive battery terminal, and any mounting point to the body is negative ground. The points I attached too are essentially direct connection to the battery.

Are you sure you didn't have the wires on the ballast/relay backwards?

 

[davemarco]

The two posts on the fuse box are direct connection to the positive battery terminal, and any mounting point to the body is negative ground. The points I attached too are essentially direct connection to the battery.

Are you sure you didn't have the wires on the ballast/relay backwards?

While I can't definitely be sure, I can tell you that to make it work, I did the following. First, I took the wire loop that I had attached underneath the rightmost of the two screws on the front of the fuse box (referencing your picture) and attached it to the screw on positive terminal on the battery. At this time, I left the wire loop attached underneath the screw directly to the right of the fuse box where it was (I believe that this screw is the fuse box mount). Tried to power things up, and the lights did not work. I then moved the wire loop from under the fuse box mount to the screw on the negative terminal of the battery. The lights fired up no problem. While I am unclear on which mount was the problem, I do know that I moved the wires that I had attached to the screws on or near the fuse box that you had indicated were good for positive and negative, and transferred them to their respective polar positions on the battery. I suspect that the issue may have been the ground, though I don't know why it would have worked for you and not for me.

 

[davemarco]

The two posts on the fuse box are direct connection to the positive battery terminal, and any mounting point to the body is negative ground. The points I attached too are essentially direct connection to the battery.

Are you sure you didn't have the wires on the ballast/relay backwards?

On a related topic, I also noted that you had indicated grounding points for the ballasts themselves. The instructions that came with my Morimoto H11B HID kit had only mentioned attaching the negative wire loop stemming from the HD relay to the negative battery terminal to serve as a ground. Would I also need to ground the ballasts as well? If so, how would you recommend that I do this?

Thanks for your write and and for your feedback - they were very helpful.

 

[Snoopyslr]

First, I took the wire loop that I had attached underneath the rightmost of the two screws on the front of the fuse box (referencing your picture) and attached it to the screw on positive terminal on the battery.

It sounds like you hooked positive to positive here. Those bolts on the front of the fuse box hold the wires that power the fuse box directly from the battery. If you follow the wires off those bolts, they lead right to the + side of the battery.

On a related topic, I also noted that you had indicated grounding points for the ballasts themselves. The instructions that came with my Morimoto H11B HID kit had only mentioned attaching the negative wire loop stemming from the HD relay to the negative battery terminal to serve as a ground. Would I also need to ground the ballasts as well? If so, how would you recommend that I do this?

Thanks for your write and and for your feedback - they were very helpful.

Do the ends that plug into your ballast look like that, or are they two wires completely encased in sleeving? They may have updated the harness so that you only hook one ground up at the battery instead of two points on the body closer to the ballast.

 

[davemarco]

It sounds like you hooked positive to positive here. Those bolts on the front of the fuse box hold the wires that power the fuse box directly from the battery. If you follow the wires off those bolts, they lead right to the + side of the battery.




Do the ends that plug into your ballast look like that, or are they two wires completely encased in sleeving? They may have updated the harness so that you only hook one ground up at the battery instead of two points on the body closer to the ballast.

Ah, I see. My kit does not look like that - on mine, there is only one grounding wire coming off of the HD Relay. The ballasts themselves only connect to the ignitors. I suspect that, for whatever reason, my attempts to use that fuse box mounting screw as a ground did not succeed. Do you have any alternate recommendations for screws or bolts that could be used as grounds?

 

[Snoopyslr]

Ah, I see. My kit does not look like that - on mine, there is only one grounding wire coming off of the HD Relay. The ballasts themselves only connect to the ignitors. I suspect that, for whatever reason, my attempts to use that fuse box mounting screw as a ground did not succeed. Do you have any alternate recommendations for screws or bolts that could be used as grounds?

Any bolt on the car will be a ground.

 

[davemarco]

Any bolt on the car will be a ground.

Strange, swapped the positive and negative wires loops back to fuse box and fuse box mount screws today and the lights work perfectly. Oh well, I'll chalk it up to Gremlins and move on.

Now to find a wall to properly aim these suckers. Went for a drive tonight and they almost out threw my high beams! Matched them for distance, just not for height. Got flashed twice too. Gonna try and bring things down a bit.

Do you turn the screwdriver on the adjustment wheel counterclockwise to lower, or clockwise? Could seem to find an answer for our car.

Thanks for the guide!

 

[HRC]

Bumping this thread. I successfully installed my DDM 35 WATT H11B 4300k kit in my Si today. I had this kit on my 2014 Accord for 3 years and easily expect to get 3 more years out of it in the Si.

For anybody on the fence on HIDs, this is a very easy install. Happy to answer any questions.

 

[davemarco]

Bumping this thread. I successfully installed my DDM 35 WATT H11B 4300k kit in my Si today. I had this kit on my 2014 Accord for 3 years and easily expect to get 3 more years out of it in the Si.

For anybody on the fence on HIDs, this is a very easy install. Happy to answer any questions.

Does our car have a left to right adjustment? I ask because after installing my Morimoto HID's, I can clearly see the left headlight beam pointed diagonally towards the right. I know that a slight tilt is common to prevent blinding oncoming drivers, but it seems to be pointed at a spot that lines up with the midline of the car

 

[HRC]

Does our car have a left to right adjustment? I ask because after installing my Morimoto HID's, I can clearly see the left headlight beam pointed diagonally towards the right. I know that a slight tilt is common to prevent blinding oncoming drivers, but it seems to be pointed at a spot that lines up with the midline of the car

Let’s be clear when we talk lights. Drivers side and passenger side.

Now, as I recall the drivers side light is supposed to be tilted left and down purposely because of US DOT regulation. This is done to shine light on the double yellow line. Again, I recall reading this somewhere on the interwebs long long time ago. Don’t hold me to it.

Getting back to your question, I am unsure if there is a left/right adjustment. Put your stock OEM setup back in and check to see if the same symptoms exist. If so, head on over to the dealer and ask them what’s going on. Or, check your regional section and find somebody that can meet up with you with a similar setup and compare your lights with theirs.

Hope that is helpful.

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