maddwakester Posted November 6, 2010 Report Share Posted November 6, 2010 (edited) Hey everyone, before i ordered my HID kit i found peoples install pictures, or where they mounted them, but no long can seem to find those images. Also found one thread on some wiring but I'm confused as crap and this manual given doesnt seem to be helpful to me...I tried laying the wires out prior to install, can anyone help me. I got digital 55w from RS. If i removed one of the lights, and the computer didnt send me a message saying the light was out, that means i dont have BOW right? so i wouldn't need the resistor wires? Edited November 6, 2010 by maddwakester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsabia85 Posted November 6, 2010 Report Share Posted November 6, 2010 (edited) Hey everyone, before i ordered my HID kit i found peoples install pictures, or where they mounted them, but no long can seem to find those images. Also found one thread on some wiring but I'm confused as crap and this manual given doesnt seem to be helpful to me...I tried laying the wires out prior to install, can anyone help me. I got digital 55w from RS. If i removed one of the lights, and the computer didnt send me a message saying the light was out, that means i dont have BOW right? so i wouldn't need the resistor wires? OK, SO I was just looking at a few emails back and forth from RS and I am completely confused. I was sent a diagram on how to install the kit with the harness. I am pretty good with electrical and I dont even see in the diagram where the HID Kit connects to the main factory harness. And as far as the resistor, I dont know if they are needed but if they are, those power wires right by the bulbs, where do they connect to? If I would have to run a power line from the battery to each headlight, that is going to deter me from purchasing this kit... Edited November 26, 2010 by jsabia85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddwakester Posted November 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 (edited) Hey, I think i figured it out. I didn't need the resistors because i ended up not having the BOW problem, and they seem to be working. Once in awhile one light wont turn on though, if i unlock the car, and the lights turn on, and than i turn it over to start it, one will shut off...? The 55w are SUPER BRIGHT! will post pictures later of them on another threading here's the mapping i did on it my car though, hope its right... Edited November 7, 2010 by maddwakester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsabia85 Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Hey, I think i figured it out. I didn't need the resistors because i ended up not having the BOW problem, and they seem to be working. Once in awhile one light wont turn on though, if i unlock the car, and the lights turn on, and than i turn it over to start it, one will shut off...? The 55w are SUPER BRIGHT! will post pictures later of them on another threading here's the mapping i did on it my car though, hope its right... The wire that says "to power" where it connects to the capacitor, where do u grab the power from. Also, where does the ballast connect to the wire harness on the car? It doesn't look like it connects to the factory harness anywhere to know when the lights turn on/off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddwakester Posted November 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 the "to power" wire, connects to the OEM wire harness that the original bulb was plugged in to, that wire than connects to the capacitor, and than run in to the relay. This is how the HIDs turn on because the light sends the pulse to the OEM harness, which feeds back to the relay, and turns on the HIDs. atleast from what i did, and is working understand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsabia85 Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 (edited) the "to power" wire, connects to the OEM wire harness that the original bulb was plugged in to, that wire than connects to the capacitor, and than run in to the relay. This is how the HIDs turn on because the light sends the pulse to the OEM harness, which feeds back to the relay, and turns on the HIDs. atleast from what i did, and is working understand? Yes that makes sense now, but u only plugged 1 side to the factory harness? And in ur first post it looks like the "to power" wires don't have a harness and are just stripped wires, how did u connect them to the oem harness? Wire taps? Edited November 7, 2010 by jsabia85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddwakester Posted November 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Yes that makes sense now, but u only plugged 1 side to the factory harness? And in ur first post it looks like the "to power" wires don't have a harness and are just stripped wires, how did u connect them to the oem harness? Wire taps? You only need one side plugged in, because the power going to the HIDs is coming from the battery line. The only reason you have that one line running in to the OEM harness is so that when you turn on your headlights, the car sends a current through the OEM harness, which will than run to the relay, and trigger the HIDs on. The "to power" wires don't have a harness, they are both a negative and positive and have specific tips on them. they are not just stripped wires, they each slide in to the OEM harness and than i just electrical tapped them in to it. I'll take a picture later and show you what the ends look like if you are still confused. The only thing with the OEM harness is figuring out which side is + or - because its a grey harness and both wires leading in to is are black. I used a volt meter to figure it out, and there should be a "A" and a "B" marked on both sides, "A" was positive and "B" was negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Hey, I think i figured it out. I didn't need the resistors because i ended up not having the BOW problem, and they seem to be working. Once in awhile one light wont turn on though, if i unlock the car, and the lights turn on, and than i turn it over to start it, one will shut off...? The 55w are SUPER BRIGHT! will post pictures later of them on another threading here's the mapping i did on it my car though, hope its right... "Once in awhile one light wont turn on though, if i unlock the car, and the lights turn on, and than i turn it over to start it, one will shut off...?" Check the ground for the ballast that's not working properly, this can cause your "Once in awhile one light wont turn on" problem. ab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddwakester Posted November 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 "Once in awhile one light wont turn on though, if i unlock the car, and the lights turn on, and than i turn it over to start it, one will shut off...?" Check the ground for the ballast that's not working properly, this can cause your "Once in awhile one light wont turn on" problem. ab Thanks ab, that was the problem and i its fixed and working perfectly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsabia85 Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Thanks ab, that was the problem and i its fixed and working perfectly Where is the best spot to mount the ballasts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddwakester Posted November 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 (edited) bluetexan found two good spots for the ballasts. http://www.fordedgeforum.com/index.php?/topic/2045-digital-35watt-and-55watt-hid-member-pricing/page__hl__%2Binstalling+%2Bhids__st__60 I mounted the right one like he did behind the fluids. The left one i WANTED to install below like he did, but i couldn't get the wire to reach...not sure how he did. so for the left i installed it right beind the left light, and infront of the fuse box like Orion did on the same thread. However I can not access that left light anymore because my adaptive head lights sit back father and the ballast is now blocking access to the dust caps, unless i unscrew the ballast. oh well Edited November 7, 2010 by maddwakester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradt03 Posted November 9, 2010 Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 Does anyone (with the retrosolutions kit) have an issue with a lamp not firing when using the automatic headlights feature? What about bulb "flutter"? When I had my RS kit on my edge (with the recommended harness AND capacitor) I would have intermittent issues with one or both lamps not firing as well as a "flutter" in one or both bulbs. The flutter was very noticeable and would occur while driving and/or while stopped. I tried new lamps, multiple grounding locations, new fuses, etc. I finally gave up and yanked the kit out however, I would really like to use the kit since I paid for it. Any ideas? Thanks, Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddwakester Posted November 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 Does anyone (with the retrosolutions kit) have an issue with a lamp not firing when using the automatic headlights feature? What about bulb "flutter"? When I had my RS kit on my edge (with the recommended harness AND capacitor) I would have intermittent issues with one or both lamps not firing as well as a "flutter" in one or both bulbs. The flutter was very noticeable and would occur while driving and/or while stopped. I tried new lamps, multiple grounding locations, new fuses, etc. I finally gave up and yanked the kit out however, I would really like to use the kit since I paid for it. Any ideas? Thanks, Jason I used the auto headlights and only had an issue with one of them randomly not going on, but after sanding down the paint to just metal where i put the grounds, it fixed it. I had asked Todd at RS and he said to sand around where the ground was (this fixed it) his other suggestions were to install a 30A fuse instead of the 20A fuse thats in the line. Or also buy the timing delay for the relay which would wait 10s before the lights would turn on possible fixing some issues. Did you wire it all correctly? checking it multiple time, or checking the (1) power connection in to the OEM harness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradt03 Posted November 9, 2010 Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 I used the auto headlights and only had an issue with one of them randomly not going on, but after sanding down the paint to just metal where i put the grounds, it fixed it. I had asked Todd at RS and he said to sand around where the ground was (this fixed it) his other suggestions were to install a 30A fuse instead of the 20A fuse thats in the line. Or also buy the timing delay for the relay which would wait 10s before the lights would turn on possible fixing some issues. Did you wire it all correctly? checking it multiple time, or checking the (1) power connection in to the OEM harness? Yeah, Todd mentioned the sanding trick to me also. I tried it with no luck. I even ran an extension from the harness ground to the chassis ground....no luck. I haven't tried the 30A fuse yet. There is now a timing delay?? So we have to buy a capacitor, a harness, AND a timing relay now to make this kit work??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wkevingossett Posted November 9, 2010 Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 I just recently started experiencing the "flutter" you mentioned, and every now and then the passenger side bulb wouldn't fire. I did not have the included harness wired in, so that was the first thing I tried. That solved all my problems. Just hooked up the relay harness (with an extention wire to the ground so it would reach the block grounds) and everything works great now! No capacitor, no time delay... Just the included harness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddwakester Posted November 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 When i got my harness from Todd, he had the capacitor wire already plugged in to the relay harness for me. I didn't need to buy the timing delay, but its a possible fix? try the 30A and see if its works first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradt03 Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 I just recently started experiencing the "flutter" you mentioned, and every now and then the passenger side bulb wouldn't fire. I did not have the included harness wired in, so that was the first thing I tried. That solved all my problems. Just hooked up the relay harness (with an extention wire to the ground so it would reach the block grounds) and everything works great now! No capacitor, no time delay... Just the included harness. Can you elaborate a bit more on how you wired this to get rid of the flutter? Thanks, Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wkevingossett Posted November 13, 2010 Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 (edited) Can you elaborate a bit more on how you wired this to get rid of the flutter? Thanks, Jason I just followed the diagram on retro-solutions.com (single beam kit w/optional harness). At first, I wasn't getting a good ground, so I spliced in a longer wire so that it would reach the engine block ground (just in front of the firewall). Everything works perfectly now! Edit: I don't have DRLs activated, in case that makes a difference Edited November 13, 2010 by wkevingossett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradt03 Posted November 16, 2010 Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 I just followed the diagram on retro-solutions.com (single beam kit w/optional harness). At first, I wasn't getting a good ground, so I spliced in a longer wire so that it would reach the engine block ground (just in front of the firewall). Everything works perfectly now! Edit: I don't have DRLs activated, in case that makes a difference So you aren't using the optional capacitor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wkevingossett Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 No, I didn't have the capacitor. Luckily I didn't need it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradt03 Posted November 18, 2010 Report Share Posted November 18, 2010 Well got my kit back from Retro after a bench test. I grounded both balasts at the firewall ground with 10 gauge wire. I still get fluttering and "no fire" conditions. Very Frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddwakester Posted November 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2010 did anyone install HIDs as foglights beside the low beams? i think i want to also make my fogs HIDs and assume its the same setup as the low beams but just curious is anyone has done fogs/low beams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradt03 Posted November 22, 2010 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 You did get a new wiring harness with the kit that replaced the old one with the corrosion issues, yes? Hi Todd, Yes I got the kit back with the new harness, thanks. I'm still getting flutter in the passenger side bulb as well as the occasional no fire. I'm also experiencing the driver's side bulb turning off while driving, if I turn off the lights and turn them back on it will usually turn back on. I've tried three different grounding points all of which are factory grounds firewall, frame, etc (with dielec grease) for each ground with no luck. Any suggestions? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradt03 Posted November 22, 2010 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 I'm pretty sure I know what is going on there, can you give us a call tomorrow when you have a few minutes to look over the vehicle? (860) 655-2501 Ok! what time are you available? Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stradt03 Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 We're open 8am-4pm EST Todd, Happy Thanksgiving. I haven't had a chance to call. Are you open tomorrow normal hours? Thanks, Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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