***Your HID Questions Answered Here.***

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1badgmc

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There are TONS of repeat questions about HIDs popping up on FSC lately, so I though I’d make a sticky to try and sort out a lot of the repetition.

I don't claim to be an absolute expert with HIDs or the end-all be-all of HID knowledge, but I do have experience with OEM HIDs and I have installed HIDs in 6 different vehicles, so I have learned a little bit about them.

What are HIDs?
High-Intensity Discharge lamps are a type of arc lamp. They have no filament like a traditional halogen bulb. The bulb is filled with both gas and metal salts which produce light from an arc between electrodes inside the bulb. Once ignited, the arc heats the metal salts forming a plasma which increases the intensity of the light produced by the arc. Much light fluorescent lamps, HIDs require the use of a ballast to start and maintain the arc.

Can I put HIDs in my vehicle’s headlights?
The simple answer is yes.

There are several companies that make HID conversions that fit into your stock bulb sockets, plug into a ballast and then plug into your vehicle’s stock wiring. Just know that this is not an optimal setup and can cause dangerous glare for other drivers. Since your halogen housings are not designed for HIDs, you will also have some light scatter.

The proper way to do it would be to get a projector housing designed specifically for HIDs and then retrofit them into your headlight housings. Not everyone has the time, money or skills required to do it this way. With a little attention to the type of headlight housing and aiming of the lamp, you can have HIDs in halogen housings without causing glare for others.

Are HIDs legal?
This is a very gray area. The more you research this the more confusing it can be. Some places say that any and all HID retrofits into a vehicle that didn't roll off the assembly line with them are illegal. Other places say that as long as they're in a housing designed for HIDs they're legal. I have yet to find any government website specifically making the use of HID kits illegal. The best thing you can do is to choose a color temperature that isn't overly blue (4300K-6000K would be best) and make sure that your HIDs aren't causing glare for other drivers.

My stock headlights are 55w, so do I need 55w HIDs?
No. HIDs produce light much more efficiently than halogen bulbs. It takes less power to produce more light with HIDs. 35w HIDs, depending on the color temperature, produce a little more than twice the amount of light in lumens as 55w halogen bulbs. 55w HIDs produce approximately another 40% more light than 35w HIDs. 35w HIDs put out more than enough light for low beam headlights making 55w low beams unnecessary. 55w high beams would be fine since they are not the primary lights used to drive with at night.

What are color temperatures?
HIDs can be had in a variety of different colors. The color is measured in degrees Kelvin (K). Most HID sellers offer color temperatures ranging from 3000K to 12000K. There are higher Kelvin temperatures out there, but this is the most common range. 3000K HIDs are going to be very yellow/amber in color and are best left for auxiliary/fog lighting. Stock halogen bulbs are around 3200K. Cars that came factory equipped with HIDs, no matter what the make or model, are all in the 4100 – 4300K range. The low 4000K range will give you the whitest possible light with the most useable lumens and most visibility. Higher temperatures will produce a bluer color with less visible light. An 8000K HID bulb will produce about 20% less visible light than a 4300K HID bulb. There is a reason that the OEM HIDs are in the low-4000K range.

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I want a white light with a slight tint of blue. What color temperature should I get?
All HIDs in the 4300 – 12000K range are going to produce a shade of blue. Even 4300K will have a slight tint of blue. I recommend staying below 5000K, but that’s not enough blue color for some. 6000K is the happy medium for those who want some visible blue color, yet still have a white light. Higher than that and the lights start to become very blue and are more likely to attract unwanted attention from law enforcement.

Here are 35w 4500K DDM Tuning HIDs compared with stock halogen highbeams:
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These are 35w 5000K HIDgate HIDs compared with stock halogen highbeams:
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Notice that even these 2 “white” HID colors are still blue when compared with halogen bulbs.

Where should I buy my HIDs?
I have used 3 different sources to buy HIDs from, all with good results; DDM Tuning, VVME and eBay seller HIDgate. The first 2 sets I bought were from HIDgate. I’ve been using them for a long time now and haven’t had any issues with them. I purchased a set from VVME for a friend because he wanted 4300K and HIDgate doesn’t carry any lower than 5000K. My most recent purchase was from DDM Tuning. I chose DDM because they have 4500K lights and are about $20 cheaper than VVME. HIDgate and VVME both have a 1 year warranty on their lights while DDM Tuning has a lifetime warranty.

I can get some HID/Xenon bulbs on eBay for $10.
These are not true HIDs. They are just blue coated bulbs, often called hyperwhite bulbs, that use buzz-words like “HID” and “Xenon” to lure buyers in. These bulbs do have have ballasts and do not operate like true HIDs. They’re nothing more than blue coated halogen bulbs.

I installed my HIDs, but they won’t turn on. What’s wrong?
These inexpensive HID kits have reversed polarity. The plug going from your vehicle’s harness into the ballast needs to be reversed and your lights should work, then.

My HIDs take a long time to get bright. Is this normal?
Yes, this is normal. Modern OEM HIDs turn on almost instantly, but these retrofit kits will take a good 7-10 seconds to reach full brightness. They come on with a quick, bright flash. They then dim down and then slowly become brighter until they are fully warmed up to their operating temperature.

What is a relay harness?
A relay harness (called a dual in/dual out harness on the DDM Tuning site) pulls the power for the HIDs directly from the battery instead of from the vehicle’s wiring harness. Even though HIDs require less power to run than halogens, they do require a considerable amount of power when they are first ignited. A vehicle’s wiring is often not up to the task of handling the power requirements of that initial ignition, which can lead to misfires.

A common symptom is that only one HID will come on. The wiring has enough to handle the ignition of one light, but not both. Usually, the other HID can be ignited by turning the headlights off and then back on again quickly.

Another common symptom is the flickering of the headlights when they’re on. The power flow is not constant enough to keep them steady.

The relay harness will also automatically correct the polarity so you don’t have to worry about which way your ballasts are plugged in.

Do I need a relay harness?
It never hurts to have one. It’s cheap piece of mind. For all GMT-400 OBS trucks and older, I recommend one without question. I have installed HIDs in a ’94 and a ’91 without a harness and didn’t have any issues. I’ve installed HIDs in a ’97 and a ’98 and did have misfires in both. A relay harness on both trucks solved those problems. Even though some trucks may not seem to need one, it would still be best to install one to relieve the strain from the factory wiring and headlight switch.

How do I connect the relay harness?
Most pre-made relay harnesses should have a red positive and black ground ring connector, 2 male headlight connectors and 1 female headlight connector. The harness should look something like this...
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Connect the red positive to your battery's positive terminal.
Connect the black negative to a good ground on the truck.
The 2 male headlight connectors will connect to the ballasts.
The 1 female headlight connector will connect to the truck's harness. It's the switched power for the harness.

Does the relay harness turn on all 4 headlight with my high beams?
No. The hi-4 relay is a separate modification, but one that should be done when running HIDs.

What do I need for HID high and low beams?
You’ll need 2 HID kits to have HID highs and lows. You’ll need the kit for your low beam bulbs and a separate kit for your high beam bulbs. It would also be a good idea to have a relay harness for each HID kit as well.

Do I need an error code eliminator?
No. The error code eliminator is for vehicles that give a warning light when a headlight is out. None of our trucks have this.

I’m ordering from DDM Tuning, do I need the Raptor kit or the Slim kit?
Both the Raptor and the slim kits are functionally identical. There is no operational advantage to buying the slim kit. The only difference is in packaging. The slim kit is more intended for vehicles with cramped engine bays that don’t have a lot of room for mounting the ballasts. Space isn’t a big issue for fullsize GM trucks, so there’s no need in the extra expense of the slims.



I'm sure there are some questions that I didn't think of here. If it's not here, just ask.
 
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Nuke

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i really want hids... :(

Me too.

Would you get faster warm-up times with an OEM ballast? How hard would it be to make a harness for this?
 
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