Halogen to HID & Ballast Converter

[2006vwbeetle]

Hi all,

I am thinking to convert my halogen low beams to HID with Ballast Converter Kit (around $34 for both HID bulbs and Ballast Kit on Ebay)

Is it safe to switch to HID with Ballast Kit? Do I need the relay harness for this?
Safe meaning no error codes, no wires burned out, long lasting....

I have 2006 VW Beetle Convertible 2.5L Gas.
I heard some people used H1 for low beam on this model and some said they used H7.

Which one is the correct size?

Thank you very much for the help.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Your '06, by the book is an H7, but as this was right at the change, it's possible some early '06s got out with H1s, I can't say for sure.

I'm no expert om HIDs (actually have no use for aftermarket HIDs, except to hate the driver's who put them in their vehicles, serving no purpose other than to blind the rest of us), but it is my understanding they use less energy, not more, but a relay kit, regardless, is a good idea, even if it's for your stock headlights (brighter light - the reason your fogs use relays)
Relays: WHY AND HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR
HEADLAMP CIRCUIT
http://dsl.torque.net/images/Relays.pdf

If your simply trying to improve your nighttime vision, a better halogen bulb may be a better solution - thread search Oshram, you want to read about the Euro Oshrams and for H7s the Euro Philips X-treme Vision or Oshram Night Breakers. Here's an excellent source for the bulbs (reasonably priced and quick ship)
Car Bulbs, Headlight Bulbs, Xenon Bulbs from Philips and Osram, Philips Xtreme Power, Osram NightBreaker globes - Powerbulbs.

Read accolades about Euro halogen bulbs here-
Oshram v. Oshram Sylvania Bulbs!
Or here-
VWVortex.com - Best headlight replacement

You may also experience DRL issues, as when in this mode you may bed delivering inadequate voltage to properly operate the HID ballasts. My understanding, factory HIDs use supplemental LEDs for the DRLs in lieu of the way it's done with the halos by reducing the input voltage.

Hope this helps you make an educated decision. I know you probably have your heart set on those blue or purple HIDs, but you really need to give it some thought.

MORAV

[Opelmania]

I am currently waiting for my kit to come in for my change over. I have a 98 and use H1 lamps. Like M. said, your 06 should have H7's. I don't know your mechanical/electrical background but, if you are contemplating doing this, you should've already been out at your car and pulled the old lamp out to verify. This isn't an extremely difficult mod to do, but it isn't the easiest either. I plan on mounting my ballasts in the fender wells to give you an idea of what needs to be done.

Anyway, I ordered my kit from here DDM Tuning : HID Kits & Lighting. Lifetime warranty and highly recommended from fellow org members. I went with a 35W 5000K (very light hint of blue) kit for $40 plus I got a HID Kit wiring harness. Total cost with shipping, $69.95.

Per DDM's website;
Use this relay harness to connect HIDs to cars with very small gauge wiring that cannot supply the initial surge current required to light the bulbs reliably. Symptoms indicating the harness is required would be intermittent starting or lights going out after being turned on for several minutes and requiring you to turn the lights off and back on for them to turn back on again.

Recommended for all 55W HID installations but most American and European cars work at 35W/55W without the harness. The harness is definitely recommended for Quad's and other ATVs or when running multiple HID installations. This harness is a fused relay isolation harness capable of supplying 20A at 12vdc.

I figure I'd be safe considering the electrical nightmare stories I hear on this site and considering I have a "troubled" model already , I don't want any problems to start with mine now. I ordered them last Wednesday and I'm still waiting for them but from everyone tells me, it is worth the wait even if I am going waiting.

[2006vwbeetle]

Originally Posted by Opelmania

I am currently waiting for my kit to come in for my change over. I have a 98 and use H1 lamps. Like M. said, your 06 should have H7's. I don't know your mechanical/electrical background but, if you are contemplating doing this, you should've already been out at your car and pulled the old lamp out to verify. This isn't an extremely difficult mod to do, but it isn't the easiest either. I plan on mounting my ballasts in the fender wells to give you an idea of what needs to be done.

Anyway, I ordered my kit from here DDM Tuning : HID Kits & Lighting. Lifetime warranty and highly recommended from fellow org members. I went with a 35W 5000K (very light hint of blue) kit for $40 plus I got a HID Kit wiring harness. Total cost with shipping, $69.95.

Per DDM's website;
Use this relay harness to connect HIDs to cars with very small gauge wiring that cannot supply the initial surge current required to light the bulbs reliably. Symptoms indicating the harness is required would be intermittent starting or lights going out after being turned on for several minutes and requiring you to turn the lights off and back on for them to turn back on again.

Recommended for all 55W HID installations but most American and European cars work at 35W/55W without the harness. The harness is definitely recommended for Quad's and other ATVs or when running multiple HID installations. This harness is a fused relay isolation harness capable of supplying 20A at 12vdc.

I figure I'd be safe considering the electrical nightmare stories I hear on this site and considering I have a "troubled" model already , I don't want any problems to start with mine now. I ordered them last Wednesday and I'm still waiting for them but from everyone tells me, it is worth the wait even if I am going waiting.

Are you planning to add the relay harness to your HID system? If it doesn't give me any problem without a relay harness, I really don't want to add the relay harness because I do not want to mess things up and get more trouble.

Please let us know how your HID works after you install them. Thanks

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by 2006vwbeetle

Are you planning to add the relay harness to your HID system? If it doesn't give me any problem without a relay harness, I really don't want to add the relay harness because I do not want to mess things up and get more trouble.

Please let us know how your HID works after you install them. Thanks

The purpose of the relay kit, whether with aftermarket HIDs, or with original equipment, is to shorten the path of travel for the supply voltage (it's all about voltage drop), and thus increase the brightness of the lights (an issue so many have). As designed, the path is quite lengthy and routes through the headlight switch. Only the fogs are controlled by a relay.

Read Daniel's section, in the Daniel Stern Lighting section I linked to above, regarding upgrading to relay(s) for your headlights. I know him personally, he is a consultant to the auto lighting industry and knows what he is talking about. There is no risk of creating more issues if the relay system is designed and installed properly, it actually will prolong the life of everything else in the system.

M.

[Blugg]

Courtesy of SHAMROCKEZ

98-06 Model 1.9TDi

I fitted mine with 8k

Please use this 'how to' as a guide only. If you are unsure about any part of the process please take your car to a mechanic or auto-electrician.

Step 1: Remove headlight. Press in hatched marked block and slide bar upwards. Disconnect wiring:


Step 2: Remove the 2 connections going into the dipped bulb - the yellow one and the double brown one:


Step 3: Connect male spades in HID kit to the female spades in original headlight wiring and remove original bulb and replace it with HID bulb:




You may need to use use pliers to make the connection secure. The order of which wire goes into which connection will be obvious once you look at it - one is much smaller than the other.

Step 4: Tape up the connection with electrical tape so that they can't touch any other connection and spark:


Step 5: Use a 25mm (check your kit for exact size) drill saw to drill a hole in the back of your headlight cap thingy - thread wires through and fill with wiring bung:


Connect the wires to the corresponding connections on the ballast block and refit headlight. Do the same with the other light.

Plug the other light back in and refit it. You need to mount the ballasts somewhere - I put one of mine on the airbox (self tappers) and wedged the other one in a gap. I was going to mount it more securely, but it never moved, and now the car is off the road so not much point. All the different engines have different gaps here and there, so you need to find what works with yours. The airbox one, as far as I know, should always work.

Turn the lights on and see how pretty they are! Here you can see the difference in colour between the HID dipped light and the normal fog light (more pronounced in real life but hard to show in pics):



And a video - the flashing at the beginning is because one of my side lights is out - nothing to do with the HIDs. You can see how they brighten as the gas warms up:


http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...t=PIC_0028.flv

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

I know that ID, he's on the evvo, right? Maybe even around here occasionally, but not for a while. Probably where this DIY is?

[2006vwbeetle]

Originally Posted by Blugg

Courtesy of SHAMROCKEZ

98-06 Model 1.9TDi

I fitted mine with 8k

"You may need to use use pliers to make the connection secure. The order of which wire goes into which connection will be obvious once you look at it - one is much smaller than the other. "

Is that when you connected your relay harness cables?

Thanks

[Blugg]

Originally Posted by 2006vwbeetle

"You may need to use use pliers to make the connection secure. The order of which wire goes into which connection will be obvious once you look at it - one is much smaller than the other. "

Is that when you connected your relay harness cables?

Thanks

To be honest, it's a 5 min job. Almost TOO simple. Take lights out. Drill the new hole, fit in new HiD. Put back together. Just make sure you get the ones for the Beetle. It's plug and play The only thing that takes the time is working out where to put the ballast things. Opelmania's post about " I plan on mounting my ballasts in the fender wells to give you an idea of what needs to be done. " He must be an electrician, because you get hardly any extra length in the wire from the ballast to the light. I just zip tagged mine to something rigid in around the engine bay. Lasted 2 years of rubbing no problem

Good to worry, but really, they are a doddle to fit

[2006vwbeetle]

Originally Posted by Blugg

To be honest, it's a 5 min job. Almost TOO simple. Take lights out. Drill the new hole, fit in new HiD. Put back together. Just make sure you get the ones for the Beetle. It's plug and play The only thing that takes the time is working out where to put the ballast things. Opelmania's post about " I plan on mounting my ballasts in the fender wells to give you an idea of what needs to be done. " He must be an electrician, because you get hardly any extra length in the wire from the ballast to the light. I just zip tagged mine to something rigid in around the engine bay. Lasted 2 years of rubbing no problem

Good to worry, but really, they are a doddle to fit

I am very new to HID thing, so yeah I am very worried about messing things up.

So you didn't install the relay harness at all? They recommend to add the relay harness to the HID system only if you have multiple HID installations or if you have ATV's or QUAD's.

I only need to install the HID bulbs for my low beam, so I think I can get away with the relay harness thing and hopefully it doesn't give me any trouble. I am very bad with working on cars, so installing relay harness is not easy for me at all

[Blugg]

Originally Posted by 2006vwbeetle

I am very new to HID thing, so yeah I am very worried about messing things up.

So you didn't install the relay harness at all? They recommend to add the relay harness to the HID system only if you have multiple HID installations or if you have ATV's or QUAD's.

I only need to install the HID bulbs for my low beam, so I think I can get away with the relay harness thing and hopefully it doesn't give me any trouble. I am very bad with working on cars, so installing relay harness is not easy for me at all

Not sure what you mean by relay harness. I'm thick when it comes to technical I opened the box and saw 2 bulbs. I bought the drill part myself. Drilled where the instructions said. Then unclipped the wires and put the plug in as it said Wish i did a video of it now. I plan to do it again on my New Bug but was waiting for Santa to bring them so the video maybe a bit late

[Blugg]

Lot's of help here

fitting hid kit - YouTube

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

A relay harness has a relay in the circuit so you don't have to power things thru the headlight switch. Low voltage signal from the switch is sent to the relay, which connects the "close-by" power source to the "close-by" headlight assemblies. This was you don't have voltage drop (loss of power) because of the long path of travel in the stock factory wiring. At least tha's what I am assuming the poster is talking about. Don't know what else it could be.

M.

[Opelmania]

The relay harness eliminates the flashing lights or one lamp going out because of the crazy voltages the ballasts draw. Also, from what I understand, with the relay, the power goes through the battery and not up through the headlight switch just like M. said. I'd rather not run all through the car's electronics and possibly zap something else like the brake and clutch switches that I've heard HID's have messed with. BTW Blugg, I am a Operating (Stationery) Engineer. I take care of an office building. I've heard that the fender well has a huge amount of space in it for an easy mount for the ballasts. I can't remember how big or where to mount them the last time I was in there when I replaced my windshield washer resevoir.

[2006vwbeetle]

Originally Posted by Opelmania

The relay harness eliminates the flashing lights or one lamp going out because of the crazy voltages the ballasts draw. Also, from what I understand, with the relay, the power goes through the battery and not up through the headlight switch just like M. said. I'd rather not run all through the car's electronics and possibly zap something else like the brake and clutch switches that I've heard HID's have messed with. BTW Blugg, I am a Operating (Stationery) Engineer. I take care of an office building. I've heard that the fender well has a huge amount of space in it for an easy mount for the ballasts. I can't remember how big or where to mount them the last time I was in there when I replaced my windshield washer resevoir.

I guess I will have to install the relay harness to avoid crazy voltage drawn from Ballast later on.

There are 2 types of HID 35W and 55W. Which one would you guys recommend? I want bright headlights, but I don't want to blind the other drivers. I also want the color output to be white with a bit of blue.

This website says lifetime warranty on their HID system.
Is this website any good?
HID Kits, BMW Aftermarket Bumpers & Lighting, DEPO - DDM Tuning

Thanks a lot for all the help guys.

[Opelmania]

That's where I got mine from. See my first post with the link. 35W is plenty.

[Opelmania]

Don't bother with the stupid relay harness. I cut off the circle connectors it had on it and put spades on so I could attach to the battery and hooked everything up and went to fire up the lights before I cleaned up the wiring and... nada! I unplugged the relay harness and just plugged the lights to the ballast and...they fired right up. The ballasts are super tiny that I got and the DS I actually wedged between the airbox and battery box. I'll move it next week. I had a little issue with the lamps not fitting into the metal holder. A uni-bit, 7/8" one that you can use for the hole in the back , did the trick and honed it out for me. I am so happy I did this for 2 reasons. First because I drive a lot and mostly when it's dark and second because I won't have to change those stupid lamps ever again!!!

[2006vwbeetle]

Originally Posted by Opelmania

Don't bother with the stupid relay harness. I cut off the circle connectors it had on it and put spades on so I could attach to the battery and hooked everything up and went to fire up the lights before I cleaned up the wiring and... nada! I unplugged the relay harness and just plugged the lights to the ballast and...they fired right up. The ballasts are super tiny that I got and the DS I actually wedged between the airbox and battery box. I'll move it next week. I had a little issue with the lamps not fitting into the metal holder. A uni-bit, 7/8" one that you can use for the hole in the back , did the trick and honed it out for me. I am so happy I did this for 2 reasons. First because I drive a lot and mostly when it's dark and second because I won't have to change those stupid lamps ever again!!!

It looks very bright. Since you removed the relay harness because it didn't work, I wonder if it would cause any problem later on.

So HID looks like high beam. No wonder I have seen very bright headlights, and I thought they were using high beam.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Probably looked like high beams because of improper aiming or lack of proper "cutoff" design, as is the case with aftermarkets. Lacking the proper equipment, aiming techniques can be found on Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

[Opelmania]

Originally Posted by MyOtherRidesAVette

Probably looked like high beams because of improper aiming or lack of proper "cutoff" design, as is the case with aftermarkets. Lacking the proper equipment, aiming techniques can be found on Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

Cutoff looks pretty damn good to me by the my pic by the garage.