OEM HID's - anyone put them in an older NB?

[marvins_dad]

I am planning a junk yard hunt in the next month or so. Top of my list is looking for a set of OEM HID headlights.
Anyone know if I can simply pull the headlights and ballasts, would I need to pull anything else....would it even work?

[DZLBUG]

Good luck with finding them. Get as much of the wiring as you can. It has been done before, the biggest trick is getting the leveling function to work with the manual rheostat and to get the high beams to function properly since they are bixenon.

[marvins_dad]

It's probably a long shot...but figured I might have waited long enough that surely some have started to show up at the junk yards, and most likely the owners of said yards wouldn't know what I was pulling other than a headlight.

Can you think of anyone on this or another board that has done such a conversion? I'd like to make sure I was pulling the right stuff and would like to know I have a source for information if I find a set.

[FastAndFurious]

Im currently putting them into my 99 beetle that i got a set brand new from germany.



its not plug and play, early style cars come with 3 pin connectors and the oem hids have 10 pin connectors. You have to really know whats going on with wiring these things. They also have e-code light, and motors installed for leveling that also should be wired with a rheostat

gt2437 has them in his 2000 bug and good old car has them in his but his are wired differently, using non-oem parts i believe using resistors and what not. (they were originally built by r0nd3L) -sold his bug

As far as i know those are the only 2 in the states

tmtuning sells a kit for 2150 (plus add another 100 for shipping charges)and i believe even that is not plug and play. I can get them a little cheaper then that from my contact if anyone is really interested.

I sent my wiring harnesses to pg performance (not cheap), they modify and repin everything , should have them back in my possesion next tuesday. (Owner of pg performance has them installed in his moms 2000 new beetle as well )

The headlight cups are different, i cut a piece from the back replicating the newer style cups (saved me about 70$)



All in all, this mod is way too expensive, to buy and maintain.
I also heard that ballasts go out a lot on these headlights and thats why VW didnt put them anymore in new beetles not to mension you have to take off the whole front clip to install them and if the ballasts go, gotta get back in there again

While im waiting for my harnesses to come back i test fitted them in the modified cups and so far so good. I will have more updates next week

heres some crappy cell phone pics

[Shenandoah]

marvins_dad,

Don't be intimidated. I installed a set of OEM HID/Xenon headlights in my 2005 New Beetle. They are great. If you find a set in the junk yard, you'll want the ballasts, headlights, and any wiring you can get.

I bought my connectors and wires and fabricated my own wiring harness. It's a good amount of work and time, but fairly straightforward.

Wiring the manual leveling rheostat is not a problem.

One thing I did find after wiring my headlights up, when I would turn the high beams on, then off, they wouldn't go off. To fix this I wired a small bulb off the right side high beam socket.

If you run in to problems, drop me a PM. I don't check too often here on NewBeetle.org, but check stuff pretty regularly on tdiclub.com.

Eric

[FastAndFurious]

you should post a DIY for us since its not so intimidating

[Shenandoah]

Guys,

If you do a search on HID or Xenon, you should find a write up from r0Ndl3 (I think that was the user) that did a write up for HIDs/Xenons. I followed his write up when doing mine. Or if you search for posts by me (shenandoah) you should find my questions to him on his write up. Hope that helps.

Eric

[FastAndFurious]

this is the diagram that shanendoah is talking about, the stuff i got was way different and i didnt use this diagram because it didnt make much sense to me

but maybe your able to use it
you can see more info in this thread
Bi-Xenon Project...

[Shenandoah]

FastAndFurious,

Yes, that is the diagram I used to wire up my HIDs. That diagram is for a Beetle that had halogen headlights and you're retrofitting OEM HID/Xenons. I'm not sure what is included in the kit pictured. It looks like an adapter for the standard halogen headlight to the ballast. Then a wiring harness from the ballast to the headlights? If anyone has questions, I'd be more that willing to help. Thanks.

Eric

[FastAndFurious]

busy day today

took front clip of to install oem hids
took some pics of the modified wiring harnesses and the splice harness that pg performance made for me.

its pretty much plug and play now 5 wires to connect, 3 go to the existing 3 wires and one is city light and other is for rheostat.
I would highly recommend them for this type of stuff, i didnt have to wire in any resistors and annoying bulbs like some have done.
The high beams DO TURN OFF.

here are some pics of the wiring that they modified






the ballasts and wiring in their final resting place
it was quite a trip for them, from germany to usa, from usa to canada, then back to usa.


while i was in there i covered the leader lines in some 3/8 air line with some zip ties so they dont chew up the brake lines when you turn



subframe is holding the control arms so will have to do the subframe mod to get another quarter inch at that point subframe should be on ground



rheostat in place


changed the oil and installed a new megnetic oil drain plug

buttoned everything up and took it for a spin make sure everything works

no complaints so far, love the sound that those hid leveling motors make

took some quick pics






I will miss the eyelids but i love the HIDS

[marvins_dad]

Wow!
Great stuff guys! I knew someone would on here would know how to do it and who to go to if I wanted to take this on.

BTW - I guess there are no speed bumps in your town?

[FastAndFurious]

speed bumps whats that?

[marvins_dad]

Air Ride rules

[Shenandoah]

FastandFurious,

Looks good. What do you think of the high beams at night? They really light up the road. Plus the manual leveling rheostat is pretty cool.

Eric

[FastAndFurious]

I havent really driven the car at night yet to test out the highbeams, but when i was testing them in garage, i had one headlight on and it was enough to light up the whole street, i cant even imagine both on with foglights

so far im very pleased, my next road trip should be the real test to see how the rheostat can come in handy at highway speeds

going from halogen to hid, i dont think you even need the highbeams, at least not around where i drive the car.

[MichelleRoze]

I'm gonna bring this thread back to life for a minute.

Now that you've had some time with you HID's, how do you like them? I'm thinking about doing what Marvin wants to do. Try to find some HID's in a junk yard or maybe even on ebay or something. Seems a bit more complicated than I had originally thought, but might be worth it in the long run.

So, what do you think? You like the HID's??

[Shenandoah]

MichelleRoze,

I've had my HIDs in for quite awhile. They are super! Well worth the effort. Thanks.

Shenandoah

[FastAndFurious]

I love my hids, but its not worth the trouble.

I have since broken one in a fender bender so i ended up getting another set of oem hid headlights, i have a complete spare Right hand side oem hid and i have spare internals (projector, ignitor, motor, wiring etc) for LEFT hand side complete working if anyone needs parts. All parts have about 500 miles.

[Shenandoah]

FastandFurious,

Bummer about the fender bender. I still think the HID upgrade is well worth the money. When I drive my Jetta wagon or my F350, the headlights just don't light the road up like they do with the Beetle.

Shenandoah

[snortingrooster]

well here is a company that will mod your head lights for you. they cost some money but from what i have read they do an awesome job and get you where you want to be.
HID Projector Headlight Retrofit for Subaru, Honda, BMW, Scion and More | LightWerkz.net