HID Upgrade Info? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

fragdude · 08-01-2008, 11:07 AM

yeah, i cut a hole in the headlight housing cover (something like 26mm for me, but i had to cut another small nub out so i could fit a connector through). I placed the ballast right beside the headlight housing (to the right of it on the drivers side, to the left of it on the passenger side). I think this is not the best place to put it, but I don't want to drill a fairly large hole in the body and so far no water has gotten to it. I used molding tape, I was hesitant to drill mounting holes here too. I didn't know how permanent it would be there and I didn't want another place for water to get in.

Wiring it so it doesn't get in the way with headlamp removal just means leaving enough slack so that you can remove the head lamp assembly enough to disconnect the ballast wires. Another reason why I just placed the ballasts right next to the assembly

lucky_topher · 08-01-2008, 11:13 AM

yeah, i cut a hole too... my kit came with a weatherproof grommet already installed on the wires so it fit right in... i put the ballast inside the fender area and ziptied it in 2 places so it doesn't move, but i still have enough slack to pull the light out and disconnect the wires

stateofidleness · 11-02-2008, 10:49 AM

gentlemen, can you help me diagnose my lack of light problem...
i just installed this kit, got everything hooked up correctly, went to test it, and i can't seem to get my low beam light to come on at all...

after rereading the instructions a few times i saw it mentioned replacing the stock fuse to a 20A fuse... do i need to do this? can i get these at radio shack or autozone?

is there something else i can look at to test why they aren't coming on?

no matter how i twist the headlight knob, i get nothing... when i turn them to 'on', all i see is that "standy" light in the middle of the housing, but no lows...

HELP!

EDIT: ok after some googling, i found it might be a "polarity" issue, so i went out and rotated the connector to the ballast, tried her out and ...!

HID!!!.. but now my new problem is that they only come on with the high beams selected.. they are off while the low beams are selected... what is the deal?

bigb · 11-03-2008, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stateofidleness

gentlemen, can you help me diagnose my lack of light problem...
i just installed this kit, got everything hooked up correctly, went to test it, and i can't seem to get my low beam light to come on at all...

after rereading the instructions a few times i saw it mentioned replacing the stock fuse to a 20A fuse... do i need to do this? can i get these at radio shack or autozone?

is there something else i can look at to test why they aren't coming on?

no matter how i twist the headlight knob, i get nothing... when i turn them to 'on', all i see is that "standy" light in the middle of the housing, but no lows...

HELP!

EDIT: ok after some googling, i found it might be a "polarity" issue, so i went out and rotated the connector to the ballast, tried her out and ...!

HID!!!.. but now my new problem is that they only come on with the high beams selected.. they are off while the low beams are selected... what is the deal?

Are you sure you did not change your hi-beam instead of your low-beam? Note that on the 986, the low-beam is the bulb on the top, and the hi-beam is the one below. Can be confusing.

If that isn't the problem, then I wonder if you inadvertently switched the wiring between hi and low beams?

stateofidleness · 11-03-2008, 09:43 AM

yep that's exactly what i did!
will be swapping them momentarily.

before i do it though, im still a little leary on the fuse situation.
should i pick up 2 20A fuses first before running the HIDs as low beams?

I don't want to run into any trouble and be stranded without lights..
Just trying to be preventative

Thanks!

EDIT: made the swap!
no issues WHATSOEVER! i assume had the the directions been accurate, this would be a 30 minute job and WELL worth it!!!!
car looks a lot "classier" and the light is just stunning! looks beautiful!

boxster_s_boy_34 · 11-04-2008, 03:20 AM

I've been wanting to do the same to my car but I've been a little reluctant because I don't want to devalue the resale on my car by adding an option that wasn't there from the factory. Is this silly to be afraid of or am I using sense? I hella want litronic head lights, but that is the issue hanging over my head. Please afford me some good input.

stateofidleness · 11-04-2008, 08:56 AM

well considering it would take less than 10 minutes to put it back to stock with no irreversible modifications having been done, i'd say you're being silly

bigb · 11-04-2008, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boxster_s_boy_34

I've been wanting to do the same to my car but I've been a little reluctant because I don't want to devalue the resale on my car by adding an option that wasn't there from the factory. Is this silly to be afraid of or am I using sense? I hella want litronic head lights, but that is the issue hanging over my head. Please afford me some good input.

Jeff, this is completely reversible (you'll just need to keep/buy H7 bulbs if you decide to go back). The only question would be whether you drill the headlight covers or not. Certain sellers have pre-drilled covers as part of the kit (slightly more expensive, of course), but that allows you to go back to the original one. Another option is to get the newer kits with the smaller ballasts, and try to fit everything into the headlight housing itself (in other words, no drilling).

Bottomline, if you decide to sell your car at any point and want to go back to stock, it will be a simple, cheap and quick fix.

Good luck.