Installing HID? Read this first.

[midnght69]

I don't know if the projectors are the cause for your 'funky pattern' or not. If you want info from one of the members that did the projector change go to;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397594 and you can read up on the posts by tonystewart and perhaps send him a PM.

Peter

I apologize. I should have been a little more specific. I was just saying what they look like, even though I love how bright the new headlights and fog lights are.

My funky pattern had to be my projectors. As my son likes to say, my headlights are scanning the tree tops for helicopters.

It seems that with the stock projectors and the new Diode Dynamic HID headlights, I am not getting a great spread pattern on my light beams. They are nice and wide, and perfectly bright, but they disperse outward and I don't get that great depth that I was hoping for as well. And when I turn on the high beams, well I can literally look at the tree tops around.

Hopefully this helps a little more with what condition I am having. Again, I apologize for the random and unintelligent description. Sometimes frustration gets the best of us.

 

[peterk9]

I believe the outward spread is normal. My OEM's do the same thing. They don't function like the upgraded halogen bulbs did in my previous Highlanders. On high beam, they focused much more light straight ahead as opposed to waking up birds and squirrels in the tree tops.

Peter

 

[StarGirl808]

Thank you. I think its also worth noting that the HID bulbs that people are getting in kits are different than the HID bulbs that would go in the Limited. The kits come with an HID bulb that is meant for the same type of housing that the Halogen bulb is meant for (a 9005).

My guess is that Ford engineers tweaked the Halogen projectors and the Limited's HID projectors to have nearly an identical light pattern, despite using different bulbs. When you drop in a 9005 HID bulb to the 9005 Halogen projector, it will put out a similar pattern just brighter, like the Limited HIDs, because the 9005 HID bulb is meant to go in a 9005 housing. Ford just cheaped out and only put a halogen bulb in.

Totally agree..recently installed HID without changing the housing and the light cutoff is almost identical, observed both upon shining at a wall and at a vehicle in front of me..I have pics but I'm having a hard time posting them

 

[fangelillo01]

Good morning guys. So I made the mistake of going cheap and ordering a 55w kit from Amazon. I work for a dealer and they installed them yesterday. I chose a 6000k kit and it seems as though it's too blue and my light output has gone down. My question is if I upgrade to higher quality ballasts will that fix the low output? or upgrade just the bulbs? Or just spend the extra money on a quality system? Lesson learned here

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum fangelillo01.:wavey:
There are several thoughts on HID and which 'kelvin' number is closest to daylight. It appears that the general thought seems to be that it is in the 5500K to 6500k range. Therefore 6000k should be very good. I have the OEM HID in my vehicle but I'm not sure what they are as a 'k' number. Some think it is 4300k. I do notice as well that there is a very slight bluish colour in them as there was with the 2011 Explorer.

Peter

 

[Sgt1411]

Good morning guys. So I made the mistake of going cheap and ordering a 55w kit from Amazon. I work for a dealer and they installed them yesterday. I chose a 6000k kit and it seems as though it's too blue and my light output has gone down. My question is if I upgrade to higher quality ballasts will that fix the low output? or upgrade just the bulbs? Or just spend the extra money on a quality system? Lesson learned here

The stock HID kit that comes on the Limited is 4300K.

I, like several others here, bought the Diode Dynamics HID kit with Premium CANBUS Hylux ballasts and so far I have had absolutely no issues.

Mine are running as DRL so they fire every start up.

http://www.diodedynamics.com/store/2011-2014-ford-explorer-low-beam-hid-conversion-kit

 

[Sandemonium]

The stock HID kit that comes on the Limited is 4300K.

I, like several others here, bought the Diode Dynamics HID kit with Premium CANBUS Hylux ballasts and so far I have had absolutely no issues.

Mine are running as DRL so they fire every start up.

http://www.diodedynamics.com/store/2011-2014-ford-explorer-low-beam-hid-conversion-kit

SGT,

Did you upgrade the headlights and fog lights to HID? Did you add the relay kit to both kits? Can you still use the AUTO feature? Any issues or things you wish were different on the Diode Dynamics kits?

Thank you,

Bob

 

[Sgt1411]

SGT,

Did you upgrade the headlights and fog lights to HID? Did you add the relay kit to both kits? Can you still use the AUTO feature? Any issues or things you wish were different on the Diode Dynamics kits?

Thank you,

Bob

I left the fogs alone since I rarely use them.

Yes the AUTO feature still works.

The kit comes with two relays, and I also purchased the DRL relays as well.

I have had no issues at all, I had the vehicle facing a wall in an underground parking lot so I could see the cutoff compared to OEM and its bang on. One of the lights looked a little off so when I investigated it turned out to be a bad install (ME) as the bulb wasn't tightened properly in the housing.

You're essentially installing the bulb blind, by feel, I ended up sliding my iPhone down there and took some pictures to confirm the bulb was seated properly.

One thing I was told by the engineers was to keep the ballasts away from the fuse box when possible to avoid interference. I have one up by the hood hinge on passenger side and the other in the front upper rad/grill area.

$150 is fair for a good kit made in North America.

 

[fangelillo01]

The stock HID kit that comes on the Limited is 4300K.

I, like several others here, bought the Diode Dynamics HID kit with Premium CANBUS Hylux ballasts and so far I have had absolutely no issues.

Mine are running as DRL so they fire every start up.

http://www.diodedynamics.com/store/2011-2014-ford-explorer-low-beam-hid-conversion-kit

Thanks for the response. My boss is driving a Limited and his look nice. I should have gone higher quality kit with less of a K rating

 

[Sandemonium]

I left the fogs alone since I rarely use them.

Yes the AUTO feature still works.

The kit comes with two relays, and I also purchased the DRL relays as well.

I have had no issues at all, I had the vehicle facing a wall in an underground parking lot so I could see the cutoff compared to OEM and its bang on. One of the lights looked a little off so when I investigated it turned out to be a bad install (ME) as the bulb wasn't tightened properly in the housing.

You're essentially installing the bulb blind, by feel, I ended up sliding my iPhone down there and took some pictures to confirm the bulb was seated properly.

One thing I was told by the engineers was to keep the ballasts away from the fuse box when possible to avoid interference. I have one up by the hood hinge on passenger side and the other in the front upper rad/grill area.

$150 is fair for a good kit made in North America.

Thank you for the information. I'll contact Diode Dynamics and get something headed this way.

I wonder if the LED fogs would be close color wise to the 6000K HID's?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[OKExplorerSport]

I did the swap this weekend. Your write up was almost perfect. Great job and I look forward to seeing more of your DIY's and doing them myself.

Thank you kindly!!!

The 35W HID's I got are night and day different than those stock halogens. I can see hella better at night.

Next up is the fog light swap.

 

[Sgt1411]

Just a follow up on Diode Dynamics and their customer support. I had a "start up" flicker in my passender side headlight.

Contacted their CS and sent them a video of it.

They said no problem but just to make sure its not the ballast please switch bulbs side to side. I did so and the problem was confirmed to be a bulb. So to make sure I didnt have one new brighter bulb Diode sent me two new bulbs under warranty, no charge, no shipping.

That's a year after I installed them.

Just for that alone I will buy there again.

And no I don't work there or have friends that work there.

Thats why we should buy in North America.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Great feedback, I am going to the HID conversion (of some type soon) and appreciate all the input from all.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

So curious what are the thoughts on TRS (The Retrofit Source) vs. Diode Dynamics on their kits and durability? I am almost at purchase/decision time (should have waited on ordering the above bulbs) on HID kit for my Exp.

 

[dtg1015]

Just a follow up on the customer service of Diode Dynamics. It is 100% top notch. I live in St. Louis and was able to stop by, ask a bunch of questions and get what I wanted right away. They came out to the truck and gave some helpful tips and made sure I knew to call with any questions.

Thanks Sgt1411 for the write-up. Living in the same city was just a bonus.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

In the end I chose the P&P HID kit from Daytime Brightlights and the owner Dan was very helpful and would certainly recommend them as well. I've heard good things about DD too.

http://www.daytimebrightlites.com/LED_Dome_Lights.html

 

[xxghostxx]

Went with the Diode Dynamincs Conversion on my 2015 sport. Install was perfect and the lights work great. My question is what are you guys running. I typically run the lights on auto on but have noticed that the ballasts seem warm when doing so and the lights are not on. I am a little worried that the ballasts may be energized and I am reducing the life of them when running the lights on auto and them not being on during the day.

 

[xxghostxx]

Went with the Diode Dynamincs Conversion on my 2015 sport. Install was perfect and the lights work great. My question is what are you guys running. I typically run the lights on auto on but have noticed that the ballasts seem warm when doing so and the lights are not on. I am a little worried that the ballasts may be energized and I am reducing the life of them when running the lights on auto and them not being on during the day.

reporting back. I changed the location of the ballasts to the sides of the light assemblies and they are a perfect fit and stay cool there.

 

[SHAD0W]

Went with the Diode Dynamincs Conversion on my 2015 sport. Install was perfect and the lights work great. My question is what are you guys running. I typically run the lights on auto on but have noticed that the ballasts seem warm when doing so and the lights are not on. I am a little worried that the ballasts may be energized and I am reducing the life of them when running the lights on auto and them not being on during the day.

I'm using Diode Dynamics also; and I don't run with auto on, so I can't attest to the reduction in life.

My ballasts also get warm when not in use, but that is simply because it's generally hot in the engine bay. To reduce heat when the HIDs are on, I mounted small heatsinks, that I salvaged from my old laptops, against the ballast to draw some of the heat away. I mounted my ballast using brackets against the hood bumper stop bracket (I think that's what it's called).

 

[cheapjeep2]

For those that have installed the Diode Dynamics HID Kit. I've decided to go with this kit as well but have a question on if I need to install the optional relay that wires power to the battery. I do use the automatic light feature all the time.