Headlight/Fog light upgrade for 2015 Explorer Sport | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Headlight/Fog light upgrade for 2015 Explorer Sport

mpk4463

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October 11, 2019
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City, State
Burnsville, MN
Year, Model & Trim Level
2015 Explorer Sport
Looking to upgrade current headlights/fog lights in my 2015 Explorer Sport. I have no clue what is currently in my vehicle for headlights/fog lights just know I need brighter. Thanks in advance
 



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I just got hid kits for my explorer sport (9005 in headlights and h11 in fogs) . Should be a good upgrade in light output , I will let you know once i install them.
 












Hmmm that is interesting Peter, I haven't heard of the 9011 swap. 9011 is perhaps a better designed halogen bulb i would think.
 






Hmmm that is interesting Peter, I haven't heard of the 9011 swap. 9011 is perhaps a better designed halogen bulb i would think.
In that thread it mentions that one of the pins in the bulb's base has to be removed.

Peter
 






I did the 9011 bulb upgrade at about 20k miles. Yes, one of the tabs needs to be trimmed, but it's easy and well worth it. Won't be as bright as HID kit, but better than the stock bulbs.

The 9011 bulbs lasted about 50k miles before they went out (within a couple weeks of each other). I replaced them with same bulbs.
 






So I installed the 9005 hid kit in my projector headlight housings and wowww what a difference. Great light output! I need to do the fogs next. Headlights are the 6000kelvin level.
 






I installed OPT-7 LED bulbs in my low beams and fogs, and they look fantastic. I'm actually getting ready to trade in my Ex, so if you're interested, I'll sell you my LEDs. PM me.
 












I did 8k headlights and 3k fogs.

55w xenon ballasts for headlights and 35w ballasts for fogs. Factory fog light wiring can't support powering the ballasts so a wiring kit was provided with relay/inline fuse/harness plug which essentially bypasses the factory harness. It gets a constant 12v off the battery and the relay turns on power when the fog switch is triggered.
 






Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
8000k HID bulbs produces a blue light. Typically the higher the Kelvins (k) the lower the light output (Lumens). I believe most settled on 6000k which is closer to the OEM which I believe is 4300k and closer to daylight. Also, as has been mentioned many times, the OEM housing is not designed for HID bulbs and while they do produce more light, it is not possible to accurately focus them.
8000k light color - Google Search

Peter
 






So I installed the 9005 hid kit in my projector headlight housings and wowww what a difference. Great light output! I need to do the fogs next. Headlights are the 6000kelvin level.
Where did you get your kit, I've been tempted to go with in HID kit as well.
 






I got my kits off eBay, 6000k on headlights and 3500k on fogs and the output is great. With the projector headlamps the HID's do great and the cutoff line only had to be adjusted a little bit. These hids produce less heat than the halogens so I do not foresee any issues with runnin hids in these stock lamp housings, and these same housings also are used with hids installed stock from factory.
 






There is a post on this forum where a member opened the housings and said the halogen and HID are different. That makes perfect sense since the bulbs produce light in different ways so the housing has to be different to take that into account so the light can be focused properly. I asked one of the well known suppliers of HID kits if they were on road legal and he admitted they were not. They are intended for off-road use only since they are not DOT approved.
See this post and subsequent ones; HID Install +Pics - Step by Step

Peter
 






It seems the pictures have all disappeared since I posted the link in the above post. Another reason to not use Photobucket (free) or perhaps other 3rd party hosting sites. This is really frustrating when members have gone to so much trouble to document events with pictures. For a $20 Elite membership you can store them all on the Forum's servers.

Peter
 






Thank you for the intel peterk9. I have not looked at the internals of the different housings so I am not aware of the different designs. All i know is the hid kits i installed put out a better light pattern and more light where needed and do not cause glare onto other drivers. The hids are 35watt ballasts, so hopefully they will last a while.
 






Diode Dynamics lighting!!
 






Here are some pix, long over due. 6000k 35w hid in headlights, 3000k 35w hid in fogs. Driver side hid headlight blew the headlight fuse recently so i may need to install the wire harness to get power directly from the battery upon start up.
 

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Your OEM headlamps have a 10A fuse. The HID headlamps use a 20A fuse and possibly heavier gauge wiring. You probably would have been better off with LED.

Peter
 



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Yes, true that Peter. I tried a 15A fuse and that one blew as well. So for now I have the stock halogen back in temporarily.
 






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