gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

So I wasted my money on the DDM HID kits like everyone else lol and it's time to rewire my stuff because my fogs are acting stupid. Always have been.

I want everything near seamless, keeping all four ballast "assemblies" next to the under-hood fuse box, and would adapt the wiring to do this (all HID kits' and my f-body's). I'm even replacing the OEM bulb connectors with H4s (I have H4 HID bulbs). I've dissected plenty wrecked LS1 f-body wiring harnesses, so I have a pretty good understanding of what color wire runs where, and have several feet of every color wire GM could think to use in all sorts of gauges. If not, it's $15 / harness at my local junk yard.

It's just under 3 feet the from fuse box to the driver's side head light connector, and just under 5.5 to the passenger side. It's an additional 1.3 feet from each coupled connectors to the actual low-beam bulbs. I'll throw another 12 inches in for error around the fuse box...

8 feet of this crappy gauge wire is OK for halogens (barely), but what about HIDs? I've never worked with anything claiming to contain 23000 volts before. I'm assuming it works like all other electricity... thicker gauge = better. It'll definitely end up being longer for the passenger side fog light.

Everyone likes pics, so here's my latest donor's lighting harness (still mixed in with ECU wires):

VIP1

Don't extend the ballast output wires to 8ft. There will probably be enough voltage drop over that distance to cause issues. Gauge isn't the only factor with power, distance also comes into play. Also with that kind of voltage, you need to make sure everything is insulated very well (stagger the splices to give extra distance between the positive/negative splices).

Just build a relay harness and keep the ballasts near the headlights. ALL OEM setups have a short cable between the bulb and ballast with the ballast near or attached to the headlight.

The relay harness will be triggered by the stock wiring and use thicker gauge to get power from the battery and supply it to the ballasts.


Here is the relay harness I built for my car:

If i remember correctly, the stock headlight wire gauge is 18 AWG and the wires I used are 14 AWG. All connections are crimped, soldered, and heat-shrunk.


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More info and pics in the thread:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...ty-pics-2.html

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

Thanks! I've been thinking about this all day and did some more research online, and 8ft didn't seem so bright in the end I'll find a way to mount the ballasts directly on the headlight bracket.

VIP1

You can mount the ballasts on the front frame below then headlights. That's a nice horizontal flat spot for them.

You can see one of my ballasts in this pic (silver box on left under headlight)



You can also mount them to that section of frame leading to that spot.

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

Thanks for the suggestion! I had the low-beam ballasts there till they stopped sticking with the supplied double-sided foam/tape... now they just dangle and smack around on things. Oy! I'd like to bolt them down this time around.

Do you or does anyone know whether the 5-cavity wiring harness connector for both headlight assembles found in Firebirds / Formulas / Trans Ams is in fact of the MetriPack 280 variety? Up close, it looks like the 5-cavity on Ag-Direct, but I want to be 100% sure before I buy a one-hundred male/female terminals.





agdirectusa (left) vs my harness (right)

VIP1

I'm not sure if its the same connector.

Regarding the ballasts not sticking, my are sticking fine with Industrial / Auto Velcro.

I didn't use the supplied double-sided foam because I figured it would break down over time and fail. I bought some 3"x4" pieces of Industrial / Auto Velcro in a package from Home Depot. To make sure it stuck well, I heated up the sticky side of the Velcro until it shined using a heat gun (only takes a few seconds), then applied one piece of Velcro to the ballast and the mating piece of Velcro to the car. After applied to their respective surfaces, I waited for both halves to cool before mating them. Its holding strong after a few years and I drive my car in the winter (as evidenced by the filthy engine bay picture taken in the winter). I also have newer / smaller / lighter digital ballasts and that is how they are attached.

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

I'll look into the velcro again. It surely sounds easier and simpler than trying to fabricate a bracket or something. I have some somewhere...

Also, my order of 50 male (#31074) and 50 female (#31075) MetriPack 280 terminals from Waytek arrived today, and they definitely fit nicely into the headlight connectors... so yes: MetriPack 280 series! Here's a picture of the fit, and the size difference in gauge. I hope this upgrade does the trick!!





Now, for a better low-beam HID cut-off without going retro-fit projector... I saw the blow picture here: http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f62/wa...4-97-a-424965/, which is better than I've seen from LMC Truck and the Bosch pieces I got from RallyLights. But now if only I can find a 92mm x 150mm unit.

VIP1

That reflector pic appears controlled, but has poor width.

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

Just updating my thread with what I ended up doing and progress pics in case anyone's interested...

The fog lights (purple), low beams (yellow), and high beams (green) were given 12 ga. wiring. Taking the low & high beam wiring from a junked LT1-style Camaro made it easier as they were already the correct lengths and crimped!

On the passenger side, I removed the original source ground wire and replaced it with two 12 ga. wires that lead directly to the fog light connector and high / low beam connector. High and lows are sharing like stock, but this time a much larger gauge. The horn, DRL, and side marker also tap into those two 12 ga. wires, and they're all crimped together and sealed, similar to OEM (goop & heat shrink tubing). The last ground... some 24 ga.? wire that runs to the ignition relay, like 5 feet away ...was relocated nearer to the fuse boxes, on the ABS grounding bolt.

On the driver side, I kept the original source ground wire (in addition to lighting, it grounds the air pump, windshield washer pump, radiator fans, and more ****) and cut away the grounds for the lights. Grounds for the lights were done like the passenger side: two additional 12 ga. wires going directly to the fog light connector and high / low beam connector, with the DRL and side marker tapping in.

Ballasts were taped to the back side of the headlight brackets.

Temporarily, till I have another free weekend, no additional relays are being used, all 12 ga. wires plug into factory wires (yes, this nearly doubles the wire lengths). I did give the fog light relay a 15 amp fused battery source. The fuse boxes had have several openings.

Despite being incomplete, I'm astonished how wonderfully my HIDs are behaving -- no flickering, all lights stay on all the time, and they seem to match better in color too. I got 6000K lows, and 4500K fogs. None of them looked the same color before.

The best part is my car's miraculous electrical issue recovery. It's cranking over faster and harder, the horn blows stronger, the alternator is doing its job again (13+V vs. low 12V), my lights don't dim when I tape the brake. I only cleaned up the two grounds that I had to unscrew... those next to the head lights.



This was very time consuming, and I definitely need to do this over again, except I want to address the entire rest of the engine bay wiring. And... it would have been easier with the radiator, ABS block, and engine removed.

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

Also, I eliminated the HID kits' "middle-man" wire (the one that goes between the ballast and the factory light connector) by installing a Metri-Pack 280 bulb connector directly onto my new wiring. The whole stick-the-spade-into-the-connector bit for the fog lights is really ghetto to me. It also rid me of extraneous wires.

In the picture below, you can see where I replaced the factory's black connector.