headlight conversion kits

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G_Body_Enthusiast

Royal Smart Person
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Feb 28, 2005
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Louisville, kentucky
if i run HIDs i only need 2. i hardly ever used high beams to begin with and with HIDs i doubt id ever need them at all.

that being said i think they have a kit that allows you to run a H4 hi/lo bulb, effectively giving you a lo and high beam but in one bulb. rendering the original high beams useless. which is ok by me, like i said, i hardly use them to begin with.

i'll have to double check that though.

yup they have bi-xenon bulb kits. plenty of them too. but look at what plugs into the housing, it looks bigger than a regular bulb...or the pics are lying and they fit in just like a regular H4 halogen bulb.

now im wondering which H4's these are wired for, the H4 halogen bulb or the H4 style sealed beam like our original headlights. i bet i'd have to pull the pins out if possible and move them around. not a huge deal i guess but knowing my luck i'll break them.
 

pontiacgp

blank
Mar 31, 2006
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Kitchener, Ontario
the bi-xenon bulbs fit the housing....I have 2 of the bi-xenion and 2 single xenon in my vehicle..
 

85_SS

G-Body Guru
Nov 6, 2005
683
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Ontario, Canada
I upgraded to H4's last winter - as mentioned above, H4's will be higher wattage and you will likely have to upgrade your harness to run them. Some have gotten away with the stock wiring, but most run into problems with the brights on (like I did) with the breaker in the headlight switch cycling on and off. Here's a thread on mcss.com with lots of info on the subject:

http://www.montecarloss.com/community/u ... Post523368

Here' some pics of mine (these were before the harness upgrade, so they are even brighter now):
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G_Body_Enthusiast

Royal Smart Person
Supporting Member
Feb 28, 2005
1,056
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Louisville, kentucky
I upgraded to H4's last winter - as mentioned above, H4's will be higher wattage and you will likely have to upgrade your harness to run them. Some have gotten away with the stock wiring, but most run into problems with the brights on (like I did) with the breaker in the headlight switch cycling on and off. Here's a thread on mcss.com with lots of info on the subject:

thats why if i do switch over i'll be using a kit with relays, they take the load off the wiring so your switch doesnt get too hot. thats why they use them for everything now, they take the loads off the switches and wiring.
 

andrewmp6

Master Mechanic
Sep 9, 2007
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My truck has the same kinda head lights.I use the glass style h4 off ebay with the relay kit.The plastic ones suck mine i had before fogged up and you need a relay or could have a fire.I just wonder how hard would it to get a hid kit with them.
 

G_Body_Enthusiast

Royal Smart Person
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Feb 28, 2005
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its rather easy to get a HID kit with a relay. you can find them on ebay all day long. i did a search for "HID H4 bixenon" because im figuring instead of using all 4 headlights i could just use two and have hi/lo's in the same housing. that way i only need a pair of housings, not 4. saves me a little change in the process.


i may not do this for some time but this is probably the way i would go.
 

85_SS

G-Body Guru
Nov 6, 2005
683
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Ontario, Canada
G_Body_Enthusiast said:
thats why if i do switch over i'll be using a kit with relays, they take the load off the wiring so your switch doesnt get too hot. thats why they use them for everything now, they take the loads off the switches and wiring.

The kits also provide a much better circuit and will usually offer brighter lights even on a stock system due to being connected directly to the battery rather than snaking through the cabin and engine compartment. Kind of surprising the factory headlights didn't operate off of relays really...

Fire technically shouldn't be an issue - the breaker in the headlight switch should trip before any wiring gets too hot to cause any damage... BUT, when you are talking about wiring that's nearly 25yo, it's better safe than sorry. I picked up my relay kit on ebay for ~$10 - cheap insurance and a better setup in the end.
 

Lawfree

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Apr 7, 2008
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Not sure if we are talking true HID lighting with the Ballast/Starter units
or the "quasi" HID which are just HP H4 bulbs with the true HID "look"
The H4 bulbs have a three prong plug but the wires will have to be switched from what is used for the regular sealed beams. I would definitely run headlight relays on these High Output bulbs. I use a nice fused 2 circuit unit in a metal box from J. C. Whitney (believe it or not) and it's better quality than the the cheap Bosch type relays. In fact if you measure the voltage to you headlights (with or without the eng. running) you will see there is a large voltage drop by the time the power goes to the headlight switch in the dash and then back out to the headlight Harness. It was reading about 9.5 VDC on my 80' Cutlass before installing the relays. GM did this intentionally (brake tail/lights are the same way) to increase bulb life. Just adding the relay and some high quality Quartz Halogen sealed beams will make a huge improvemnet and keep you car legal too.
 

455cutt82

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Nov 4, 2009
33
0
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pcola fl
i was thinking of doing this on my 84 cutlass front end and was looking but could not find a dfinitive answer anyone got any help
 

patmckinneyracing

Royal Smart Person
Jan 18, 2009
2,021
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San Antonio, TX
I bought the same set up off ebay. They are called "projectors" and I only paid 30-40$ for them. I just plugged up the origional headlight harness and have not had a problem since. Definately is a helluva lot brighter than halogens and well worth the expenditure. These are not HID conversions, but come with the complete housing and bulbs and are well worth the price and can compare to an HID headlight. Also put a pair in our 1985 dodge d150 prospector, since it uses the exact same headlight as my malibu and they work just as great. I just opted for the blue lense, but make sure you don't get the housing that has the black coating on the inside, go with chrome. If you get the black ones, you won't see a thing.
 
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