9-7x: Replacing stock HID ballasts and bulbs cheaper

Mooseman

Original poster
Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Although I'm not sure of other models in our platform, the Saab 9-7x has HID headlights from the factory. I just bought a 2006 and both were not working. 12V was getting to the connectors so it was either the bulbs or ballasts. The previous owner tried swapping out the bulbs with his Vette's and they still didn't work so likely the ballasts are dead. Looked up some parts, found some used ballasts on eBay for $172 (they're also used on the Cadillac DTS) but used parts at this price can be risky. New ones online vary between $255 and $408 each!

There had to be a cheaper option. Searched through eBay and found a kit that looked like it would fit the rectangular hole at the bottom of the housing and the price was right with the included bulbs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161090744305?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D161090744305%26_rdc%3D1

$T2eC16NHJF0E9nmFQinLBRDf3Bf)y!~~60_57.JPG$(KGrHqFHJEoFD0PVlgOrBRDf3CN2m!~~60_57.JPG

Now to make them work and fit in the stock housing.

First, remove the cap and take out the bulb by unhooking the two clips. It may be necessary to unplug the wire from the bulb first because it is a tight fit between it and the housing. The good news is that the new wire with the kit will make it easier in the future to replace the bulb.

20141101_171146 (Large).jpg
20141101_171303 (Large).jpg

Then unscrew the stock ballast from the bottom of the headlight housing.

20141101_171320 (Large).jpg 20141101_171350 (Large).jpg

Remove both plugs from the ballast, remove the braided steel wire from the housing and discard both (unless it still works and want to pawn it off on eBay).

Cut off the black connector with the black and green wires in the housing and strip the ends. On the 12V supply wire to the new ballast, cut off the plug and strip the ends of the white and pink wires (cut off the black wire, it's not used).

20141101_172130 (Large).jpg 20141101_171854 (Large).jpg

Solder the black wire to the white wire and the green wire to the pink wire. Use heat shrink tubing.

20141101_172355.jpg 20141101_172456 (Large).jpg

Now here comes the fun part. As you may have noticed or tried to fit the new ballast in the hole, it's just oh so slightly longer so the hole will need to be enlarged to allow the ballast to fit in there. But there is also a screw nub that also in the way of the new ballast so cut/snap it off, as circled in the pic.

Screenshot - 01_11_2014 , 10_57_53 PM.jpg

A before and after shot of the hole. I first used a knife to whittle away at it but it was slow and dangerous. The other headlight I used a Dremel. Much cleaner and quicker job. Just be sure to tuck the wire and connector out of the way in the housing to not damage it.

20141101_172750 (Large).jpg 20141101_190342 (Large).jpg

Now you're probably thinking "I'm gonna have to remove that seal on the new ballast because it won't fit and use silicone to seal the hole". Not so fast. If you leave the seal on, it will slip right over the housing's lip and form a perfect seal. No silicone required. Don't forget to connect the 12V supply to the ballast as well as the bulb wire and thread it into the housing and out the other hole for the bulb.

20141101_190921 (Large).jpg

Now secure the ballast to the housing using the screws supplied with the kit. Just screw straight down and into the housing until snug. It will not go down all the way onto the housing and that's fine. (Sorry, this is the only pic I have)

Screenshot - 01_11_2014 , 11_17_55 PM.jpg Screenshot - 01_11_2014 , 11_15_29 PM.jpg

The rest I don't have pics for (sorry). Plug the bulb onto the connector and install the new bulb into the housing, same as the original, except this new wire makes it a whole lot easier to clear the housing and put it in straight into it's receptacle. Re-hook the two retaining clips and stuff the excess wire into the housing. Put the cap back on and install on the truck.

As far as the bulb colour temperature selection, I used 4300k, which is the same as stock. It is the brightest and whitest with just a slight hint of blue. You can choose whatever colour you want but the higher the k, the more blue it is and less bright. If you want more blue without losing too much light output, 5000k would be a good choice.

Hope this helps somebody with their HID headlights.

And I don't know why, this thumbnail is here and I can't get rid of it. If a mod can get rid of it, it would be nice (and this message).
 

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Mooseman

Original poster
Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Update revival. After 3 years, one of the lights died. Not sure if it's the bulb or ballast but I'm replacing them all. They were flaky from day 1 especially when cold outside. Sometimes one or both wouldn't fire until warmed up a bit. And I was never satisfied with the light output. I just ordered this kit from fleabay for 55w 5000k HID's instead of the stock 35w 4300k. The ballasts are the same type as the previous kit so should be a direct swap. I also have to polish the lenses again.
 

jsheahawk

Member
Jan 16, 2013
533
Kansas City
Update revival. After 3 years, one of the lights died. Not sure if it's the bulb or ballast but I'm replacing them all. They were flaky from day 1 especially when cold outside. Sometimes one or both wouldn't fire until warmed up a bit. And I was never satisfied with the light output. I just ordered this kit from fleabay for 55w 5000k HID's instead of the stock 35w 4300k. The ballasts are the same type as the previous kit so should be a direct swap. I also have to polish the lenses again.
Can you not throw LED's behind the lenses?
 

Mooseman

Original poster
Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
I'm not entirely convinced that LED's can match the output of HID, and certainly not the light pattern. Another problem is the cap that can't be closed to seal out the lens from the elements with LED's, either because of a fan or even with a flexible heat sink, may overheat or damage the housing without air circulation. Some of the ones I looked at on eBay for D1S housing/bulb had some crazy wattage.
 

Mooseman

Original poster
Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Received the 55w kit. Looked it over and there are some discrepancies. The ballasts says low/high switchable 45/65w but the bulbs are 35w. So are they overdriven? Anyway, either today or tomorrow, I'll install them and hope to do a comparison. There's a third wire on the plug. Wonder if that's for the HI. I'll have to experiment first. The Chinglish instructions are of no help as they are for other bulb and ballast types.

img_20171222_125450_resized1503676461-jpg.82627


IMG_20171222_135639_resized386123637.jpg IMG_20171222_135712_resized1745534203.jpg
 

Mooseman

Original poster
Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Well, got them in today. Man what a difference! See this pic below between the left one, which is new, and the right which is barely visible. This was taken at dusk.

IMG_20171225_163333_resized-619177606.jpg

The new kit came with a defective ballast to bulb wire. The ones from the old kit were of better quality so kept those. And I wired the white wire to the new ballasts from the + of the high beams at the bulb plug. It increases the HID's light output ever so slightly. Is it worth it? Meh because it gets washed out by the high beams and they have a slight flicker when the highs are turned off and they come back to normal wattage.

BTW, the old bulb had burned out, the ballast was fine. These are much better as they don't flicker off during engine cranking. Will the bulbs suffer being overdriven like this? I don't know. Time will tell. Maybe next time LED's will have improved and prices as well.

I also took the opportunity to aim by fog lights.
 

ChevyNut

Member
Dec 26, 2015
1
Tampa
Although I'm not sure of other models in our platform, the Saab 9-7x has HID headlights from the factory. I just bought a 2006 and both were not working. 12V was getting to the connectors so it was either the bulbs or ballasts. The previous owner tried swapping out the bulbs with his Vette's and they still didn't work so likely the ballasts are dead. Looked up some parts, found some used ballasts on eBay for $172 (they're also used on the Cadillac DTS) but used parts at this price can be risky. New ones online vary between $255 and $408 each!

There had to be a cheaper option. Searched through eBay and found a kit that looked like it would fit the rectangular hole at the bottom of the housing and the price was right with the included bulbs.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338077216&icep_item=161090744305

View attachment 60839View attachment 60840

Now to make them work and fit in the stock housing.

First, remove the cap and take out the bulb by unhooking the two clips. It may be necessary to unplug the wire from the bulb first because it is a tight fit between it and the housing. The good news is that the new wire with the kit will make it easier in the future to replace the bulb.

View attachment 60841
View attachment 60842

Then unscrew the stock ballast from the bottom of the headlight housing.

View attachment 60843 View attachment 60844

Remove both plugs from the ballast, remove the braided steel wire from the housing and discard both (unless it still works and want to pawn it off on eBay).

Cut off the black connector with the black and green wires in the housing and strip the ends. On the 12V supply wire to the new ballast, cut off the plug and strip the ends of the white and pink wires (cut off the black wire, it's not used).

View attachment 60845 View attachment 60846

Solder the black wire to the white wire and the green wire to the pink wire. Use heat shrink tubing.

View attachment 60847 View attachment 60848

Now here comes the fun part. As you may have noticed or tried to fit the new ballast in the hole, it's just oh so slightly longer so the hole will need to be enlarged to allow the ballast to fit in there. But there is also a screw nub that also in the way of the new ballast so cut/snap it off, as circled in the pic.

View attachment 60850

A before and after shot of the hole. I first used a knife to whittle away at it but it was slow and dangerous. The other headlight I used a Dremel. Much cleaner and quicker job. Just be sure to tuck the wire and connector out of the way in the housing to not damage it.

View attachment 60852 View attachment 60853

Now you're probably thinking "I'm gonna have to remove that seal on the new ballast because it won't fit and use silicone to seal the hole". Not so fast. If you leave the seal on, it will slip right over the housing's lip and form a perfect seal. No silicone required. Don't forget to connect the 12V supply to the ballast as well as the bulb wire and thread it into the housing and out the other hole for the bulb.

View attachment 60854

Now secure the ballast to the housing using the screws supplied with the kit. Just screw straight down and into the housing until snug. It will not go down all the way onto the housing and that's fine. (Sorry, this is the only pic I have)

View attachment 60856 View attachment 60855

The rest I don't have pics for (sorry). Plug the bulb onto the connector and install the new bulb into the housing, same as the original, except this new wire makes it a whole lot easier to clear the housing and put it in straight into it's receptacle. Re-hook the two retaining clips and stuff the excess wire into the housing. Put the cap back on and install on the truck.

As far as the bulb colour temperature selection, I used 4300k, which is the same as stock. It is the brightest and whitest with just a slight hint of blue. You can choose whatever colour you want but the higher the k, the more blue it is and less bright. If you want more blue without losing too much light output, 5000k would be a good choice.

Hope this helps somebody with their HID headlights.

And I don't know why, this thumbnail is here and I can't get rid of it. If a mod can get rid of it, it would be nice (and this message).
I know it is an older thread, but I have some questions about the headlight lens removal. I came 1 tab to press at the top but I can't find any other tab to press to pull it the entire assembly. Could you tell me where it is or even better a pic of the tab locations? Thanks Mike
 

Mooseman

Original poster
Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
It's a little hidden but it's kinda tucked under the fender lip. It's in the owners manual.

9-7x Headlamp.jpg
 
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Martyelzz4

Member
Jan 3, 2013
67
Sprague, WA
Although I'm not sure of other models in our platform, the Saab 9-7x has HID headlights from the factory. I just bought a 2006 and both were not working. 12V was getting to the connectors so it was either the bulbs or ballasts. The previous owner tried swapping out the bulbs with his Vette's and they still didn't work so likely the ballasts are dead. Looked up some parts, found some used ballasts on eBay for $172 (they're also used on the Cadillac DTS) but used parts at this price can be risky. New ones online vary between $255 and $408 each!

There had to be a cheaper option. Searched through eBay and found a kit that looked like it would fit the rectangular hole at the bottom of the housing and the price was right with the included bulbs.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338077216&icep_item=161090744305

View attachment 60839View attachment 60840

Now to make them work and fit in the stock housing.

First, remove the cap and take out the bulb by unhooking the two clips. It may be necessary to unplug the wire from the bulb first because it is a tight fit between it and the housing. The good news is that the new wire with the kit will make it easier in the future to replace the bulb.

View attachment 60841
View attachment 60842

Then unscrew the stock ballast from the bottom of the headlight housing.

View attachment 60843 View attachment 60844

Remove both plugs from the ballast, remove the braided steel wire from the housing and discard both (unless it still works and want to pawn it off on eBay).

Cut off the black connector with the black and green wires in the housing and strip the ends. On the 12V supply wire to the new ballast, cut off the plug and strip the ends of the white and pink wires (cut off the black wire, it's not used).

View attachment 60845 View attachment 60846

Solder the black wire to the white wire and the green wire to the pink wire. Use heat shrink tubing.

View attachment 60847 View attachment 60848

Now here comes the fun part. As you may have noticed or tried to fit the new ballast in the hole, it's just oh so slightly longer so the hole will need to be enlarged to allow the ballast to fit in there. But there is also a screw nub that also in the way of the new ballast so cut/snap it off, as circled in the pic.

View attachment 60850

A before and after shot of the hole. I first used a knife to whittle away at it but it was slow and dangerous. The other headlight I used a Dremel. Much cleaner and quicker job. Just be sure to tuck the wire and connector out of the way in the housing to not damage it.

View attachment 60852 View attachment 60853

Now you're probably thinking "I'm gonna have to remove that seal on the new ballast because it won't fit and use silicone to seal the hole". Not so fast. If you leave the seal on, it will slip right over the housing's lip and form a perfect seal. No silicone required. Don't forget to connect the 12V supply to the ballast as well as the bulb wire and thread it into the housing and out the other hole for the bulb.

View attachment 60854

Now secure the ballast to the housing using the screws supplied with the kit. Just screw straight down and into the housing until snug. It will not go down all the way onto the housing and that's fine. (Sorry, this is the only pic I have)

View attachment 60856 View attachment 60855

The rest I don't have pics for (sorry). Plug the bulb onto the connector and install the new bulb into the housing, same as the original, except this new wire makes it a whole lot easier to clear the housing and put it in straight into it's receptacle. Re-hook the two retaining clips and stuff the excess wire into the housing. Put the cap back on and install on the truck.

As far as the bulb colour temperature selection, I used 4300k, which is the same as stock. It is the brightest and whitest with just a slight hint of blue. You can choose whatever colour you want but the higher the k, the more blue it is and less bright. If you want more blue without losing too much light output, 5000k would be a good choice.

Hope this helps somebody with their HID headlights.

And I don't know why, this thumbnail is here and I can't get rid of it. If a mod can get rid of it, it would be nice (and this message).
I'll keep this in mind, but right now I have 2 spare working factory bulbs & 2 spare ballasts..
 

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