HID FAQ Guide

[littleblazer]

That's what I was lookin at. Mine didn't cuz Ryan just ordered the projectors and bulbs not the whole set. They give free high beam splitters if you get the whole thing.

Those work good for you?

Yea they're fine. The pigtail high beam plug is a little larger than the regular, so you have to force the halogen in place a little. Being you have leds that shouldn't be an issue. To be honest you can achieve the same thing by just splicing the cutoff wire into the high beam wiring. It just makes removal a little harder, but that's literally all it is.

 

[dmanns67]

So I took headlights out to try and hook up the LED high beams and I don't know how to hook up the high beam on the passenger side without getting a hi-beam splitter? The driver side I was able to hook up, but the passenger side did not have any extra plugs to use.

How did you hook yours up?

Also, I thought the issue that TRS had with the backwards diodes was with the correctional splitters and not the hi-beam splitters?

I apologize. I worded my post incorrectly. The hi beam splitter that I was referring to was TRS's CORRECTIONAL hi beam splitters. My bad. Since you have bi-xenon projectors, you will need a basic hi beam splitter for each headlight. Factory hi beam plugs into the female end, projector solenoid plugs into one male end and the other male end can plug into whatever you are going to run in the hi beams. Below is a link for what you need.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/harnesses/high-beam-splitters.html#.VY3QGzd0zIU

 

[Sib]

I apologize. I worded my post incorrectly. The hi beam splitter that I was referring to was TRS's CORRECTIONAL hi beam splitters. My bad. Since you have bi-xenon projectors, you will need a basic hi beam splitter for each headlight. Factory hi beam plugs into the female end, projector solenoid plugs into one male end and the other male end can plug into whatever you are going to run in the hi beams. Below is a link for what you need.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/harnesses/high-beam-splitters.html#.VY3QGzd0zIU

It's all good. I figured you just got mixed up between the two.

Those are the ones I was looking at. I will order a couple of dem puppies. They are cheap.

Thank you Dave and LB.

 

[triz]

Anyone have any pics of how they sealed the back with the rubber caps? I was going to cut it carefully to fit over the h1 bulb.

 

[Blckshdw]

The ballast connections for the D2S bulbs on my quad retro sat right in the sweet spot where the caps would cover. Only way I could make them fit was to have cutouts in the shape of the connector (too much work) so I just skipped the caps altogether and ran them with all 4 wide open.

Never had an issue with dust or moisture, so I don't think you have to be very careful with your cuts. As long as you can get the caps on, and the wires through, you'll be fine.

 

[Sparky]

I don't even have the rubber caps over my low beam bulb area. There was no way to make it fit and I never got around to getting aftermarket deep covers. No issues in 2 years.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

 

[Daniel644]

HIDs are great compared to halogen, but they are even better when they are in a projector.

My wife said the same thing McSteven said about being addicting. She drove my TB and seen how much better she can see at night then asked me to install HIDs in her F-150. Stock lighting in the F-150 is about as bad as the TB/Voy, they made a huge difference especially after replacing her stock headlights that had a flute lens to ones with a clear lens.

I know it's a year late, but hey I wasn't here then, LOL. if you or anyone else think the headlights on a Trailblazer suck you should try driving a 98-02 Firebird with stock sealed beam headlights, hell even after the LMC housing upgrade they are still crap compared to the stock lighting of a trailblazer. wouldn't you agree Paul Bellhttp://gmtnation.com/forums/user/12635-paul-bell/

 

[Sparky]

Sealed beams in general suck. Fluted lenses are sub-par anymore, then combine that with a tiny housing and, well... yeah.

 

[littleblazer]

Something that's bothering me that I would imagine shouldn't be an issue... My passengers side keeps creeping down. Anyone else have to adjust their lights every other week? It's getting annoying... I just wanna glue it in place lol.

 

[DAlastDON]

If you go that that route. Try RTV first. Not quite as permanent.

 

[dmanns67]

Something that's bothering me that I would imagine shouldn't be an issue... My passengers side keeps creeping down. Anyone else have to adjust their lights every other week? It's getting annoying... I just wanna glue it in place lol.

My passenger side started doing the same thing early this summer. I eventually reached a point that my vertical adjuster would not move my beam up or down from having to adjust the beam so many times. You can definitely tell when it drops since we both have projectors since the cutoff no longer lines up with the driver's side cut off.

I think Carlton had the same issue with the vertical adjustment breaking off. Since my vertical adjustment stopped working for the passenger side, I used a bolt that sits in between the header panel and the backside of the headlight, at the base, to angle it up so that the cutoff of the passenger side matches that of the driver's side.

Are you running DEPO brand headlights?

 

[littleblazer]

My passenger side started doing the same thing early this summer. I eventually reached a point that my vertical adjuster would not move my beam up or down from having to adjust the beam so many times. You can definitely tell when it drops since we both have projectors since the cutoff no longer lines up with the driver's side cut off.

I think Carlton had the same issue with the vertical adjustment breaking off. Since my vertical adjustment stopped working for the passenger side, I used a bolt that sits in between the header panel and the backside of the headlight, at the base, to angle it up so that the cutoff of the passenger side matches that of the driver's side.

Are you running DEPO brand headlights?

Yea they're depo. I'm thinking of using hot glue to secure the adjuster. It's really quite annoying.

 

[dmanns67]

Yea they're depo. I'm thinking of using hot glue to secure the adjuster. It's really quite annoying.

I am running DEPO as well. Might be an issue with their passenger side headlights. I doubt you would notice if you were running halogens.

I too thought the adjuster was moving as well allowing the beam to drift down, but after securing it, the passenger side cutoff still drifted down. Issue is inside the headlight with the part that actually moves the reflector housing.

You can try to secure the adjuster, but might end up having to open your headlight to repair the issue.

@Blckshdw I think Carlton experienced the same issue and had pics of the broken adjuster inside the headlight in one of his threads. Maybe his retrofit thread

 

[littleblazer]

I am running DEPO as well. Might be an issue with their passenger side headlights. I doubt you would notice if you were running halogens.
It's only been happening since I raised them a bit. It gets to this point and just st
I too thought the adjuster was moving as well allowing the beam to drift down, but after securing it, the passenger side cutoff still drifted down. Issue is inside the headlight with the part that actually moves the reflector housing.

You can try to secure the adjuster, but might end up having to open your headlight to repair the issue.

@Blckshdw I think Carlton experienced the same issue and had pics of the broken adjuster inside the headlight in one of his threads. Maybe his retrofit thread

I am running DEPO as well. Might be an issue with their passenger side headlights. I doubt you would notice if you were running halogens.

I too thought the adjuster was moving as well allowing the beam to drift down, but after securing it, the passenger side cutoff still drifted down. Issue is inside the headlight with the part that actually moves the reflector housing.

You can try to secure the adjuster, but might end up having to open your headlight to repair the issue.

@Blckshdw I think Carlton experienced the same issue and had pics of the broken adjuster inside the headlight in one of his threads. Maybe his retrofit thread

Its just after the last time I raised them. It goes to the point it's at and stays there... I really don't want to open them up again lol. If I go a little high it stays high... which is weird.

 

[dmanns67]

Its just after the last time I raised them. It goes to the point it's at and stays there... I really don't want to open them up again lol. If I go a little high it stays high... which is weird.

That is strange. Yeah I dis not want to open mine up either which is why I just shimmed the entire headlight up. Cutoff has not moved since. Hopefully you have better luck.

 

[Blckshdw]

@Blckshdw I think Carlton experienced the same issue and had pics of the broken adjuster inside the headlight in one of his threads. Maybe his retrofit thread

In my case, it wasn't the adjuster that broke, but the stationary ball joint below the adjuster, that sits between the low and high beams, that snapped off. So anytime I was idling, the passenger side cutoff would shake. Man that was distracting.

 

[littleblazer]

In my case, it wasn't the adjuster that broke, but the stationary ball joint below the adjuster, that sits between the low and high beams, that snapped off. So anytime I was idling, the passenger side cutoff would shake. Man that was distracting.

That's what happened to my oems.

 

[Blckshdw]

That's what happened to my oems.

These were OEM headlights as well. I tried to JB Weld the piece back on, but it wouldn't hold. When I goofed up and had to pull the reflector bowl off to change something on my retro, the piece broke back off again. It was suggested to drill out the broken mount, and use a machine screw to hold it in, but by then I can gotten a replacement headlight from a junk yard.

 

[littleblazer]

These were OEM headlights as well. I tried to JB Weld the piece back on, but it wouldn't hold. When I goofed up and had to pull the reflector bowl off to change something on my retro, the piece broke back off again. It was suggested to drill out the broken mount, and use a machine screw to hold it in, but by then I can gotten a replacement headlight from a junk yard.

Every little bump the reflector used to bounce. I was so glad when I did the retro... the shaking at stop lights was very annoying.

 

[littleblazer]

I think I need to try one thing before I contact TRS. By moving the ground on my passengers ballast and grounding it at the same point as the drivers side I thought I had fixed my mis-fire. But last night it simply didn't fire. Only when it's cold will it do it sometimes. I'll swap the bulbs first and then the igniters. Anything else I should check? Also when it happens I get a ton of rfi through the radio, it sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. And it has done this pretty much since I've done the retro. Granted only in the winter and only sometimes.

 

[Blckshdw]

Anything else I should check?

You can also check the outputs from your relay harness, to rule out a bad connector there. For that, I'd just swap ballasts, if the bulb and igniter swap has no change.

 

[littleblazer]

You can also check the outputs from your relay harness, to rule out a bad connector there. For that, I'd just swap ballasts, if the bulb and igniter swap has no change.

Alright. If it follows the ballast... I know what to do.

 

[NateDG]

I don't know if this will help anyone but I managed to convert an XBOX 360 (original) power supply into a bench test power supply for my HID stuff. I prefer blinding myself in the comfort of my living room rather than the parking lot of where I live...

 

[Mounce]

Surprising that brick can kick out the amperage required to fire one.

 

[NateDG]

Surprising that brick can kick out the amperage required to fire one.

16.5 amps seemed like enough I thought.

 

[Mounce]

Daaang sure didn't know those put out that much power.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Hi everyone. So I wanted to do the capacitor mod ONLY on my TB to have the low beams on at 100% Power with the perimeter lighting. I couldn't find a specific thread for it hence I am posting here. If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be much appreciated.

Anyho, the procedure I believe would involve splicing the PINK/WHITE wire from the Gray connector in the BCM and attaching the positive end of the capacitor while the negative end goes to ground?!?!

I also got the capacitor and there are two different ones, does it matter which one I use and how do I determine which is positive and negative end?

These are the two different capacitors :




Thanks

 

[Mounce]

Right. Splice positive leg into pink/white (don't cut the wire) and ground the negative. Negative is denoted with a grey stripe marked - - - for negative (bottom of both in the pics). Either one of those caps will work.

 

[dmanns67]

I personally used the 10uF 35v capacitor. Another way to figure out positive and negative on the capacitor is the long leg (wire) is always positive.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Thanks guys. Just one more thing. What is the preferable way to splice the wire?

I can't get those wire taps here and some people have complained that they are not really great.

Would a razor or a cutter be a good method of splicing the wire. Cause we are not supposed to cut it right!

Thanks a bunch

 

[Mounce]

Strip a spot on the wire and solder it in.

 

[kkeo211]

I need a little advice. My 03 Envoy is now my secondary ride and I only use it to go hunting or fishing which is like once a month. When driving in the back woods the OEM lights are awful so I'd like to upgrade them to either HID or LED.

I'm thinking about the following kits.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems/morimoto-elite-hid-system-9006.html#reviews

or

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VNBDOV2/?tag=gmtnation-20


I've read almost every post in this thread and have a few questions.
1. My Envoy does not have DRL - It does have the light sensor but in the day, my headlights are not on and when I lock/unlock no head lights bling, just my turn signals. I assume I don't have to do the CAP mod.
2. It looks like the TRS Morimoto kit comes with everything I need
3. The LED kit seems to be plug and play, does anyone have experience with them or other LED bulbs.

At the end of the day, because I only drive the Envoy once a month or so, I don't need lights that are crazy bright, just something better than my OEM bulbs.

Thanks for the help!!!!

 

[littleblazer]

I need a little advice. My 03 Envoy is now my secondary ride and I only use it to go hunting or fishing which is like once a month. When driving in the back woods the OEM lights are awful so I'd like to upgrade them to either HID or LED.

I'm thinking about the following kits.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems/morimoto-elite-hid-system-9006.html#reviews

or

http://www.amazon.com/OPT7-Headlight-Bulbs-Clear-Arc-Beam/dp/B00VNBDOV2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461941928&sr=8-1&keywords=envoy+led+headlight&refinements=p_72:2661618011


I've read almost every post in this thread and have a few questions.
1. My Envoy does not have DRL - It does have the light sensor but in the day, my headlights are not on and when I lock/unlock no head lights bling, just my turn signals. I assume I don't have to do the CAP mod.
2. It looks like the TRS Morimoto kit comes with everything I need
3. The LED kit seems to be plug and play, does anyone have experience with them or other LED bulbs.

At the end of the day, because I only drive the Envoy once a month or so, I don't need lights that are crazy bright, just something better than my OEM bulbs.

Thanks for the help!!!!

So it sounds like someone may have disabled drls already. The drls are only on when you are in drive too. The morimoto kit will have everything you need but I really don't see the need to spend that much for putting them in reflector housings. A regular kit would be fine for that. But if you're planning a retro down the road then it may work.

 

[dmanns67]

I need a little advice. My 03 Envoy is now my secondary ride and I only use it to go hunting or fishing which is like once a month. When driving in the back woods the OEM lights are awful so I'd like to upgrade them to either HID or LED.

I'm thinking about the following kits.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems/morimoto-elite-hid-system-9006.html#reviews

or

http://www.amazon.com/OPT7-Headlight-Bulbs-Clear-Arc-Beam/dp/B00VNBDOV2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461941928&sr=8-1&keywords=envoy+led+headlight&refinements=p_72:2661618011


I've read almost every post in this thread and have a few questions.
1. My Envoy does not have DRL - It does have the light sensor but in the day, my headlights are not on and when I lock/unlock no head lights bling, just my turn signals. I assume I don't have to do the CAP mod.
2. It looks like the TRS Morimoto kit comes with everything I need
3. The LED kit seems to be plug and play, does anyone have experience with them or other LED bulbs.

At the end of the day, because I only drive the Envoy once a month or so, I don't need lights that are crazy bright, just something better than my OEM bulbs.

Thanks for the help!!!!

Between HID and LED in stock reflector housings, I would stick with HIDs. They will provide a more uniform beam pattern and project light further than LEDs. The LED headlights do not provide 360* of light which causes the beam pattern to have hot spots, dim spots, and shadows. However, LED headlights are a great option for the high beams when combined with the quad headlight diode mod. This mod allows your low beams to stay on with your high beams. If you have fog light, you can do the 6hi diode mod. @Midnyteryder196 actually builds and sells both kits if you are interested. I would recommend the kit even if you stick with stock halogens headlights in the high beams.

with LB that it sounds like someone had already completed the DRL killer. Also, if you are driving the Voy once a month, the Morimoto kit is quite expensive, but the quality and warranty is there.

I ran a Kensun kit in the wife's F150 for a couple years and the kit performed well. They also sell a relay harness separately. You can also mix and match to save cash. I have heard the FastBright ballasts perform well combined with Morimoto's 9006 HID bulbs. The FastBright ballasts are about a quarter of the price compared to the Morimotos.

 

[kkeo211]

Thanks for the help and advice!!!!

Does every Envoy have DRL? I've had this Envoy since 2005 and it's an 03 so I don't think anyone has killed them already, but I could be wrong.

I thought about the Kensun kit but was not sure if they were cheap or not.
It looks like the Kensun kit + anti flicker + relay run $77 bucks which is half the cost of the TRS. I probably won't get these until hunting season so I have another couple months to make up my mind.

 

[dmanns67]

Thanks for the help and advice!!!!

Does every Envoy have DRL? I've had this Envoy since 2005 and it's an 03 so I don't think anyone has killed them already, but I could be wrong.

I thought about the Kensun kit but was not sure if they were cheap or not.
It looks like the Kensun kit + anti flicker + relay run $77 bucks which is half the cost of the TRS. I probably won't get these until hunting season so I have another couple months to make up my mind.

As far as I know, every GMT360/370 came with DRLs. If your low beams do not come on during the day when you put the vehicle into gear, then I would have to assume a previous owner killed the DRLs.

Like I mentioned earlier, the Kensun kit worked well for me. They also offer a 2 year warranty on their kits as well in case there is an issue.

Save your money on the "warning canceler"/"anti flicker" device. It is not necessary nor is it needed to run HIDs on our platform. Its intended purpose to to prevent "bulb out" warnings you would get on the dash in Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc. The other function is to smooth out the AC of the DRLs.

The cap mod or DRL killer is a much more reliable and cheaper investment than one of those "anti flicker" devices. Just buy the relay harness and HID kit, you will be good.

 

[kkeo211]

As far as I know, every GMT360/370 came with DRLs. If your low beams do not come on during the day when you put the vehicle into gear, then I would have to assume a previous owner killed the DRLs.

Like I mentioned earlier, the Kensun kit worked well for me. They also offer a 2 year warranty on their kits as well in case there is an issue.

Save your money on the "warning canceler"/"anti flicker" device. It is not necessary nor is it needed to run HIDs on our platform. Its intended purpose to to prevent "bulb out" warnings you would get on the dash in Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc. The other function is to smooth out the AC of the DRLs.

The cap mod or DRL killer is a much more reliable and cheaper investment than one of those "anti flicker" devices. Just buy the relay harness and HID kit, you will be good.

Thanks, I may go with the Kensuns then as they seem to offer the best value.

 

[Midnyteryder196]

Thanks david for the mention! kensuns are a good choice, ive ran them for 2 years now, and just recently went to a projector retrofit, but still running the kensun ballasts.. highly recommend the quad beam mod when runnning hid lows, and especially if running alot of back country roads.
lil comparison shot.. top kensun 6000k lows, bottom quads with halogen highs.


And yes previous owner had done the drl kill already it sounds like, as you said the headlights dont come on when unlocking, just the park lamps.. sounds just like mine did when i had the drl kill before i swapped to my fog drl..

so just get the kensun 9006 kit, and a relay kit if you want, and will be golden..

 

[littleblazer]

I am not entirely sure if it was discussed here or elsewhere but IIRC someone had issues with rfi and ballasts... well a few weeks ago was the first time I drove with the headlights and radio on and noticed it well stunk. Shut off the lights and it came back so I guess that's the problem. I'm gonna check the grounds everywhere but I think I'm going to need some filtering on the leads.