Installed some HIDS on my '10 Prius

hawkmoon77, do you have any install pics? I'd (we'd) like to see the wiring setup.

 

I edited my last post with some new information regarding why I elected to not wire the ballast to the existing wiring.

I'll install this weekend and post my typical detailed description of the install.

 

Please do.
Include some nice detailed pics as well
You said you went with MobileHID, right?
What color temp did you get?

 

6,000 K. It is crisp white with a subtle blueish hue. Very bright, although I understand that the 5,000 K has more light output. The Toyota lenses keep the light well focused.

The install went great. I decided to wire it up to main power due to the starting current of 10amps. Couldn't be easier. There are two points under the hood that provide what i needed, and both of them were screw down terminal style bolts. The leads that come with the kit fit perfectly. No cutting, drilling, etc.

The install took me 30 minutes, except that the mounting of the ballasts, no joke, took me about 1.5 hours to figure out.

I came up with what I think was a great location. Easy to get to, but also out of sight. I did not bolt it in, i found that considering hte location, the zipties were fine. I took pics, and will post them soon.

 

Can't wait to see pics. If it's that easy I might go with this kit.

 

Now I can't decide which kit to get. Can anyone see any advantages / disadvantages to these to kits BESIDES price? Does a digital ballast make a difference?
Xetronic Digital Lighting System - H11 Type (pair) - DBXH11
OR
HID Light Conversion Kits - The best HID conversion kit resource!

 

i too am contemplating putting HID's in, especially after my last car came with them from the factory, I am afraid that the stock halogens on the prius just wont cut it. Has anyone heard anything about omni-x? I dont want to buy something that is crappy quality and will break.

 

Okay, below is a detailed history of what I did:

Part I - Replace Halogen Bulbs:

1. Removing the existing bulbs - I used a mini flashlight to get a good look at the bulb socket (the socket closest to the sides of the car, behind the lens). I reached in (when the bulbs were cool) and gave them a 90 degree turn. They'll only spin one way. Now that I had more slack on the bulb, I could remove the wiring harness and discard the bulb. I repeated this for the passanger side.

2. Installing the new bulbs - The kit comes with two bulbs, well protected. I gently pulled off the clear plastic housing, and removed the foam ring. I wore the included gloves and avoided touching the bulbs. I carefully inserted them into the hole, and spun them in the socket until I could feel that it was lined up right. I pushed fthem firmly in while spinning them 90 degrees. It regards some firmer pressure than the existing bulbs becuase the water resistant gasket is a bit more robust than the stock one.

Part II - Wiring it up

1 - Connecting the 12V+ line - The wiring harness has a big red wire on it with an "o" shaped end. I removed the cover on the fuse box. Next to the big white wire is a black plastic cover. I removed the clips and exposed a 2nd white wire, this one has a 10mm nut that holds it in place. I loosened the nut, slipped on the red wire, and tightened the nut. I ran the red wire down following the white wire and put the black plastic cover back on. I looped the red wire back up into the fusebox to put the inline fuse in the same box. See Pictures A and B.

2 - Connecting the ground wire - I removed the 10mm nut on the side of the engine compartment. The heavy black wire that comes with the kit already has the perfect size "o" connector on it. I slipped in under the bolt, and retightened it. See Picture C.

3 - Run the wires - I put the wires around the relay and tucked them under the metal support behind the headlight and ziptied in place. See Picture D. In that picture, Youll see the ground wire and the 12V+ wire. The remaining wires were neatly tucked under the metal and out of sight. The long wire, that goes to the other headlight continued across pictures F, G, and H. I used zip ties and attached to the other cable that runs in the same place. note that I looped it under the hood latch catch and ziptied it safely underneath.

Part III - Installing the ballasts

1. Next to the fise box there is a black plastic piece with a bit of cotton material on it. It is held in place with two clips. I used a small screwdriver to release the clips and removed. BEHIND the cover is a lot of room for a ballast. I positioned the ballast behind it, (using the included metal bracket) and drilledtwo small holes through the plastic cover where the zip ties are. I zip tied it in place, connected the ballast wires, put it back in place. Note that I did this with the fuse box cover off. When everything was back in place, I put the fuse box cover back on. See pictures E and H. Note that on the passanger side, I connected it in front of the plastic piece because there was more room, and frankly, i hadn't realized at the time that I could put it behind it. If I did it over again, I'd probably put it behind that cover as well.

2. Connect the wires from the ballast to the bulbs.

3. The original connector to the passanger headlight is not used.

4. The original headlight connector on the drivers side is used. it goes to the wire harness with the relay, and turns the relay on and off.

5. Double check all the wires are tucked away and zip tied, and that's it!

 

Awesome! Only where are the referenced pictures? Thanks for your great work, as always, hawkmoon!

 

I had the MobileHID kit on my Scion that I just sold. It was not the newer, digital ballasts that they are using - which are better.
I talked to Cliff, the owner, and he is a really nice and helpful guy. He was telling me the differences between the older ballasts and the newer, slimmer, digital ballasts. They appear to be all around better.

I can definitely suggest MobileHID from personal experience. Great quality products and great customer service.

edit - now that I'm looking at MobileHID's webpage for the first time in a long while, I'm realizing that you were referring to the other company when you said "digital."
I know that they DID switch to a digital ballast after I bought my kit about a year and a half ago... hopefully they are still using those.
If you're interested, message them and ask. Like I said, I used the ballasts that are pictured on their page (same ones hawkmoon has pictured), and they worked flawlessly for the year and a half that I had them.

 

Thanks for a great writeup. I put a different kit in this weekend and had a number of issues and wanted to check if you had the same ones.

1) I had to trim the base of the bulbs to get them to fit in the H11 sockets.

and

2) The lights just don't seem very bright.

Otherwise the kit was OK, I put the ballast down with heavy duty velcro. This kit didn't hook to the battery 12volt.

The company will take these back so I wanted to get a feeling from you if this kit fit without bulb modifications and if it is brighter than the stock low beams.

thanks,

 

Which kit did you get and what color temp? After hearing this I am really considering the MobileHID kit.

 

It is a 6000K kit. The light is pretty white but I guess I was expecting it to be brighter. I hesitate to name the company because they have been very helpful and are going to take the kit back. It is significantly less expensive than the MobileHID kit and doesn't connect to the battery. I'm thinking of getting the MobileHID kit (4300K) but wanted to make sure that the bulbs fit without modification. The rest of the kit looks like it is high quality. I hadn't wanted to get a kit that required a battery connection because I was thinking I would need to make a run all the way to the battery stupidily not remembering that the fuse box is under the hood.

 

Although the color gets whiter (and eventually bluer) the higher the Kelvin rating, it also gets less bright, so a 4300K lamp will be brighter than a 6000K lamp.

 

Why do you want 4300k now? I am considering either 4300k or 5000k. I want it to be very white.

 

I think 4300K puts out slightly more light than 5000K (about 5% from what I read). I decided on 5000K for no particularly good reason except that I bought some replacement bulbs for my high beams and they are supposed to be about 5000K. My stock high beams look pretty yellow.

 

If you want bright and white, I suggest going with 5000k.
I had 6000k in my last car, which I really liked.
They start off kinda blue/white, but after the first 10-15 seconds of heating up, they get a lot whiter. When warmed up, I'd say they were about 75% white / 25% blue. I thought it was a perfect mix... just my opinion, though.

 

They fit, but had heavier water proofing material on them, which required more pressure to push them in then the stock version. It did fit, and rotated a full 90 degrees.

They are brighter. Keep in mind that I got the 6,000 K kit, which is substantially less bright than the 5,000 K kit. Nonetheless, it is still brighter than stock.

 

Did the lamps have a metal socket or plastic?

I really messed out my hand getting the passenger side one in and out so hope they arent' too difficult. I looked at the side pieces that you put your ballast behind and I guess they must be sound proofing. I think that is a great place for the ballasts. Also is there a trick to get the black cap off of the 12V connector in the fuse box? It looks like it is hinged to rotate outward?

thanks,

 

There are two clips that you need to put a small screwdriver in to release. After that the cover moves up but is still attached to that hinge. A small tug pulls it straight up off the hinge. I was looking to see how Hawkmoon did his and was making sure everything was going to install easily. I am going on vacation this week but as soon as I get back I am going to order the MobileHID kit in 4300K.

One question. Can you tell the 4300K's are HID or do they look like bright halogen?