LED vs HID Headlights on 2003 Vibe

[sideswipe29]

Hello Genvibe forums. I'm new to the forums and this is my first post. I own a 2003 Pontiac Vibe and I have some questions about changing the headlights.

While the stock halogens aren't bad I want to update my car and just make it look better. I really dislike the yellow glow that the halogens give and want to switch to an "ice blue/white" glow that I've seen on other newer cars.

So my question is where should I look? From the research I've done it appears that 6000k HID (Xenon) lights would give me the blueish white I'm looking for but how hard is it to install those into my car and would they also fit into my fog lamps as well? And would I have to get a really expensive kit in order for them to work properly. I'm only 17 and I'm looking to get a job this summer but even then, I don't have a lot of cash to burn.

I guess those are all of my questions. Any advice will be greatly appreciated and if I didn't explain something well enough I'll try to explain it better.

[whitealltrac]

It is very easy to exchange the halogen bulbs to HID

You can get the Headlight bulbs and the fog lights sets for $40.00 shipped!

Go to this ebay link and buy a pair of H4 hid I would say 6000k and a pair of 9006 for the fogs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390883328013?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Remember not to touch the glass on the bulbs with your plain hands or dirty rags because it will diminish the life of the bulb.

Go to youtube follow what this guy says to replace the bulbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMbS8D83wao

good luck!

[ImUrOBGYN]

May have to check those links out myself. Thanks.

Pro tip: I like to use powderless latex gloves when I work on my car; hate gloves. Even the thinnest mechanic gloves feel too bulky to me. (Note that latex gloves are not all created equal! So, if you have a brand that tears too easily, try another. They don't have to be ones you buy from a car parts place.) Not only do my hands stay FAR cleaner, (which keeps the ladies happy), but in situations where you don't want to touch a part like a bulb or your hands are sensitive to various chemicals, they're perfect.

[sideswipe29]

Good tip on using latex gloves. That will certainly make the job easier.

So after watching the Youtube video I have a general question: When I install the HID bulbs will I not need to use the electrical cord on my Vibe but rather plug the ballast into my battery?

[ctgottapee]

Good tip on using latex gloves. That will certainly make the job easier.

So after watching the Youtube video I have a general question: When I install the HID bulbs will I not need to use the electrical cord on my Vibe but rather plug the ballast into my battery?

If you buy a kit that matches your bulb, then you plug the ballast into the connector that was attached to your old bulb.
An exception is an extra high wattage kit (rare and it will usually worn you) which has to run direct to battery

[sideswipe29]

So will the ballast just hang loose under the hood even after it's plugged into the electrical built into my car? That doesn't seem secure.

[ctgottapee]

So will the ballast just hang loose under the hood even after it's plugged into the electrical built into my car? That doesn't seem secure.

You secure it to something, basically zip tie it, or whatever you can dream up- some outfits might sell brackets and other accesories. They are light weight and small, similar to a deck of playing cards.

[sideswipe29]

So will the ballast just hang loose under the hood even after it's plugged into the electrical built into my car? That doesn't seem secure.

You secure it to something, basically zip tie it, or whatever you can dream up- some outfits might sell brackets and other accesories. They are light weight and small, similar to a deck of playing cards.

Good tip with the zip ties. I know I have some at my house.

I just bought the H4 kit for my regular headlights. The 9006 kit for my fog lights is sold out in 6000k so I have to wait for those to get back in stock to buy them. Once I buy those I'll install them together. I know I could do this myself but are there any good videos on how to replace the fog lights on a Vibe?

[cptnsolo77]

Definitely post pic when yourdone. Im very interested in doing this myself.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! That's a mighty nice looking two tone Neptune Vibe you've got there !

Everyone else has pretty much covered everything, but another good thing to use to secure the ballasts for HIDs is double sided tape. Walmart sells 3M Extra Strength Moulding Tape that works really well. It's under $5.00 for a roll which will be more than enough to help secure two ballasts. It's by body work stuff (Bondo, etc.) in the automotive section. Also, be sure to aim your headlights down a bit so you're not blinding oncoming traffic (do a search on here and you should be able to find info on how to adjust the headlights).

[sideswipe29]

Welcome to GenVibe! That's a mighty nice looking two tone Neptune Vibe you've got there !

Everyone else has pretty much covered everything, but another good thing to use to secure the ballasts for HIDs is double sided tape. Walmart sells 3M Extra Strength Moulding Tape that works really well. It's under $5.00 for a roll which will be more than enough to help secure two ballasts. It's by body work stuff (Bondo, etc.) in the automotive section. Also, be sure to aim your headlights down a bit so you're not blinding oncoming traffic (do a search on here and you should be able to find info on how to adjust the headlights).

Thanks for the welcome! Everyone here on the forums is so nice and offering such great advice. I really appreciate it!

Good tip on the 3M tape. I'll have to pick up some from the store on my way home from work because I just found out that the bulbs I got require me to use the controller and plug it into the battery, so I'll need extra reinforcement for some many things hanging off the end of the headlight. I'll also definitly readjust the angle of my headlights too. I was concerned about blinding other drivers so I'll get in there too and change that.

Also, while I'm writing a post, do any of you recommend any specific product to fix cloudy headlights. I know both Mothers and Meguiars have products to fix clouded headlights and mine have been pretty cloudy since I bought my Vibe and I want to fix that before I install my new bulbs. My friend's dad recommended to use toothpaste and he demonstrated a bit on a corner of my headlight and it worked really well, but maybe just for an extra clean finish is there a specific brand or product that you guys have used?

[vibenvy]

Thanks for the welcome! Everyone here on the forums is so nice and offering such great advice. I really appreciate it!

You're very welcome ! You'll be hard pressed to find a nicer, more helpful group of people than GenVibers!

[tpollauf]

Thanks for the welcome! Everyone here on the forums is so nice and offering such great advice. I really appreciate it!

Welcome to GenVibe Aside from this topic, Open up a separate post and officially introduce yourself. Location, interests, why you bought the Vibe, price, etc. We all have inquiring minds and like to know. Thanks

[lannvouivre]

Also, while I'm writing a post, do any of you recommend any specific product to fix cloudy headlights. I know both Mothers and Meguiars have products to fix clouded headlights and mine have been pretty cloudy since I bought my Vibe and I want to fix that before I install my new bulbs. My friend's dad recommended to use toothpaste and he demonstrated a bit on a corner of my headlight and it worked really well, but maybe just for an extra clean finish is there a specific brand or product that you guys have used?

Sylvania. You will need to order it. Restoring the lenses is absolutely pointless if you don't seal them.

[sideswipe29]

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while since I've posted here, the summer really got away from me. However, today my dad and I applied the Sylvania Restoration kit to my headlights. I unfortunately forgot to take any "before" pictures before we started the process but I will post the results once the UV Block Coat cures fully.

The kit comes with 400, 1000, and 2000 grit sandpaper, however, my dad and I also used 600, 800, 3200, 3600, 6000, and 8000 grit sandpaper to further polish the headlights and give them more clarity. It certainly isn't required but we figured, if you're going to restore your headlights, you might as well do it to the full extent.

So, in the meantime, does anyone have any better instructions and diagrams of the Xenon headlights I bought off of eBay?

Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/390883328013?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

There are diagrams in the description of the ebay listing but I was just wondering if anyone else has any better instructions. I could post pictures of the kits themselves if that would help get an idea of what should go where. My dad and I have a rough idea of what to do but I figured I'd ask here just to see if any of you could help me out.

It would be greatly appreciated!

[sideswipe29]

Update:

Just installed my headlights. My car looks so good now. Here are the pictures





Here's the results of the Sylvania headlight restorstion kit. As I mentioned earlier I neglected to take "before" pictures but I think the results speak for themselves. The kit really works and is worth the money.





And here are the headlights installed on my vibe.

A few things to note about the headlights. The kit you will receive, if you get it from the same place as I did on ebay, will only give you one controller which means you will only be able to plug in one of the headlight plugs that is attached to the car itself. That is normal and the set up works just fine. Attached the controller to the headlight closest to the battery, since you need to plug into the battery anyways. Also make sure that the ground plug has a solid attachment to a piece of metal. My dad and I spent forever fiddling with the ground attachement because for whatever reason it wasn't taking a spark. Also if your lights aren't working, unplug the cable that attaches the ballast. That was another thing my dad and I had to do frequently. The passanger light wasn't working so we unplugged the ballast and plugged it in again and it worked just fine.

Also if you want to do this project get zip ties and the 3M double sided mounting tape. Those two things will ensure everything is secure.

And one final thing to note about the fog lights. At first when we installed them they wouldn't turn on and that's because the plug that attaches to the ballast is assembled upside down. So instead of having the plug attach normally where it would clip onto the ballast, flip it over and the lights will work properly.

Other than that it's a pretty simple installation. It can be hard accessing the fog lights but if you're willing to get under the bumper and take out some of the screws to move some of the panels out of the way it's easy - time consumming but easy.

I can post pictures of what the set up looks like under the hood if you guys want. But other than that this project is done.

Thank you to everyone who gave me tips and advice on this. I really appreciate it. It turned out great!

[cptnsolo77]

Nice job ! Post some underhood pics. Have you had oncoming cars flash you ? I have read that HIDs produce glare in halogen housings.

[sideswipe29]

Nice job ! Post some underhood pics. Have you had oncoming cars flash you ? I have read that HIDs produce glare in halogen housings.

Here are some pictures of what's under the hood.




This is one of the ballasts that I 3m tapped to the fuse box:



Controller:



Second ballast screwed into the body itself and ground plug up by one of the bolts:



Headlight in the housing:


As far as night driving goes, I can't quite answer at the moment only because I haven't driven at night. I might go for a drive once it get dark today just to test it out. And I'll certainly report here if anyone flashes at me. When we installed the lights I asked my dad if there was a way to adjust the angle of the lights but he said no and that does appear to be true. Once you get everything plugged in there doesn't really seem to be a way to adjust the headlights so you aren't blinding other drivers. I'll test it tonight for sure but I think since most cars these days come with bright LED's most drivers are acustomed to it and don't bother flashing. At least in my area. We'll see though.

[vibenvy]

You need to adjust the headlights down. I did this when I installed HIDs in both our Vibes about 2 years ago and haven't had anyone flash me yet.

Your lights look good. A little too blue for my liking, but good nonetheless.

[thebarber]

Needs more projector

[sideswipe29]

Okay, I need help on how to angle my headlights down. I can't figure out how to do it. They seem stuck in this position. I've had a few people flash at me but my main problem is that I illuminate road signs that are 50 feet in front of me and I feel the headlights are way too high.

Someone tell me how to angle them lower.

Also what is projector?

My pictures don't capture the color very well. It's a much more pure white than blue. The deeper, richer blue HID headlights look very tacky to me. My headlights are a much cooler blue to almost pure white.

[ctgottapee]

Also what is projector?

Without a projector housing inside the light assembly, the light is not as well focussed so the brighter light can annoy people.
Even if you aim the headlights down, you are still going to spread light, rather than project it focussed, which is important.

With the signs glowing far ahead, you are just noticing both some of the spread, and that the HID type of light makes the signs reflect more of the illuminated lettering.

[sideswipe29]

Also what is projector?

Without a projector housing inside the light assembly, the light is not as well focussed so the brighter light can annoy people.
Even if you aim the headlights down, you are still going to spread light, rather than project it focussed, which is important.

With the signs glowing far ahead, you are just noticing both some of the spread, and that the HID type of light makes the signs reflect more of the illuminated lettering.

Huh, interesting. That makes perfect sense though. So I take it that projectors are a necessity for HID headlights if you want them to distribute light effectively?

So in that case does anyone know any good, cheap HID projectors that fit in the vibe and can be easily installed?

Secondly, I did manage to find this link from another thread here on genvibe

http://matrixowners.com/index.php?/topi ... eadlights/

It gives a great explanation on how to change the headlights alignment and I did so last evening. I lowered my passanger headlights signification but my driver side still remains a little too high, only because I was using a flat head screw driver to turn the bolt but later this week I'll use a Philips screw driver to rotate it more efficiently.

[thebarber]

Also what is projector?

Without a projector housing inside the light assembly, the light is not as well focussed so the brighter light can annoy people.
Even if you aim the headlights down, you are still going to spread light, rather than project it focussed, which is important.

With the signs glowing far ahead, you are just noticing both some of the spread, and that the HID type of light makes the signs reflect more of the illuminated lettering.

Huh, interesting. That makes perfect sense though. So I take it that projectors are a necessity for HID headlights if you want them to distribute light effectively?

So in that case does anyone know any good, cheap HID projectors that fit in the vibe and can be easily installed?

Secondly, I did manage to find this link from another thread here on genvibe

http://matrixowners.com/index.php?/topi ... eadlights/

It gives a great explanation on how to change the headlights alignment and I did so last evening. I lowered my passanger headlights signification but my driver side still remains a little too high, only because I was using a flat head screw driver to turn the bolt but later this week I'll use a Philips screw driver to rotate it more efficiently.

https://www.facebook.com/kitchenerHID

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=566100E4

[sideswipe29]

https://www.facebook.com/kitchenerHID

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=566100E4

While I appreciate the link it doesn't really do me any good without an explanation. Ontario is a far drive if I have to go there to have then install projectors for me.

And based on your picture it looks like I'd have to buy a whole new headlight housing in order to accommodate for the projector so how much does all of this cost me? I need linka to specific products and explanations as to what all is needed to install them/whether or not I have to take them somewhere to be installed professionally.

[ctgottapee]

To understand why projector lenses are needed, or at least a better engineered housing is needed, face your headlights up against a large flat object (side of building /garage) and park about 10-15 ft back.

The main light pattern should be a large rectangle, cutting off vertically at least by the height of your hood. Light above that is what passing drivers are getting pissed about. There will still be some diffusion of light outside the main rectangle on halogen bulbs but you'll see a more definite cutoff.

With the HIDs in, you'll notice you can't really aim any sort of pattern. You also notice the 'halos' and other light effects.
Not only is HIDs light a bit off putting to many passing drivers - or draws attention - but you have a lot of stray light hitting them too.


One way around this is to use your fog lights as HIDs; 35w HID kits are pretty standard.

In my old cadillac with an open face halogen lense, I only ran the HID on the passenger side, and a low output color matching led bulb on the drivers side. One HID was still far better than old school halogen. It's a bit of a guess on the color match, but you can find a low output 9006 led bulb cheaply

[sideswipe29]

To understand why projector lenses are needed, or at least a better engineered housing is needed, face your headlights up against a large flat object (side of building /garage) and park about 10-15 ft back.

The main light pattern should be a large rectangle, cutting off vertically at least by the height of your hood. Light above that is what passing drivers are getting pissed about. There will still be some diffusion of light outside the main rectangle on halogen bulbs but you'll see a more definite cutoff.

With the HIDs in, you'll notice you can't really aim any sort of pattern. You also notice the 'halos' and other light effects.
Not only is HIDs light a bit off putting to many passing drivers - or draws attention - but you have a lot of stray light hitting them too.


One way around this is to use your fog lights as HIDs; 35w HID kits are pretty standard.

In my old cadillac with an open face halogen lense, I only ran the HID on the passenger side, and a low output color matching led bulb on the drivers side. One HID was still far better than old school halogen. It's a bit of a guess on the color match, but you can find a low output 9006 led bulb cheaply

Very good points. I am currently running HIDs in my headlights and fog lights. I certainly can't go back to what you described with your old Cadillac because I bought these HIDs and don't want to switch over to LED plus from what I've seen LEDs are expensive.

So, bottom line is that I'm willing to buy a projector kit so long as it's cheap. It would also help me to know if I would have to take it some where to get it installed.

I like suggestions. I appreciate the explanations as to why I need projectors but now I need some help in finding some good quality projectors that wouldn't coat me an arm or a leg.

[zbyers]

You can send TheBarber your headlights and the money for the labor and the projectors and he can retrofit them into the housings for you. His projectors are clean too. Or, you can have KITT222 retrofit them. KITT can optionally install halos/switchbacks if you wanted them, as well. Lastly, you can do it yourself too..

Courtesy of KITT: viewtopic.php?t=43744

[ctgottapee]

Very good points. I am currently running HIDs in my headlights and fog lights. I certainly can't go back to what you described with your old Cadillac because I bought these HIDs and don't want to switch over to LED plus from what I've seen LEDs are expensive.
So, bottom line is that I'm willing to buy a projector kit so long as it's cheap. It would also help me to know if I would have to take it some where to get it installed.
I like suggestions. I appreciate the explanations as to why I need projectors but now I need some help in finding some good quality projectors that wouldn't coat me an arm or a leg.

You might of missed my point on this part. If you swap out the HID on the driver side, one more likely to blind drivers, with a low output LED bulb, typically under $5, it might make passers happy. All the LED bulb does is make it look like you don't have a light out, its output is near nill, but it looks bright when you look at the headlight itself. You use an LED bulb so you can color match to the other HID bulb and nobody can tell the difference. LED bulbs like this are common as old stock when they first started making them, but they didn't have near the output, mostly for decoration in fog lights and similar.
To me, one good HID was better than 2 old halogens, plus some standard fogs.

I imagine with both non projector HID headlights and HID fogs, it probably is a heck of light saber staring down at oncoming drivers.
If you are going to keep the fogs, you had best modify. There are no cheap projector mods though, either in parts or labor.
You'd likely get occasionally flashed with just the HID fogs, as they are going to be a bit distracting as it too is an unfocused lens.

[thebarber]

I'd just make sure your headlights are aimed down from where they were with halogens and soldier on with HID's in the headlights.

With your strong currency, I can give you a hell of a deal on a retrofit kit if you want to DIY. I can do the retrofit for you, but I'd need your headlights.

[sideswipe29]

I just sent a PM to thebarber.

Hopefully we can find a way to retrofit my headlights, because I don't doubt that other drivers are annoyed by my headlights even if I've angled them down. The light dispersal is still really bad without projectors and I want these headlights to be something that's admired about my car, not despised.

Thanks to all of you who have commented and are helping me through this process. I know I've been rude to a lot of you and have needed a lot of extra explanation. I appreciate all of you who take the time to explain things to a newbie like me.

I'll keep you all posted on the progress with this project.