Previous post on fitting HID spotlights - now with pictures (hopefully!)
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Finally got round to fitting the recently acquired Hella HID spots. Being a bit fastidious I wanted it to look neat, be removable with the minimum of damage and robust.
Those in the know are aware that fitting one ballast box is simple - it sits inside the headstock, but two of the (sizeable) units present a real challenge, especially since the leads to the lamps are only 450mm. The only feasible place is under the beak. However, using the provided cradles would be really scrappy so here is my solution.
This is what comes in the HID kit:
The lights go straight on a Migsel light bar and the harness is really straightforward, including two fuses and the relay. Its the ballast that really causes grief.
After a lot of squinting of this
I decided tio find a box to mount the ballasts in which would sit against the lip at the rear of the beak.
After a bit of a search I tracked down a KC61R ABS instrument case from Maplin. £4.99 it has removable front and rear panels and comes in two halves. I fiited the ballasts in it with one inverted so that the lamp leads emerged at either side (i.e. it would be symmetrical). There are some lumps inside the box which actually help this by matching the foam padding on the base of the ballast. Once in the box, an padded with closed cell foam, the front panel was cut to provide exit holes for the power leads in and the lamp leads out. The two halves are then screwed together to give one neat package thus:
and
Next was to sort the mounting. For this I needed these:
The Velcro is from B&Q, is ultra strong and costs about £4.50. The bolts are the standard BMW beak extender ones from a dealer - 20 pence (I wanted black - any stainless one would do as well if your are not fussy). The meatl cradle was scratch built from B&Q aluminium bar 20mm by 2mm, which is £1.78 a metre. I needed two goes to get the right fit, so two metres. Here is the cradle that worked:
It sits round the box like this
The Velcro pads go on top of the box (I put the hooky half of theVelcro on the box) then push the other half of the Velcro onto it before pushing the box up under the beak, firmly against the lip. This took a bit of planning, in order to centralise the box, but it is relatively straightforward.
Now comes the tricky bit. Slide the metal cage over the box and mark the mounting holes on the underside of the beak. I used a scribe and then a tiny drill to make a pilot hole. A 6mm drill was then used to drill down from the top of the beak. The cage is then mounted using the bolts and rubber washers or grommets. This is what it looks like done:
and
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f161/LouCan/HIDbox2.jpg
and this is the final effect:
Note that the only modification is the two bolts in the inner beak surface.
Just the wiring to do then. Everything is simple - run straight from the battery to the fuse, usual feed from the main beam switch (details available if needed) and then lots of zip ties to take the HID harness to the front. At the sharp end there are the fuse holders:
But if you plug the power leads in these holders can be routed into the area behind the oil coller and zip tied in place - easy to access too!
The lamp lead then cross over to take up some slack (i.e. left lead to right light) and then zip tied to the light bar to keep them out the way.
There you have it. Neat, weatehrproof installation and the only damage is two small holes in the beak which can be filled with rubber blanks if needs be.
And the verdict. Unbelievable. Steptoe was right, its like a nuclear event. Really. If you can get the lights at a decent price don't hesitate to do it.
Oh, and in case you are a bit of dense like me, then yes they fire up immediately so flashing the lights works fine.
HTH
LC
