Has anybody added an HID kit to their headlights? If so how difficult was it & where did you find the kit?

Here's an old, old thread in the 'Electrical' forum that tossed around the topic some: 'Headlights ( EURO Clear )'

Thanks Jim! That thread pointed me in the right direction. If I decide to go forward with an HID installation I'll post a thread with pics.

True HID have a transfomer / ballast or control box that goes to the bulb, the after market kits are around 400.00-600.00 for true HID.
"euro-clear" or "diamond cut" like you see on ebay and so on are a new housing or lenses and reflector and then high end bulbs that you can get with that "euro" color glow look but cast the bright white light,
Thing is the wiring of factor c3 and most cars goes on a long path from the power to the switch then to the lights, no relay in most cases from the factory,
Many parts houses even JC Whitney sell kits like MAD build that uses relays and gets the most from the headlights to reap the full benefits of any headlights including the old factory sealed beams updating to a relay system is highly recommended.
Cheers,
P.

Hi- I was considering the conversion...but I'm not positive on it yet. I know that Sylvania has the conversion kit for sale at "Sylvania.com". The kit retails for app. $500.00
Other than that, I can't help you much more. If you do the conversion, please let us know. I'll be interested in your input. Thanks.

These light are great. I'm sure no one will be disappointed with the conversion. Just keep this in mind. These light pull much more power. I would suggest a relay between the headlight switch and the lights. You may need to upgrade the alternator. Go get the free alternator from Autozone or someone like that. Measure the max output at the alternator. Get this reading at the battery wire of the alt. If you use the battery cable you are measureing what get back to the battery, not the total output, the car is using some of the power. Now shut off the engine, connect the tester to the battery cable, turn on the key and everything in the car, including the headlights, and see how much power the car needs to operate.
If the draw is close to the alt output, or more, you are going to have a dead battery. If the draw is just under the alt output, the alternator will over work itself and die. You don't want more than 2/3 of the output as draw. to maintain a good margin.
If you exceed 2/3, upgrade the alternator or replace it with a stronger one.

Ken Styer

I have an HID set up in my C5 & I needed to add a heavy duty wiring harness. That would probably be a safe thing to do with the 74 too. Here's a link to the HID kit that I'm currently looking at. Its low beams only.

http://www.brightheadlights-hid.com/Headlights-x5006.htm

I've noticed that there are a few heavy duty wiring harnesses for sale on Ebay. Do you think that they'd work with this kit or would I be better off building my own?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6763&item=2455218090

|UPDATED|1/25/2004 2:36:10 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Yes you want the heavy duty harness. The one on ebay looks good from what I could see. But the web sight for the lights says the light kit comes with the harness. Look at the bottom of the page. It looks like a good set up.

Ken Styer

I never scrolled down that far... Thanks for bringing it to my attention & saving me some money.

You're welcome

Ken Styer