HID Bulb Change
 

I thought I had made a post yesterday, but checked online today to not find it here..so here is my post again..Now may be a good time to put in the LED parking light since you'' have access.

I swapped in 5000k bulbs yesterday and instructions are to turn your front wheel to full lock to the inside on the headlight you are going to work on. I found for myself that I couldnt get enough space to get my hands and arms in there. Im on stock ride height, but have wider front Volk rims at 9.5" and with 255 tires...I had to take of my front wheels, but I swapped in black McGard Splinedrives in anyways..

Here are the instructions:

1. If you want more work room, take off your wheel/tire.
2. Remove the 3 Screw Pop plugs on the inner fender, on the inside and at the top and fold back liner..
4. You'll see the grey plastic access cover to HID. Twist to turn take off.
5. The first thing you'll see is the silver plug with the silver mesh that is on the D2S bulb, twist off to take off and put aside.
6. Finally you can see the bulb held in place by a spring clip.
7. Push clip towards the bulb and push down to open on one side and repeat for the other side.
8. Lift clip upwards away and pull bulb out carefully and set aside to save if you want to go oem someday.
9. Installation is the reverse of everything and you may want to put in your LED parking bulbs at this time since you're working on it.

PICS:

Pics of 3 Pop Clips I took off:
http://i47.tinypic.com/kdsnmf.jpg

Room to work and liner pulled back:
http://i46.tinypic.com/33zbsc4.jpg

Bulb access with grey cover taken off:
http://i49.tinypic.com/2d1oldf.jpg

Twist off silver cap off bulb base:
http://i49.tinypic.com/sn2opk.jpg

Silver cap off and bulb revealed:
http://i47.tinypic.com/2qxthl3.jpg

Push one end of spring back and then towards the bulb to release, same for other side:
http://i45.tinypic.com/2qd1hxv.jpg

At this point, you can lift the spring upwards to release and pull the bulb out. Careful not to touch the glass and store and save for another day.
installation is the reverse, Good luck!

Nice post good pics.
do you have any before and after pics. Did you gain more light or just color. I would like to do the same thing I have a PG with tinted gray invisible bra on the lens and lost a lot of light.
would like more visibility at night.

5000k should be a little brighter w/o looking blue. 4300k is the stock temp.

before and after pics would be awesome :tup:

I didnt do any before and after pics as there are already pics of these that dont look much different that what I have now.. I just wanted a little bluer color that wont sacrifice viewing distance.

I do notice that when I get in my Subaru Legacy that where I added a HID kit to, the lighting is much brighter and wider and its using 35 w as well and not some overpowered voltage. Not sure why this is even though its a kit and lenses are oem in the Subaru where in Japan they use HID thru the same lens.

i am also swapping out bulbs and installling 5000k bulbs. is there a specific way the bulb goes in? do you have to turn the bulb to lock it or does it just push right in? i'm having trouble with this

There are three notches on the base of the new bulb. All you have to do is line it to the notches in the headlight housing. It's pretty self explanatory once you are there, don't worry. just make sure the biggest notch, middle notch, is facing 12 o clock and insert it directly in.

Here are some pics:

left headlight at 6000k and right headlight stock:
Attachment 12195

Before:
Attachment 12194

After:
Attachment 12196

^looks good. im also planning on changing my bulbs too. i want to make sure before i get some. so can you please tell me if these are the correct size and watt? thanks. D2S 35W DIGITAL brand HID bulbs

Yes, I got 35 W D2S. Those are the right ones. I got mine from ddm tuning, little cheaper but doesn't have the lifetime warranty like your link(1 year warranty only)

There are some 55w kits out there,..I know there were some for aftermarket kits,. but those are BRIGHT,...

I think the 5k lights are better than stock and may try out some 6ks....I just installed the HID kit from LEDS.com in my 2008 Titan with 5ks and they are 1000% better,,probably due to the higher ride height compared to the Z that the width or beam looks much better??

OK just a heads up I just changed my HID's to 6000K from V-Leds look great but the housing that the clip snaps into and holds the bulb in is plastic looks like metal and one side broke off so I got in there with 1 clip holding.
So easy does it or the housing is brittle and breaks easy. So with my luck I will have to buy a whole new headlamp assembly because of a broken housing.:roflpuke2:

Great DIY by abakja1 I borrowed his pic to so the clip and housing that broke off.

Has anybody successfully swapped out their headlights without removing the wheels? Any tips?

A few months ago I swapped out the side markers and it was a PITA with the wheel turn method.

its just not possible, and you'll see once you have actually removed the wheel why. BTW has anyone tried 8k yet????????????

4100k - 4300k is the ideal HID color temperature to produce the maximum amount of light, lumens, hence the reason while all OEM manufacturers equip their vehicles with these types of bulbs.

One minor detail was left out. That you take care as to not touch the light element or the glass it self with your fingers, the oils from your finger will shorten the life of the light.

Just replaced my bulbs. A few tips:

1. You do not need to remove the wheels. Lift the car with the jack that came with the car until the front tire slightly comes off the ground. Turn the wheel to the opposite side that you are working on (if you're working on the left side, turn the wheels to the right). You'll have plenty of room to get the job done.

2. After removing the three clips that the OP mentioned, the light grey cap that covers the bulb housing twists and then comes out easily. Do not pry it off.

3. Take some time looking at the metal clips that hold the bulb in place. Here's instructions on how to get the clips off:

Move the outside clip finger holder thingy (the one toward the exterior of the car body) toward the front of the car and then toward the ground. There's a notch where the clip will come loose and then release toward the back of the car. The clip needs to be removed from the clip housing completely.

4. Keep the big notch of the bulb at 12 o'clock when you put the new bulb in. Be patient and don't be forceful. Once you line up the notch in the bulb housing with the bulb notch, it will snap into place.

I should mention the obvious....put your parking brake on before jacking up your car :).

Try courtesy Nissan.

I also meant to post where I got my bulbs. 6000k Philips Ultinon PAIR for $100:

PHILIPS Ultinon D2S 2 BULBS 6000K BMW AUDI BENZ LEXUS: eBay Motors (item 110316833938 end time Jul-16-10 19:05:03 PDT)

I wish I didnt have to remove the front wheels when I replaced my HIDs, but my rims are 1/2" wider up front with wider tires. Also, since I have large arms, I just couldnt find any way to get a good look or access to the HIDs..

Miss the car somewhat as its the best handling and braking car Ive ever had, but the 05 STI proves more utilitarian and a lot more fun for me...

It is very possible as I just swapped out the stock HID's for 10000k's. Its a hassle and definitely easy with the tire off, but got to admit that I did it in an hour and a half and the lights look beautiFUL! Got mine from ijdmtoy and there not deep blue, or have a hint of purple, there bluish, whitish, but little bit more on the blue side. ;)

PICs!

Yo, Falcor..

I just got these bulbs in last night, I'm going to be installing them right after work today.

Morimoto 3Five D2S (35w) - HID Bulbs from The Retrofit Source Inc.

I will take before and after pics and post them..

what temp did you get?

6000k,

cool looking foreward to pics

hey guys, sooo RockStarKick, NI9HT and myself are having the same issue after replacing the bulbs. We all got them from different vendors.

They light up and immediately shut off. I turn them off, then back on and the same thing happens. They won't remain on until after the 3rd/4th attempt.. any ideas? We have contacted the sellers but have yet to hear from them.

^ same for me. I contacted the company and they stated that a lot of people with Nissan/Infinity call in about the same problem. He said that the silver connector that screws on the bulb itself is the prob. The little prongs in there have to be bent inward to accommodate a different bulb.

I did try bending them inward a bit with a small flathead screwdriver but that also didn't work. I also didn't feel comfortable bending them so I didn't go very far. Bulbs are way cheaper than that part I'm sure..

So I've already shipped the bulbs back to the company and will get some that are compatible.

What prong? Got a pic?

No I don't have a pic, but the silver connector that hooks to the bulb itself
has 2 prongs on the inner part. You absolutely can't miss them if you were to look. They told me that those needed to be bent in..

But I did slightly bend them inwards with the same result.

My bulbs flickered and would not come on at all. I tried turning the lights on
multiple times.

As I said before, I DID NOT feel comfortable bending these prongs..

^ got it, thanks.

No prob, next time I take on a project, I will have the camera in hand.. Hope it
works for you ..

So did anyone find any aftermarket bulbs that will work without modification? Ready to pull the trigger on some 6000k but not sure which ones to get.

VinZ,,

I'm trying to do just that..

Here is my story about trying bulbs so far...


I purchased some Morimoto 6000K bulbs from the retrofit source, I installed them and
tried turning them on, they would just flicker and turn off immediately.

I purchased some 6000K bulbs from iJDMtoy, and installed them, when I turned on the
lights one bulb would work, but If I turned the lights on about 4 times quickly they would both work ?

BUT, as soon as I put the stock bulb back in both sides work perfectly... ?????

I then found a local place that sold HID light bulbs, (brand unknown) went there and installed the bulbs in parking lot, neither bulb would work unless I flipped the lights about 4 times then they would stay on. But when turned off for a bit they would not turn back on unless I flipped the lights.. He had some aftermarket ballasts and tested the bulbs and they all worked fine.

I put the stock bulbs back in and they work perfectly.

Are the factory ballasts not very strong ? I don't understand how the bulbs would work on the aftermarket ballast but not the factory? All the bulbs were 35W D2S.

I was told one time (please correct me if i'm wrong) that flicking HID bulbs on and off quickly dramatically reduces the bulbs life. Because in an HID bulb, when the bulb is turned on salt in the bulb is converted into gas and when it is off or cools down it solidifies back into a solid salt.

Yeah, I am not sure about this either.. I think I read something about it
online somewhere... I don't know but that was the only way the bulb would
stay on .. Like it was having trouble igniting ??

I was told that the bulbs I bought would not work with Nissan OEM ballasts. The thing is, there are some people here who have successfully swapped to 6000k bulbs. So there must be some difference between the bulbs we got and the bulbs other people got. Some work with the OEM ballast, some don't. Or maybe Nissan changed something for 2011..

Ron, I was thinking the same thing about something changing for 2011.. I really doubt that something has changed, being that the bulbs are the same.

I too know people have changed their bulbs out .. I just wonder what brand they are using..

I had a pair that one worked and the other didn't... I might just order the same bulbs and hope that another one works..

Ron, I'm going to start a thread in the int/ext section and ask about the bulbs people are using.

I cant believe no one has stepped in with an answer to this yet. There has to be people in here who have got bulbs to work who can at least let us know what they are using.

I am using 6000K bought from ijdmtoy.com

^^ Thank you xdeslitx.. So it appears iJDMtoy.com are hit or miss. Also from reading the previous pages I gathered that bulbs from V-Leds and DDM Tuning will work. Also Phillips Ultinon D2S bulbs that you can get from ebay should work, but those are $99 a pair.