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HID Conversion Installation

[DIY] : 
90K views 92 replies 31 participants last post by  Brandonarnold 
#1 · (Edited)
I have seen a walk through or two on here about the HID install, but nothing in detail. Some posts have just pictures, and some are just notes. So I decided to make this one to help others step by step.

A HID conversion for this car is a relatively quick and easy mod to do for your car. Not only will it change the look of the car by getting rid of that dingy yellow color, but it will increase light output while driving, making driving at night safer. In many states, HID conversion kits are frowned upon, or even illegal because halogen lights have a different beam patter than HIDs. Due to this beam pattern, halogen housings are designed differently, and when HIDs are put in place of the stock halogen bulbs, the light created by the HIDs is undirected and becomes a nuisance for other drivers.

Luckily, the new Optimas come with projector headlights which create a cutoff for the headlights. This cut off prevents the light from shining too high and being a distraction. Keep in mind, however, that the halogen projectors are still designed for halogen lights and are, therefore, not the exact same as HID projectors. But these projectors still create a decent cutoff for HIDs, making them, at the very least, better than non-projector conversions.

DISCLAIMER: INSTALL A HID KIT AT YOUR OWN RISK. I am not responsible for you getting into trouble because some police officer wants to give you a hard time for the HIDs.

Here is a good write up on helpful notes: http://www.optimaforums.com/forum/2...d-xenon-conversion-helpful-notes-1-place.html. In addition, you may be able to find some other write ups or even a video, but as stated before, I haven't seen a complete step by step for this vehicle.

What you'll need:

HID conversion kit - There are several you can get. For the headlights I recommend a 55w kit, for the fog lights I recommend NOTHING LARGER than a 35w kit

Optional Items:
Double sided padded tap (3M)
Zip ties

NOTE: You do not have to remove the headlights to do this conversion (http://www.optimaforums.com/forum/2...stallation-no-relay-no-bumper-removal-6k.html), but it may make it easier for you to see and / or reach certain areas. The picture below shows the little room that you will have to work with, and this may be a cause for frustration, headaches, scraped knuckles, and a glorious flood of swear words.
Vehicle Car Auto part Engine Vehicle door

I did my conversion when I had the lights removed for another mod. Having the lights out of the car makes this install such much easier. If you choose to go this route, you'll need to remove the front bumper, so this may help you: http://www.optimaforums.com/forum/6...modifications/28465-front-bumper-removal.html.

Step 1:

Remove the dust cover from the back of the headlight housing. The low beam dust cover is the one closest to the fender of the car. If you look at the picture above, you can see the HID wires protruding from the correct dust cover.

Step 2:

Remove the light bulb by twisting and pulling.

Step 3:

Take the dust covers and drill a 1" hole in it. This will allow the wires to go through the dust cover, yet remain small enough for the included grommet to cover.
Auto part


Step 4:
Insert wires through dust cover - fill with grommet.
Auto part Wire Tire Cable Brake


Step 5:

Find a place to mount the ballasts. I mounted mine directly under the housing for the drivers side, and directly behind the housing for the passenger side. Just make sure that you mount it on a clean, flat surface. If mounting vertically, I HIGHLY recommend securing the ballast with more than 3M tape - I used 3M double sided tape (provided with most kits) + zip ties.
Vehicle Auto part Car Engine Wire
Vehicle Auto part Car Engine Wire

(2 pictures)

Step 6:
Insert plugs into the housing wires - the plugs look like little prongs and will insert directly into the housing coupler. At first I was a bit skeptical that the wires would stay put, but after playing with it for a while, I found that it's fairly secure. You would have to hit multiple pot holes extremely hard for these prongs to simply fall out of place, in which case I feel you would have bigger problems than your lights not working. Black wire from light goes to black wire in the coupler. Red wire from light goes to yellow wire in the coupler.
Auto part Helmet Tire Wheel Automotive tire


If you ARE using a relay:
repeat steps 1-5 for the opposite side and continue to step 7 (step 6 is NOT required for both headlights if you are using a relay).
If you are NOT using a relay:
repeat steps 1 - 6 for the opposite side, and continue to step 8.

!!! IMPORTANT NOTE:
I had read that a relay is required, but I ran out of time when doing the install and decided to not do the relay. The kit worked fine... for about 2 days. Then the lights didn't want to power on. The day after I had to drive home with my brights on, I installed the relay. Needless-to-say, I RECOMMEND THE RELAY, but you can attempt no relay if you'd like.

Step 7a (Relay Only):

Connect black ground wire to a good ground point. http://www.optimaforums.com/forum/2...d-xenon-conversion-helpful-notes-1-place.html explains why you should not connect to the negative terminal, but if you choose to do it, I can't stop you. There is a nice ground point directly in front of the battery - this ground is NOT the same ground point that the battery's negative terminal is connected to (see picture below).

Step 7b (Relay Only):

Connect red power wire to positive terminal of battery.

CAUTION:
http://www.optimaforums.com/forum/2...d-xenon-conversion-helpful-notes-1-place.html says that this is a bad idea, and gives an alternative suggestion for power. However, I haven't had an issue. That's not saying that there won't be an issue by using the battery directly, I'm just saying that I haven't had one. Choose a power source you are comfortable with.


Mount the relay and fuse, or find a good place to tuck them away. I mounted mine beside the battery - it's far enough away from the engine and a clean mounting point. There are also a couple holes available (you may have to enlarge one) so you can securely mount the relay and fuse together. I used both 3M double sided tape and a zip tie.
Product Vehicle Auto part Car Technology
Vehicle Tire Automotive tire Automotive exterior Auto part

(2 pictures)

Step 7c (Relay Only):

Plug powered plug (from step 6) into relay harness, then connect relay harness to both ballasts (red port on ballast) lights. Plug HIDs into ballasts (circle ports).
Auto part Electrical wiring Wire Tire Vehicle


Step 8 (No-Relay Only):

Plug powered plug (from step 6) into ballast (red port on ballast). Then plug HID light into ballast (circle ports). (See above picture). Repeat on opposite side. Clean up wires, put car back together, and go light up the road.
Sky Bumper Darkness Automotive exterior Night

(My car was slightly crooked when I took this picture, thus the higher angle on the driver side - but it gives a general idea of the cutoff... I think it's pretty good for non-HID projectors).
 
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#2 ·
Nice writeup :thumbsup:

You are absolutely correct, your projectors are not designed for HID, but compared to many other halogen housings, our projectors are not to bad with HID.

Another thing id like to add is that if you are doing this withought removing the headlights you will have to remove two 10mm bolts holding the coolant tank down and move it to the side so you have room to work on the passenger side.

Also those spade connectors seem secure, but I've had mine shift just enough for me to loose power to my headlights at night,

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#3 ·
Nice writeup :thumbsup:

You are absolutely correct, your projectors are not designed for HID, but compared to many other halogen housings, our projectors are not to bad with HID.

Another thing id like to add is that if you are doing this withought removing the headlights you will have to remove two 10mm bolts holding the coolant tank down and move it to the side so you have room to work on the passenger side.

Also those spade connectors seem secure, but I've had mine shift just enough for me to loose power to my headlights at night,

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Thanks for the tip on the coolant tank. As for the spade connectors, you can twist or end them ever so slightly so they don't move at all... I didn't add this to the write up cause I didn't want people to twist the crap out of the spades and then blame me for telling them to do it. LoL. But twisting or bending them just a little will keep them in place pretty snug.
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
Just wanted to say thank you for this as it is going to help me BIGTIME when I attempt to install the TRS HID Kit I purchased...
 
#11 ·
ok.... i commented but for some reason it's not showing up... so i'm just gonna write it again lol

now i wanted to add a bit of few advice to this DIY. I have a set from DD that are causing some problems. For some reason, when the lights come on, my remote stops working. After a lot of digging i found two nonforum members with other cars (one was genesis and one was elantra) who also bought their HID kit from DD and another member on this forum who has HID kit from another vendor. They all had the same issue and after few weeks of calling DD and trying to figure it out, the kid with the genesis figured out that the ballast was creating some kind of electromagnetic field that interfered with the remote receiver. We just happened to place the ballast so close to it that the remote receiver stopped working unless we were standing directly in front of it. Now, DD has been more than great with their customer service and helped all of us out as much as they can short of flying to NJ, they've supplied us with at least like 6 adhesive backing because we kept moving the ballast around (i also received one faulty ballast which they replaced immediately).

So before you apply the adhesive backing, check that the ballast will not interfere with the remote receiver. I still need to move mine, but it started snowing here so I won't be doing that for a while lol

Also, video link:
 
#14 ·
I'm sorry - remote receiver? As in keyless entry type receiver? I didn't know that there was a receiver of any type there. I have an aftermarket alarm and remote start installed in my car, so the installation never effected that. But it's totally possible. Please clarify for future readers.

Thank you, though, for adding information and a video. It's much appreciated. =)
 
#15 ·
yeah, the receiver for the stock remote to lock/unlock the doors. So if i'm unlocking a car at night, the 1st unlock would unlock the driver and turn the headlights on, BUT this prevents the remote from working unless i'm really close because the ballast i've placed on the driver side is close to the remote receiver and the reception is blocked. So, before you place it down with an adhesive, double check that it will not interfere with your remote
 
#25 ·
(not to break up the 2014 party or anything)

Just did this conversion on my 2013! Super simple to complete. A couple grounds, power from the fuse box bolt, zip ties, a few beers, and 45 minutes later I've got some great looking HIDs.

Thanks David for being awesome with great products!

-B
 
#28 ·
Unless there is a difference between the US versions and Canadian Versions, the 2011-2013 Optimas come with an H11B halogen bulb for NON-OEM HID trims. For example, my 2012 EX had halogens that were H11B. My HID conversion kit from TRS uses a H11 HID bulb (We found out that H11B HID bulbs from TRS caused shadows but the normal H11 bulb is perfect). If you are doing an HID conversion from halogen, I don't think the D1S bulb is correct. We can order an H7 HID conversion kit from TRS. D1S bulbs are only to replace stock HID bulbs, unless I am missing something.

Can you take some pics of the kit you received?

Eric
 
#39 · (Edited)
My 2014 Kia Optima EX came with stock H11 bulbs. Installed regular Morimoto 3fiveH11 HIDs but got ground shadows from installing those. I then tried the Morimoto XB35 H11 and that got rid of the ground shadows.
Before 3fiveH11: Automotive lighting Light Headlamp Car Lighting


After XB35 H11: Light Automotive lighting Headlamp Lighting Darkness


Oh and I bought these from David K5 Optima Store! Mad props to him with his excellent customer service!
 
#40 ·
My 2014 Kia Optima EX came with stock H11 bulbs. Installed regular Morimoto 3fiveH11 HIDs but got ground shadows from installing those. I then tried the Morimoto XB35 H11 and that got rid of the ground shadows.
Before 3fiveH11: View attachment 111122

After XB35 H11: View attachment 111130

Oh and I bought these from David K5 Optima Store! Mad props to him with his excellent customer service!
How bad are the ground shadows? I ordered the kit with the 3five bulbs. Is the xb35 a requirement for a solid beam pattern?
 
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