HID install in GX470

[trinydex]

after a bunch of research here on the forum, I decided to get HIDs to update and uprate my headlights and fog lights.

the halogen projectors seem to adapt well with another omnidirectional emission bulb.

based on advice from members here I chose 4500k bulbs for the low beams.

I chose 3000k bulbs for the fog lights. also based on recommendations directions from members here I removed the bulb shields and gained quite a lot more light though the fogs with the HIDs.

I chose to drive the low beams and the fog lights using 55 watt ballasts. apparently the marketing on bulbs suggests that certain bulbs are only "rated" for certain wattage, and this ends up not being true. the ballast determines the wattage and the bulbs are all capable of running 55 watts.

my purchases were made from DDM, definitely double and triple check you're buying the kit including ballasts. that's the cheapest route. I would recommend not buying from DDM as it seems their customer service is not well rated and their price premium doesn't offer a premium product.

there's definitely good YouTube videos out there that show the installation of HID kits. I would recommend wiring everything together before hand. essentially there's only one way it all goes together, but it is not immediately apparent.

for my installation, I removed the bumper. it's conceivable to do this without removing the bumper, but it is too much easier to do so with the bumper cover off. also, because I was doing lens clean up on both fogs and headlights, taking the bumper off was the natural choice.

because the ballasts are not mirrored in shape, they're all just the same, when you mount them on either side, you will have to do some figuring to ensure the cables and plugs all reach where you need.

here are potential ways to mount the ballasts and their respective dongles. for one of the dongles on each side, I chose to just "tie it back" instead of zip tying it to the frame pieces for the bumper.

 

[trinydex]

here's why I would not recommend DDM.

during test fitting, BOTH the retaining clips on the plugs from the single-plug dongle, broke. in order to ensure they would stay together, I rigged this zip tie lasso brace.

 

[trinydex]

the exact same ballasts were used for the fog lights.

as I mentioned earlier, a member here did a how to remove the fog light bulb shields without opening the lens and housing. here is my reproduction of that how to for completeness.

with the foglight removed from the bumper, rotate the foglight bulb door counter clockwise to open.

this is a peculiar type of bulb that is held in by a wire clip. unhook the clip from the housing hook. the bulb will be loose. take note that the housing has a squared slot and a semicircle slot. the bulb only goes in one way.

 

[trinydex]

the bulb pops out like this. take note how thin this blade connector is (width).

this is the bulb door.

this is the alignment adjustment bolt. loosen this until the bulb reflector is no longer attached. it will fall into the housing.

use your fingers and reorient the bulb reflector until the bulb shield is facing you, and hence the mounting screw for the bulb shield will be accessible.

unscrew the screw and the bulb shield will be decoupled from the reflector assembly.



original post for reference

Best Mod for under $100

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[trinydex]

in order to install the HID kit in the fog lights, you must drill a 1" hole in the housing. the placement can be eyeballed. I recommend using a 1" hole saw and to conduct the drilling during the step where the reflector assembly is still detached from the adjustment bolt.

during the drilling of the plastic, be careful not to leave shavings in the housing as these will migrate around and end up on the lens.

I recommend "threading" the bulb through the hole: mounting it in place and locking it down with the wire retaining clip. then seal the grommet onto the housing.

once the grommet is in, this is a good time to fully reseat the reflector assembly. simply let gravity assist initial threading of the adjustment bolt. take note that there are 2 plastic ball joints, around which the adjustment screw pivots the reflector assembly. these ball joints must be rejoined to the pivot balls on the reflector assembly. one will usually pop in from tightening the adjustment bolt. I used a small hook tool on the hole where the bulb retaining clip locks to pull the other ball into the ball joint.

next is plugging the wiring into the corresponding connectors. the black wire from the ballast dongle goes to the female connector one the bulb door.

the white wire has a spade connector that is likely too wide to fit in the narrow female spade connector. I used metal shears and snipped the edges off DDM spade connector. the white wire plugs into the gray female connector that is a wire coming off the bulb door.

I test fired the HID fogs before reassembling the bumper.

after everything is reassembled in the bumper I found that there was enough room to reach in and plug in all the connections from under the car. there is also enough room to reach the fog light reflector adjustment bolt to level the assemblies after everything is complete. leveling the lights is a critical step. since these are so bright, I have chosen to aim them high and just not use them in the course of daily driving.

below is the how to I followed for reference

Lexus GX470 H3 HID Kit Installation DIY - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

GX - 1st Gen (2003-2009) - Lexus GX470 H3 HID Kit Installation DIY - Hey guys, Here is a great DIY for a Lexus GX470, thanks to Club Lexus forum member Achent who sent us the following step by step on how to properly install an HID kit in the GX470's H3 fog lights. Here is an alternate method...

www.clublexus.com