Pelican Technical Article: Budget HID Headlamp Retrofit Wayne R. Dempsey
Time: 3 hours
Tab: $200
Talent:
Tools:
Headlamp removal tool
Applicable Models:
986 Boxster (1997-04) 987 Boxster (2005-08)
Parts Required:
HID upgrade kit
Hot Tip:
Polish your cloudy lenses during the upgrade
Performance Gain:
Brighter headlamps
Complementary Modification:
New headlamp assemblies / clear corners
This article is one in a series that have been released in conjunction with Wayne's new book, 101 Performance Projects for Your Porsche Boxster. The book contains 312 pages of full color projects detailing everything from performance mods to changing your brake pads. With more than 950+ full-color glossy photos accompanying extensive step-by-step procedures, this book is required reading in any Boxster owner's collection. The book is currently available and in stock now. See The Official Book Website for more details.
Check out some other sample projects from the book:
One of the more exciting upgrades you can perform on your Boxster is the installation and upgrade of your lamps to a High Intensity Discharge (HID) system. This type of lighting system is sometimes also referred to as xenon lighting, or under the Bosch brand name of Litronic. The lamps use electric current that runs through a xenon gas mixture to create light: not unlike the operation of an ordinary fluorescent light bulb. In order to get the lamps working, the gas mixture must be subjected to an initial voltage of about 28,000 volts. Two small ballast units create this high voltage when starting the lamps, and then taper it down to about 40 volts to keep the light on.
There are two paths that you can take to perform this upgrade. The most expensive xenon upgrade is the installation of the factory Bosch Litronic kit (see Pelican Technical Article: Litronic Headlamp Kit Upgrade). The poor mans solution is to use a retrofit kit that simply replaces the stock H7 bulbs used in the standard Boxster lamp housing.
I prefer to use genuine Hella units as they have a built-in safety circuit to prevent the 28,000 volts from being discharged if there is any disruption or anomalies in the circuit.
Replacement bulbs tend to be very expensive, at about $100 each. I expect this cost to decrease though in the near future as more and more cars come equipped with this technology as stock equipment. The good news is that unlike traditional halogen bulbs, the HID bulbs do not often burn out: they have no internal mechanical components, and actually run very cool (like a normal fluorescent light bulb).
The lamp kits typically use 35 watt bulbs, which means that they draw about 2-3 amps of current after the initial startup. It's not uncommon for the ballast units to draw about 15 amps for less than a second as they are starting up the bulbs. The actual startup phase is typically less than a second: barely a noticeable difference from the stock configuration. With a conventional halogen lamp system, a large portion of the energy spent in the system goes towards excess heat given off by the bulb. The HID systems are much more efficient: a typical HID 35 watt bulb is about three times as bright as a 100 watt halogen bulb.
The installation is not difficult: it simply requires that you mount the ballast, integrate the bulbs into your housing, and wire up the system. The headlamps have large plastic covers on the rear that need to be slightly modified. Most of the HID kits available have a wire harness that has a large grommet on it. You need to take a small hole saw or Dremmel tool, and cut a hole in the rear of your plastic housing for the grommet to fit (see Figure 1). Two wires are connected to the HID bulb, the other two tap into the connections for the old halogen bulb. The harness that is included with the kit powers the HID lamps off of the power that formerly powered the original bulb inside the headlamp housing.
Mounting of the ballast is pretty easy. Component locations changed quite a bit over the years: find a safe, secure spot near your headlamps and use the double-sided sticky tape or mounting brackets that come with the HID kits (see Figure 3). On my 1999 Boxster, I mounted it on a flat surface just to the outside of the headlamp retainer.
You can install an HID kit for your low beams, high beams, and even the fog lamps. I have seen cars with three kits installed, and their fog lamp switch modified so that all three are on at the same time. When you're finished with the installation, be sure to align your headlamps so that you're not pointing the beam into oncoming traffic. In most states, the use of non-factory HID kits are designated for off-road use only. Keep in mind that if you don't have a street-legal headlamp system, then you may invite tickets from law enforcement.
The only downside I found from installing this type of system was that it created a lot of static on my AM radio. However, the fix for this is rather simple: just install a 12V RF car noise filter on the power lines going to the ballasts and the problem should go away.
Figure 1
This photo shows the basic HID upgrade kit for the standard USA sealed-beam headlamps. A- Modified rear cover for the sealed headlamps. B- Bulb assembly and wire harness. C- HID ballast/controller for the HID bulbs.
Here you can see the various steps of assembly into the rear of the headlamp. A- The lower bulb is the standard low-beam headlamp that is on most of the time. Remove the existing bulb and insert the newer HID bulb. You may have to remove the wire retaining ring completely in order to fit the new bulb. B- Connect the HID wires to the existing bulb connector. Brown is the ground and typically connects to the black wire on the harness. C- Wrap the connectors carefully with electrical tape to prevent a short from within the headlamp in case the connector bounces around. D- Thread the wires through the hold in the rear cover of the headlamp.
I found that a good mounting place for the ballast was on the side, right next to the headlamp tray. There is a flat spot there that is perfect for mounting the HID ballast unit. Clean the area carefully using isopropyl alcohol or glass cleaner, and use double-sided sticky tape to secure the unit to the sheet metal. Reinforce the assembly by drilling a hole in the sheet metal and securing the bracket with a sheet metal screw (green arrow).
The finished product looks great and is very cost-effective when you compare the lamps to the stock Litronic ones available as a new or upgrade option on the Boxster (see Pelican Technical Article: Litronic Headlamp Kit Upgrade).
Comments: Could you use 55w HIDs? I have a new set of h7 55w HIDs in my garage
June 21, 2011
Followup from the Pelican Staff: Yes, the wattage on the HIDs shouldn't matter too much. Higher / lower, as these HID bulbs are very cool to the touch, and are like mini florescent lamps. - Wayne at Pelican Parts
hucqym
Comments: so if I want HID for both low and high beams, do I need two kits? or is a smarter configuration possible on a 2001 boxster? bi-xenon?
March 23, 2011
Followup from the Pelican Staff: Yes, you can wire up your high beams and low beams both with HIDs, but you will indeed need two kits then. If you're looking for the best setup, then I would probably recommend the factory Litronic setup from BOSCH. Although it also only has traditional high beams, the low beam performance is stellar. - Wayne at Pelican Parts
Check out some other sample projects from the book:
