Projector Headlight/55W HID install

If it's about Power Wagons, all generations, this is where it'll go. This is the original PWR Forum Power Wagon Technical Discussion Section. And this includes everything that doesn’t fit in any one of the other categories related to the truck goes here!
Post Reply
MSparks909
250_Posts
250_Posts
Posts: 429
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 2:43 pm
Location: New Bern/Wilmington, NC

Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by MSparks909 » Tue May 22, 2012 7:57 pm

Decided to install my projector headlights/HID's last night. Man am I glad I did! The new light pattern is SO wide and crisp. Talk about a sharp cutoff...I have to aim them tonight because I got done around 3:30 A.M. last night and after that I'm sure I'll see some more improvement. This mod was expensive but I feel it was highly worth it. I can light up so much more road, especially to the sides. And the high beams are just ridiculous. I highly recommend Jeremy's work in projector retrofitting and Retro-Solutions 55W HID kit. The kit was plug and play and made the install super simple and easy with the wiring guide that Jeremy sent me. Can't wait to get some HID's for my fog lights :rockon:

Here's the wiring guide used for 06-08 trucks. 05 and post 08 use different diagrams.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f210/ ... RamH13.jpg

Step 1: Unbolt old headlights (10mm) and unplug factory light plugs

Step 2: Find a place to mount your relay. Since the supplied harness didn't come with a very long power wire I needed to mount it somewhat close to the battery. I mounted it to the right of the fuse box with a #10 sheet metal screw (after drilling a pilot hole).
Image

Step 3: Plug in the harness plug into the factory headlight bulb plug and mount the capacitor. I zip tied my harness/headlight plugs together because I broke the retaining clip on my green headlight plug. Oh well...
Image

Step 4: Run the passenger side headlight wires. I chose to run mine underneath the crossbar directly in front of the radiator that the hood closes to. It seemed the "cleanest" to me. I used plenty of zip ties in the process.
Image

Step 4 continued: Running the passenger wire...
Image

Step 5: Run the wires for the 2 resistors/resistor grounds. The resistors have heat sinks on them because they get really hot when the HID's are running. I wanted to attempt to get them some airflow so I mounted/grounded mine on the crossbar above the winch/in front of the radiator and ran the wires tucked into that crossbar to make it look cleaner.
Image

Step 5 continued: Running resistor wire...
Image

Step 5 continued: Resistors mounted with supplied screws (after drilling pilot holes)
Image

Step 5 continued: Resistor wires grounded on crossbar (sanded the area first and grounded with #10 sheet metal screws).
Image

Step 6: Mount driver's side ballast and ground ballast wire/hook up wires to ballast. Took me a while to find a spot to mount the ballasts that wouldn't interfere with the headlights when they were mounted. Finally settled with mounting them on the sides of the crossbar next to the radiator. Was going to mount them on the front of that crossbar but the clearance was too small to allow me to mount the headlight. The ballasts are hidden by the grill when you look from the front. Drilled pilot holes and secured with #10 sheet metal screws/washers.
Image

Step 7: Mount passenger's side ballast and ground ballast wires/hook up wires to ballast. Mounted same way as driver's ballast.
Image

Step 8: Plug in all wires to their correct places (AFTER using copious amounts of dielectric grease on everything!!!) and then plug the harness/factor light plugs into new projector headlights. Install headlights.

Step 9: Remove negative battery plug (1/2"). Remove positive battery plug (1/2"). Install power wire on positive battery bolt (ran my power wire behind the fuse box and behind battery). Re-install positive terminal nut and tighten. Re-install negative battery plug and tighten.

Image

Step 10: Close hood and turn on the lights. Enjoy.
2006 QC PW G56

Suspension: 3" Thuren Diesel coils, Carli Progressive leaf springs, Thuren DYSKO bumpstops, Thuren control arms, Thuren tracbar, Thuren draglink, King 2.5" remote reservoir front shocks/2.5" King DBL bypass rear shocks, limit straps, factory swaybar end links extended 2",

Engine/Drivetrain: Airaid full intake, Airflow snorkel, Magnaflow y-pipe, 3" Flowmaster Super 44, Jet 180 t-stat, locker bypass. Carli balljoints. greasable front u-joints, Gorilla Juice in the G56, Royal Purple 75W-140 in the diffs, Shell Rotella 5W-40 in the engine w/ oversize K&N filter.

Body/Appearance: Go Recon super white cab lights, Retro Solutions 55W 6000K HID kit for headlights/fogs and projector retro'd headlight, Carli front diff guard, Rockcrusher rear diff guard, lots of pinstriping & some dents

Interior: 12" JL Audio sub in custom box w/ adjustable bass knob and 500W JL Audio amplifier, headrest gun sling, CB radio

User avatar
Pit Slave
Vendor
Vendor
Posts: 1486
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 11:12 am
Location: Sandy, Utah.. Moab, Jersey, Space Station, Baja.....

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by Pit Slave » Tue May 22, 2012 8:07 pm

Sweet deal!

I'll be honest I didn't read the whole thing yet.:grin:

sent via telegraph using Tapatalk TOO
Nothing's more dead than a horse in a glue bottle.Image

There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation.
One is by the sword. The other is by debt.
John Adams - 1826


I guess you could say I'm a bit off center.....:D

MSparks909
250_Posts
250_Posts
Posts: 429
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 2:43 pm
Location: New Bern/Wilmington, NC

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by MSparks909 » Tue May 22, 2012 8:16 pm

Here's two pics showing my unaimed lows & the high beams. Talk about sharp cutoff! I'm going to raise my passenger side projector up some tonight. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics...

Lows:
Image

Highs:
Image

I'll post some updated pics later showing how the lights are after I aim them.
2006 QC PW G56

Suspension: 3" Thuren Diesel coils, Carli Progressive leaf springs, Thuren DYSKO bumpstops, Thuren control arms, Thuren tracbar, Thuren draglink, King 2.5" remote reservoir front shocks/2.5" King DBL bypass rear shocks, limit straps, factory swaybar end links extended 2",

Engine/Drivetrain: Airaid full intake, Airflow snorkel, Magnaflow y-pipe, 3" Flowmaster Super 44, Jet 180 t-stat, locker bypass. Carli balljoints. greasable front u-joints, Gorilla Juice in the G56, Royal Purple 75W-140 in the diffs, Shell Rotella 5W-40 in the engine w/ oversize K&N filter.

Body/Appearance: Go Recon super white cab lights, Retro Solutions 55W 6000K HID kit for headlights/fogs and projector retro'd headlight, Carli front diff guard, Rockcrusher rear diff guard, lots of pinstriping & some dents

Interior: 12" JL Audio sub in custom box w/ adjustable bass knob and 500W JL Audio amplifier, headrest gun sling, CB radio

MSparks909
250_Posts
250_Posts
Posts: 429
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 2:43 pm
Location: New Bern/Wilmington, NC

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by MSparks909 » Tue May 22, 2012 8:18 pm

Pit Slave wrote:Sweet deal!

I'll be honest I didn't read the whole thing yet.:grin:

sent via telegraph using Tapatalk TOO
Figured I'd post up a full install how-to on the new forum ;) I don't think you need to read the install Mr. Electronic Guru. This was for the non electrically-inclined people out there haha.
2006 QC PW G56

Suspension: 3" Thuren Diesel coils, Carli Progressive leaf springs, Thuren DYSKO bumpstops, Thuren control arms, Thuren tracbar, Thuren draglink, King 2.5" remote reservoir front shocks/2.5" King DBL bypass rear shocks, limit straps, factory swaybar end links extended 2",

Engine/Drivetrain: Airaid full intake, Airflow snorkel, Magnaflow y-pipe, 3" Flowmaster Super 44, Jet 180 t-stat, locker bypass. Carli balljoints. greasable front u-joints, Gorilla Juice in the G56, Royal Purple 75W-140 in the diffs, Shell Rotella 5W-40 in the engine w/ oversize K&N filter.

Body/Appearance: Go Recon super white cab lights, Retro Solutions 55W 6000K HID kit for headlights/fogs and projector retro'd headlight, Carli front diff guard, Rockcrusher rear diff guard, lots of pinstriping & some dents

Interior: 12" JL Audio sub in custom box w/ adjustable bass knob and 500W JL Audio amplifier, headrest gun sling, CB radio

User avatar
Pit Slave
Vendor
Vendor
Posts: 1486
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 11:12 am
Location: Sandy, Utah.. Moab, Jersey, Space Station, Baja.....

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by Pit Slave » Tue May 22, 2012 8:20 pm

MSparks909 wrote:
Pit Slave wrote:Sweet deal!

I'll be honest I didn't read the whole thing yet.:grin:

sent via telegraph using Tapatalk TOO
Figured I'd post up a full install how-to on the new forum ;) I don't think you need to read the install Mr. Electronic Guru. This was for the non electrically-inclined people out there haha.
:grin:
Nothing's more dead than a horse in a glue bottle.Image

There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation.
One is by the sword. The other is by debt.
John Adams - 1826


I guess you could say I'm a bit off center.....:D

User avatar
VA_Wagon Man
500_Posts
500_Posts
Posts: 737
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 10:54 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by VA_Wagon Man » Tue May 22, 2012 8:57 pm

Nice write up Sparks. I must have missed it, but what's the ball park figure on the cost? I can tell by the pics that there's no comparison to our factory ones.

:)
Long Gone:
'05 Silver Power Wagon: # 869: Custom Rear Hitch & Bed Clearance Mod, Custom Front and Rear Tubular Bumpers, Airflow 3rd Gen Snorkel, Diablo Sport Predator, 35x12.50 Nitto Mud Grappler Extreme Terrain, Flow Master 40, Mopar Rock Rails, Warn 15,000lb Winch,with Thermal Bypass, 4.56 Locking front and rear Diffs, Sway-bar disconnect, Uprgraded " T " steering linkage, Fully Skid plated with fore and aft bars, Carli Front Diff Protector, RockCrusher Rear Diff Pro, Bilstein 5100's with rear Custom Valving, Pit Slave Winch Strap, CajunPW PNP Locker By-Pass,

Follow Me, I'll Pull You Out...AFTER you pull me out......
Rausch Creek 2010 Fall Run
Rausch Creek 2011 Spring Run
Rausch Creek 2011 Fall Run
Rausch Creek 2012 Spring Run
Future Rausch Creek 2013 Spring Run June 22nd!

"There is no hunting, like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough, and liked it, never cared for anything else thereafter." --Earnest Hemmingway--

MSparks909
250_Posts
250_Posts
Posts: 429
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 2:43 pm
Location: New Bern/Wilmington, NC

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by MSparks909 » Wed May 23, 2012 11:47 am

I paid around $700 for everything, but I opted to use new headlights (could have saved $150 if I would have re-used my originals but my originals were starting to fog up) and on the new headlights I opted for the amber strip at the bottom which my stock 06 headlights had. The 07-08 headlights didn't come with the amber strip which would have saved me $40. And then you can choose what HID kit you want. I wanted the most powerful kit Retro-Solutions made, which is their 55W "Digital" HID kit. Benefit of that kit is everything has a lifetime warranty. Morimoto projectors were used and I also opted for the larger "Apollo" shrouds for the new headlights.

You can play around with pricing/different HID options/whether or not you want to paint the inside of the new (old) headlights/add Halo's, etc. on Jeremy's new website if you want (this new site wasn't up when I bought my lights):
http://shop.retroshop.us/

Here's the link to the Retro-Solutions website detailing the different HID kits you can choose from:
http://retro-solutions.net/
2006 QC PW G56

Suspension: 3" Thuren Diesel coils, Carli Progressive leaf springs, Thuren DYSKO bumpstops, Thuren control arms, Thuren tracbar, Thuren draglink, King 2.5" remote reservoir front shocks/2.5" King DBL bypass rear shocks, limit straps, factory swaybar end links extended 2",

Engine/Drivetrain: Airaid full intake, Airflow snorkel, Magnaflow y-pipe, 3" Flowmaster Super 44, Jet 180 t-stat, locker bypass. Carli balljoints. greasable front u-joints, Gorilla Juice in the G56, Royal Purple 75W-140 in the diffs, Shell Rotella 5W-40 in the engine w/ oversize K&N filter.

Body/Appearance: Go Recon super white cab lights, Retro Solutions 55W 6000K HID kit for headlights/fogs and projector retro'd headlight, Carli front diff guard, Rockcrusher rear diff guard, lots of pinstriping & some dents

Interior: 12" JL Audio sub in custom box w/ adjustable bass knob and 500W JL Audio amplifier, headrest gun sling, CB radio

User avatar
VA_Wagon Man
500_Posts
500_Posts
Posts: 737
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 10:54 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by VA_Wagon Man » Wed May 23, 2012 12:02 pm

Sweet, thanks. That's a good chunk of change. :lol:

Can't wait to see them next week.
Long Gone:
'05 Silver Power Wagon: # 869: Custom Rear Hitch & Bed Clearance Mod, Custom Front and Rear Tubular Bumpers, Airflow 3rd Gen Snorkel, Diablo Sport Predator, 35x12.50 Nitto Mud Grappler Extreme Terrain, Flow Master 40, Mopar Rock Rails, Warn 15,000lb Winch,with Thermal Bypass, 4.56 Locking front and rear Diffs, Sway-bar disconnect, Uprgraded " T " steering linkage, Fully Skid plated with fore and aft bars, Carli Front Diff Protector, RockCrusher Rear Diff Pro, Bilstein 5100's with rear Custom Valving, Pit Slave Winch Strap, CajunPW PNP Locker By-Pass,

Follow Me, I'll Pull You Out...AFTER you pull me out......
Rausch Creek 2010 Fall Run
Rausch Creek 2011 Spring Run
Rausch Creek 2011 Fall Run
Rausch Creek 2012 Spring Run
Future Rausch Creek 2013 Spring Run June 22nd!

"There is no hunting, like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough, and liked it, never cared for anything else thereafter." --Earnest Hemmingway--

MSparks909
250_Posts
250_Posts
Posts: 429
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 2:43 pm
Location: New Bern/Wilmington, NC

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by MSparks909 » Wed May 23, 2012 4:28 pm

VA_Wagon Man wrote:Sweet, thanks. That's a good chunk of change. :lol:

Can't wait to see them next week.
Yes indeed it was...LT header fund is now wiped out :lol: So far they have definitely been well worth it. Now I have to save up for headers, then custom front & rear bumpers and a 40" Rigid Industries LED lightbar. Then I think I'll be done with lighting for a while!
2006 QC PW G56

Suspension: 3" Thuren Diesel coils, Carli Progressive leaf springs, Thuren DYSKO bumpstops, Thuren control arms, Thuren tracbar, Thuren draglink, King 2.5" remote reservoir front shocks/2.5" King DBL bypass rear shocks, limit straps, factory swaybar end links extended 2",

Engine/Drivetrain: Airaid full intake, Airflow snorkel, Magnaflow y-pipe, 3" Flowmaster Super 44, Jet 180 t-stat, locker bypass. Carli balljoints. greasable front u-joints, Gorilla Juice in the G56, Royal Purple 75W-140 in the diffs, Shell Rotella 5W-40 in the engine w/ oversize K&N filter.

Body/Appearance: Go Recon super white cab lights, Retro Solutions 55W 6000K HID kit for headlights/fogs and projector retro'd headlight, Carli front diff guard, Rockcrusher rear diff guard, lots of pinstriping & some dents

Interior: 12" JL Audio sub in custom box w/ adjustable bass knob and 500W JL Audio amplifier, headrest gun sling, CB radio

User avatar
VA_Wagon Man
500_Posts
500_Posts
Posts: 737
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 10:54 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by VA_Wagon Man » Wed May 23, 2012 7:59 pm

I'd say! I'll be able to see you coming across the NC/VA line! (i'm 300 miles from there) lol :o
Long Gone:
'05 Silver Power Wagon: # 869: Custom Rear Hitch & Bed Clearance Mod, Custom Front and Rear Tubular Bumpers, Airflow 3rd Gen Snorkel, Diablo Sport Predator, 35x12.50 Nitto Mud Grappler Extreme Terrain, Flow Master 40, Mopar Rock Rails, Warn 15,000lb Winch,with Thermal Bypass, 4.56 Locking front and rear Diffs, Sway-bar disconnect, Uprgraded " T " steering linkage, Fully Skid plated with fore and aft bars, Carli Front Diff Protector, RockCrusher Rear Diff Pro, Bilstein 5100's with rear Custom Valving, Pit Slave Winch Strap, CajunPW PNP Locker By-Pass,

Follow Me, I'll Pull You Out...AFTER you pull me out......
Rausch Creek 2010 Fall Run
Rausch Creek 2011 Spring Run
Rausch Creek 2011 Fall Run
Rausch Creek 2012 Spring Run
Future Rausch Creek 2013 Spring Run June 22nd!

"There is no hunting, like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough, and liked it, never cared for anything else thereafter." --Earnest Hemmingway--

User avatar
Cactus Red
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1862
Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 6:43 pm
Location: Chino Valley, AZ.

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by Cactus Red » Thu May 24, 2012 6:46 pm

Looks great - nice sharp cut off on the low beams. I'm impressed!
I'm just along for the ride...

MSparks909
250_Posts
250_Posts
Posts: 429
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 2:43 pm
Location: New Bern/Wilmington, NC

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by MSparks909 » Thu May 24, 2012 10:28 pm

Cactus Red wrote:Looks great - nice sharp cut off on the low beams. I'm impressed!
Thanks! I'll have to post some new pics up of the lights...I aimed them last night. Had to slightly rotate the passenger side projector counterclockwise because the cutoff on that light was slightly tilted to the right. I also raised that light's cutoff pattern to match the driver's headlight cutoff, which I found to be the perfect height for both providing excellent vision down the road all the while not being a nuisance to other driver's on the road due to the sharp cutoff. The highbeams are stupid bright for using only 2 lights (because the fogs turn off when the high beams come on). They are similar to my friend's (4) KC Daylighter 130W's. I cannot wait to get a Rigid Industries LED lightbar :D
2006 QC PW G56

Suspension: 3" Thuren Diesel coils, Carli Progressive leaf springs, Thuren DYSKO bumpstops, Thuren control arms, Thuren tracbar, Thuren draglink, King 2.5" remote reservoir front shocks/2.5" King DBL bypass rear shocks, limit straps, factory swaybar end links extended 2",

Engine/Drivetrain: Airaid full intake, Airflow snorkel, Magnaflow y-pipe, 3" Flowmaster Super 44, Jet 180 t-stat, locker bypass. Carli balljoints. greasable front u-joints, Gorilla Juice in the G56, Royal Purple 75W-140 in the diffs, Shell Rotella 5W-40 in the engine w/ oversize K&N filter.

Body/Appearance: Go Recon super white cab lights, Retro Solutions 55W 6000K HID kit for headlights/fogs and projector retro'd headlight, Carli front diff guard, Rockcrusher rear diff guard, lots of pinstriping & some dents

Interior: 12" JL Audio sub in custom box w/ adjustable bass knob and 500W JL Audio amplifier, headrest gun sling, CB radio

Ducky's Dad
1000_Posts
1000_Posts
Posts: 1522
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 10:55 pm

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by Ducky's Dad » Fri May 25, 2012 12:47 am

The highbeams are stupid bright for using only 2 lights (because the fogs turn off when the high beams come on).
I wired my fogs though a separate switch (bypassed the computer so that it thinks they are always off) and now they stay on when the high beams are on. They are on when I want them on and off when I want them off. Don't need no stinkin' computer.

User avatar
AceMan
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 1544
Joined: Tue May 22, 2012 11:27 am
Model Year: 2006
Location: Delaware County, PA
Contact:

Re: Projector Headlight/55W HID install

Post by AceMan » Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:31 am

Ducky's Dad wrote:
The highbeams are stupid bright for using only 2 lights (because the fogs turn off when the high beams come on).
I wired my fogs though a separate switch (bypassed the computer so that it thinks they are always off) and now they stay on when the high beams are on. They are on when I want them on and off when I want them off. Don't need no stinkin' computer.
Good mod! I believe I read a mod somewhere that if you changed your ECM to Canada locale, you can get the fogs and highbeams to work together. However, I'm not sure what else that affects.
Did you ever notice that after Monday and Tuesday the calendar says "WTF"?
KB1ACE - Kilo-Bravo-One-Alpha-Charlie-Echo
Power Wagon Owner's Club #110

Black '06 PW QC
Auto, REC Nav/Sat UConnect, Reverse cam, MyGig v2 Lockpick, adj pedals, Tow mirrors, aftermarket heated seats.
Mods: Mopar Rock Rails, Carr steps (what's left of them), Toyo MT 35x12.5x17, Mopar 8.5 "T"-Linkage, Carli Trackbar (frameside 16mm bolt), King 2.5 Reservoir shocks, Carli Progressive coils, Carli Front Diff Protector, Rockcrusher rear diff, Carli Low Mount Damper, KC 55 watt rear floods w/Defiant bracket, RetroSolutions 12W LED rev & brake lights, EBC Slotted/Dimpled Rotors & Yellow Stuff Pads, 4th Gen Steering Box, Spicer axle U-joints, 4G DTProfab Steering brace ground 3/8" offset to fit my 3G 2006 with a 4G box.
Sitting in Garage: Ram SRT10 A-Pillar.
Image Image Image

Post Reply