CX-5 Tech Pkg Xenon Bulb Swap (pics)

raden

Member
So I wasn't happy with the stock HID bulbs that came with my car, so I went ahead and swapped them.

These are the ones I got:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)


While the stock lights offer decent brightness, they still look yellowish to me, and I am used to the 5000k HID's I had in my Axela. The blue tinted white light is easier on my eyes and I do not feel tired as I used to when I drove with regular 3300-4300k bulbs.

The bulbs were not easy to swap because I have large hands and forearms, but the access space is there if you are willing to try. First, I would strongly recommend disconnecting the battery for safety's sake, because there are alot of high voltage warning labels.

After doing so, I removed the waterproof lid, just twisting it counter-clockwise. Then I disconnected the HID connector, also twisting and pulling off. Lastly, two clips hold the bulb in place, you can pretty much feel it there, but I used a small mirror for clarification.

Reverse the process to finish up, and viola!


Stock bulb:

IMG_20120518_203718.jpg


New bulb:

IMG_20120518_203708.jpg


Light/color comparison: (left is stock, right is new)

IMG_20120518_203755.jpg


All completed.

IMG_20120518_223249.jpg


Bulb Housing Cover, this is a plastic piece that you turn counter-clockwise to take off.

2012-06-18_11-52-51_387.jpg


Cover removed

2012-06-18_11-51-02_930.jpg


View inside with cover removed

2012-06-18_11-51-22_841.jpg


Close up of the ballast plug

2012-06-18_11-52-04_767.jpg




Video

Quick lunch time vid I shot on my Droid Razr Maxx. I just wanted to show what everything looks like inside. I was unable to do a full replacement at the time.

Original post located at: http://bit.ly/NIPUQJ
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***Disclaimer*** This video is for informational purposes only. I am not responsible for your actions. Make sure to disconnect the battery before replacing the Xenon bulbs.
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Anyway, I went with the 6000k, and so far after driving at night in the pitch black roads of upstate NY, I am convinced that this works for me.

I know some of you will say that the "lumen output is lower" or "it's not as bright as the stock ones" but I am happy with it.

I will be changing the DRL bulbs next...
 
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So how hard was it replacing and also do you have any issues with auto leveling and AFS? I really do want to swap them but I'm concerned about the electronic components of the housing.. Btw what bulb type was it? H1?
 
Kimchei,

It was not difficult per say, the difficult part was reaching the bulb housing area. If you have small hands and forearms, this will be easy for you.

If you have the factory Xenon installed, the bulb will be a D4S.

I will try to take picture of the bulb housing, unless someone can beat me to it. :)
 
Wow 89 for light bulbs... that's expensive. In those pictures (maybe not a good judge) I cannot not even see the differences. Do you really see a difference when drive that much compares to $19 bulb? Also the bulbs are covered under factory warranty for the first 3 years
 
Wow 89 for light bulbs... that's expensive. In those pictures (maybe not a good judge) I cannot not even see the differences. Do you really see a difference when drive that much compares to $19 bulb? Also the bulbs are covered under factory warranty for the first 3 years

These are not your regular run of the mill bulbs, these bulbs will only work in factory installed xenon systems, they will not work in halogen systems. $89 for the pair is actually a decent price, considering factory bulbs can go for $45-60 each. There is a major difference in the light color for me. Everybody's eyes are different so its up to you do research what will work for you.
 
hmmm guess i'll try and look inside the engine bay... found same ones here

http://store.ijdmtoy.com/HID-Light-Bulbs-Xenon-Headlight-p/hid_d4s_d4r_d4c.htm

i've purchased many things from here and so far everything has been great quality... guess this will be my next project

If you have the Tech Package, make sure you get D4S not any of the other ones. In everything I have read and learned, Phillips Osram is a trusted brand and is an OEM bulb in many factory xenon equipped Beemers and Lexi. When I was getting HID's for my 07 Axela, I did a lot of research on HID's in general and found a lot of praise for them.
 
Wow 89 for light bulbs... that's expensive. In those pictures (maybe not a good judge) I cannot not even see the differences. Do you really see a difference when drive that much compares to $19 bulb? Also the bulbs are covered under factory warranty for the first 3 years

Um... Want a brief explanation as to why they are not your regular "bulbs"?

Halogens have a filament that lights up, and run at 12 volts, battery voltage.
Hid stands for high intensity discharge, and the bulbs have no filament, just a tiny gap that uses a transformer (ballast) to goose the 12 volts up to 27,000 volts, and a spark jumps the gap and you have an'arc' light.

You can't just plug HID capsules in and expect the 12 volts to light 'em, you need ballasts.



Anyways, OP. They look great. I am wondering why Mazda's HIDs always had a yellow tint to them. Even in my RX-8 and friend's Mazda3. I am thinking because the projectors Mazda uses are fresnel instead of frosted lens. Do you have a picture comparison between your 5000k and 6000k HID's?
 
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Hey I'm about to install the new bulbs and was wondering if you have some pictures I could use for reference. I think I found the housing for the bulb. there is the power connector and next to it 3 clips holding place the cover. The cover is black square plastic right? Would like to know if i'm looking at the right area... thx
 
Anyways, OP. They look great. I am wondering why Mazda's HIDs always had a yellow tint to them. Even in my RX-8 and friend's Mazda3. I am thinking because the projectors Mazda uses are fresnel instead of frosted lens.

With the MS3 and M3, the projector housings had frosted lenses, not fresnel. That will make restrict some of the purplish/blueish hues. I got a pair of the TRS lenses and it made a world of difference with the color spectrum and cutoff.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=150

Don't know what size the lenses of the CX-5 are, but they might work. The beam cutoff looks similar to the MS3 and M3. I personally would've ordered the D4S bulbs from TRS:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=3180
 
Hey I'm about to install the new bulbs and was wondering if you have some pictures I could use for reference. I think I found the housing for the bulb. there is the power connector and next to it 3 clips holding place the cover. The cover is black square plastic right? Would like to know if i'm looking at the right area... thx

Kimchei,

I would gladly take pictures for everyone as soon as my time permits.
The top black cover is a waterproof piece and twists off with little pressure.
The power connector connects to the bulb with a 1/3 twist, there are no clips holding it.
The bulb is held in place by two metal clips, I used a hand mirror to see inside the housing, because it's very awkwardly positioned.

I strongly recommend disconnecting the negative cable of the battery when changing the bulbs. Just for the sake of safety. I also used a volt meter to triple check any current that might still linger.



I will try to make a video if I can.

-Raden
 
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Kimchei,

I would gladly take pictures for everyone as soon as my time permits.
The top black cover is a waterproof piece and twists off with little pressure.
The power connector connects to the bulb with a 1/3 twist, there are no clips holding it.
The bulb is held in place by two metal clips, I used a hand mirror to see inside the housing, because it's very awkwardly positioned.

I strongly recommend disconnecting the negative cable of the battery when changing the bulbs. Just for the sake of safety. I also used a volt meter to triple check any current that might still linger.



I will try to make a video if I can.

-Raden

Hi raden,
Thanks for the nice write up but will disconnecting the negative terminals of the battery reset the radio station presets, Tyre pressure sensor and other ECU related stuff (engine timing..etc) ? Any other stuff we need to look out for?
 
Hi raden,
Thanks for the nice write up but will disconnecting the negative terminals of the battery reset the radio station presets, Tyre pressure sensor and other ECU related stuff (engine timing..etc) ? Any other stuff we need to look out for?

That is correct, you will lose radio settings and anything else that goes when the battery is disconnected. I am not sure about the engine timing however, the ECU does not lose its factory flashed rom when the battery is disconnected. I had no adverse effects after doing mine.

Make sure to set your TMPS after reconnecting, check the manual for that info.
 
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Kimchei,

I would gladly take pictures for everyone as soon as my time permits.
The top black cover is a waterproof piece and twists off with little pressure.
The power connector connects to the bulb with a 1/3 twist, there are no clips holding it.
The bulb is held in place by two metal clips, I used a hand mirror to see inside the housing, because it's very awkwardly positioned.

I strongly recommend disconnecting the negative cable of the battery when changing the bulbs. Just for the sake of safety. I also used a volt meter to triple check any current that might still linger.



I will try to make a video if I can.

-Raden

well hopefully i can wait until you can post some pictures for reference... thx Raden
 
2013 mazda CX-5

hello I have a 2013 MAZDA CX-5 AND I WOULD LIKE TO UPGRADE THE REGULAR HEADLIGHTS BULBS FOR AN XENON HID 8000K BULBS, BUT SOME ONE CAN HELP ME AND LET ME KNOW WHAT TYPE OF LOW BEAM BULB AND HIGH BEAM BULB CAN I USED FOR MY CAR THANKS:'(
 
hello I have a 2013 MAZDA CX-5 AND I WOULD LIKE TO UPGRADE THE REGULAR HEADLIGHTS BULBS FOR AN XENON HID 8000K BULBS, BUT SOME ONE CAN HELP ME AND LET ME KNOW WHAT TYPE OF LOW BEAM BULB AND HIGH BEAM BULB CAN I USED FOR MY CAR THANKS:'(

The low beam is all that you will want to change. I believe the bulb is a H11. Why so blue, white would be a better choice.
 
hello I have a 2013 MAZDA CX-5 AND I WOULD LIKE TO UPGRADE THE REGULAR HEADLIGHTS BULBS FOR AN XENON HID 8000K BULBS, BUT SOME ONE CAN HELP ME AND LET ME KNOW WHAT TYPE OF LOW BEAM BULB AND HIGH BEAM BULB CAN I USED FOR MY CAR THANKS:'(

Here is the bulb info from another post:

If you have a CX-5 with With halogen bulb headlights (Sport, Touring, and Grand Touring without Tech Package) in US model use the following:
Headlights Low: H11 (H11)
Headlights High: HB3 (HB3)
Daytime running lights: HB3 (HB3)

Headlights High and DRL are the same exact bulb and socket in the light assembly used for both purposes. You cant use P13W bulbs and its very likely illegal for you to use LED bulb for your headlight High.

If you have a CX-5 with With xenon fusion bulb headlights (Grand Touring with Tech Package) in US model use the following:
Headlights Low/High (Bi-Xenon): D4S
Daytime Running Lights: P13W

You can use P13W LED bulbs for your DRL to match your Headlights Low/High.


If you go as high as 8000k not only will you risk getting pulled over by the cops for having improper lighting. You will also endanger yourself by having inadequate lighting for night time driving.

Here is a reference for color:

HIDColorChart.png
 
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The CX-5's with HID's are Bi-Xenon, which only use one bulb for both high and low beam. There is a shutter that is opened when you put your high beams on. There is no additional light, just more light projected through the lens.
 
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