Morimoto HID kit from TRS, review
- Thread starter vroom
- Start date
Vroom, thanks for your real world reviews. You are confirming what many of us customizing our cars for decades knew. HIDs in a decent projector lens with proper aiming is an acceptable alternative to method to OEM "standards".
Lighting "purists" naysayers are typically people who read a lot of online information and using it as the bible of automobiles. But, in the real world it's not that black and white. Also, this bible of information is usually written by the large corporations that sell their products to the manufacturers[emoji6]. By experimenting in the real world against real world people and situations you see (no pun intended) what truly is acceptable. Good job! [emoji106]
As far as blinding traffic due to level changes from weight, there is not current solution for 100% of situations. Until the next gen of continuously variable lighting shields over the headlights become standard
P.s.- your eyes are so spoiled by great lighting that you won't be able to see well at all with standard halogens. Be cautious with your swap.
Lighting "purists" naysayers are typically people who read a lot of online information and using it as the bible of automobiles. But, in the real world it's not that black and white. Also, this bible of information is usually written by the large corporations that sell their products to the manufacturers[emoji6]. By experimenting in the real world against real world people and situations you see (no pun intended) what truly is acceptable. Good job! [emoji106]
As far as blinding traffic due to level changes from weight, there is not current solution for 100% of situations. Until the next gen of continuously variable lighting shields over the headlights become standard
P.s.- your eyes are so spoiled by great lighting that you won't be able to see well at all with standard halogens. Be cautious with your swap.
Last edited:
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
I thought auto-leveling feature is to resolve the problem of blinding opposite traffic due to different load?
I don't believe the auto leveling systems are always quick enough to respond to 100% of every situation. Certain grade of hills combined with a corner plus a Corvette coming around said corner, for example. It does help, of course.
Continuously variable light shields should be amazing once the technology can be perfected. Mercedes-Benz is working on a system now.
My kit still not turn on for the passenger side when the light switch is in AUTO, so I just turn the light off and turn it on manually now and to be sure if I cannot verify if the passenger is on or not I just turn the light on then off then on again. The passenger side will light up every time this way, a bit annoying but I can live with it for a nice bright white light.
Scorpio, the subject of automotive headlights is complicated enough without muddying it up with incorrect info and talking about load leveling headlights (what's offered on the CX-5) as if they are designed to do what some of the newer systems under development strive for. I imagine these might use cameras, radar and even GPS data to deal with localized road conditions.
This is exactly what the self-leveling headlights in the CX-5 do. They are not designed to adjust on the fly to terrain changes. When you were questioned about this you said:
To be clear, the auto-leveling headlights ONLY adjust for different ride heights, not hills. The ride height can change based upon fuel load, passengers, luggage or even suspension wear over time, not localized conditions.
Skorpio said:
This is exactly what the self-leveling headlights in the CX-5 do. They are not designed to adjust on the fly to terrain changes. When you were questioned about this you said:
To be clear, the auto-leveling headlights ONLY adjust for different ride heights, not hills. The ride height can change based upon fuel load, passengers, luggage or even suspension wear over time, not localized conditions.
I couldn't live with that kind of flakiness. Why can't they get their shtick together and make lights that come on every time they are turned on? The OEM HID's work every time.
They come on, but how much they cost compared to these, or even cheaper versions?
I have a cheap Chinese kit and sometimes does the same thing, so I don't believe these kits are the problem. It must be something with the car, that is not fully compatible.
I have a cheap Chinese kit and sometimes does the same thing, so I don't believe these kits are the problem. It must be something with the car, that is not fully compatible.
Perhaps dirty connectors or...
Perhaps dirty or oxidized connectors...clean with alcohol (after disconnecting of course) It also sounds like perhaps a Ballast issue...Just thinking .
Perhaps dirty or oxidized connectors...clean with alcohol (after disconnecting of course) It also sounds like perhaps a Ballast issue...Just thinking .
The passenger side won't come on only when at the initial start of the car when it was off for more than couple hours or so, now this is what I find strange, why only at the start, but only after the car been off for some time. If I would turn the car off, go shopping for 30 min, it will start fine in AUTO. Maybe some the someone here could figure out why it does this.
I would love to have OEM HID but in Canada, this option only come with the GT + tech, this mean an extra $5000, would be nice to get the tech in the Touring like in the US. Sure I'll get leather seats, auto climate control and a bit nicer music system but all I wanted was the HID so it would be an expensive HID system.
I was driving home from Montreal the other day and 2 cars flashed me not from the opposite direction but in the same direction. One of them put on their emergency flasher as the car passed me, I guess my light got too bright in their rear view mirror. The other as I was driving behind for some time put on the emergency flasher and slow down so I can pass them, again the light was too bright for them. I never got flash from opposite direction even on dark road so far. I also check the light cut off every time the car passed me and it was below their side mirror. Anyway love the lights.
I would love to have OEM HID but in Canada, this option only come with the GT + tech, this mean an extra $5000, would be nice to get the tech in the Touring like in the US. Sure I'll get leather seats, auto climate control and a bit nicer music system but all I wanted was the HID so it would be an expensive HID system.
I was driving home from Montreal the other day and 2 cars flashed me not from the opposite direction but in the same direction. One of them put on their emergency flasher as the car passed me, I guess my light got too bright in their rear view mirror. The other as I was driving behind for some time put on the emergency flasher and slow down so I can pass them, again the light was too bright for them. I never got flash from opposite direction even on dark road so far. I also check the light cut off every time the car passed me and it was below their side mirror. Anyway love the lights.
There is always the passenger side, I don't think it is a ballast issue in this case.
Other cheap kits do the same thing.
- :
- 2010 Mazda5 GT
Do you have an HID relay harness? If not, I would recommend getting one so that you're receiving steady power to the ballast. The Retrofit Source sells a premium version for $30, but cheaper ones can be had on ebay and Amazon.
From TRS Web site:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/co...low-beam-relay-wire-harness.html#.VfA6ShFVhBc
The relay came with the kit and light doesn't flicker but like timbimakai said, it always on the passenger side. I would have to set aside some time to trouble shoot it more. Could be some thing to do with not enough voltage travel to the other side even with the relay at the initial start.
After Market in the US...
I remember when I bought my 2015 GT...Silly as it may seem, it was the availability of HID lighting that pushed me into the GT!! The last car I had the oem self leveling ones were on a 2004 Audi A4, and I missed them until I drove the CX-5. It was "little" touches like this that made the CX-5 more desirable for me. I did not realize how much the articulating feature added, until I hit the off switch (for the articulating mode) by mistake. living a bit out of town, HIDs are the "bomb" in avoiding collisions with the wild critters (like coyotes, deer, and even bears that we share the desert with!!
With your setup, have you tried turning the key to on, but not hitting start right away? THAT may assist you in troubleshooting.
With all that said, I hope you are able to track down the problems and can enjoy your HIDs to the max!
BTW: even though HID and LED lighting has become a lot more common these days, I still get flashed occasionally ...Suckers are damn bright!
I remember when I bought my 2015 GT...Silly as it may seem, it was the availability of HID lighting that pushed me into the GT!! The last car I had the oem self leveling ones were on a 2004 Audi A4, and I missed them until I drove the CX-5. It was "little" touches like this that made the CX-5 more desirable for me. I did not realize how much the articulating feature added, until I hit the off switch (for the articulating mode) by mistake. living a bit out of town, HIDs are the "bomb" in avoiding collisions with the wild critters (like coyotes, deer, and even bears that we share the desert with!!
With your setup, have you tried turning the key to on, but not hitting start right away? THAT may assist you in troubleshooting.
With all that said, I hope you are able to track down the problems and can enjoy your HIDs to the max!
BTW: even though HID and LED lighting has become a lot more common these days, I still get flashed occasionally ...Suckers are damn bright!
Last edited:
There're 2 relays, one for each light. Thing is, the light will flicker as it want to turn on so there's power but not enough to light it. I don't know if because TRS only include 1 plug to go to the OEM headlight plug that cause this. Are the wiring in the CX-5 headlights already to accept HID? If this is the case will it work even without the relay?
Sorry folks for my lack of replies. I've been away for a while.
First, thank you all for your kind words. This community has helped me so much overs the last couple yeard that I thought I would give back.
The entire point of this was a to do a minimal plug-in retrofit that would cost me waaaay less than the $5000 extra it would have cost to get the HID lights here in Canada (as tdman pointed out in his quote further down in this post). I suspect that your suggestion would entail a complete headlight assembly swap as well as dash mods and extra wires. Not the kind of project I'm ready to attempt considering that my current 150$ mod is nearly perfect anyway AFAIK...
Sorry, I don't, nor do I intend on taking such pictures. As I pointed out, the beam pattern shape (and that includes width) is just about identical between halogens and HID. Only the brightness and color change. The increased brightness does help see what is lurking in the shadows to the side of the road though (deer, etc.).
As you mention, the problem always occures on the AUTO setting when the lights have not been used in a while, and I'm pretty sure I know why:
The AUTO part is easy to understand. In that mode, the lights are trying to light at the same time as the engine is cranking. HID lights need a very large voltage in order to establish the initial electrical arc. Obviously, the period when the engine is cranking is the very worst time to try to get a very high voltage. A very small delay between the time you press the START button and the moment the lights turn on, say a second or less, would probably help quite a lot in resolving the problem. The OEM system might just be adopting a similar solution.
As for the problem happening when the bulbs haven't been used in a while here is my theory. To understand why, you first need to understand how HID bulbs work. If you look closely at an HID bulb, you will notice a white/yellowish powder is in there. That is a salt that gets vaporized by the initial (very hot) electrical arc. The initial arc requires a LOT of juice to produce because the thin gas inside the bulb is not very conductive. The arc is also initially blue. Once the salt is vaporized into the bulb, the gaseous medium becomes a lot more conductive and better able to sustain the arc. Ionization of the salt vapor by the arc is also what produces the white light color we all love.
Now, after turning off the car, it takes a while for the vaporized salts to re-condense into a solid. During that time, the gas inside the bulb remains more conductive, so a lower voltage is not as much of a problem: the lights should start easily even in AUTO. Once the bulbs have cooled completely and salts are condensed, then you get the problem agin on occasion...
First, thank you all for your kind words. This community has helped me so much overs the last couple yeard that I thought I would give back.
Thanks for your long-term report. In Europe, every HID requires auto-leveling and headlight washer. This is something we should adapt in North America. Have you tried to look into manual leveling retrofitting as this is also required in many EU countries for halogen headlights?
The entire point of this was a to do a minimal plug-in retrofit that would cost me waaaay less than the $5000 extra it would have cost to get the HID lights here in Canada (as tdman pointed out in his quote further down in this post). I suspect that your suggestion would entail a complete headlight assembly swap as well as dash mods and extra wires. Not the kind of project I'm ready to attempt considering that my current 150$ mod is nearly perfect anyway AFAIK...
Sorry, I don't, nor do I intend on taking such pictures. As I pointed out, the beam pattern shape (and that includes width) is just about identical between halogens and HID. Only the brightness and color change. The increased brightness does help see what is lurking in the shadows to the side of the road though (deer, etc.).
As you mention, the problem always occures on the AUTO setting when the lights have not been used in a while, and I'm pretty sure I know why:
The AUTO part is easy to understand. In that mode, the lights are trying to light at the same time as the engine is cranking. HID lights need a very large voltage in order to establish the initial electrical arc. Obviously, the period when the engine is cranking is the very worst time to try to get a very high voltage. A very small delay between the time you press the START button and the moment the lights turn on, say a second or less, would probably help quite a lot in resolving the problem. The OEM system might just be adopting a similar solution.
As for the problem happening when the bulbs haven't been used in a while here is my theory. To understand why, you first need to understand how HID bulbs work. If you look closely at an HID bulb, you will notice a white/yellowish powder is in there. That is a salt that gets vaporized by the initial (very hot) electrical arc. The initial arc requires a LOT of juice to produce because the thin gas inside the bulb is not very conductive. The arc is also initially blue. Once the salt is vaporized into the bulb, the gaseous medium becomes a lot more conductive and better able to sustain the arc. Ionization of the salt vapor by the arc is also what produces the white light color we all love.
Now, after turning off the car, it takes a while for the vaporized salts to re-condense into a solid. During that time, the gas inside the bulb remains more conductive, so a lower voltage is not as much of a problem: the lights should start easily even in AUTO. Once the bulbs have cooled completely and salts are condensed, then you get the problem agin on occasion...
Correct. The OEM HID's will not attempt to ignite while the engine is cranking.
Just one additional reason why it's best to stick with solutions that have been engineered to work as a whole.
