HID retrofit help

[sneakypete]

Hi all, I just bought a set of MattV HID retrofit headlights from another user, but they are set up for a sedan and I have a P5. The wiring harness controller has a single plug that looks like it fits into an H4-style bulb holder (which makes sense because the sedan uses H4 bulbs). My question is this: what do I do? Should I just buy a new wiring harness controller?

 

[azuelke]

Pics of the wiring would help. My HIDs came with spade plugs on the ends that I shoved into the stock harness, minus the H7 black plastic adapter. There are also harnesses that plug into the bi-xenon that can be wired up to use the stock P5 high beam plug.

 

[sneakypete]

OK so after some research, it seems that this Morimoto wiring harness is meant to plug into a single 9003 female bulb plug on a sedan, which would give signal to both ballasts. Here are pics:

wiring harness controller

male 9003 plug (the only one attached to the harness)

male plugs on harness that plug into female plugs on ballasts

big one on right: female plug on ballast, little ones on left: plugs from ballast that plug into HID bulb

ballast and associated plugs

 

[sneakypete]

So I guess it looks like my best option is just to splice my headlight connectors together into a 9003 female plug so I can connect this wiring harness. Right? Is there something easier? Perhaps a 9005/H7 bi-xenon harness?

 

[sneakypete]

Update: I spoke to someone at The Retrofit Source, and they recommended an H7 harness. I got the harness, which looks very nice, but there is no spot for the tiny plug that goes to the projector (bottom plug on my third pic). I hooked it up anyway, but the lights did not illuminate.
THEN, I built an adapter with a 5-pin relay to merge the stock 9005 and H7 plugs into a single 9003/H4 plug. This way, I could use the original harness that has the tiny plug that goes from the harness to the projector. I hooked it all up, and nothing. Any thoughts?

 

[azuelke]

The small plug that runs to the projector controls the "high beam". Not sure what the new harness looks, but that should somehow make its way to the stock P5 high beam plug. As far as the H4 plug is concerned, I would just cut it off and shove the + and - coming from the HIDs right into the stock plug.

 

[sneakypete]

I think I've got it figured out. I didn't realize that the key needs to be turned for the ballasts to get power. Oops! I'm just going to use the original H4 harness with my homemade adapter since it fits the high beam plugs from the projectors. That way I won't have to cut into my factory wiring.

 

[sneakypete]

Update: I tried hooking up each of the harnesses (the original H4 harness with my homemade adapter AND the brand new H7 harness), and testing them with the ignition switched on, but neither one worked. I am thinking that the problem is in the bulbs or ballasts. Any experience would be greatly appreciated.

 

[azuelke]

How many wires are connected to the H4 plug?

 

[sneakypete]

I used the diagram at the top of this page: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...-Headlights-P5-Headlights-gt-Sedan-Headlights

I think it may be the ballasts, though, because I tried both harnesses and neither one worked.

 

[sneakypete]

Final update:
I feel like an idiot, but I might as well share this because maybe it will help some other poor idiot. I got the lights to work this morning, and the missing piece of the puzzle was that I needed to sand my grounding points down to bare metal. That's it. They look amazing and I don't know how I lived without them.

 

[Hank3]

Glad you got it working! Enjoy

 

[azuelke]

Of course it was something so simple that was overlooked... glad you got it figured out. After building mine and seeing the difference, any I car I own in the future will be required to have projectors, stock or not.

 

[philrab]

Final update:
I feel like an idiot, but I might as well share this because maybe it will help some other poor idiot. I got the lights to work this morning, and the missing piece of the puzzle was that I needed to sand my grounding points down to bare metal. That's it. They look amazing and I don't know how I lived without them.

Yeah, I ran into that issue when installing my TRS HID's recently. Unfortunately, I'm having issues with the HID's not igniting on the first attempt. On a retry, both light up just fine. I'm communicating back and forth with TRS, but I think I got a pair of bad ballasts/bad igniters.