Thread: Converting the air dam spots to HID

I recently bought 2 new Chrome Hella 181s to fit into my air dam of my 92RRC with the plan to change them to H3 HID at the same time as I broke a lens on an old one and have had a couple of unsightly holes in the air dam since..

I bought 2 chrome 181s from Ebay from 4x4 direct and 2 x35w H3 HID kits.
First problem that arose was that hella had changed the bulb retention system on the 181 to a "bridge" across the end of the H3 QH bulb as H3 s have a 90 degree wire . I overcame this by removing the bridge and retaining the bulb by slightly bending the tangs which held the bridge ( one curved and one straight), bending the posts in a little and finally retaining with some garden covered wire!

The next problem was that the rear of the HID bulb was longer than the distance from the bulb holder to the rear case. The only fix possible was to drill a hole big enough in the case to take the last 3-4MM of the bulb, then seal it with silastic. The new hole became the outlet for the wires.

Finding a place for the HID transformer was easy in comparison. There is a very good space behind the indicators. The HID transformer fits easily against the upright bulkhead between the indicator and headlight box. I used the double sided tape which came with the HID kit after cleaning the area with metho.

It is then a matter of pulling the wires to the existing spots through the hole in the base of the headlight box, and connecting them to the HID transformer, then putting the grommet onto the high voltage wire to the spots and threading them into the guard. There is a space at the back of the bulkhead where the wires easily pass through.

I then generously coated the reflector, the old wire outlet, and the new hole in the spots with windscreen sealant , as well as filling the hole at the back of the airdam socket with silastic and winding electrical tape around the connectors even though they have good looking seals. I also covered the front side of the transformer with duct tape and placed a bit of rubber between the grille and indicators to reduce the amount of water entering in rain. I am sure the transformers have O rings but better safe than sorry.

I got 3700K HID bulbs and IMHO you would not want any higher Kelvin as they are much whiter than my 130W high beams.

Obviously to do the job you have to remove the indicators, grille and headlights complete with buckets ( there are 4 screws which hold the bucket in place. You do not have to take the headlights from the bucket)

I am very pleased with the result and now have grand plans to convert another pair of spots. I have an old pair of Oscars under the house.

BTW, If anyone is planning to "mix and match' the Ebay cheap ($140 delivered) chrome 181s with the earlier plastic body ones, they are different . The reflector retention is different and the bulb holder is different. while the bilb holder doesn't matter for QH, it would be hard to fit the new reflector into an old body.

Regards Philip A
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Originally Posted by PhilipA

Just from memory, it looks just as deep as the correct H1 would be
see HID XENON CONVERSION FULL KIT 2 BALLAST+2 BULB H1 6000K - eBay Headlights, Lights, Indicators, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 27-Feb-10 18:16:32 AEDST)

So you probably didn't have to adapt.
You should be careful that the focal length of the bulb is similar but it probably wouldn't matter with so much light coming out.

Regards Philip A

That was the adaption bit to match the mounted height of the bulb with the H1 bulb. It really focusses well. On my other set I actually defocussed the H1's by fitting a 4mm spacer under the globe. Much better for close work, almost as good as a spreadbeam. You are quite right the H1 kit fits fine, Just had an ebay moment and had to make use of it...