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2012 HID Thread (Info Only No Arguing)

164K views 560 replies 116 participants last post by  devanmc 
#1 · (Edited)
Items you need for the install on your 2012 (If you purchase cancellors or anything else YOU THINK might work your going to waste your time and everyone elses asking why their not lit so follow my instructions)

Resistors http://retro-solutions.net/product-info.php?Resistor_Link_50W_6_ohm-pid601.html

Relay Harnesshttp://retro-solutions.net/product-info.php?HID_relay_wiring_harness-pid582.html

An H11 35w or greater HID Kit (Same for Foglamps but they dont require anything but the HID kit since they are not monitored by the computer)

Heres some pictures of them Installed going down the road.
While Driving


Behind a Car


Side of Car


Notice this FACTORY PT Cruiser with More light on the Bumper then My car on the Honda in the Previous Picture.


Notice Little to no Glare on the Sign and how sharply the Lights Cut off. (Not a Super Sharp Cutoff but very very Noticable)


On my Private Road.



Highbeams on, Notice you can see a Sign now and before you couldnt.
The Highbeams allow you to see further but not as bright at that distance as an HID Highbeam would be.


During the Day


Enjoy and Please If your not here to contribute anything to this thread do not comment on their legality.

Opinions on how they look are welcome and if their offensive or possible arguement starter I will have them removed.
[cheers]
 
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#252 ·
For the rubber cover in the back of the headlight housing... I cut a slit (X pattern) with a blade and ran the HID bulb wires through them (you can see that in Pic # 3 on page 20).

I didn't want to make an actual hole in it... In my case, I was re-using the HID kit that I had in my Ford Edge, and I didn't have the rubber grommet that usually comes with the HID bulb wires... so I had to improvise to minimize dust/dirt from getting inside the headlight housing...

I wasn't too concerned about water... if my car went that deep into a puddle, I'd have a lot more to worry about than just my headlights... [facepalm]
 
#256 ·
Are there any HID kits that are per-say "better" than others?

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The OP and others have had decent luck with the retro-solutions kits and I have always been a fan of what theretrofitsource.com carries.

no egay brands. I've got mine from ddm tuning. ballasts were used and a buddy gave me them. . in for almost two years and no issues
Essentially yes, though I would put DDM tuning in the same boat for quality as the "ebay" kits as it all comes from a similar place. I've mentioned previously in this thread what my opinion is on them. If you want something you don't want to worry about, I wouldn't go for them IMO.

opinions on hids in the 2000 focus FOG lights, not main headlights, i know better, but the fogs? they seem to be low enough for this to work. any thoughts or experience with this?
Well this is the 2012+ sub-forum, but yea plenty of people have put HID's in their fog lights (myself included).
 
#254 ·
no egay brands. I've got mine from ddm tuning. ballasts were used and a buddy gave me them. . in for almost two years and no issues
 
#261 ·
I have them in my fogs, they seem to do the same thing as the headlights but are still pretty effective as fogs , I will be buying a retrofit kit for my headlights from the retrofit source in a few days , I just want to look at my options . im pretty set on the fxr stage 3 kit with upgraded bulbs right now , but might put something a little more cost friendly , im mainly worried about asthetics , such as cut-off and color , but I also want a super - premium output
 
#264 ·
Some one should post some direct links to the kits that people find are the best bang for your buck. I'm trying to decide which brand to get.
And is it hard to get the HIDs in the fogs?

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This is the kit I used for my headlights:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=3955

Make sure to set the wiring for H11 and keep the heavy duty relay picked. What color you want and whether you want the 3Five or 5Five ballasts is up to you. This kit will also work for the fog lights (same bulb size).

I am still running a DDM tuning kit for my fogs and I will probably stay that way as they aren't super essential. For headlights I wouldn't recommend a kit from them, but that's my opinion.

And no, the fog lights are easy to do. You can do the driver's side from the access under the headlight, but you do need to get under the car or access the fender well for the passenger side.
 
#260 ·
Think I might order the 35w Retro Solutions nightvision kit with a set of resistors. Shouldn't need a relay harness for 35 watters, that and I'm not a fan of relay harness' anyway. Never had to use one before.

Had a 35w eBay kit in my 05 GT and a 55w DDM kit in my 06 Milan (had projectors stock) and neither needed a relay. Both worked great. Shit the Milan didn't even throw an error code and I didnt need error eliminators either.
 
#271 ·
How difficult is it to install HIDs in the fogs. I have yet to check it out on my own as I have a busy schedule. Anyone do a write up?
Mentioned it on the previous page.

And no, the fog lights are easy to do. You can do the driver's side from the access under the headlight, but you do need to get under the car or access the fender well for the passenger side.
Personally I'd recommend that if you are going to get under the car for the passenger side that you may as well do the drivers side from down there as well. It's easier to mount the ballasts and mess with wiring that way.

It's straight forward plug-n-play (no relay is required) so there really isn't anything more to it than removing the stock lights and putting in the HID's.
 
#282 ·
i just ordered the resistor kit and a relay kit now it should be fairly simple as far as plug and play from what ive been reading here ill post when i get the items and if i have any problems already have the HID kit installed...thankfully i only have to drive during the day for work
 
#285 ·
...and if i have any problems already have the HID kit installed...thankfully i only have to drive during the day for work
All you have to do to put your stock headlights back in is remove the HID bulbs, disconnect the resistors, then put the stock bulbs in and plug them in. So no worries about rocking no headlights haha!

Bwill - Nice video!! I need to start doing some of these - They hold more weight than pictures! LOL
Thanks! I still think your pictures are plenty for people to get the job done, as they show just about everything my video does.

Not necessarily.
It kinda depends on what kind of relay you have, and if all you care about is functionality.

1) If you have independent relays, where each headlamp signal controls a separate headlight then yes, you'll need an individual resistor for each headlight. The relay I had uses the driver's side lamp signal to activate and the passenger side was left plugged into the resistor and grounded. Both lights would be switched on regardless if the passenger side had a resistor or not.
2) If you did not put a resistor on the passenger side, or the resistor occasionally didn't impede the current; like mine before I redid it. You will get a bulb dip error. The lights will still turn on, but the bulb dip will come on every time you turned on your lights. If that doesn't bug you, you can go without the passenger resistor.

Edit: I bought my relay from retro-solutions, the original link provided.
So in short, get two resistors.

Why? Because you are either going to need them both or you may get one that's DOA. Always good to have a back-up and no one likes having to stop working on their kit for a while because they have to wait for a new resistor to ship.

They are cheap guys. You can even make your own if you can find the actual resistors by themselves.
 
#286 ·
Hey guys / gals,

I'm sorry to rehash this thread, but i need an answer on something.

For those of you with DRL's: What did you do to stop the flickering duw to the pulse modulated signal being sent to the low beams? I've found a thread on another forum about installing a capacitor, but I wondered if there's a simpler way? I still want to use the HID's as the DRL's, no problem there.

Thanks

LP
 
#292 ·
I bought a kid from Xenon Supply (it was originally in my '11 Sonata). I have the relay harness and 2 resistors. I wired it according to the diagram I've seen on here, but I still get a "bulb out" warning. Doesn't really bother me, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with XS and our Focus?
 
#295 ·
Wow, so they have no real advice essentially.

My first set of resistors screwed up as well. Sad thing was one was heating up but just not doing it's job so I still had a dipped beam fault. So that could be an issue unfortunately...

Otherwise it's standard troubleshooting... Check grounds, connections, etc.

The one thing I would suggest in particular is the connection between the resistor and the factory headlight harness. The connectors on mine were too long and did not allow for a proper connection (I have a video posted a page or so back that shows what I mean).
 
#296 ·
I just spent and hour and a half trying suggestions from Xenonsupply, but nothing worked. I may remove the actual plugs from the resistors where they plug into the stock light bulb harness, and run just straight connectors, since they don't seem to plug in very well. Other than that, I'm out of ideas. They suggested I try it without the relay harness, but the lights wouldn't stay on like they. They would flicker on and go right back out. So back to the drawing board.
 
#300 ·
I just spent and hour and a half trying suggestions from Xenonsupply, but nothing worked. I may remove the actual plugs from the resistors where they plug into the stock light bulb harness, and run just straight connectors, since they don't seem to plug in very well. Other than that, I'm out of ideas. They suggested I try it without the relay harness, but the lights wouldn't stay on like they.
Seriously, I would try what I suggested. Mine were so off on being connected the resistors weren't even working. I have a suggestion on how to keep the connection plug-and-play in the video. It's towards the end.

I would say to anyone reading this far to just get the harness and resistors from OP's link. Everyone who ordered from them have had no problems. I bought my HID's from Ddmtuning though.
You can go with the relay from them, but their resistors are more expensive than what you can find on ebay and are no better.

Just throwing out my experience. An ebay link to alternate resistors has been posted a few times in the thread.

Where did people mount the ballast if they bought the kit from retrofitsource.com? I'm going to install mine soon and need ideas on where to mount

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Check out my video a page or two back.

Have the same ballasts and I show where I mounted mine.
 
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