Replacing the lights on my GQ

[Dirtydog16]

Hey g'day,

From what I understand, having HID bulbs / upgrades in a car that was never designed for HID lights is illegal. I don't know if it is state by state or against the Australia Design Rules. To have HID I think you have to have self leveling lights (i think i read somewhere - correct me if I am wrong) so you don't blind other people. This is especially so if your 4x4 is raised. If your lights are illegal and you cause / have an accident then you may be liable to face court on the matter. Also your car would be deemed to be unroadworthy by the department of transport and you may not be covered by your insurance.

You can definatly buy a new set of headlight lenses and upgrade the power of your bulbs but as the others above have said you may be far better upgrading your wiring loom.

You can buy ready made sets from 4x4 shops (brands like pirhana and terrain tamer, etc) or you can get thick wiring and wire some H4 plugs and make your own.

Run the power from your battery to a relay for each beam (4 all up) (low beam by two and high beam by two) then from the relay output pin to each power pin on the h4 socket to your bulb (high, low & high, low). Your negative from the negative h4 pin to the battery negative. Next you can cut your old wiring or buy male h4 sockets to run your normal power pin to your headlight to each relay switch pin to tell the relay to allow the power through (this is so when you turn your lights on the normal power that would go to the bulb which has now dropped in voltage over the years will go to the relay and switch it on. The power will then be allowed through the relay directly from your battery to the new headlight socket with new, thick wiring giving you good output for your headlights). The negative pin from each relay can be returned to the battery negative or earthed to the body.

There are a heap of diagrams and instructions out there that explain each step in detail and I know my response is a bit hard to understand if you are not familiar with this type of thing but I am in a bit of a rush at the moment sorry.

I would google headlight wiring loom upgrade and you will then be able to see home made and bought ones. I found a good one a while ago from a jeep forum in the states I think. I know it is not a patrol but the principle should be the same on any car where the car has a constant negative with the power pin dictating the power going to the bulb. I don't know if there are any patrols that switch the other way (Posative switching as opposed to negative switching is something that the other more electrical people can explain indepth).

I hope this helps.

Cheers

[GQshorty]

thanks heaps guys for the great info keep it up

[Robo]

HID's should be for driving lights/spotties only. I get more than a little annoyed when blinded by someone that fits HID's to vehicles that weren't designed for them. I went from sealed beam to halogen's. 55/100 & they are more than efficient. Also upgrade the wiring loom & add relays. I made my own was easy as.

x2, please leave hid for the spotties and or hi beam only.
low beam "WILL" still blind everyone around you.
ie- as you come over a rise, is the same as hi beam, for anyone approaching you.

[Kelvinator]

I bought a set of 'Crystal' Replacement headlights from repco, the same as old mates green truck. They were $50 or so at my price so probably around 80 retail. I then fitted HID's, also sourced at repco and i aimed the beams down a smidge. It was easy as, took half an hour and a pack of zippy ties, and i'm used to outsourcing all my wiring jobs to auto sparkys.
And to date i have never been flashed, i even drove in my other car towards mine being driven by another person and i found them less annoying than my commodore with regular halogen globes in it.

And yes, HID's or really any high intensity globe that exceeds factory specs by a certain amount is illegal on any car that does not have light/vehicle sensing auto dipping on low beam. So just trim your lights down and you should be fine

Also i am known for frequently being seen with my bonnet lost underwater and i have to date never filled up my headlights. When installing my hids i simply carefully cut the rubber seal on the back of the light that required widening for fitment and it has worked a treat. Ive put more water through my motor than ive gotten into my headlights ha ha

[gf0012-aust]

X2 mate - not ideal and in my limited understanding illegal in most of not all states ...

they are illegal in all states if not factory or OEM as your main headlights

you can guarantee a defect in any state if the locals are in the frame of mind to go over your vehicle properly

its the same deal that dick smith used to exploit with digital dialers for analogue phones back in the 80's.

Companies can sell them but its actually technically and literally illegal to use them as mains if your vehicle didn't come fitted with them as standard and/or optional

they're only supposed to be used offoad and as supplementaries

I do have HIDS but wired to the high beam circuit and covered off when not in use. I don't use them in metro/built up areas.

people assume that HIDS will work in the same way as their H4's in the same 7" parabolic dish - they don't - the beam is not thrown in the same fashion as an H4.

properly manufactured HIDS come with a purpose built (ie designed for them) beam parabolic - and that parabolic is usually dimpled like a golf ball so as to diffuse and scatter the glare.

If you want to get the proper engineering critique then look up HID in the candlepower forums - there are a couple of vehicle lighting engineers on there and they're quite knowledgeable

however, people will buy them and use them as main replacements anyway despite the engineering issues... (which the average person doesn't care about anyway)

even if your lights are self levelling you will still be up for a defect if they were not factory fitted or options - the beam throw for a HID is not the same as an H4 and lowering your lights to LO beam does not change the inherent beam characteristics.

[healy]

Definately go the HID inserts gavinsell!
and while ya at it hit ebay up for some 7 inch 'crystal lights'!
as big_fletch said it is pretty self explanitory! if ya can change oil and a filter then you are over-quallified!...or if ya in Sth Oz i would be happy to do it for ya if you source all the gear.
I have them in my GU, the missus Zook and my GQ race car.

here's a pic with the HID's off and the 'crystal lights' ( this is my race car)



and with the HID's on....they bright!



Worth the effort! i hardy use high beam anymore, no use!

Have fun,

Steve.

can someone answer this if i buy the 7" and a globe does it just plug straight in? so no wire upgrades just pop out the old and put in the new??

[bordertech]

X2 mate - not ideal and in my limited understanding illegal in most of not all states ...

You're right, retro fitted HID's in halogen headlights, even (Crystal style inserts with globe shields) is illegal in all states. Upping the low beam halogen above 55W is also illegal. That was told to me direct from Vehicle Standards which I deal with on a fairly regular basis. Also have an old school mate who works for them making vehicle standards policies and he can vouch for it too.
I personally hate the !^^$##!! things in headlights, they are blinding. The only reason you see better is because yes, the light is 10X brighter, and people think wow they're amazing, but in a lamp designed for halogen globes the HID's throw the light out in all directions including oncoming traffic. No amount of adjusting will stop it because the lamps reflectors and lenses can't direct the light correctly from an HID globe.

There are new aftermarket inserts out now that have a collimator (the small round prism looking dome that houses the HID globe) and have reflectors that direct the light properly on the road (just like factory HID's) and it has a proper cut off line in front of oncoming drivers so it doesn't blind them. The vision and light is actually better than from just wacking them in a halogen housing and you get better vision of the road without blinding oncoming drivers. These are the only legal retrofit HID's I know of and should be used with HID kits.

Cheers, Bordertech