FocusCanada Forums

Full Version: Needing A Little Or Hid Help!
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
Just wondering what is the difference between NA HIDs and european HIDs?

Do they wire up different?

I tried installing mine last night as per the info on the OFOC site and my HIDs don't seem to be working right.

It could just be wired wrong :unsure: , but i'm pretty sure it was done right.
and i probably won't have time to try and do it over til the weekend.

here's what seems to be wrong to me: pass side low beam doesn't come on at all, high beams are on from the time i turn the light switch on, signals come on with parking lights, city lights flash with signals but are off otherwise, and when i turn the lights on the pass side city light lights up and the signal light goes out.

Any help would be GREAT!!

thanx
The main differences between the NA spec HIDS and the Euro spec ones are A) the beam pattern is a little different for the euro ones, and B) the Euro one has levelling motors in it.

As for wiring them up, did you look at the corresponding number on the VW connector? not the position of the connector? If you have one connector done, all you have to do is copy the pinouts on the other side identically and it should be the same, it looks like you may have reversed some wires?

Let us know if this helps
Well i think i've figured it all out!!

For starters it seems that my low beam that didn't work is blown! so ya me, i get to pay for one of those right off the hop! :angry: and i'm sure they're not cheap!

But other than that it looks like my HIDs have to be wired opposite than what the wiring diagram. because my lights turned on=both high and low come one, high beams switched on=low on and highs off!???? :huh: And my signal and city lights are opposite!????

Can anyone tell me what bulb or balast i'm after for the low(projector)beam and roughly how much it's going to cost?

Thanx again!

Gord
are you absolutely sure you have things wired up properly? as in.. you have spliced the wires correctly and inserted them into the right position in the VAG connector?

as for the city lights and turn signals being opposite.. you are splicing into the turn signals in the grille i'm guessing? there is a major, minor and ground wire there.. the major is what keeps the lights on when you turn the switch on the dash.. that's what you want the city lights to go to.. the minor is what makes the blinkers flash when you use the turn signal stalk.. i'm honestly not sure how that wires up because i didn't wire up the turn signals on my car

did you jumper the pins on the multifunction connector in the steering column?

on the side that isn't working, check that you wired it up right and that you have the grounds right too.. when i started i thought mine were blown too but it turns out it was a problem with the grounds

do a search on FJ and really make sure you are writing things up right.. it really sounds like you have your wires mixed up because the behaviour you are posting really seems to be a wiring error and not a problem with the lights

as for the cost of an arc discharge bulb and ballast.. its a lot.. its going to be a couple of hundred USD.. so triple check before you open the wallet
before buying a new low beam (probably $100) switch bulb that appears burnt out to other side and test to be sure. I'd say it is very unlikely to be brocken. sounds like a connectivity problem. Check fuses too, underhood ones plus under dash ones as well.
Yeah it sounds like the wiring is a mess right now. Also when you're testing them, remember that the lowbeams wont come on if the car is off.

I think the lowbeam xenon bulb is a D2S or something, and I think I saw them online retailing for somewhere around $120-140USD. So definitely doublecheck that all the wiring is solid, and the fuses are good. Most instructions suggest changing to a 15A fuse, but I've been running the 10A fuse in mine for about a year now and it's been fine.
don't change the fuse

that's like.. the worst thing you can do i think.. you WANT the fuse to blow to let you know there's a problem.. you DON'T want the fuse not to blow and your wires cause a fire hazard
Thanx for all the suggestions!

I'm going to redo the harness' tomorrow, and just start all over.

what is the best way to test each light?
the way i did it was i wired up the ford connector and the VAG connector, plugged the ford side into the car and the VAG side into the lights, left the turn signal and city light stuff wired into the VAG connector but not wired to the car's turn signals yet, and then tested the low beam, high beam..

i am pretty sure this is how i did it ... the colors of your wires may not match exactly.. but just keep in mind.. Pin 1 and 2 are for the headlights, Pin 3 and 4 are for the city lights and turnsignals.. pin 6 and 8 are grounds.. you MUST ground both of these for the headlights to work.. i just spliced both the wires into the ground going to the stock headlight wiring harness

really this shouldn't be too hard.. the headlights have 3 wires.. one is ground, one is for the low beam filament, one is for the high beam filament... just play around with pin 1 and 2 to get it right.. remember to have pin 6 and 8 grounded before you play around or else you won't get a light

then the turn signals also have 3 wires too.. one is ground, one is to keep them on when you turn the knob on the dash, one is to flash the blinkers when you move the stalk and hit the hazard button... (the middle wire going to the grille is the one that keeps them on when you turn the dash knob.. so that's the one you need to wire the city lights to, and the turnsignals if you want em to stay on) again.. remember to ground pins 6 and 8

just take it slow and easy man.. seriously. this is not rocket science..

driver side VAG connector

Pin 1 -> Green/Blue wire (this goes to the ford harness for the headlights)
Pin 2 -> Green/Orange wire (this goes to the ford harness for the headlights)
Pin 3 -> Blue w/Orange stripe wire (this goes to the turn signals in the grille)
Pin 4 -> Orange w/Blue stripe wire (this goes to the turn signals in the grille)
Pin 6 -> Black wire (This is the ground)
Pin 8 -> Black wire (This is the ground)

passenger side VAG connector

Pin 1 -> Green/Orange wire (this goes to the ford harness for the headlights)
Pin 2 -> Green/White wire (this goes to the ford harness for the headlights)
Pin 3 -> Blue wire (this goes to the turn signals in the grille)
Pin 4 -> Orange w/Green stripe wire (this goes to the turn signals in the grille)
Pin 6 -> Black wire (This is the ground)
Pin 8 -> Black wire (This is the ground)

*note.. your wire colors may be different
I want to add something, Ground wire number 8 on the VW harness, is the Headlights ground, while ground wire number 6 is the ground for the internal blinkers on the machs. You do NOT have to connect them BOTH to the same ground wire on the Ford Side of the conector. You can connect one to the headlights ground wire and the other to the grille blinkers ground wire. That way, there is a more sufficient ground path.
paolo.. you are not entirely correct.

when i first wired up my lights, i grounded pin 6 but not pin 8. the high beams worked but the low beams did not. i didn't wire up the blinkers or city lights so i'm not sure.

so that means the circuit the high beams is on uses pin 6 and the HID low beams uses pin 8

you are right you don't have to ground them both to the same one.. but i did it that way for convenience because i didn't want to hack up my turn signals, and the ground path was sufficient.. i ran it almost 1.5yr that way including many 5hr long trips with the high and low beams on whole way
Naz, if u wired it up just like I said, then it will work, I had it done that way until i replaced my grille with a eurospec and it worked, incl highbeams. There is probaly a diode in the ballast ground or somehting.
Thanx for all the help!!! :D B)

Finally got them in and all wired up!! and ya a couple of wires were switched!
:rolleyes:

But all is good now! and they look awsome!

i plan to take some pics for the members section tomorrow!
SL8RZZX3,May 15 2004, 07:54 PM Wrote:Thanx for all the help!!! :D B)

Finally got them in and all wired up!! and ya a couple of wires were switched!
:rolleyes:

But all is good now! and they look awsome!

i plan to take some pics for the members section tomorrow!
Awesome, the Euros are better in my humble opinion (IMHO) b/c I believe that they adujst to ride height. They can also be electrically adjusted/aimed from in the car so that you can temporarily adjust them for a short period such as moving stuff from your apartment to a house or dorm.
yeah the european vers of the HIDs may be better because of the leveling, but they probaly cost $2000 once you import them here. I'm sure with a little bit of work, you can add leveling motors to the DOT (US) spec HID projectors.