Hella 500 HID Conversion & Mount Behind Satoshi *How To* w/ pics

here you go boys! this is how i converted my hella 500's to hid using a 55w 5000k kit from ddm tuning and mounted them behind my satoshi grillcraft. see here for my satoshi writeup: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/76107-satoshi-grillcraft-how-w-pics.html

started by taking the hellas apart to swap the halogen bulb for the hid bulb.
remove this screw to take the plastic housing off





remove the stock wiring above. release the metal clip that holds the halogen bulb in place, then remove the clip from the light





the hid kit includes a ballast and bulb for each side (this is the digital slim 55w ballast)



plug in the wires (they will only fit in one place) and you'll see two wires left over, one red (power) and one black (ground). touch the red wire to the +ve terminal of your truck's battery and ground the black wire to ensure your ballast and bulb are working properly.



i chose to connect the power and ground to the kit outside the light housing, so i cut the blade connectors off and slid the wires out of the rubber seal.





then filled any gaps left by removing wires from seals with silicone II to make it watertight. (silicone II will adhere better than silicone I)



remove the hid bulb from its plastic housing (do NOT touch the bulb itself)



place it carefully into the light



and bend the metal tabs in slightly to keep the bulb's base in place



prep the bonding surfaces with rubbing alcohol, allow to dry, then epoxy the bulb to the light to seal it in.



this is the 2 part epoxy that i used on both my satoshi mod and this mod



because the back of the hid bulb sticks out further than the halogen one, i drilled a 7/8" hole in the plastic housing to accommodate it.





then simply slide the seal down to the housing and pinch it in to the plastic cover so that it sits in the seal's groove



next post: my solid mount behind the satoshi grillcraft...

 

Might want to add that you should test your HID system before you silicone the bulb into the light!

 

on to wiring and mounting...

the hella 500's come with a relay harness and switch, so i just used those. you can also use the relay from ddm or any other switch you prefer.

just pop out the blank insert with a flathead. drill a hole in the center and ream it out until it looks like this



pop in the switch





this is the relay. attach the red wire to the +ve terminal of your battery, blue goes to ground, yellow goes to the switch, and black goes to power the hid's



on the floor behind the parking brake you'll find a foam / rubber plug where you can pass your switch wires through the firewall



run the wires up your dash and through the hole where you removed your blank. you'll find it easier if you remove the coin tray from the dash. connect your female blade connectors to connect the switch. here the yellow wire is from the relay harness, the brown wire is my ground, and the green wire is my power (i simply tapped into the +ve terminal of my battery, which gives you the ability to run your hellas when the truck isn't running. alternatively, you can tap into the low beam, high beam, or running lights depending on what you want)



connect the wires to the corresponding male blade connectors (you'll see that they're numbered 1,2, and 3 on the back of the switch. 1 is power, 2 is relay wire, 3 is ground)



now connect the black wire from the relay harness to the red wire from the hid kit. ground the black wire from the hid kit. test the circuits by flicking the switch.





perfect.

pop the switch in the dash



get yourself some industrial strength velcro at the hardware store to attach the hid ballasts to the truck so they don't bounce around when you're driving

prep the surfaces first by cleaning them first with rubbing alcohol available at any pharmacy. cut the velcro strips to match the length of the the ballasts and simply slap em on








now on to mounting these bad boys...

i've seen other mounting methods where the hellas are attached to pieces of plastic on the grill surround, however i was looking for a more solid type of mount that wouldn't jostle around as i'm driving. i wanted to mount my 500's to metal, not plastic. with the satoshi it's a little tighter back there than if i had mounted the grillcraft flush with the front. so this is what i had to work with



the tranny cooler was in the way along the bottom, so i decided to mount the hellas from the top. i started by removing the hood latch cover (just remove the two 10mm bolts that hold it on). you'll find two steel tabs that stick out at the bottom of the latch mechanism that are also in the way. i just cut them off flush with a cutting wheel (sorry no pic)

for the bracket i used a 4' piece of 1/8" angle iron available at any hardware store. i went with aluminum so i wouldn't have any rusting issues.



i cut a section about 28" long for the light support and 2 brackets 2" wide







after you drill your holes and bolt it together (i used three 1" long, 1/4" thick stainless bolts with locknuts), you'll have something like this (you can position your lights wherever you want, i measured and drilled so that the hellas would be centered horizontally in the grill and flush with the grillcraft when the grill was back on)





simply use the rad support bolts on either side to secure the ends and use the pre-existing center support bolt to secure the middle of the light bracket.

looks good. take it all apart, scuff the aluminum with 400 grit sandpaper, and paint it. i used flat black spray paint



now you've got this



installed looks like this



setup allows 2.5" clearance between the lights and the rad



with satoshi grill in place (great fit!!)







BAM!





questions?

 

Looks good!

 

Are all of those 55 watt (including headlights and fogs)? Looks way good by the way !!!!

 

thanks

all 5000k from ddm. 35w in the fogs and heads, 55w in the hella 500's

 

I was thinking the same thing. Glad to see they work perfect. It will suck if a bulb needs to be replaced. But I am sure the bulbs will last a long time.

OP, I like the way you made the custom light bar for the Hellas.

Great job overall

 

thanks. yeah, i thought the same thing about the bulb burning out, but i'm sure i can remove the epoxy from the light when the time comes. if it comes.

 

yeah, i tested them while they were still in their plastic protectors

 

I really like your mounting method

I'm going to be redoing my current mounting method where they are on the radiator support. I'm going to try and find a way to mount some lights that are like 5.75'' deep. I wonder if I can modify your way a little bit to work for me Back to the drawing board.

Keep up the good work

 

haha, i knew you'd be all over this one ty! i'll take some measurements for ya and see if a 6" deep light will fit with this mount

 

Nice job bro!!!! I really like that bracket you made too!!! I might have to look into making one for mine!!

 

Great job! I will be doing this soon.

 

thanks dan! do it. the bracket mount is very solid

 

ive been waiting for this! awesome job. only this more i could suggest is a daytime pic of them off with the grille on and one from inside the cab with them on at night

 

How is the heat with the 55W? I ordered the same thing but 6k.

 

I've hacked up my spare grille so it isn't as recessed so I should have about 1.25-1.75'' more up front. Let me know what measurements you come up with when you have time.

Thanks

 

you got it. lemme take some more pics and i'll post em up for ya

 

heat is not an issue. remember the stock halogen bulbs are 55w also. i've heard of some guys upgrading to 100w halogen bulbs and they're still fine.

 

Bad ass! This ones def. going on the list! Thank you sir.