PIAA 510 HID Conversion

This is why I littered TWLive with pistures the other night. Sorry about that guys but I hope this is worth it.

First off, I had 3000k HIDs in my stock fogs. I got an AllPro bumper so I ended up selling the stock fogs and HIDs. I went with the PIAA 510 for the AllPro and couldn't have been more dissappointed when I flipped the switch for the first time.

That got me going...I searched a lot for a write up on converting the PIAAs to HID. I found (1) thread that gave me the basic ideas but wasn't as detailed as I would have like it to be. Therefore, I went at it and successfully converted my PIAA 510s to HID. Here is the write up!

Starting with the stock, out of the box PIAA 510. I removed the rock shield. Then you need to loosen the two Phillips head screws on either side of the housing. Do not remove them completely as there are retaining clips that will fall off.



I used the DDM 35w 3000k kit. I also did my Hellas at the same time but there is already a write up for those. Test the HID bulbs before you start!



Next you remove the lens from the housing. Mine came apart with no problems, however you may need to gently pry apart with a small screwdriver, making sure the gasket goes with the lens.



After doing so, clip the connectors on the ends of the wires and pull them through the grommet.



Press down on the clips holding the factory H3 bulb in.



Remove the bulb.



Next, you will need to remove this shield pictured. The HID bulb is 1mm too long to fit into it.



You will need to grind down these rivets with something. I chose to use a flapper wheel on my angle grinder.



I then used my spring loaded punch to punch the rivets out. A center puch and hammer will do the same thing. No Hee-Man swings!



Now you need to remove the sheild from inside the lens. It will not fit through the bulb basket so this will have to be removed. Feel free to do this earlier on in the process. I used a pair of needle nose pliers and bent the tabs holding the basket.



Time to go fishing. Who doesn't like fishing?



Gently remove the sheild, trying not to marr up the reflective surface in the lens.



It should now be blown out with compressed air or a firm breathe to remove debris.



Time to put the bulb basket back on. I started bending the tabs with the pliers but finished with a small flathead screwdriver and a hammer, WITH THE LENS SITTING ON A VERY CUSHIONED SURFACE!

Everything back inside and ready to install the HID bulb.



As with the light itself, you're going to want to snip the connectors off and pull these two wires through the grommet.





Insert the bulb into the basket and secure it using the retaining clips. Be certain to put the bulb in the correct way, one side has a square notch and the other a round notch.



Test the HID again!

With the lens taken care of, it's time to modify the housing. Find the center of the housing and use a punch to mark and get ready for the drill bit.



Using a vise to secure the housing during drilling, do not tighten too much, just enough to hold it. I used a 1/8" bit as a pilot hole.



Now drill the hole out to 7/8" using a step drill bit. I used a 3/4" and it was VERY tight, I got lucky, you may not. Play it safe and drill to 7/8".



Clean the burrs off! Now it's time to assemble.



Slide the wires from the bulb through the housing and fit the grommet.



Pulling on the wires at the same time, slide the housing and grommet onto the lens and tighten the two Phillips screws. I used a little grease on the wires to make pulling them through the grommet easier.

Install back into bumper. I decided to mount my ballasts using 3M double sided tape.



Before...



After...





Good luck to everyone who attempts this. I hope it helps. I know there are some guys with aftermarket bumpers who are very dissappointed in the brightness of their PIAAs.

Disclaimer; Everything I did will void the manufacturer warranty on the PIAAs. Do not attempt if you are not comfortable with your abilities. I take NO responsibilities for you destroying a $160 pair of lights.

 

Good job! Should be stickied

 

Thanks! I made it as detailed as possible because the one I found wasn't at all.

 

Subbed for the near future

I just got my 510s and havnt wired them up yet, im coming from 6k hid stock fogs so I went with the ion yellow 510s hoping the change in color wont leave me as dissapointed..

I did reasearch a little bit on turning them into hid's before I bought them to make sure if I wanted to go back I could, best how to I could find was on a motorcycle forum, haha. Thanks for the detail, I will be doing this sometime soon.

 

Ha! That's the write up I'm talking about. Not too good huh?

 

Nope but it was enough that I was gonna try it if I had to, haha

Yours is a big improvement

 

Happy 4th bump!

 

Op maybe you can convert these for me next time I'm in Vegas
I thought I saw a decent write up on this at fjcruiserforums.com, I converted my Hellas but don't trust myself on the piaa's.

 

I'm really happy I accidentally found this thread.
I will need to get a set of 510's for my bumper and have been wondering about converting them to HID

How do you like the color? I have 6000k in my head lights and had it in my factory fogs too, never tried a yellow color before.

 

oh gee i will prolly end up doin this......

subbed.

 

Exactly the same! Well, only differance is you can use this bulb basket and you have to cut the rivets to pull the shield out.

They are fog lights for a reason. Yellow doesn't reflect and shine back to you. 6000k would be pointless as I've learned with cutting the shield out, you cannot use them as driving lights as I'm sure you did with your stock fogs. The beam is more of a flood now it seams and every time I try to run around with only my fogs on, I get flashed. In a bad way...

Sorry I informed you of another way to spend money...

 

Bumping this since its a great write up.

Anyone who has piaa's needs to do this, it is a night and day difference, and it really isnt bad to do, took me 25min or so from unbolt off the truck to re-assembled.

Thanks for the help Derek!

 

Anytime! Glad you liked it!

 

Yea I've wondered about how the yellow would do in snow, rain, fog, whatever shitty conditions, and it seems like that's the way to go. Looks like I'll be following your lead with the 3000k hids. Thanks for the response!

 

Actually, yellow does reflect and shine back. HOWEVER, the reduced-output of yellow (slightly reduced) and the fact that yellow light is much easier for the human eye to discern makes them more suited to poor driving conditions (so they do work better, but for different reasons).

YMMV.

 

Nice write up! Are these so bright they blind oncoming traffic? I know that will partially depend on on how they are aimed but I just want to make sure.

Thanks for the write up.

 

Because the shield is removed they are more of a flood beam. I can still see way up the road but yes, I have been flashed running around town with them on. But then again, they're meant for fog or dust, and in those circumstances you won't be blinding people!

 

Good point.