How to install DRL/High Beam LED Conversion Kit

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SamirD
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~tc~ wrote:You have old ones before they were bought out and the quality went to shit.

But even at their peak, Optima was not as good as Odyssey. The big problem was finding them, but now you just go to Sears.
I thought I bought one of them a few years back thinking the quality would have slipped, but I haven't had an issue.

Odyssey seems to also be made by Braille as the designs are similar. Braille are pretty nice batteries too.
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KuroNekko
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Update:

They sent me the capacitor harnesses, but what they sent me did not have H7 connectors at both ends. They left the output end a 9006 connector, much like what a HID ballast uses. I contacted VLEDS about it and they apologized and told me they are shipping the correct harnesses.
Regardless, the harnesses looks to be high quality much like Morimoto HID harnesses. The capacitors are large compared to the ebay harnesses. VLEDS claims they use "Japanese-made Rubycon 10,000uF capacitors".

Despite not yet having the capacitors installed, the flickering issue has diminished quite a bit and now rarely occurs. The last I noticed of any abnormal output was when I was idling in traffic and could see a reflection of my DRLs in the car in front. They appeared to pulse a bit but stabilized with accelerator input.
I believe the warmer weather is helping a bit, but the capacitors should stabilize the DRLs in all conditions.

I will update again once I receive the capacitor harnesses and install them.
While the bumper is off, I will also swap out my HID fog light ballasts to see if the color output of my new Morimoto HID H11 fog light bulbs match. They are currently different hues, much like the old bulbs. I believe the ballasts are to blame given those have not been changed.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
SamirD
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KuroNekko wrote:Update:

They sent me the capacitor harnesses, but what they sent me did not have H7 connectors at both ends. They left the output end a 9006 connector, much like what a HID ballast uses. I contacted VLEDS about it and they apologized and told me they are shipping the correct harnesses.
Regardless, the harnesses looks to be high quality much like Morimoto HID harnesses. The capacitors are large compared to the ebay harnesses. VLEDS claims they use "Japanese-made Rubycon 10,000uF capacitors".

Despite not yet having the capacitors installed, the flickering issue has diminished quite a bit and now rarely occurs. The last I noticed of any abnormal output was when I was idling in traffic and could see a reflection of my DRLs in the car in front. They appeared to pulse a bit but stabilized with accelerator input.
I believe the warmer weather is helping a bit, but the capacitors should stabilize the DRLs in all conditions.

I will update again once I receive the capacitor harnesses and install them.
While the bumper is off, I will also swap out my HID fog light ballasts to see if the color output of my new Morimoto HID H11 fog light bulbs match. They are currently different hues, much like the old bulbs. I believe the ballasts are to blame given those have not been changed.
Sounds like a really good cap set with solid connectors. 8-)

But I would hesitate to put the bumper back together until you've fully tested the capacitor solution before changing the HID ballasts. Who knows what additional noise or issues that could introduce to cloud the DRL issue.
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KuroNekko
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Update:

The H7 connectors arrived so the capacitor harness is ready to be installed.
VLEDS built it in a modular design and it makes sense because they can use the same design for varying bulb types.
I intend to house the capacitor harnesses inside the headlight along with the driver and other wires already in there. I believe it will all fit, but I need to find a place to ground the negative wire of the capacitor. Maybe the bulb housings inside the headlight will work as a place to ground.
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2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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KuroNekko
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I installed the capacitor harnesses today. There was a bit of a problem as I realized during the installation that VLEDS send me non-H7 connectors on both ends and I only had them remedy the female end. However, I had some H7 harnesses left over from decommissioned HID kits so the wires worked. VLEDS' modular design of the harness made it an easy fix.

I was able to put everything into the headlight itself. I grounded the capacitor's ground wire to the the only metal part I could find inside the headlight.

I test drove the car tonight and did not experience any flickering while in DRL mode. I will keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks to make sure the capacitors work properly to stabilize voltage to the LEDs in DRL mode.

Overall, I really like the LED conversion kit. As a DRL upgrade, it's simply awesome. It turns your dim yellowy DRL bulbs into bright white LEDs. Because of the 2 LEDs-per-bulb design and the way they are reflected in the headlight, the DRLs look like there are 4 LEDs total.

Overall, my experience with VLEDS has been both good and bad. They were able to make me a custom capacitor harness after I told them about the DRL flickering issue, but got the connectors all wrong. They also took weeks to get one end right and I had to hound them for it a bit. Overall, they are okay, but I would say the guys at TheRetrofitSource are much better with customer support and email correspondence.
I plan to contact VLEDS to let them know that the H7 inline capacitor harnesses as they sold it to me had the wrong connectors on both ends so they address the issue for future customers.

Here are some photos of the inline capacitor harness installation:

Here, you can see that the harness has a bigger connector than a H7. H7 is top. Bottom is what was on the inline capacitor harness.
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The solution was to swap out the harness at the connector and install H7 blade connectors I had laying around from decommissioned HID kits. So glad I did not toss them.
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This is the inline capacitor harness. I taped up the blade connectors with electrical tape and grounded the ground wire before I stuffed everything inside of the headlight.
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I grounded the capacitor's ground here given it was the only metal place I could. It appears to have worked.
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Everything fit inside the headlight and appears to be working properly. I will post an update in a week or so in regards to whether the capacitor harnesses eliminated the flickering.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
SamirD
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Glad you were able to make this work! I was curious too if the grounding would work inside the assembly.
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KuroNekko
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The RH side flickered on my way to work today. I am assuming the ground location is not good. I will have to drill a hole in the cap and run the ground wire or even the whole capacitor harness out to ground it to the frame of the car. Oh well. I'm going to have to look for rubber grommets to seal up the hole around the wires.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
SamirD
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Bummer. What a pain. :(
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KuroNekko
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SamirD wrote:Bummer. What a pain. :(
Yeah, dealing with the headlights is time-consuming so I have not got around to it yet. Things get delayed with the Kizashi because I often have to fix or maintain something with the VW bus on the weekends.

The DRLs work, but flicker or pulse occasionally. I'm hoping the proper grounding will allow the capacitors to work properly.
I bought some rubber grommets at HFT so I'm ready to drill the dust caps to run the ground wires out.

I will update here when that gets done.
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krell
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Change license plate bulbs to leds just notice last night they flickering.
Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
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