How to install AAC HID Bi-Xenon headlight on a non-RS Camaro – No Halos
 

When I purchased my car I preferred the look of the Halogen light vs the Halos. Plus I didn’t see the need to pay another $1,200 for the option. However….I did want HID headlights. I did not want Halos….not even aftermarket. After watching the threads I decided to buy the Bi-Xenon (8000k) headlights, 5202 bulbs for the fog lights, and a 1 chip license plate light ($360 to my door).

This is supposed to be a plug and play system so I decided to try to find some “How To” or “DIY” or just some basic instructions. Unfortunately I never could find them. No real instructions came with the system. Yes…there was some kind of real basic wiring diagram but it was basically useless to me. Called to talk to one of their Tech persons and I was only able to pick up some real basic info. One thing he did suggest was that I lay the wires out on the car instead of just the floor. At least that suggestion actually helped me out. I also found a pick from BFxenon’s setup and that helped as well but still not what I needed. Looking back now it’s a real straight forward install but when you’ve never done or seen one installed it’s a bit intimidating. The 5202 bulbs are backordered at the moment but they supposed to be here in another week or so.

So….I tried to take pictures along the way with my install so at least there is something out there for those that want to install an HID setup.

Here is what you get in the packaging. Two ballasts, a relay, and two bulbs. The basic premise of the install is to lay out the relay and its wires, replace both bulbs with the HID ones, find a negative ground for each ballast, supply a constant hot, and the input of the driver’s side headlight plugs into the input of the AAC supplied relay (passenger side headlight input is not used). My plan was to use Positive junction under the hood for the power source and use a self-tapping screw into the side of the fender for the ballasts.

I laid out the wiring by running it just in front of the radiator and just below the radiator mounts. I kind laid out where the ballasts were going to go and then got an idea of where to put the negative grounds.

I first removed the Halogen light and replaced it with the HID. The factory bulb comes out by just turning it to release it from the housing. Then pull back on the red locking mechanism. Then just pull the bulb out and give an a little side to side wiggle to help it out. Both of mine were kind of stiff to pull out. Once the Halogens are removed then you can just insert the HID. It really only goes in one way….not really going to mess this up. Put the bulb back into the light housing in the same way as you removed it. There are 3 tabs on the bulb so again…it’s hard to install it wrong or upside down.

I then plugged installed the negative grounds. This was a little hard in the fact of trying to get it started. I ended up drilling a small pilot whole first. Then just screw in the negative wire with the self tapping screw. I used black ones for looks and they are 8x7/16 screws.

I then plugged all the wires to the ballasts and HID lights. Again….pretty much everything can only plug in one way. Not really a way to get this wrong. Just watch where you are plugging it in. I had to unplug mine and run them under different wiring harnesses until I got it the way I liked.

I then tried for the powersouce. I pulled off the red cap on the positive junction but the (11mm) bolt there looked way too big. I tried unbolting it but the bracket that holds it in place seemed like it was going to bend or twist so I stopped for the night. Asked the forum about a little info on the power source and was also able to get to another Tech at AAC. This time the guy seemed confident about what I was to do and was also a little more knowledgeable with working on the actual Camaro. Come to find out these kits are not necessarily specific just for the Camaro although it seems to be pretty much designed for it with the exception of the positive wire ring being way to small.

I went back and used the 11mm to remove the bolt on top of the positive junction. I held it from underneath for support. Sure enough it had a smaller post underneath it. The round wiring ring was not going to fit so I used some dykes and cut it into a “U” shaped ring. Put the positive bolt back and then went to try the lights to make sure it was working. Bam….everything came on perfectly just like it was supposed to. High beams work perfect as well.

Now on to securing everything. I want to make as few as wholes as possible but I also want it to secure and to try to look like the car came that way. I secured the Relay to the windshield washer hose that goes along the driver’s side fender. I then went over to the passenger side and used zip ties to tie it up to some wiring harnesses. The ballast has a bracket on it. At the top of the bracket is a whole for securing it somewhere. I used that as one of my zip tie points. Then around the whole ballast itself and then another to help pull the ballast wires up. While I was on the passenger side I went ahead and used some electrical tape to protect the passenger side input for the light. This plug is not used for the system. I also zip tied it out of the way as well. One the driver’s side I’m only going to do a temporary securing. I plan on getting a CAI in the next few weeks so I don’t want to make anything permanent here until the CAI is installed. There isn’t nearly as much to zip tie to on the driver’s side so I just used the factory Air Intake and then a horizontal zip tie to something on the headlight housing.

That’s pretty much it. Like I said…at first it looks intimidating but then you realize it’s not much to it at all.

Here are the before and after pictures.

Very nice!

Is it me, or is the last pic not as bright as the Halogens?

Hmmm.....I do see what you mean. The HID are definatley more "intense" though. There is nothing really wrong with the Halogens. I just like the more modernized lights of HID. The nice thing is these are not permanent at all. I could have it back to Halogens in about 15min and only have two small grounding holes left to show for it.

I think I'm going to change out from the 8000k down to the 6000k. These are just ever so slightly bluer than I would like. Other than that I like them.

nice install pics!!

It looks prety cool though. ive installed HID's on my past vehicles and they are brighter that halogen, like you said it might be too blue, if i were you i would definitely step it down to 6000k at least, 5300k would be my first choice, much whiter and better visibility.

did you noticed any flickering when turning them on?

:w00t:Nice install and nice pic's:w00t:

No flickering at all....no noise...no stereo interferance....nothing. The AAC kit is designed for the fact that the non-RS headlights are the DRLs. They come on perfectly. The cut off line for the low beams seem perfect as well.

I'm very happy with the overall system....I just have to work out the right color of lights for me.

nice install!

Although the wife and all my friends said the 8000k lights looked good I still wasn't comfortable with them. To me you could tell from a distance that they were aftermarket lights because they were blue. Most people want that (which is why the 8000k are so popular) but I felt like I was sticking out like a sore thumb. It wasn't horrible but it was enough to bother me. Unfortunate for me the only thing to do was to buy some new 6000k bulbs and hope I like them better.

Well...I ended up calling back AAC and talking with Andy about the issue. He ended up hooking me up with a good price on the new bulbs. The arrived this afternoon and I put them on but wanted to wait till tonight to make sure I liked them......HELL Yeah! This is what I was wanting! I know 6000k is not what most people like but they are exactly what I wanted. They are mostly white with just a hint of blue. They look more like what a factory Cadillac or Lexus have.

If you are considering aftermarket HID lights I would definately use AAC again. The install was super easy once I figured out where everything went. They aren't the cheapest HID kit but you get what you pay for. They are worth spending the extra money on. Hopefully you'll pick the right color from the start because bulbs aren't cheap (again you get what you pay for).

In these pics it looks more white than in person but they are definatley brighter and whiter than the 8000k lights. When you look at the lights from the front they are still somewhat blue but not nearly as much as the 8000k.

Here is 6000k vs 8000k vs factory Halogen

im glad to see im im not the only person that likes the 6k thanks for the write up it looks great you helped me with my choicew as well.

So my 5202 bulbs for the fog lights came in today and I went ahead and installed them. All I can say is….WOW…..what a PITA!!! They were 20x harder to install than the Bi-Xenon kit. I tried doing them in the garage under a jack stand but ended up going to a shop with a lift to be able to get to them a little easier. Still they were not easy at all. I know it has to do with the fact that I’ve never done them before and I could definitely do them easier the next time but be prepared if you’ve never dealt with the Camaro fog lights. The design that GM used for the fog lights is not a simple turn and pull out like the head lights are. There are two clips on the side of the bulb housing that have to be pushed in order to pull them out. That by itself is not the really hard part. The hard part comes from not really having much room to get to them.

After trying to install the first 5202 bulb for a good 20 min and then breaking off the push in tabs for the clips I ended up talking to Justin at AAC. He did suggest pulling out the actual fog light housing to make it easier to plug in everything. I definitely agree to that….however, the first time you look at trying to take out the fog lights you’ll see it’s not the easiest thing either. There are about 5 clips that hold in the black trim ring….3 of them are easy but the one on top and the one closest to the fender is not as easy because you basically can’t see them. You pretty much have to pull up the clips by just feeling them.

By the time I was at the point where I had already pulled the factory fog lights out and figured I was close enough to just finish the job without taking out the housing….WRONG! I ended up breaking off the push-in tabs on bulb and one of the clips. This happened on both bulbs because there isn’t much give on the tabs or the clips. If you give them much of a push at all be prepared for them to break off….which of course means they are definitely yours by then. No returning and no one is going to want to buy them. Luckily it only needs one clip to hold them in. After it was all said and done I still had to pull out the fog light housing on one side in order to get it in properly. If I would’ve known that from the beginning it probably would’ve made the install much more tolerable.

So…after the hour and a half of working and a bunch of frustration I finally got them in. Turned them on to see what they look like. Hmmmm…..they are defiantly better than the factory halogen lights but they don’t really match all that well either. They are a bright white…..no hint of blue at all. Even with the 6000k bulbs you can see a fairly distinctive difference between the two. I then took a drive and turned them on/off….you really can’t see a difference with them on. With the factory Halogens you could definitely see a difference on the road when you turned on the fog lights. The Xenons on the other hand put off so much light that you really can’t see the difference in the road when you turn on the fog lights.

If I had it to do all over again I would probably not do the 5202 bulbs. The other option is to go with the HID fog lights that have ballasts and cost probably double the money. If I just had to do the fog lights again I would probably lean that direction but looking back I would have just left the factory ones alone since I probably won’t be turning them on much.

Here is a pic but the difference in the light color is not as noticeable as it is in person. You can see from the light hitting the ground that the 5202 bulbs don't have any blue in them.

I am about to do this myself. Any issues with the DRLs?

Nope....no issues with the DRL at all.

I did just have a ballast fail on me after only 3 weeks. Sucks....I'm back on Halogens for the next week or so. Once you have the HID you won't want to go back to Halogen if you don't have to.

For warranty work you have to mail back the part (your expense), they test it, then if it's bad they'll send you back a new one. Not real crazy about that procedure. In my opinion, especially since it's been less than a month, they should send me a ballast no questions asked and then I send them the bad one back. After all....it's now like I had them for a year or so. It's not necessarily good customer service in my book.

Just make sure you pick the right color of lights the first go around or you'll be out a bit of money like I was. Once you open the box thier yours.

If you're not going to do halos then you might check out BFXenon before making your decision on who to buy from. I think they are giving a 15% discount for forum members which would put their kit at around $220. They don't do halos though. http://www.bfxenon.com/Camaro_High_L...d-camarohl.htm

We'll see how my issue gets resolved but so far I'm a little frustrated with my whole experience with AAC. I was going to buy their Afterburner tail lights but not sure I want to go down that road now. Think I'll leave well enough alone and hope I won't be dropping another $200 to get a HID kit from somewhere else.

I did get mine through bfxenon and got a great deal.

Ahhh.....a new ballast came in this afternoon and I have HID back again. Love the HID over Halogen!

AAC sent me a new ballast (which was bad) the next day after receiving it and it came in about 2 days later. It would've been nice to have received and email or a phone call letting me know that they were sending me a new one because the other one was defective but at least they sent me one without any issues. I still don't agree with the fact that I had to pay shipping to send my original one back to them when it was their product that failed in about 3 weeks. The better customer service would've been them sending me one out immediately with return postage so I didn't have to pay money out of my pocket. Oh well.....I got it now so I'm good at the moment. Hopefully it doesn't happen again.


But did I mention I love the HID headlights. :D

Looks to me like the halogens were on, with the fog lights, and the second pic was without the fog lights?

Even the tabs on 5202 hids are rough lol. The install wasn't that bad. I did it up on a lift. As far as the price they are not that bad. You do have to use 25watt ballasts though. I got my set from here http://www.spencershids.com/shoppingcart/page2.html#14
Your talking about around $50 more for hids over leds. To me is was well worth spending the extra $50 or so.

The ones I got from AAC were just a bulb. I guess they are LED. There were no ballasts to deal with. Just unplug factory bulb and plug in theres. They only cost $80 though.

It would've been an easier install if I would've taken out the fog light housing. Thing is that I was told more than once to just unplug them from behind and then plug them in. Yes...in theory that works but it's a little more difficult to align them up doing it that way. Once I broke the tabs on the first bulb I called and then was told "oh...we typically just pull out the whole fog light assembley to make it easier and we are usually doing halo rings". Again, that would've been better had I know that going into it.

Yeah that sucks. I almost went with the same bulbs. When I added to the cart and seen the cost with shipping it pushed me to going with hids. GM really could have done something better with them bulbs. That tab thing just isn't very good :(.

So you put the ones from Spencers on? I'm assuming it had the ballasts? How hard where they to put in? How to do they work...you unplug the factory bulb and plug in line to a ballast and then from the ballast to the new Fog Light? I'm assuming you would've removed the fog light housing to install them.

Another concern I have is that i heard the HID Fog lights could melt the Fog light housing. Doesn't necessarily sound correct because it's supposed to run much cooler but that's what I heard.

Yes I am using the kit from Spencers. Yes they have ballasts. Factory plug goes into one side of ballast, bulb plugs into other side. No I did not remove the housing. Yeah it might have been better to remove to see better lol. For the Camaro you need to use the 25watt kit. There were two problems people had with melting. The first problem was they were not using a true 5202 kit. They used different kits that would not plug in correct. They used silicone to seal it and hold it in place. They silicone would melt and shift the bulb into the plastic. This caused the plastic to melt. The other problem was some of the first kits were rushed out and were 35watt kits. I have read people had problems with the heat from the 35watt kit. Spencers was the first place that I know of that came out with a 25watt ballast. (trust me I reseached for months before I ordered them lol). I have been running them for around 5 months now. I have no melting and my lenses have not hazed up at all. I will tell you that they are bright. I think they might be brighter then the hid headlights I installed lol. The reason for this is there is nothing to deflect the beam. So the beam comes straight out of the lenses. The fogs are low so it's really not a problem for other drivers. I think I might have been flashed with highbeams 3 times since I installed them. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

What color did you end up going with? Do you have the RS pkg?

Mine is a non-RS and I ended using the 6000k lights. Just curious what color you used. The 5202 bulbs that came from AAC would probably be fine for the factory 4300k but on 6000k and up they are a little to white.

Thanks for the info though. I might change mine out to the hid fogs some time. Right now the HID are bright enough that the fogs are even being turned on.

I have a non rs. I went with 8k for both setups. The 8k looks great with my IBM. Driving around the city I don't use the fogs as much. I drive a lot of back roads where there are a ton of deer.

Hey guys I have a dumb question about this HID kit.

Did you have to put a ballast in for each light? or can you run 2 lights off one ballast?

Does this setup operate basically like a dual filament halogen? 1 bulb, 2 settings?

I'm doing my homework for another type of headlight conversion. I'm going to do the BMW lights like on the trans am conversion. I got a smokin' deal on some headlights but they're the halogen setup from BMW. I want my setup to work a little differently than BMW intended though. Each light has 2 bulbs, a high and low and the high is off unless being used. I am going to put dual filaments in both so both are on for low and both can kick on for high. (going for the quad headlight look) Doing this on a halogen setup is easy, but I want to do it with HIDs.

SO... what I need is an HID bulb that can do a high and low setting in a single bulb. which it appears that this kit does, correct?

Yes, each bulb has a ballast. I had to zip tie up two of them.

I don't know what to tell you on your setup but I will say that from my understanding it's not a High/Low beam (one on - one off) type system. It's supposed to be 1 light and when you turn on the High Beam it changes the angle of light reflection not a second light or the light's wattage or anything. The same bulb stays on all the time.

Aha, I see. I will have to mabye give BF or ACC a call to see if these are designed with the lense focal point specifically in mind. i know on projector lights it's just a single bulb that either changes position or the lense changes size. So I was trying to get my head around HOW this single HID bulb changes brightness in a halogen lense.

I am going to get my conversion finished up on Halogen bulbs though, and then I'll worry about how to convert them to HID's.

.... the projects never end haha

if i were you i would disconnect it from the battery and put it to the fuse..

Just thought I would post this thread for those looking at doing the HID install and want some 6000k fog lights as well. I don't have these on my car yet but they sure look like they match much better than the ones I have.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...=1#post2014095