Hey folks, as the title states, I'm looking to upgrade the OEM 35W HID ballasts on my wife's 2019 Yukon Denali. I haven't been able to find anyone who has actually done this.
After browsing threads on here and elsewhere on the interwebs for longer than I'd care to admit, there seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding OEM headlight setups for this generation of Yukons/Tahoes (aka Yuhoes) so let me be very clear about what I'm asking about right off the bat:
- I am only talking about Yuhoes equipped with HIDs from the factory that use D3S HID bulbs in the projector housing
- I am not talking about converting to HIDs in a Yuhoe that was originally equipped with halogen bulbs (9006 I think) in the projector housing - This is a far simpler "plug and play" upgrade
- I am aware that one of the main issues with Yuhoe projector performance is the projector lens itself, and I do plan to address that, but for now I'm thinking about the "simple" upgrades that can be made
- No, I do not want to convert to LEDs
I don't mean to sound like a jerk, I just don't want to waste anyone's time recommending a solution that won't work or isn't applicable to this situation. With that out of the way, here's my situation, and what I'm thinking about doing...
I recently upgraded from the factory D3S bulbs to the Osram CBN (Cool Blue Intense Next-Gen) D3S bulbs, and I really like the whiter color. As everyone who has purchased this bulb states, it is nowhere near the 6200K it claims to be, but it is certainly a bit whiter than the OEM 4300K bulbs. The performance is slightly better out of the box as well, which is a good sign since they will only get brighter and whiter as they "break in" over the next few weeks, as all HIDs do. All in all, I think I will be satisfied with this bulb, but, it could be even better with a 50 or 55W ballast. I haven't searched too intensely, but I do know that Morimoto offers a 50W D3S ballast kit.
If you aren't aware, upgrading to a 55W ballast would not only increase the bulb's brightness by up to ~50%, but in doing so, it would also cause the bulb to burn hotter, which, in the case of a light bulb, means whiter. Sounds like a win-win to me. Sure, it does also slightly decrease the life of the bulb, but that's a sacrifice I'd be willing to make in order to gain the brightness and color. Also, don't get too caught up in the "50% brighter" figure above; there are a lot of factors that go into that estimate, but even if it's half wrong (it isn't) and I only gain 25% in brightness it would still be well worth the cost, and speaking from experience, it would definitely be more than a 25% increase.
That all sounds great, but there are a couple problems:
1. The OEM ballast fits into the headlight housing itself and the wires that connect to the ballast go through a hole in the housing, so without the ballast sealing said hole, there would be.. well, a hole:
2. It seems the OEM ballast requires some type of 3-pin female connector (on the left below) from the vehicle's harness, whereas an aftermarket ballast would use a 2-pin 9006 connector:
Both of these problems are what makes this so much more complicated than just upgrading from factory halogens, and is why I mentioned this above, although at this point I wish I did have factory halogens since that would make this so much easier.
Problem number 1 isn't an issue; I have a 3D printer and could design a bracket to hold the aftermarket ballast, run the wires through the hole, and seal it up like a factory installation.
Problem number 2, however, has me a bit baffled, and is what has prompted me to post this thread:
What is that third pin being used for!? Does anybody know? It looks like identical to a 9006 connector, and I bet the 3-pin female connector from the Yukon's harness would plug right into the 2-pin 9006 connector on the aftermarket ballast, but would something not work? I don't see any sort of "3-pin male to 2-pin female 9006" adapter harnesses available anywhere either.
ChatGPT says that it could be an additional ground, which would be nice although unlikely, or that it could be sending some sort of signal. If that's the case, my first thought was that it could have something to do with the shutter mechanism for the brights, but I'm fairly certain that these are not bi-xenon projectors, which would mean that there is no shutter mechanism. Furthermore, why would a signal wire for the brights, or for anything, need to plug into the ballast? The ballast should only be receiving power from the Yukon (left connector) and sending it to the bulb (right connector). This makes me think it could be a remote wire that turns the lights on for a reason other than the headlight switch itself, maybe when it's unlocked at night?
If anyone has done this upgrade, knows more about how the OEM HIDs are wired, or has access to wiring diagrams, I'd really appreciate some help with this. There may also be an OEM-style 55W D3S ballast that already has this same 3-pin connector, but I haven't been able to find one. Otherwise I reckon I'll have to bust out the multimeter and figure it out, then post it here for other people looking to do it. Thanks in advance! Hoping we can all learn something with this.
After browsing threads on here and elsewhere on the interwebs for longer than I'd care to admit, there seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding OEM headlight setups for this generation of Yukons/Tahoes (aka Yuhoes) so let me be very clear about what I'm asking about right off the bat:
- I am only talking about Yuhoes equipped with HIDs from the factory that use D3S HID bulbs in the projector housing
- I am not talking about converting to HIDs in a Yuhoe that was originally equipped with halogen bulbs (9006 I think) in the projector housing - This is a far simpler "plug and play" upgrade
- I am aware that one of the main issues with Yuhoe projector performance is the projector lens itself, and I do plan to address that, but for now I'm thinking about the "simple" upgrades that can be made
- No, I do not want to convert to LEDs
I don't mean to sound like a jerk, I just don't want to waste anyone's time recommending a solution that won't work or isn't applicable to this situation. With that out of the way, here's my situation, and what I'm thinking about doing...
I recently upgraded from the factory D3S bulbs to the Osram CBN (Cool Blue Intense Next-Gen) D3S bulbs, and I really like the whiter color. As everyone who has purchased this bulb states, it is nowhere near the 6200K it claims to be, but it is certainly a bit whiter than the OEM 4300K bulbs. The performance is slightly better out of the box as well, which is a good sign since they will only get brighter and whiter as they "break in" over the next few weeks, as all HIDs do. All in all, I think I will be satisfied with this bulb, but, it could be even better with a 50 or 55W ballast. I haven't searched too intensely, but I do know that Morimoto offers a 50W D3S ballast kit.
If you aren't aware, upgrading to a 55W ballast would not only increase the bulb's brightness by up to ~50%, but in doing so, it would also cause the bulb to burn hotter, which, in the case of a light bulb, means whiter. Sounds like a win-win to me. Sure, it does also slightly decrease the life of the bulb, but that's a sacrifice I'd be willing to make in order to gain the brightness and color. Also, don't get too caught up in the "50% brighter" figure above; there are a lot of factors that go into that estimate, but even if it's half wrong (it isn't) and I only gain 25% in brightness it would still be well worth the cost, and speaking from experience, it would definitely be more than a 25% increase.
That all sounds great, but there are a couple problems:
1. The OEM ballast fits into the headlight housing itself and the wires that connect to the ballast go through a hole in the housing, so without the ballast sealing said hole, there would be.. well, a hole:
2. It seems the OEM ballast requires some type of 3-pin female connector (on the left below) from the vehicle's harness, whereas an aftermarket ballast would use a 2-pin 9006 connector:
Both of these problems are what makes this so much more complicated than just upgrading from factory halogens, and is why I mentioned this above, although at this point I wish I did have factory halogens since that would make this so much easier.
Problem number 1 isn't an issue; I have a 3D printer and could design a bracket to hold the aftermarket ballast, run the wires through the hole, and seal it up like a factory installation.
Problem number 2, however, has me a bit baffled, and is what has prompted me to post this thread:
What is that third pin being used for!? Does anybody know? It looks like identical to a 9006 connector, and I bet the 3-pin female connector from the Yukon's harness would plug right into the 2-pin 9006 connector on the aftermarket ballast, but would something not work? I don't see any sort of "3-pin male to 2-pin female 9006" adapter harnesses available anywhere either.
ChatGPT says that it could be an additional ground, which would be nice although unlikely, or that it could be sending some sort of signal. If that's the case, my first thought was that it could have something to do with the shutter mechanism for the brights, but I'm fairly certain that these are not bi-xenon projectors, which would mean that there is no shutter mechanism. Furthermore, why would a signal wire for the brights, or for anything, need to plug into the ballast? The ballast should only be receiving power from the Yukon (left connector) and sending it to the bulb (right connector). This makes me think it could be a remote wire that turns the lights on for a reason other than the headlight switch itself, maybe when it's unlocked at night?
If anyone has done this upgrade, knows more about how the OEM HIDs are wired, or has access to wiring diagrams, I'd really appreciate some help with this. There may also be an OEM-style 55W D3S ballast that already has this same 3-pin connector, but I haven't been able to find one. Otherwise I reckon I'll have to bust out the multimeter and figure it out, then post it here for other people looking to do it. Thanks in advance! Hoping we can all learn something with this.
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