Question regarding Retrofit in a Yukon

[Diggerdan11]

So I have a Morimoto H1 kit that I installed in my 03 Silverado (boy was that a pain in the butt), and I love it. Now that Im selling my Silverado im putting stock headlights back in (I bought eaby clears to retrofit), so I will have a set of projectors, shrouds, bulbs and ballasts and I was thinking I might go ahead and put them in my Yukon. All I think im going to need is a new Harness for the H13 bulb.

Based on my past experiences with HIDs they dont seem to last as long as Halogen bulbs. Now that could be the fact that I always bought DDM kits. Im assuming the Morimotos will last much longer since they are supposedly higher quality.

The Yukon is the first vehicle I have owned that uses the headlight bulb for the DRL. Im use to the DRL's being seperate.



So I guess my main question is: For those Yukon owners with retrofits, Have you noticed your Ballasts or Bulbs burning out faster?


I would assume that HIDs are not going to last as long in the Yukons since they would be on all the time instead of just at night

I dont want to disable the DRL's either.

The Morimoto kit I own is only like 6 months old and probably have only be used for 4hours total so they should last for quite a while longer.

Im just trying to decided if I want to go ahead and do the retrofit or not. If I do I might go ahead and buy new headlight housings just in case I screw something up or decided I want to return to stock.

 

[01Konvict]

Mini H1s are a good projector but have some faults. You can fix all the faults if you take the time to set them up correctly. Do a little google search for Mini setup prior to install. To retrofit them in the Yukon should be pretty easy but you will have to cut the bowls to epoxy in the projectors. Your correct with needing the H13 harness. They last long enough for me and haven't really seen any go bad faster. My first retrofit back in 05 is still running strong on original Mini H1 bulbs/ballasts! The morimoto combo package from TRS has a 5 year warranty anyhow.

DRLs is an issue with HID ballasts. Because of the reduced power DRL it causes havoc on the ballasts. I pulled my DRL relay out of the fuse box and run no DRLs. Personally I don't like the DRL anyhow. I know some people have tried to keep the DRL option but I don't recall any success. My suggestion, pull the relay and run without them.

As far as new housings or OEMs, the OEMs are by far better lasting if in good condition. If they are starting to fade on you then sand them down to polish the face. Then spray some clear coat over them to prevent and more etching. I like having the GM and DOT on my headlights if ever questioned about them. I say go for a retrofit and enjoy much better lighting. Here is my thread with FXRs

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/denali-fx-r-retrofit.70903/

 

[Diggerdan11]

Thanks for the Info. So the DRL's are on reduced power? Dang that was the issue I had with my Subaru. I put a set of HIDs in my Subaru and had to drive with the lights on all the time instead of using the DRL's, and there was no way to disable the DRLs on the Subaru.

I will have to really consider my options. I hate to disable my DRLs since I like for other vehicles to see me. But I do think the current lights are pretty crappy.

Im also assuming since the Fx-r ballasts are so big that the mini h1's would not require as much cutting. I know that with the NNBS Silverado/Sierra's you only have to drill out the current hole for the H1 bulb a tiny little bit in order to fit the ballast, and the Yukons look to have much more room than the Silverado/Sierras.

 

[01Konvict]

Yeah unfortunately there is no way that I'm aware of to keep the DRL option. Pull it out and roll, just press the fog light button if you want people to see you.

Your talking ballasts or do you mean projectors?? Those are what power the bulb and are usually away from the headlight itself. The FX-R projector rear half is larger than Mini H1s but ballasts are the same if made by Morimoto. The trucks have different lights so the whole mini can be installed internally resting on the headlight housing. The Mini in a Yukon without cutting the bowl will stick very far forward in the bowl along with all the support on the screw thread area. The Yukon headlight is large and in my opinion only 3" looks proportional for it.

 

[Diggerdan11]

yeah I was talking about the size of the projectors. The fx-r's look a lot bigger than the mini H1's

I was hoping that the mini H1's would fit without much modification, but I could see how they may stick out too much. That was the issue on my 03 Silverado I had to cut such a big hole to make them fit inside the housing that it was extremly hard to get aligned properly. Yet if I would have put the projectors in the high bulb slot they would have fit perfectly with only widening the hole a tinny bit.

I will have a lot to think about. before I attempt it I will still probably buy a new set of headlights just in case I screw something up.

 

[01Konvict]

Yeah its always on your mind of don't screw it up cause you only have one set of lights to chop up. Just go slow with the cuts and it will be fine. I did mine in 3 cuts to get the right depth of the projector. After that all the uneven lines are filled in with JB Steel Stik so it doesn't have to be perfect. After that sets up you need to epoxy the hell out of them and then done. I had a little tweaking to mine during the setting process. It is critical to NOT move the car during the retro! Its easy to make sure the cut off line is level and for vertical adjustment you have plenty of room to adjust. Go for it and don't hesitate.

 

[Diggerdan11]

Ok thanks for the advice!

 

[Erik G]

Let me know how it goes - I really want to do the retro but I will not give up my DRL - People in Houston absolutely do not look in their mirrors or use their turn signals, I want all the safe guards in the world. I'd like to find something else that to use as a DRL, but I'm sure there is no harness or anything that could make that happen. Like when the ballast receives low wattage it directs to some LED's, full headlight power it goes to the HID's

I suppose putting on the fogs may help - but that is illegal in some places - you have to have headlights and fogs on at the same time

 

[Diggerdan11]

I think im going to hold off on the Retrofit. I too do not want to get rid of my DRL's for the same reason.

I guarantee there is a way to wire up the fog lights so they come on automatically as the DRL's, or to wire up LED's or something but no way in hell am i going to attempt it.

My Subaru legacy had the same thing where the low beams were the DRL's and they came on at a lower wattage, then when you turned the headlights on they went to full power. Its a very popular and easy mod on the Subaru to wire up the fogs as the DRL. Im sure it can be done with the Yukon, but like I said no way im going to attempt it myself.

 

[01Konvict]

Yeah skip the low power headlight drl and reroute the wiring to the fogs. Look at the wiring on the current drl relay and route the power to the fog instead of headlight. Do a retro it's worth it and more!