Mazda Sport CX-7 HID Conversion Kit Install/Retrofit

[hidusa]

Did you get a Sport CX-7 and are tired of not having HID headlights? My wife and I did and after a week of no HID's we couldn't handle it anymore. So I ordered an H7 Hid kit off of Ebay ($83 shipped). Ok to start off, save yourself some hassle and go ahead and remove the front wheel of the side you are working on. I tried to do this with the wheel on the car on the driver's side and it was just not worth the time I might have saved by jacking up the front and removing the wheel. I ended up doing it anyway. The pictures show the wheel on, I removed it, trust me.

Step 1: Remove the front wheel of the side you are working on and then remove the fender liner. I marked some of the screws and push pins necessary to do this, but there are more not shown. I think there are 6 screws/bolts total and around 10 push pins. Then just bend your liner back and out of your way. NOTE: Some of the push pins have screw type heads, but they are plastic push pins. Try removing them with a screwdriver first. If that doesn't work pull them with a puller, or flat head screwdriver if you don't have a puller.

Step 2: You should have a nice look at the back of your headlight now with all of the stock wiring in place.

Cont... Remove the stock wiring. Just pull the H7 socket away from the bulb and it will release. Then turn the socket of each turn signal / parking light bulb and they will come out. This hanging harness is what you will be left with.

Step 3: Remove the stock bulb by pulling off the rubber boot on the back of the low beam. It just pulls off but can take some force.

Cont... Now undue the spring retaining clip that is holding the factory H7 headlight bulb. If you did not order bulb adapters like these http://www.kusoz.com, you will grow to hate this clip, just as I did. I highly recommend ordering these. Now you can insert your sexy HID bulb into the housing. If you are using the adapters you should have a D2S bulb to put in. If you aren't (like me) you should install H7 HID bulbs. Again, the adapters and D2S bulbs are the way to go. Since I didn't go that route I inserted my HID bulb and tried to reseat the clip. Even after inserting the clip there was some play in the bulb. Now since I am not one to have my HID's bouncing up and down every time I hit a bump, this would not work for me. I used RTV clear silicon to seat the bulb into the housing in conjunction with the spring clip. When I replace the bulbs in the future I will use D2S and the adapters. If you go this route, be sure you are parked facing a wall so you can check the aim of your bulb in the headlight to make sure it is centered and hits the projector correctly. I had to redo the passenger side once because I didn't verify bulb to housing alignment. The silicon is easily removable if need be but will hold the bulb in very well and as a bonus provide a water tight seal.

Step 4: Mount your driver's side ballast. Here you can see where I mounted mine. It is well protected from weather and anything else from the top and bottom.

Cont... Here is the top view showing the mounting bolt I used. Removing the air filter housing helps to give more access to the holes for you to insert your mounting bolt. Having an extra set of hands helps as well, so one person can tackle the bolt from the top and one person can work on the nut on the back of the bolt. As a side note, I sealed my ballasts with a RTV clear silicon/gasket maker (same stuff used to hold bulbs securely) to prevent any water from getting into them. They are supposed to be water proof but I recently had one leak on another vehicle so I am doing this to all future installs to prevent that.

Here is the difference between the halogens and the HID's. The HID's are obviously mo' sexier.

Step 5: This is the passenger side shown, but the last step to the driver's side is to connect all the wiring. The H7 bulb kit comes with the correct spades and everything on it to just plug and play. Simply plug the spades into the factory H7 plug, connect the AMP connectors from the ballasts to the bulbs, and connect the power to the ballast. Run all the wires with the factory wire harness and zip tie to keep everything looking nice and clean and stock. You could even use wire loom for a better looking install. Note: If you went with the D2S conversion kit, it will not come with the spades on the ballast power cable to connect to the factory H7 bulb connector. You will have to splice on male spades, available at any auto store for about $1.

The steps for the passenger side are the same as the driver's side, so just repeat 1 through 5 for that side. But this pic shows the windshield washer reservoir bolt that I used to attach the ballast bracket to for my pass side install. After done again zip tie wires and/or wire loom to make everything look factory. The locations I chose for the ballasts are very effective and from under the hood look almost factory. I was primarily concerned with longevity and protecting the wiring and ballasts, so was happy that it looks good as well. Note: This is a guide, there are many different places to mount your ballast. This is just how I did it. If anyone has any questions feel free to post them here or PM me.

The results... looks waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy better, and I am able to see 100% better at night.

http://www.mzspd6.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123679417