This article explains how to perform an HID Retrofit or conversion on your vehicle. The process seems overwhelming at first, but isn’t as bad as it seems once you work out the details. This procedure was done on a 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500HD LB7, but the concept is similar for any car or truck. Also, every Silverado from this generation (2000 to 2003 I believe?) will be identical, since they have the same headlight assemblies. When you are done with this procedure (on a Silverado), you will have two bi-xenon HID’s installed in the position of the factory low beams, and will also have the factory brights which function normally. This results in 4 high beam bulbs (2 factory halogens, and two HID’s) and two low beam bulbs (2 HID’s). Without performing the quad high mod, you will have two high beams (2 HID’s). I could not find anyone that has done a proper mod of this generation Chevy, since HID projectors are too big for our housings, so hopefully this will help you out!

If you are ok with wasting your money on “HID” headlight assemblies from the likes of Spyder and others that claim to be “made to accept HID’s”, then this post is not for you. Those assemblies do not focus an HID bulb properly, do not have a light cutoff shield, and have a glass lens that doesn’t do anything to put the light in the right place. If you are considering this, save your money and stick with your factory lights, they will be the same performance and blind oncoming traffic less. Also, for terminology’s sake, those hid assemblies are NOT retrofits. Reference this website for more information www.Theretrofitsource.com. However, it may be a good option to purchase those aftermarket HID headlight assemblies for the sake of retrofitting proper HID projectors, as explained below. It is possible that these housings would be deeper, and therefore eliminate the cutting steps needed below for factory headlight housings. You’re taking the gamble of spending the extra money only to find the housing is exactly the same size as factory, which is likely.

What you will need:

• Aftermarket Drivers and Passenger Headlight Assembly. The factory assembly lenses will not work.
• Precision cutting tool, dremel tool works great
• Epoxy or similar
• Lens sealer/adhesive – 3M 08620 Window-Weld 1/4″ x 15′ Round Ribbon Sealer Roll  – this is needed to seal around the lens after reassembly
• Compressed air (optional but very helpful to blow dust out of the assembly)
• Solder and soldering iron
• wire terminals (stud, ring or tab). This is optional, depending on where you decide to connect your positive and negative leads. 360-piece Electrical Terminal Assortment – $19.99 on amazon prime.
• A 3/8″ or larger ring terminal and a male and female tab terminal will be required if you decide to do the quad high mod.
• TYC 12-5100-01 Chevrolet Driver and Passenger Side Replacement Parking/Signal/Side Marker Lamp Assembly (I had to replace mine anyway, but you need the bulb socket from each of these if doing a 2002
• Silverado)(This is only needed if you are doing a ~2002ish Silverado or similar)
• A fairly precise level
• HID Kit:
  • HID bulbs
  • HID ballast
  • HID shroud
  • HID solenoid/wires
  • HID Relay
  • Here is my parts list for the HI kit I chose, and I am happy with the quality of each:

I also bought an aftermarket headlight assembly for the lens only. The factory lens on the Silverado has ridges on the inside that send the light straight down. The projector assembly will handle the focusing, so we don’t want this. Make sure the aftermarket assembly/lens you get is perfectly flat and clear infront of the low beam bulb. Since you are only using the lense, I would get the cheapest assembly pair you can.

Depo 332-1182PXAS Diamond Headlight Assembly Sold by Amazon.com LLC

$78.16

I ordered the HID kit from The Retrofit Source, and as you can see each of the components above came in a kit. I did some significant research and decided that Morimoto had good quality and performance, but they are by no means the only choice here.

Consider when you choose your kit:

• #1: Approximately 4300K is the only good option, which is pure white. less than 4000k or less looks too yellow, and 6000k is way too blue. Don’t be one of those guys.
• #2: 35 or 55 amps? I went 35, which is the most common. The 35’s are brighter than the factory high beam bulbs, if that helps. 55 may need wiring upgrades and definitely requires the relay above.
• #3: Bi-xenon or xenon? The Bi-xenons have a solenoid that lifts a shutter in high beam mode, and lowers the shutter in low beam mode. Essentially, this means you have a high and low beam in one bulb. Xenons would work for this truck, since there is a separate high beam bulb. I decided to do the “quad high” mod, described more later, so I got bi-xenon.
• #4: which socket/plug type? The above kit is H1. H1 is not factory for this truck, and not required, you may choose what you prefer.
• #5: This trucks headlight assemblies are very narrow/short/not tall. Make sure the bulb, socket projector and shroud fit in whatever you choose. In fact, even for mini-h1’s, I had to cut and trim the top and bottom of the shroud to fit. I also had to modify the headlight housing depth to fit the projector. I think this is unavoidable on a Silverado because the headlights are so skinny and shallow.
• #6: This trucks headlight assemblies are not deep enough to hold a mini-H1 bulb and projector without the lens of the projector hitting the inside of the headlight lens. This makes this job much more complicated than probably any other car, but is unavoidable on a Silverado unfortunately (at least when I did it, shorter bulbs may be available now which would make this job plug and play). Most cars are just plug and play if the housing is big enough, and you get the socket type to fit your factory bult.
• #7: Decide if you want a halo light ring. It makes the HID look like those of a BMW when the light is off. I decided to skip this step, but it wouldn’t be much extra work.
• #8: This may be the most important. DO NOT put an HID bulb in a factory assembly that was designed for halogens. It looks bad, it doesn’t put any extra light onto the road, and it blinds oncoming drivers. It’s obviously easy, but it WILL NOT achieve similar results. I did test it just for fun in my driveway and it sucked a big one.
• #9: Your wiring harness needs to match the connector type that your car has. My low beam bulb type was 9006, and that was the plug I would be replacing with HID, so that’s what I got with the HID wiring harness.
• #10: DO NOT order a cheap 100$ HID kit on Ebay. They are not the same quality, and are not nearly as bright. There is a dramatic difference in HID bulb quality, which results in a dramatic difference in lumen output. Please do some research on this topic if you doubt. I have seen a side by side of my HID’s compared to Ebay specials, and mine are much brighter, and warm up faster. Also, HID’s produce large amounts of UV rays, which will destroy your headlight lens in short order if exposed. Quality HID bulbs have UV blocking coatings to prevent this. Ebay specials may not.

Let’s Get Started

Don’t ever touch any glass on bulbs or the projector. Don’t ever touch the chrome area of the headlight assembly, as it scratches very easily. Also, don’t touch the inside of the headlight lens. I recommend working with latex gloves when doing clean work, to prevent any accidents. Make sure you have a clean working area, because dust is your worst enemy on this project.

For the Silverado job specifically, since we need new lenses, I chose the Depo headlight assembly. Any will do, since they are all Chinese and of essentially similar quality. You can ignore the reviews about fogging issues, since you will be creating your own seal after re-assembly anyway. You can not use a factory lens, since it has grooves and ridges on the inside which deflect the HID light to inappropriate places. The HID Assembly will focus its own light, so you need a clear lens without features. If your car already has clear lenses, you can re-use your originals!

Remove the Lens from both headlight assemblies. The Depo’s use an adhesive that softens above 150 Deg. F (as most aftermarket assemblies do). Put your entire headlight into the oven which is preheated to 150. Leave it in approximately 5-10 minutes, and then work your way around the perimeter with a flat head screwdriver or similar prying the lens off of the housing. Be careful and don’t crack/break the lens. There will be a number of clips and plastic tabs holding the lens onto the housing, disconnect those first and don’t break them. If you do break one, its not the end of the world, so don’t panic. Do not touch the inside of the lens, because you can never really get it clean again if you do! It also scratches very easily, and some have a UV blocking coating on the inside of the lens. Put the lens somewhere safe and clean and dry.

remove all of the supplied bulbs and put somewhere clean and safe. Never touch any bulb glass with your fingers at any point throughout this procedure. This includes the HID’s. You don’t want to disturb the UV blocking coating, and oil from your finger causes bulbs to fail sooner. You could remove the bulbs before you bake, if you prefer.

If you have a headlight housing large enough to fit your HID projector, bulb and shroud, then you can skip all of the cutting steps!

Housing Mod and Cutting Steps (Silverado Specific)

*NOTE: Unbelievably, GM thought it was a good idea to make the passenger and drivers side headlights different depths! I have no idea why, but be aware when you measure/cut. Measure First to see.* The PASSENGER side only requires the below marker lamp modification steps to make the passenger side headlight housing deeper.

If your projectors with gasket fits inside both of your headlight housings without the projector hitting the inside of the headlight lens, then none of these cutting steps are required. You’re lucky.

First, remove the factory mounting brackets, bulbs, and hardware from the passenger side headlight assembly.

Modifying the Housing

Here is the scary part, its time to cut. You need to cut enough of the low beam socket area out that the HID projector will fit in the headlight housing. The problem is that the passenger side headlight housing isn’t deep enough for this particular projector, so you have to “extend” the back of the housing, or make it deeper, but you still need to have something for the projector to mount to. To solve this problem, I cut much of the low beam rear of the housing out, which lets the projector assembly sit further away from the headlight lens. I then cut the back of the marker lamp back out, which has a steeper “domed” shape. I then used epoxy to attach the cut out marker housing back area to the rear of the low beam housing area, which made the headlight deeper and let it all fit. You only get once chance, so cut carefully! but the marker lamps are cheap, so no biggy. Here’s how:

 

 

Cut the area shown above out. You do not need to be exactly precise, since the piece from the marker assembly will cover this area completely. The main goal is to make the circle cutout centered around the original bulb location.

Now, test fit the HID projector assembly with the gasket into the headlight housing, just as it would be installed. With the projector in place, try to test fit the headlight lens. If the projector lens hits the inside of the headlight lens, you didn’t make the hole large enough. Repeat until the projector can sit far enough back in the headlight housing to NOT hit the headlight lens.

You will then cut out the same circle from the new $10 marker assembly (or your old factory one). Make this cutoff area larger than that of the one you cut off the headlight assembly. You want to completely cover any holes in your headlight housing. Also, in-case you didn’t make the hole large enough on your headlight housing, you want a little extra to work with from the marker assembly. My red lines are only approximations, it will vary depending on your HID set and specific headlights and cuts.

Before you cut, measure the depth of the area you are going to cut off the marker housing, and add that depth to the back of the now-modified headlight housing. This is to ensure that the new arrangement will be deep enough when you put the two together. If it isn’t deep enough, the back of the dome on the HID projector will hit the marker assembly piece you put on the headlight assembly, and keep the HID projector too far forward, causing the projector lens to hit the headlight lens. The deeper the better to ensure you have the depth you need for your projectors.

Yes, this means that your HID projector will mount onto a bulb socket that was originally used as a marker light.

Once you have your pieces, you also need to make sure that your new socket will be “square” so that the HID projector, once installed, will point the correct direction. To do this, I used the high beam socket as a reference. I levelled the headlight housing on my workbench, so that the high beam socket was perfectly level in both the ‘x’ direction and ‘y’ direction (up/down and left/right). I then slid the cut section of the marker light around on the headlight housing, since its on a dome, to make it square/level until it matched the high beam socket.

Once you verify that getting the correct level/aim is possible, mark with a sharpie where you need your new dome section to be to achieve the correct aim. Then you can apply epoxy to the exterior of the low beam housing where your new piece will mate together. Only apply enough epoxy to essentially tack weld your section into place. Then stick your cut marker dome section onto the back of the low beam housing, level it *perfectly*, and tape it into place. Let it cure overnight and verify it is level. If good, then epoxy all the way around and let cure again. Make sure there are no gaps that would let water in. Before doing any epoxy work, pay attention to where the epoxy will run, or drip. You want to make sure you don’t get any onto the silver area of your headlight assembly, since you will not be able to get it off. I scuffed the exterior of the grey plastic with sand paper to give the epoxy a good bonding surface.

Now you need to drill a small hole if you got Bi-Xenons or Halo’s for the solenoid/halo wire. I chose to drill it on the bottom and side of the housing, behind where the projector shroud will be so that it isn’t visible from the front of the vehicle. I wouldn’t put it on the top half of the housing, because this may let water in. Drill a hole that is just large enough to get the solenoid wire terminals through.

Modifying the HID Projector Shrouds

Now you need to modify your shroud to fit into the housing. This isn’t too hard. Fit the shroud onto the projector. Hold the projector against the housing. If you got Bi-xenon’s, you need to make sure the cutoff shield is level. This means rotating the projector clockwise/counterclockwise until the shroud is level. There should be references. Mark with a sharpie where you need to cut on the top and bottom for the shroud so it fits in the housing, plus a little extra for margin so you can do aiming adjustments later. I did multiple small cuts to avoid cutting too much of the shroud off by accident. Make sure you cut enough so that the HID projector can sit all the way against the back of your newly modified housing without the shroud hitting.

There is one last bit of cutting you may need to do. Insert your projector into the housing and check to make sure your threads are long enough in the back to attach the washer and nut. Make sure you install your rubber washer inside the housing and your metal flat washer on the outside of the housing, since they will both require additional thread depth. If your threads on your projector aren’t long enough, you will need to reduce the depth of the socket mount point until the threads on the HID projector are long enough. To reduce the depth, I used a sanding block or orbital sandar. Make sure you compare the sanded surface with the un-modified HI beam socket as you go, to make sure you keep your aim correct.

 

Modded headlight housing for HID. Drivers side with the socket shroud trimmed down to provide enough thread exposure. Bi-xenon solenoid wire with window weld shown.

*End Housing Mod and Cutting Steps*

Now install your projector assembly. Install the shroud first. When you install the projector assembly, if you got Bi-xenon’s, you need to make sure the cutoff shield is level. This means rotating the projectors until it is. Put the large white rubber washer onto the back of the projector. Put the projector assembly into the housing, and pull all of the wires through the hole you drilled. Attach the nut on the threads to hold the projector into place, with any necessary washers. Do not torque down the nut yet, just put it in tight enough to keep things from wiggling around.

I used a small piece of the window weld to seal around the wire where it passes through the housing to keep water out. Putting the HID bulb in is the second to last last step. Putting the lenses back on is the very last step. We will do a test fit before putting the lenses back on, just in case something needs adjusting. Rotational level needs to be adjusted exactly before the headlight lenses go back on, since factory adjustments only go up/down and left/right.

Repeat all of the above for the passenger/drivers side.

’99-’02 Silverado Quad Hi Mod

Locate the two wires coming off the passenger side low beam bulb connection. One is yellow. That’s the low beam ground. Splice in to the yellow wire and route the wire to a permanent ground. I used a fender bolt.. You only have to do the passenger side. Once the high beams are activated the low beams will still be grounded and remain on. Remember, use proper wire splicing and soldering techniques. You don’t want to have a low beam circuit failure and lose your lights at night.

*End Quad High Mod*

CONTINUE TO PAGE 2 for the remainder of the installation procedure.