I ordered the Phillips LVQ-212 ballast cases (also fits Hella Gen3 ballasts) from suvlights.com back before spring break, but I didn't get them until after I got back, so I just now got the chance to install them this week. Since these cases make the ballasts more weather-proof, I decided to relocate them inside the front bumper, to help the engine bay stay more stock-looking. On to the pics...

The case, matches the label on the ballast. That's not a label on the case, it's in the plastic itself.


Ballst installed in the case:


The whole thing:


It even has a cutout on the back for the PHILIPS logo to show through


Here's the driver side installed on the bottom side of the bumper reinforcement bar. I used industrial strength Velcro AND self-drilling stainless steel screws to hold it in place. The Velcro will become more useful later:



Another view showing the relay for my custom headlight harness I made back before Christmas. I had to unwrap everything in order to re-route some wires, etc.


All wrapped up with the headlight in place, yes I go NUTS when it comes to electrical tape, don't lie, I know some of you do it too. The wire for the bulb goes up underneath the headlight housing and plugs into the back. The harness going through the hole in the frame plugs into the factory low beam harness and activates the relay when I turn on the headlights.


Passenger side:


With headlight:


Passenger side top view, everything in place:


Driver side top view:



Unfortunately I ran into a major problem. I put the bumper back on, and found that the turn signals hit the ballast cases and would not go in all the way. So I had to reposition the ballast cases slightly. This is where the Velcro came in handy, it allowed me to reposition it just right before drilling new holes and putting the screws back in. I also had to cut a chunk off the right side turn signal bracket, because the right side one is alot bigger on the 98+ bumper for some reason.

I finally got it all back together, so now a before picture, back when I first installed my visualdynamics HID kit:


And this is how it looks now, the red plug and the extra harness for the bi-xenon solenoids are the only thing visible that aren't factory (although it looks factory)


One thing I should note, the ballast cases DO get wet in this location when driving in the rain. But, that's what the cases are for, to protect the ballasts, and plus I went nuts and wrapped ALL connections in electrical tape, so I should be good to go.

 

nice write up

 

Question...

How long did it take to remove the front bumper?

Is it an easy uninstall?

I am thinking of doing this once my fiance goes to Colorado for a month...

 

Not hard at all to remove the front bumper. I've done it before for other reasons. Maybe 20 minutes to remove? It's not a big deal.

 

I could get it off in probably 10 minutes or less if I really had to.

 

nice write up-- way to keep it clean-- you have a pm

 

nice install

 

nice write up

 

Looks good, but what's up with the passanger side of your radiator suppoort? You get into an accident or something??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by m R g S r &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Looks good, but what's up with the passanger side of your radiator suppoort? You get into an accident or something??</TD></TR></TABLE>

yep, that's why I have the black front end, bought it shortly after I rearended a minivan, my first ever at-fault accident in my 9+ years of driving.

It bent that point backwards slightly where the radiator support attaches to the frame, so my grandfather and I drilled the spotwelds and I went at it with a 2x4 to pry the radiator support forward a bit, then put a bolt in it. I should probably add another bolt or two. I know, I know, I need to prime and put some touch up paint on the bare metal, just haven't gotten around to it.

It's still not perfect, as I can't remove the coolant bottle unless I take off the airbox cover, because the headlight's L-R adjustment guage gets in the way, because that part of the support is still pushed back just slightly. But everything on the outside lines up for the most part, and that's all that matters.

 

nice

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pnoi_01dc2r &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nice</TD></TR></TABLE>

You brought back a thread that was over 2 years old, just to say "nice"?

Nice.

 

this thread helped me out! Im going to do the same thing with my ballasts tommorow

 

Hey, i did the same thing today, except i did it under the driver side finder.

edit: becuase i have no front bumper support

 

I never thought of putting the ballasts there. I had no room on the driver side so I pulled the CC box out and mounted it there. I might have to change my set-up tomorrow. Nice write up.

 

 

heh whoa where did this come from

Ballasts have been underneath my bumper for 2 1/2 years now and still work great. The ballasts themselves I've been using for just over 4 years now.

 

patrickgsr94 is still alive?! havent seen u post your car in a while. shave those side moldings yet

 

huh what you mean, I post here every day

nope no shaved moldings, not gonna do it either. I just want to get my front end repainted and be done with it.

Most recent pics, from the summer:

 

looks good...how's the back of the projector sealed in the back? sorry i can't really see it in the pics lol

 

It's not sealed airtight at all. There are holes around the bulb in the bulb holder.

But the back of the projector (bulb holder) sticks through the hole in the rear of the housing, and the OEM rubber piece is in place around the rear part of the projector.