I just installed the DDMtuning 55W HID 4500k kit with wiring harness, about $80 with shipping. Everything plugged in just fine since I already had an amp kit power line in the trunk. The kit had spade connectors for the bulbs that plugged right into the stock bulb connectors so I didn't have to splice into the stock wires. I only hit two snags. First, trying to use a bolt on the trunk lid that holds the reverse light lens, I think, as my ground. Turns out it wasn't actually a ground so I just ran another wire to a factory ground bolt with a bunch of other ground wires attached on the drivers side inside of the trunk and it worked fine. Second, maybe it was the cooler weather (51 degrees) but the JB Weld didn't seem to want to work so I used small dabs of Krazy Glue instead. Hopefully they will snap off without too much difficulty if I ever need to change the bulbs. I just tested them out and they are literally just as bright as my headlights despite having a wider beam spread (non-projector beam lens), the benefits of 55W vs stock headlights 35W. They look just a tad yellower than the headlights but not much. I left them on for about a minute and the lens was barely warm so I should be okay. I'll have to test it again once higher summer temps come just to be sure. So far I'm completely satisfied but I'll have to wait and see how long they hold up. They have a lifetime warranty through DDM so if it fails I'll get to see how good their support is. Thanks to bsyrice for the DIY's on the HID install and the tailgater switch install, you're awesome and I can't thank you enough!

 

 

^ +1

 

^^+1

 

I've been wanting to do this but I don't want to spend any more than $40.

 

putting your hand on the lens is not a good indication of how hot it gets. hid bulbs, especially in 55w, can reach over 200 degrees. now i dunno how the reverse light reflector will hold up to that, maybe it will be just fine, who knows.

 

Shouldn't be lit for any extended period of time anyway... Hell, by the time he's done parking, they probably wouldn't have even warmed up yet.

 

next brightest thing to HID reverse lights are these.

http://www.jlclightings.com/ecommerc...led-chips.html

check em out, i got em in my TL they are really bright. plus its simple install. if you know how to switch a bulb you can install these

 

I guess I just don't understand the point of having HID's for reverse lights? What's the point?

 

true, very true

for people with dark tints. however, what you can do is hook up an independent switch to turn them on to blind tailgaters

 

They hold up just fine as one is in reverse for no more than 30 seconds max. Not enough time to really melt anything. Been tested and running in my TL for 2 years now.

Also word of advice on anyone who does HID reverse, you can really prolong the life of your ballasts and bulbs, not to mention electrical system, if you wire in a delay timer so that you don't cause split second HID turn on when you change gears from Park to Drive. Thats not good for HID's. Obviously this doesn't apply for those with 6-speed.

I used the David navone pop timer delay .... some have used the DEI 528T ... which gave me problems for whatever reason. I have my delay set to 1.5 seconds. You can check my video on youtube or in other threads.

 

I think it helps when you have a rear camera as well.

 

in for pics.

 

I had the JLC LED's in prior to this install. They're really bright but they're really tightly focused. There's a brightly lit spot that takes up about the center third of the Nav screen while leaving everything else dark. This made it nearly worthless for backing up since I couldn't see anything off to the sides. This setup covers a wide swath and is even brighter. I'll post pics soon.

 

Here are some pics, sorry if they're less than wonderful since I'm not a photographer. Pics taken with Canon A2000 IS left in auto.



Facing left rear with camera flash on.


From drivers side, looking behind car with flash off.


With flash off


Directly behind with flash off


Nav screen image, which I think is the most impressive display of the light output since the camera isn't auto compensating for light conditions. The fact that the image facing behind the car came out so clear without the flash should give you an idea just how bright these actually are.
Again, I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to see it in a pitch black situation, it should be even more dramatic.

 

Ahh...didn't even think about that

 

dont leave them on longer then 5 min or you will start seeing bubble on your lens =\

 

wow ... really lights things up back there ... looks good. My question is why would someone choose hids over led? they appear to be the same brightness atleast in photos

 

From what I've seen the JLC LED's are the brightest LED reverse light, which is what I had until yesterday. The pictures on this forum seem to make them look brighter than they really are. If I had to estimate, they were about 2/3 to 3/4 as bright as these HID's but only in a relatively small area behind the car. Imagine the old school Mag Lights. The JLC LED's were like having the beam tightly focused and really bright but only illuminating a small area. If you adjust the mag light to wide angle it gets a lot dimmer. These HID's are like having that Mag light on the "wide angle" setting but things are even brighter. I wish I had taken a picture of the Nav screen with the old LED's. If you look at my nav screen pic you can see the brightest spot in the middle of the screen taking up maybe 1/3 of the screen. Imagine that being almost as bright with a sharp cutoff outside of it that's completely dark. That was my problem with the JLC LED's. They were so narrowly focused that I couldn't do anything but back straight up. I can see sooooo much more with these new lights. I can only see three reasons why a person would choose LED's over these HID's. 1. Cost. JLC LED's cost me about $45 dollars shipped instead of $80 shipped for my HID's. 2. Ease of installation. If I hadn't had a power line coming into my trunk I probably would have stuck with the LED's. With the preexisting line it took me two to three hours. 3. Fear of melting housing. So far nobody on this forum has had issues under normal use. Earlier in this thread "thait" mentioned bubbling on their lens after five minutes. Unless I accidentally leave my ignition on along with the tailgater switch that should never be an issue. Those of us with Nav/back up camera kind of have a huge warning screen that our back up lights are on. If I fail to notice that my nav screen is on "camera" for five minutes then I deserve the expense of replacing my lens. Non-nav/camera people have a higher risk of accidentally leaving it on and melting something.

 

Nice install.
I still recommend 35W for this application---it is plenty bright enough and reduces possibility of damaging the lenses. I also highly recommend using a relay harness with ANY HID kit---do not use the OEM wires for anything but a relay signal. They are just too weak and puny.
Use a momentary switch for the tailgater switch and you don't have to worry about leaving it in the "On" position.
Also, for AT use the delay timer.
Again, good job on the install.

 

is there a "how-to" step by step guide for this?

 

Search for the DIY by user "bzyrice"

 

so when you put it into reverse at night with the HID's your image is in color? Right now when i reverse at night all i get is a black and white image... stock reverse lights....

 

Yep, check out my Nav screen photo above, it's obviously in color. I subscribe to the theory "there's no such thing as too bright." I've used Surefire flashlights for years and have become spoiled with bright lights. The 55W HID bulbs put out 5000 lumens vs 3400 for the 35W. I wanted my reverse lights to have just as much light density as my headlights but over a broader swath and that's exactly what these have given me. I went with a lower temperature range since they seem to produce more lumens for a given power level. I used the bsyrice G-103: DIY HID reverse lights. DDMtuning also has a generic fog light install that shows how to hook up the wires. It's all pretty straight forward.

 

were the LED's you previously had bright enough to get the image in color at night?

Thanks!

 

Honestly, since the old LED's were so focused it usually washed out the image in the center since the outer thirds of the camera were still dark. I didn't really see anything in the camera at night unless it was within twenty feet or so. I never noticed it being in color though. Sorry.