Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1
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    Apr 2012
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    HID fog light retrofit doityourself

    In a never ending quest to have the best light output possible, I decided to install an HID kit into my fog light housings. The increased light output is awesome, and the yellow color of the 3000K bulbs is a nice addition in the inclement weather. Of course, some people will want to match their headlight bulbs, but I chose 3000K because I like the look of the yellow light. Anyway, onto the steps needed...

    1. Remove the front bumper. If you haven't done this, you can follow another of my DIYs... That link is HERE.

    2. Now that the bumper is off, you have access to all the space needed for the job at hand. As you will notice going to an HID kit, you now have some electronics to install as well as new bulbs. The electronics units are the ballasts (and igniters if not incorporated into the ballasts). All of this will need to be mounted somewhere, so the bumper coming off will give you a chance to find a place for everything. Two options here, so here is where you get to figure what's best for you. For me, I had done a similar kit in a previous car, and I found putting everything inside the bumper to be easiest.

    3. Remove the stock fog light bulbs. Save them just in case your HID kit doesn't function.

    4. Now is a good time to test all components of your HID kit. Plug the bulbs into the ballasts, and the ballast connections into the OEM fog light connectors. Turn on your lights and make sure both sides ignite and light up. Make sure to keep the bulbs inside the protective plastic cases to prevent touching the bulbs. Fire them and make sure they light, and then shut them off right away to prevent them from warming up, the bulbs get VERY hot. Disconnect everything and set it aside.

    5. For the ZHP, I found the best location for the ballast units was inside the crash bumper. It appeared to be the most protected location, and also seemed to be safe from moisture. The pic below shows the available real estate. Not very much...

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    6. The wiring on my kit was only about 12" long, so I had to stay as close to the fog light connector as possible. Therefore, I had to make room. Looking at the pic above, you'll see that the crash bumper doesn't have a lot of space outside of the horn, and just inside the horn is the hole for the large bumper attachment bolts. So, I decided to relocate the horns and then put the ballasts in their place. So, remove the horns and then remove the brackets they mount to. The following pics show some progress.

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    Last edited by JupiterBMW; 06-03-2013 at 07:54 PM.
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  2. #2
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    7. From here, its time to figure how to reattach the horns. Things to keep in mind. They have to be close enough to still reach the connectors on the front of the car. They also have to fit somewhere stable (bolt to the bumper is ideal). Lastly, when you reinstall the bumper, they cannot get in the way of anything else on the car, so you have to make sure that won't happen. If necessary, test fit your bumper to make sure it'll still slide fully into place with the relocated horns. I chose to use one of the holes on the outer edge of the crash bumper. I had to bend the bracket a little to make it fit, but the connector is still plenty close to where it was, they're out of the way, and the connection is nice and solid. Pics below show this.

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    8. Once the horn is moved, now there is plenty of space for the placement of the HID ballast units. Granted, this worked well for me because the ballast units fit perfectly inside the crash bumper. If yours don't fit, you'll have to adapt this DIY. But I digress, I placed mine here. Its very important to clean all dirt from the crash bumper to ensure good attachment. I used Brakleen as it easily removed all dirt and also any oil resides, allowing for good adherence of the double sided adhesive pad. Differing units will attach in different ways. I used the kit supplied double sided adhesive pad and a couple of zip ties in addition to ensure a solid mounting. MORE than secure for a long time. Pic below...

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    2011 E90 Lemans Blue/Bamboo Beige M3- Harrop Supercharged IG: lmb_zcp
    2013 F25 Alpine White/Chestnut X3 35i- Family Hauler
    2006 R53 British Racing Green/Panther Black Mini Cooper S FOR SALE! DM for details!
    Past: 2010 X5M, 2014 328d, 2003 330i ZHP, 2004 330i ZHP, 2012 X3 35i
    WTB!! 2009-2012 E91 328i Touring Contact me with info!

  3. #3
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    9. Ok, now we're getting close... Seeing as how you tested all the components in step 4, you can just install and connect everything. Carefully, without touching the glass, install the bulbs in the housing. Just for reference, the bulb size is 9006 for the ZHP fog lights. Once the bulbs are secure, connect the bulb connectors to the ballast wiring, and then the ballast connection that goes to the OEM fog connector on the car. Typically, the wiring is setup so that you can't screw it up. Anyway, plug everything in. Pic below.

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    10. Given the opportunity, I would then wrap the connectors for the bulb as they are down a little lower and could be exposed to rain. In addition, it helps to tidy up the wiring job. As you can see, I also chose to run my wires behind the fog lights, keeping it a little cleaner. Once that was done, use a couple more zip ties to secure the wiring. You will also note, that once this is all done, the connector that goes to the OEM connector on the car is just about in the same location as the bulb, perfect!

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    11. Once that is all done, nothing left to do but put the bumper back on, reconnect the horns and fog light connectors, and enjoy!

    You should now be enjoying your new lights, which hopefully look something like the following. Here are my results... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGU2CK1eZfw
    2011 E90 Lemans Blue/Bamboo Beige M3- Harrop Supercharged IG: lmb_zcp
    2013 F25 Alpine White/Chestnut X3 35i- Family Hauler
    2006 R53 British Racing Green/Panther Black Mini Cooper S FOR SALE! DM for details!
    Past: 2010 X5M, 2014 328d, 2003 330i ZHP, 2004 330i ZHP, 2012 X3 35i
    WTB!! 2009-2012 E91 328i Touring Contact me with info!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    Pretty sure the bumper is aluminum, not steel.

    Great work!
    In the market for an E90 M3

  5. #5
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    Yes, the bumper is aluminum.
    2011 E90 Lemans Blue/Bamboo Beige M3- Harrop Supercharged IG: lmb_zcp
    2013 F25 Alpine White/Chestnut X3 35i- Family Hauler
    2006 R53 British Racing Green/Panther Black Mini Cooper S FOR SALE! DM for details!
    Past: 2010 X5M, 2014 328d, 2003 330i ZHP, 2004 330i ZHP, 2012 X3 35i
    WTB!! 2009-2012 E91 328i Touring Contact me with info!

  6. #6
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    Well done Joop.
    Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim

  7. #7
    2 things.

    Did you use projectors for the fog lights? I kept reading you should as I'm contemplating this very mod myself. But I didn't think there would be a need for the projectors.

    Also, where did you get your kid? I've got the yellow fog light lenses now, and debating what 'color' HID bulbs to get.

  8. #8
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    Well done as usual.



    Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
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  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Valparaiso, IN
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    Awesome write up! Did this over the weekend myself, and it would have been quite a bit easier to remove the bumper!


  10. #10
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    Aug 2011
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    very cool Jon
    Call me Seth
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    '04 330i ZHP | '11 E82 135i | '08 E90 328xi | 07 E91 328xi SportWagon

    Quote Originally Posted by danewilson77 View Post
    If I wore panties, I'd be dropping them right now.

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