hey there, i despriately need some help, i have a basic Z, and i jsut installed a pair of philips HIDs. if anyone out there seen their headlight socket b4, u know there this big round grey plastic thing that u have to unscrew off to have access to ur bulbs. well..i installed the HIDs but the ballast plug has no hole to slide into, i i had to leave the big grey round thing off in order to plug in the ballast plug. so im driving w/ out the grey thing. im guessing that is for insulation from driving conitions? like dirt, fog, basically weather to protec the bulbs inside. does anyone know a way to plug the ballast plug into the bulb and still have the grey thing screwed in? or can i cut the thick ballast cable and slide it through the stock plug hole underneath and then reattach the ballast cable? if so, how many cables are in the ballast cable? and what awg size cable do i need to by to lengthen the reach? plz help...i need to do something by this sunday or my headlight housing will be out too long unsealed via big grey plasitc thing.!!

 

its unsealed? is this kit specificly for the 350Z? if so call phillips and ask how its sposed to work.

otherwise Im not sure what to say... doesnt the grey thing kinda hold the light and aim it? without it is the bulb just sorta sitting in the headlight? not sure I follow, I figure what ever is HOLDING the light must be touching the housing as well, and thus sealing it.

 

ok..its really hard to explain but here...there are two headlight access, one is underneath the housing maybe about 1inc cirum w/ a rubber cap, where the stock bulbs wires go though, and to gain access to the STOCK BUKBS, u have to unscrew a big (about 5inch circumfrence) gray circle thing. its like a door access to all the bulbs in the headlight housing. but since the the thick ballast cable is too big to fit through the 1inch hole, i have no choice but to just use the 5inch hole, but when i use that, obviously, the circle will no longer be able to sbe crewed back on cuz the ballast cable is in the way. should i cut the ballast cable and atempt to fit it through the 1 inch hole then resolder it together, if i do that the gray thing could be screwed back on. or should i just drill a 1-1/2 inch hole on the big circle thing, still able to screw the gray thing on, but moisture and dirt is stil able to get in? advice? sorry i explained so difficult, im in a rush and its 9 in the morning over here...thx

 

I understand what you are saying. I am not sure what you should do but do not leave it open! Those bulbs are too expensive to keep them exposed to weather. Your best bet might be drilling a hole in the big gray cap and then calking or siliconing around the wire to seal it when you screw it back on...

 

Don't you mean BASE model? Please, there is nothing BASIC about our Z's!

 

drill the hole, dont start cutting and soldering, drill the big cap, send it through, use a grommet perhaps, get the right size grommet and itll seal itself without glueing it in.

 

should i try homedepot or some other hardware store for a correct size grommet? u see, the prob is that i need to drill about a 1 - 1 1/2 inch hole for the ballast light bulb PLUG. the ballast cable is only max 4awg wire, so after i cut out a 1inch hole, and fill it in w/ a 1inch grommet, the housing will still be exposed no? i do not fully understand how to use a grommet. maybe i can go out and and buy a bike inner tube, and cut it up into a decent size, and use that to seal the grey thing after cuttin an 1inch hole? give me some ideas, i need to have this done tomorrow, so i can drive the car. thx for the help

 

dchi-t
Do not use an inner tube- will not give you a good seal.
you can get grommets are any auto parts place for about a buck. the hole that you drill is slightly larger than the ID of the grommet.
Remember to put the grommet over the wire before you attach the wire to the bulb assembly, then fit it into the hole.
A small amount of Vaseline or similar stuff will help things slide around more easily.

 

dchi-t
more thoughts- you may want to try to fit up a plug (high current) on the line, then figure out how to put the bulb socket in without drilling such a big hole- i am not certain of your situation, but a #4 AWG is one big chunk of wire.... #4 wire will pass more than 60 amps in steady state, and more than 125 amps with only 3% loss in 100 feet! So- this is more than 750 watts for a head lamp that pulls about 50-60 watts max.... you could safely drop to 10 gauge or even 12 gauge with no problem if this is easier to hook up. #4 is so stiff it might be a problem if it presses on the lamp housing- it might gradually twist things out of alignment
good luck.