97 9500 to 9006 HID

[Bangster]

97 Mark VIII, owned it nearly a year (with 119k miles). I turned on auto lamp when I got it, because I am used to auto lamp. I think this might have caused the demise of the drivers side bulb.

I read up here and other Mark VIII sites, mainly I am an active member on TCCoA since the Mark VIII is a replacement for a wrecked 97 Cougar, and still have an 89 Cougar.

I went with a 35w 6k kit from eBay. Since I am going to spring for the ballast for the rear neon lamp, I couldn't see buying the excellent DLF mount, and went with hardware store washers.

I wish I would have gotten 5k bulbs, I didn't want 4300 and the 6000 look good but probably giving up some light output. I also need to polish the headlights.

drivers side:

passenger side:

setup I ended up with:

How I mounted the bulbs, 3/4 inch ID 2 inch OD washer, M16 washer (only one I could find that was around an inch OD and 3/4 ID) and a neoprene washer:

some quality time with a dremel and a high speed cutter bit, work until it got hot, then move on to other, maybe 30 minutes, I was tempted to get out the compressor and cut off wheel and die grinder but this gave me time to think about it.

The results, drivers side aftermarket 9006, passenger side is still functioning factory 9500:

passenger factory 9500:

drivers aftermarket 9006:

 

[bufordtpisser]

Looks good. Nice install.

 

[keVIIIn]

Why in your first pictures does the drivers side headlight have that yellowish hue but in the last pictures the passenger side light looks yellowed instead? Are the last pics after you installed the aftermsrket HIDs in both headlights? If so why the different color?

 

[Bangster]

The first picture is the failing drivers side factory 9500 bulb compared to the still functioning passenger bulb. I got check bulb message a couple of times, but mainly it was really dim and yellow, not nearly as bright as it appears in the first picture. It was dimmer than the side marker light.

The last pictures are comparing factory 9500 to aftermarket 9006.

I didn't do any of the finished product because I ran into an issue. I started the car and turned on all the lights (low, high, and emergency flashers), walked around turned them all off and went to move the car. As soon as I started backing up the message center shut off, interior light (and windshield wipers, trunk pop, interior lights, radio, anti theft, power windows, etc). I pulled it back into the car port and shut it off, figuring that it wouldn't start again, and I was right. Seemed to be a SCIL issue. The 97 owners manual (both the paper one and the PDF from Ford) have the incorrect diagram for the IP fuse panel, but the numbers in the chart seem right, and the 98 owners manual has nearly correct looking fuse panel, but it is upside down, numbered from top to bottom. After finding no issues with any fuses in the IP box or the high amp one, I was stumped, but I pulled the negative battery cable and as soon as I plugged it back in everything was good.

They look pretty good at night, I need to find a place to look at the pattern, and the very cloudy lenses do cause some glare, but not that bad. I have parked the car and driven towards it in another car and the lights don't look like the 55 watt HID bulbs in regular housings. I need to point one down a little bit, but it is really close to where it needs to be.

The 6000k color is significantly different than the 4300k OEM. It isn't as ricey as the 8000k but it is more blue than I had wanted, so I will probably get some 5000k bulbs and try them.

I always thought the original bulbs looked white/crisp until I compared them to the 6000k bulbs and they look as yellow as halogen (and I know that 4300k is probably the best for output and clarity).

 

[My Great 8]

Really nice install. Great job!

 

[OchoMarko]

Outstanding fab skills and super inexpensive too! Great job and ingenuity!

 

[Bangster]

They are still pitted, have stress cracks, and the passenger side...side looks like it was cleaned with a cheese grater, but I think they will be much nicer once i get them fully aimed.

before:

after:

drivers side done, passenger side not touched:

before (OEM passenger, aftermarket 35w 6000k 9006 bulb drivers side):

Need to get to work on aiming them heh:
after (both polished, 35w 6000k 9006 bulbs):

high and low beam:

2000 Grand Marquis with Silverstar Ultra 9007, polished headlights:

before:

after:

before:

after:

 

[olddavid]

I have to second the accolades for your fabricating skills. When spring comes, I'll get right on it.

 

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Really nice job.