DDM Tuning 400ex HID how-to

[dsm_racing]

Here is an install I did of a DDM HID Kit. I've done 5 of these so far and we carried them all out to Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago to ride the dunes. Treated them rough and did lots of night riding with no issues. For $35 you can't beat them. Here's what you need to order:

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone-Raptor-HID-Kit
Bulb Type: H6M (+$10.00)
Wattage: 35 Watt
Bulb Color: 6000K

http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p754/JHBenson/ATVs/400exHIDwiring_zps797cdad8.png (http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JHBenson/media/ATVs/400exHIDwiring_zps797cdad8.png.html)
Here's the wiring diagram I came up with to make it light one light on low and both on high.

http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/7838/2282834910083129407S425x425Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2282834910083129407ubqueL)
Pull the plastics and remove the headlight assembly. Pull the boots back and remove the screws holding the bulbs in.

http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/47749/2485221230083129407S425x425Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2485221230083129407AnpzNQ)
Cut the wiring to the sockets and pull the boots off the wires. (I leave enough wire to put them back later if I want.)

http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/47006/2504116990083129407S425x425Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2504116990083129407ZFiRWg)
Install the new bulbs in the housing. Cut the wires on the extra harness and pull them out of the boot.

http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/20226/2269280760083129407S425x425Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2269280760083129407lyOHno)
Cut the back out of the original boots from the bike. I use scissors.

http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/20907/2226483450083129407S425x425Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2226483450083129407wbjXYG)
Install the modified old boots over the new ones and they will seal up nicely.

http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/47245/2092953800083129407S425x425Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2092953800083129407YrPnBc)
Drill the mounting hole in the relays and mount them to the bolts that hold the oil cooler.

http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/45298/2226314670083129407S425x425Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2226314670083129407iVscuZ)
Mount the HID boxes somewhere you feel comfortable. I cut a mounting plate out of sheet metal and pop rivet it to the frame. Then I mount the boxes with 3M double sided tape and put a big zip-tie on for good measure.

Wire everything up according to the diagram and you're ready to go. I run the low side off the factory harness and I run a new wire from the battery with a seperate fuse to run the highs.

[riotact]

Sweet how to.:D

[Racerjames]

DDM is a great company, been doing business with them for a few years. Lifetime warranty on ballasts AND bulbs....who does that?!
You might want to go with DDM digital ballasts however. The digital circutry gives you a "soft start" removing the startup voltage from your factory lines. This helps keep your bike from becoming a fireball & are even more waterproof & compact. Not bad for being 20 bux more ;)

[99RED4X4]

Awesome!!!!! Why don't they come like this from factory???

Anyone know if this can be done on a 2-stroke with no battery?

[CJM]

awesome. I know what im doing come this winter :)

[Wheelie]

Nice write up, I think this should be a sticky.

The stock EX lights just don't cut it.

[tri5ron]

EXCELLENT write-up !
I vote for Sticky too !!!

This WILL be getting done to the "Tri5ron-AADS-Research-Vehicle" !

THANKS !!!

[CJM]

Quick question, does the blue lead that comes off the left relay connect to or go over the white wire on the left switch of the diagram?

It looks to me like it just goes over and doesnt connect but I want to clarify it if possible.

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by CJM
Quick question, does the blue lead that comes off the left relay connect to or go over the white wire on the left switch of the diagram?

It looks to me like it just goes over and doesnt connect but I want to clarify it if possible. Per his diagram, the blue wire is not connected to the white wire.

[dsm_racing]

Originally posted by tri5ron
Per his diagram, the blue wire is not connected to the white wire.

That's correct. The two are not connected.

[dsm_racing]

Originally posted by 99RED4X4
Awesome!!!!! Why don't they come like this from factory???

Anyone know if this can be done on a 2-stroke with no battery?

I don't know, yet. My brother-in-law rides a 250r and we've been talking about trying it. May have to put a battery on it, though.

[CJM]

thanks for clearing that up guys.

[riotact]

Can you run a true hi/low with this kit with both lights?

[CJM]

Im pretty sure you cant period with this light setup b/c HID lights generally dont have a hi/lo function for this style of bulb.

Ive seen a few sets for cars that do and what actually happens is something inside the bulb itself moves to change the way the light comes out.

[dsm_racing]

CJM is correct. The facory bulbs are dual filament to get the high/low. HIDs don't have filaments. They are either on or off. So short of a mechanism that moves something inside the bulb, this was the only way I could think of and I had seen this on motorcycles before.

[tri5ron]

There are HIDs for cars that claim a hi/low function, but they actually hae a halogen "piggy-back" bulb mounted along side of the HID bulb. I've seen them, and was not too impressed.

[Racerjames]

It goes both ways, better hi/lo have a motor to change light focal point, cheaper ones have the halogen piggyback. With these lights however, your not going to need highs....and you're going to blind the crap out of everyone ;)

[CJM]

Originally posted by Racerjames
It goes both ways, better hi/lo have a motor to change light focal point, cheaper ones have the halogen piggyback. With these lights however, your not going to need highs....and you're going to blind the crap out of everyone ;)

My sentiments exactly. I feel its a suepr worthwhile upgrade over stock too.

You want the best of it all, you could do like my buddy did on his truck: He took hella 550FF lights (ff=free form reflector, reflector pattern is on inside and not on lens), modified them to accept the DDM HID kit for an H1 or maybe it was H3 bulb and talk abotu awesome offroad lights.

Mount one of those hella modified lights to the frame under the plastics would work really well. Or you could do it warrior style and put it on your bars.

[mitchconley]

any problems with them drawing to much power? do you think the 55W would?

[tri5ron]

The 35w provides MORE than enough light, and your OEM stator can handle the load.
the 55w would require a upgraded stator.
There is absolutely no need to go to the 55w

You can also save a couple of watts by changing your tail light bulb to an LED bulb.

[dsm_racing]

tri5ron is right. The 35w is plenty and will work with a GOOD stock stator. I run the 55w, but had to go to a high output stator because the stock system wasn't keeping up. When I'm out in the desert at night in the middle of nowhere, I want all the light I can get.

[Budweiserebel07]

I believe I have found my next mod. Great job. Looks badass ! Probably one of the most useful trail bike mods ever.

[dsm_racing]

I love mine, and they've held up well. I've got the stuff and will be doing a hi/lo conversion on my 700xx soon. We're headed to Little Sahara in a few weeks, so I've got to get on it.

[Mr-Sleeper-34]

Placed my order today. Thanks for the write up! I'll post pics once I have them installed.

[4WheelinDemon]

Do i need to buy the relay harness as well? And woould the h4 bi-xenon bulbs work in my 03 400ex?

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by 4WheelinDemon
Do i need to buy the relay harness as well? no

Originally posted by 4WheelinDemon
And woould the h4 bi-xenon bulbs work in my 03 400ex? and no again

you need the H6M kit w/ 35w ballast's

[4WheelinDemon]

Thank you

[Mr-Sleeper-34]

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f339/MR-4DOOR-SR20DE/2004%20Honda%20Sportrax%20400ex/2011-06-15074909.jpg

^This is how my kit looks.

[SMicah]

Just completed this mod last night. When I fired her up the entire neighborhood thought it was noon. Whoops. Anyway this is awesome, I will definitely be riding at night when dune season comes around.

[kali250r]

My Results... Before and After

[kali250r]

Before...

[kali250r]

After....

[kali250r]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IqY7L73BkjU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>



video of 35w HIDs

[chevymanrick]

I know this thread is old but I have an 07 400ex are the bulbs that I need for this kit the same? (not sure since they changed plastics and headlights designs) if anyone knows that would be awesome I really wanna do this to mine

[CJM]

same bulbs dude.

[SMicah]

I have a 2007 and did this mod and it is quite easy. If you have the money and ride at night this is a must!!

[chevymanrick]

So let me make sure I have this straight the red wires plug into the ballast positive, and the lights plug into the ballast harness?

[CJM]

Plug the lights into the ballasts, cut the wires to the end of the ballasts that would go normally to the car. Put some ends on them and the wires your going to use for power and ground and bingo.

[Steve89x]

Hey, I just got these delivered to my house...I'm a little confused. The blue and white wires that come straight out of the ballasts are wired to the switches correct?? Where do the positive and black directly from the lights go?? And what about the other red and black that plug into the ballast? Can someone please help explain how these wire together.

[Stickman400]

If you could take a pic of everything laid out then I could tell you what plugs where. I haven't done HIDs on my 400 yet but I have put 3 pairs of them on my truck and they are very easy to wire if you just think about how the power is going to run through them.

[Steve89x]

I have the same exact setup at Mr sleeper (on page 3 I think it is)..and I'm just trying to figure out the diagram on page one...

[Stickman400]

Well the diagram on the first page is the way to wire them using 2 relays and getting power from the battery so you can keep the hi and low beam function. But I'm pretty sure others have just wired the factory harness headlight wires straight to the white and blue wires coming out of the ballasts. And I think the red and black wires by the bulb are accessory wires and aren't attached to anything. The red and black wires coming out of the bulb itself go straight into the ballast.

[Steve89x]

Ok..Im just over thinking it I guess haha.. so the bulbs themselves just plug into the ballast blue and white and then the red and black that came with spade connectors on them just plug into the ballast and then get wired into the factory harness ground and high wires? That correct?

[Stickman400]

Alright here is the pic from page 3, I labeled what everything gets attached to, hopefully it helps.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Random%20Pics/HID2.jpg

[Steve89x]

So the blue and white to the factory harness...blue to blue and white to green for ground yes?

[Steve89x]

Or is it gonna be blue from the ballast to ground on the harness and white from the ballast to power on the harness?

[Zakradu398]

I just got mine put in a few minutes ago.

I didn't do a High/low, both are just always on but If you plug in everything with the ballasts and bulbs you should have only 2 wires not plugged in. A black and red.

The black on mine went to the blue i believe on the stock harness and the reds wenT TO the white on the stock harness.

If it is not the blue then its green.

[Steve89x]

I got then wired up...Idk why I confused my self...the way it looked and it sounded like it was being explained i thought i had to cut and splice wires so i was soldering things together from the lights like an idiot..
Really all I had to do was plug the connections in and run the black and red spade connectors from the ballast to the factory harness.. :mad:

Thanks for trying to help anyways guys haha

[Steve89x]

Anyone have any idea if these would work in a brute force or if a different bulb would be needed? Anyone put them in one of those yet?

[Zakradu398]

My headlights worked good now theyre having problems. Sometimes when I flip the switch only one will come on at a time or they both will but they'll flicker really fast whether the quad is on or off. Any idea why?

[on the rocks]

this may be a dumb question... a real dumb question lol but i have my head light apart ( bulbs out ) and my HID bulbs are huge compared to the hole where the light bulbs came out of. so my question is am i supposes to take off the plastic cover on the HID light bulb?

the pics in this thread never show the HID bulbs before they go in head light assembly. so im just wondering if is that just a safety cover for shipping? not sure so any help is appreciated.

[Steve89x]

Yea those are just for shipping, take the plastic covers off but do not touch the actual bulbs

[on the rocks]

this guy is the man on quick responses!

thanks a lot!

[on the rocks]

im just full of these dumb questions. on the original wiring diagram at the begging of this thread there is no HID box in the diagram. so i can only assume that by sending power to the lights that power go into the HID box and out in to the light?

do the hid boxes not need a ground? only ground i see is off the light.

[muddy maki]

The ground wire you see off the bulb is actually off the box as well as the power wire. His diagram assumed every one had wired HIDs before so he left out the box

[on the rocks]

ohhhhh that i have not done before. thank you though

[muddy maki]

Neither have I. I was studying the diagram and all the Picts last night to figure out that bit of info.

[muddy maki]

Oh and it looks like the balest (the box) has four wires coming out of each one but you will only use two of the wires from each balest

[Mr-Sleeper-34]

Originally posted by muddy maki
Oh and it looks like the balest (the box) has four wires coming out of each one but you will only use two of the wires from each balest

I noticed this as well. Below is a pic of my kit and I still need to do this mod. What about the relays I read about in the write up? Did they suppose to come with my kit, or use the existing ones?


Originally posted by Mr-Sleeper-34
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f339/MR-4DOOR-SR20DE/2004%20Honda%20Sportrax%20400ex/2011-06-15074909.jpg

^This is how my kit looks.

[on the rocks]

you need to buy the 2 relays. you need two 12 volt 5 prong replays.

[riotact]

It saves a lot of time if you just buy the hid harness with the relay.Here is a link for the one I bought.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/H6M-Heavy-Duty-Relay-Wiring-Harness-For-Xenon-HID-Conversion-Kit-By-Autolizer-/190691233206?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c66154db6&vxp=mtr

[Mr-Sleeper-34]

Originally posted by riotact
It saves a lot of time if you just buy the hid harness with the relay.Here is a link for the one I bought.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/H6M-Heavy-Duty-Relay-Wiring-Harness-For-Xenon-HID-Conversion-Kit-By-Autolizer-/190691233206?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c66154db6&vxp=mtr

Nice. Do you have pics of your install?

[riotact]

When I go out there later I will take a few and post them.Its pretty much the same setup everyone else is running except I wired it into the key switch,light switch,and ran it to the battery.

[on the rocks]

the original link in the first post does not work, any one know where i could find the "box" that came in this kit? i need one for my wheeler. im not sure what the technical name is for this. its the box that has a plug in and them wires that come out for the light.

edit: its called a ballest!

edit aging: i sent them an email

[Stickman400]

Alright well I finally got around to doing this mod. Got my kit from DDM earlier today and just got done installing everything. Everything was straight forwad and I had no problems at all finding a spot to mount the ballasts or anything. But when I turned the lights on they both started up and then after 5 seconds or so the right one flickers and dies. I'm assuming this is because I didn't wire in a relay? It said on DDMs site to order a relay harness for atvs and motorcycles. Guess I'll have to do that.


I didn't manage to get a before pic since it is 20 outside and I would have lost all the warm air in our shop if I had opened the door. But I can put up an after photo once she's all put back together and it gets warmer outside. In the few seconds they were both on they were easily as bright as my truck lights. Big improvement over the stock halogens.

[CJM]

Shouldnt need the relay, my buddy did the mod with whatever junk ones he found on ebay and hooked them straight up. No issues.

Contact ddm.

[Stickman400]

Well here is a link to the harness: http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/HID-Kit-Wiring-Harness

It explains exactly what it's doing so I just ordered it. I'll be sure to update this when I get it and tell ya if it fixes it.

[Zakradu398]

Originally posted by Stickman400
Well here is a link to the harness: http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/HID-Kit-Wiring-Harness

It explains exactly what it's doing so I just ordered it. I'll be sure to update this when I get it and tell ya if it fixes it.

Mine does it too. It's because of my battery. Once the lights warm up though they will both work. When It happens I just keep the revs up.

[Stickman400]

Well thatnks for that little tip Zakradu, I went out earlier and tried it and it did work after I experimented a little bit. You have to hold the throttle at about 4500 RPM for 15-20 seconds when you first hit the switch so they can fully warm up and lower the amps it's drawing back to normal......I guess. Only 2 things I'm worried about now if that it may eventually burn the stock wiring up. I wouldn't think it would with that short amount of time and it still isn't drawing all that much. Also I have my ballast boxes mounted to the frame about 2 or 3 inches away from the oil cooler, I hope the heat from that won't hurt the ballast.

[Zakradu398]

CJM, If you can link me to some relays on Ebay or wherever I'll try them out to see if it cures the problem.

[CJM]

Zak I got no idea what ones my friend bought, he just picked some generic h6m bulb ebay kit. No harness, just wired in directly into the high beam part of the stock switch.

[riotact]

Wow I totally forgot about those pics,sorry.As for the relay you could just go to any parts store and get a 12v relay to use if you already have the wire and all the connectors.I just found it easier to order the harness.With the relay the lights draw power directly from the battery and the light switch activates the relay.That way you will have no flicker in the lights after they are on because they are getting full power.

[Stickman400]

Yea, I bought a DDM H6M kit and wired both the bulbs right into high beam side of the light switch since I replaced my stock switch assembly with a KX kill switch and a trail tech single headlight switch. I'm also pretty sure that harness I ordered from them is just a power wire with the relay and a fuse already wired into it that I just plug into everything I already have wired up.

[Stickman400]

Got my wiring harness today. It's just what I thought. It's just a thicker 14 or 16 gauge wire that has a ring terminal on one end and then a fuse and relay wired into it that splits the power up to the 2 ballasts with some sheathing over it. Looks good, you could do the same thing yourself, but this is a much easier and cleaner way of doing it if you don't want to bother. All you have to do is wire the terminal up to your battery and then run it down the frame and plug in all the connectors.

[Stickman400]

Well here is some pics with the HIDs. I don't have any before pics since it has been 30 or lower since I started tearing it apart so I didn't have a chance. They deff. have more throw and are ALOT brighter than stockers. I don't do much night riding but it's always nice to have some nice bright lights when I do go on that occasional one. I was going to install that harness I got but I would have to chop alot of the wiring down to get it to fit or else I'd have WAY more wire than I needed stuffed under the hood. So I just turned my idle up alittle bit more than I had it and I didn't have a problem keeping them from flickering and going out, so I'll just leave it be until they act up. Cameras don't pick up light very well so these aren't good representations of what they look like. There's a small 1 1/2' incline about 50' in front of it in the first pic so like I said, not a very good pic. I can everything clearly out to about 400' or so before it starts getting darker. Very happy with them.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20130119_184221.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20130119_184245.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20130119_184250.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20130119_184442.jpg

[Choppers]

Anyone have the pics? They are no longer showing up.

[cheater13]

Stickman's pictures are coming up on mine. Right above your post Choppers.

[Choppers]

They sure are but I want the wiring diagram off Post 1. Not someones pic of them working.

[dsm_racing]

I've had several requests for the original pics and diagram, but I haven't been able to come up with them. Too many computers and too many moves ago I'm afraid. I've got one more idea about where I might have a back-up of them. I'll try to look tonight.

[zeno]

They sure are but I want the wiring diagram off Post 1. Not someones pic of them working.

1718105915

[mfive]

whats the point of the two relays? why not just wire one ballast to the "low" wire and the other ballast to the "high" wire. then you have a low/high functionality.

whats the point of the wire going straight to the battery for highs? is there an advantage there?

[dsm_racing]

I don't have much time, so here is the short answer.


whats the point of the two relays? why not just wire one ballast to the "low" wire and the other ballast to the "high" wire. then you have a low/high functionality.

If you wire one ballast to high and the other to low then you only ever have one burning. One will burn on high and the other on low. You don't get low/high functionality. You get low/low functionality. If you ever wire the two together then both burn all the time and you get high/high. In order to burn one on low and both on high you need the relays.


whats the point of the wire going straight to the battery for highs? is there an advantage there?

It keeps from overloading the factory harness with both burning. Both ballasts together pull more power than the factory harness is designed for.

[mfive]

I don't have much time, so here is the short answer.



If you wire one ballast to high and the other to low then you only ever have one burning. One will burn on high and the other on low. You don't get low/high functionality. You get low/low functionality. If you ever wire the two together then both burn all the time and you get high/high. In order to burn one on low and both on high you need the relays.
I see what you mean here. Basicallly if you wire one to low and one to high, you always just get one light. That makes sense. I must have been having a blonde moment.



It keeps from overloading the factory harness with both burning. Both ballasts together pull more power than the factory harness is designed for.

I see. So just a ring terminal on the battery connection, what guage wire would you run? And then just an inline 20a fuse? I think this sounds the safest from your description.

Thanks for all your help!

[mfive]

Can someone help a brother out and post a pic of their headlight housing? I can't find a good pic from google-searching. I just got my DDM kit in, and I think my headlight housings are missing something (previous owner already had the headlights torn apart, so I'm trying to fix all his f-ups.

Anyway, see the attached pic. What screws into those two holes in each headlight socket? What do I need to order? Do I need the harness (as in, part #3 at this link: http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Honda/ATV/2007/TRX400EX+A/HEADLIGHT+(TRX400EX07)/parts.html)

I'm curious what a complete headlight looks like...

Here's mine:
1718107660

[Stickman400]

Hmmm, that is an interesting pickle you're in there. I think that there is a metal plate that screws over that hole that your bulbs go into, then you turn them to lock them in, but you can't order just that plate because it's part of the housing. I'm not positive though. If I remember I'll look at my other headlight housing I have that is the same style and see what is up.

[mfive]

Hmmm, that is an interesting pickle you're in there. I think that there is a metal plate that screws over that hole that your bulbs go into, then you turn them to lock them in, but you can't order just that plate because it's part of the housing. I'm not positive though. If I remember I'll look at my other headlight housing I have that is the same style and see what is up.

Well crap. Guess I'm going to have to figure something out. What a PITA! Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

[Zakradu398]

It indeed has a small metal plate that screws in, it's notched out so the light can screw and lock in.

[cheater13]

I just got some of those Tusk white bulbs for now until I wanna mess with the HID kit. :p