Goldmember
Well-Known Member
Well, I think we all know that stock SN95 headlight output is nothing to brag about. Those of you who are hesitant to go the HID route may want to try this. I learned of the upgrade at crownvic.net, and my dad has used it with great success on his '03 CV LX Sport.
The tools:
Headlight harness from suvlights.com for 9007 headlamps. Will run roughly $75 with shipping but the workmanship is terrific!
Sylvania Xtravision bulbs. Some of the best off-the-shelf bulbs you can buy. Picked up for $28 at Wal Mart.
Food, in case you get hungry. I like pumpkin bread...
Let's begin. This is how I did it... your installation may vary.
1. Pop the hood, remove plastic beauty cover from radiator core support. Be careful not to break the four plastic clips that hold it down. I broke two and the hood wouldn't close because of the cover, so I gotta get new ones from Ford.
2. Starting on the passenger side, unplug the stock wiring harness from the bulb. Remove the old bulb. Using one of the bulb sockets from the new wiring harness, install using new Xtravision bulb and be sure to install the ground wire too. I tried to tuck everything away to keep it looking OEM. You can see here the new headlamp ground looks stock, I just used an existing ground. 8 mm bolt.
New socket.
3. I ran my wire ahead of the radiator core support, where it would be concealed by the plastic cover. Here I just stretched the rest of it out to see what I was up against... You'll notice the BLUE socket with the 9007 sticker attached- this plugs into the stock headlight socket, and is where your new relay gets its signal from (parking lamps, headlamps, high beams)
4. Install the headlamp socket and ground like you did on the other side- there are grounds nearby for you to use. I pulled the battery, so that I could run the wiring between the frame and the battery- otherwise it runs between the battery and the radiator, and I'm no engineer but I wasn't comfortable with that idea.
5. You need a POWER source for the new relay- I went to the fuse box on this one. Note the red wire. The only real decent place for the relays is near the wiper washer fill, so that's where I mounted them (later drilled holes, screwed them down)
(The harness has two inline fuses, by the way, follow the red wire down and you'll see where they're mounted)
6. Reinstall the battery. You can barely see the wiring harness loom tucked down there! Slick.
7. Double-check all of your connections and verify headlight operation.
This kit is utterly fool-proof. I suck at electric anything and felt comfortable with the project. The goal is to basically power your headlights straight off the battery (or in our case, close to it) so that you get more wattage to the bulbs. End result is whiter, clearer, more intense light. I was floored by the before/after difference. Pics of the intense light coming... I tried to conceal the harness as much as possible so that nothing would look out of the ordinary, once I get new pins for the beauty cover no one will ever be the wiser! You smoked headlight ppl would probably get a great benefit from this.
Info on the wiring harness and its benefits
http://www.suvlights.com/index.php?cPath=24_73
The tools:
Headlight harness from suvlights.com for 9007 headlamps. Will run roughly $75 with shipping but the workmanship is terrific!
Sylvania Xtravision bulbs. Some of the best off-the-shelf bulbs you can buy. Picked up for $28 at Wal Mart.
Food, in case you get hungry. I like pumpkin bread...
Let's begin. This is how I did it... your installation may vary.
1. Pop the hood, remove plastic beauty cover from radiator core support. Be careful not to break the four plastic clips that hold it down. I broke two and the hood wouldn't close because of the cover, so I gotta get new ones from Ford.
2. Starting on the passenger side, unplug the stock wiring harness from the bulb. Remove the old bulb. Using one of the bulb sockets from the new wiring harness, install using new Xtravision bulb and be sure to install the ground wire too. I tried to tuck everything away to keep it looking OEM. You can see here the new headlamp ground looks stock, I just used an existing ground. 8 mm bolt.
New socket.
3. I ran my wire ahead of the radiator core support, where it would be concealed by the plastic cover. Here I just stretched the rest of it out to see what I was up against... You'll notice the BLUE socket with the 9007 sticker attached- this plugs into the stock headlight socket, and is where your new relay gets its signal from (parking lamps, headlamps, high beams)
4. Install the headlamp socket and ground like you did on the other side- there are grounds nearby for you to use. I pulled the battery, so that I could run the wiring between the frame and the battery- otherwise it runs between the battery and the radiator, and I'm no engineer but I wasn't comfortable with that idea.
5. You need a POWER source for the new relay- I went to the fuse box on this one. Note the red wire. The only real decent place for the relays is near the wiper washer fill, so that's where I mounted them (later drilled holes, screwed them down)
(The harness has two inline fuses, by the way, follow the red wire down and you'll see where they're mounted)
6. Reinstall the battery. You can barely see the wiring harness loom tucked down there! Slick.
7. Double-check all of your connections and verify headlight operation.
This kit is utterly fool-proof. I suck at electric anything and felt comfortable with the project. The goal is to basically power your headlights straight off the battery (or in our case, close to it) so that you get more wattage to the bulbs. End result is whiter, clearer, more intense light. I was floored by the before/after difference. Pics of the intense light coming... I tried to conceal the harness as much as possible so that nothing would look out of the ordinary, once I get new pins for the beauty cover no one will ever be the wiser! You smoked headlight ppl would probably get a great benefit from this.
Info on the wiring harness and its benefits
http://www.suvlights.com/index.php?cPath=24_73
