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Aug 19

Garage Diaries: Fitting HID lights

My headlight beams are totally whack! So it was time to get off my ass and get my HID kit fitted to the MR2.

I didn’t have the tools for the job on my last attempt. So, this time I woke up Carl, from Motorworx, bright and early on Sunday morning and blagged him to give me a hand and lend me his tools.

Fitting an HID kit is just a matter of swapping in a new bulb and ballast, so in a regular car it's no big deal and can be completed in 10-15 minutes. However, with the 80’s chic pop-up lights on my MR2 things are a little different.

It took me 25-35 minutes for the job. You’ll need a cross-head screwdriver, a 10mm spanner/socket, Stanley knife, cable ties and 3M double-sided tape.

Step one

Pop up the headlights and undo the four screws that hold the plastic cowling around the light and remove it.

Step two

You will then notice four bolts that hold on the top light cover – we removed these to help us see how much space we had for the HID light ballast unit.

Step three

Four screws hold the light unit in place. Remove the bottom two first and try and use a magnetic screwdriver as it’s a real pain if you drop them. You can then pull the lamp unit forward and unclip the attached wiring.

Step four

Remove the old H4 bulb. Replace with the swanky new HID bulb. Thread the new wiring through the headlight and make sure it doesn't catch on the mechanics of the pop-up lights.

Step five

Place the ballast unit in a secure position – we found an ideal ledge to fasten it to. If you are adding HID’s to an MR2 then this is where you will need to trim the plastic cowling you removed in step one so it doesn’t foul on the added unit.

Replace the top cover unit and cowling – you're now HID kitted and ready.