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HID Lights Guide for non S MAZDA 3

29K views 37 replies 19 participants last post by  upashi 
#1 ·
Low Beam- H11
High Beam/Daytime Driving Lights- 9005

First off my camera sucks. lol sorry no flash on it, but i will explain as best as i can. Don't worry I will update the pictures for a better view at each steps.

LOW BEAM
1. Tire Side wall has four push pins. Use a flat head to take them out.


2. Underneath the from bumper on the sides. You will see three screws that hold the skid plate/more like splash guards in place. Remove them.


Once all of them are off. You are now able to bend the side wall and reach the low beam bulb. Now depending on the kit you get will determine how you hook it up. My kit is from DDM Tuning since it's only a 20min drive from where I live and payed 39.95 since I chose to go with the 55watts 8k bulbs.

1. Now the power connector from the car should connect to the HID bulbs ( only one of it will fit, so there is no confusion.)
2. Plug the rest into the HID Ballast (Also there is only one way to plug them in.)
3. Test out the headlights and make sure it is working. (if not working, the power connector from the car to the HID bulbs is backwards. Just plug it in the other way around and should work.)

---> Now put back all the screws and pins. Repeat for the other side. (Remember to always check if the lights are working before putting everything back.)

Done? ok good...
 
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#10 ·
HIDs easy install and works great

I just installed mine a few days ago. They look and work really well!

35w - 6000K comes out nice light blue. I call it "glacier blue."

Only about 50 bucks from DDM tuning like asianninja's post above. Do not get anything extra from them. I got the error correction code cable for my 2014 Mazda 3 sedan and I didn't even need it.

Just hook it up and it's good to go.

Took me 3 hours cause I was scared of scratching my new car but once I did one side, the other side was easy.
 
#14 ·
Get morimoto bulbs from TRS, or the whole setup.

I'm running the DDM ballasts but the TRS Morimoto 5K bulbs, and have been very happy.
The DDM bulbs are trash and have horrid output, almost to where they're useless at night. They also were super generic bulbs that didn't even sit in the housing properly, so the beam pattern was just as awful as the actual output. It took me several months of adjusting the bulb to be semi useful.

I still threw them away.
You can easily guess which is the DDM bulb.
Horrible color, horrible pattern, horrible output.

 
#16 ·
I can vouch for the guys at TRS. I've done 2 full retrofit's with their stuff and have ordered plenty else from them. When they were located in Ohio, I spent some time just bs'ing with them, awesome guys...
Once I get the itch, I'm planning on retrofitting in some projector fogs since the output on the '14 fog lights are basically non-existent.
 
#18 ·
YES!

That's why the cheap HIDs are that much worse. Because the location of the burn in the bulb is extremely different in a halogen bulb vs an HID.

This is the other main reason I always recommend the Morimoto bulbs from TRS, because they moved what they could to get the burn closer to where a halogen burns, so they put out a very similar pattern.
 
#22 ·
#25 ·
Xb35's are only a little bit better, for the price the 3fives are more than adequate. Ballasts are very important in an hid setup as well though. Also...you mean the electrode placement? That doesn't really play any role in light output. I'd say go for the just the hd relay. I'm fairly certain the newer mazda's don't have canbus systems yet.
 
#26 ·
Thank you. As much as TRS has such a good reputation, I decided to try an Amazon kit (http://www.amazon.com/OPT7%C2%AE-Bolt-HID-Xenon-Conversion/dp/B00CC2ZBIU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408568953&sr=8-3&keywords=opt7+bolt+ac+H11) for less than 1/2 the price. It's a very solid/quality looking kit with a (2) yr warranty and many positive reviews. However, when trying to do the install I couldn't get the factory halogen bulb to release from the socket. I'm a fairly strong guy, but it wouldn't turn either way to release and I didn't want to force it too much. I'll be taking it to my local pro to install. Anyone else have a problem getting the halogen to come out ?????? BTW...I went through the wheel well as done by a previous post, and it was really simple just removing a few plastic tabs gives very good exposure.
 
#27 ·
You can't get the metal clip to release? I've always had luck pushing it towards the front of the vehicle, then down towards the ground, then it'll pop and you can rotate it out of the way. Its kinda hooked in place if that makes sense.

If the metal clip is out of the way and the bulb won't come out, that ain't right cause there's NOTHING else holding it.
 
#28 ·
Thanks Philrab, but I didn't even see a metal clip, and I took off the rubber boot to make sure I wasn't missing anything. It looks just like a typical twist and pull bulb socket that I've done many times. I tried turning it in both directions to line up the slots with the tabs, but it barely budged with all my hand strength. Thought about using a pair of vice grips, but 2nd thought decided not to...didn't want to damage the electrical connector. If there is a metal clip that I'm missing would that prevent me from turning the bulb socket to line up with the tabs ?????:ugh:
 
#29 ·
Im having trouble with my morimotos as well. I just got them, I feel like the bulbs are just hanging in the housing loosely, the springs arent hugging them very tight at all. when i am on the road i can see the light swaying back in for in both housings. maybe its time to buy new housings. The springs on the back seem almost useless at this point.
 
#32 ·
i have a 2008 3i sedan and i zip tied the ballasts vertically to the frame where the back of the headlights are on either side. just enough room to zip tie or screw them on nice and tight out of the way, it also makes it easier to check them should you have any issues down the road, and allows for all your wiring to be neatly done behind the headlight housings. I have angel eyes , Spyder Fogs, LED Mirrors, all wired on either side of the car so it made it extremely easy for me to tidy it all up.
 
#34 ·
I just picked up my HID kit from DDM tuning this past week. I'm local so I just went into the store. Cost me $30 for 5000k 35w. The color output is a lot more blue than expected even though I wanted more of a white color. Anyways, so far so good with DDM. Luckily they have a lifetime warranty with their products. As for the installation, I was able to get the right headlight (non drivers side) just fine since there's enough room on that side but the drivers side headlight.... It's almost impossible to get to through the engine bay even with my small girl hands. I was trying to see if I can move the fuze box out of the way but it wouldn't budge and didn't want to push at it too much. So I ended up going through the wheel well.



 
#35 ·
... I was able to get the right headlight (non drivers side) just fine since there's enough room on that side but the drivers side headlight.... It's almost impossible to get to through the engine bay even with my small girl hands. I was trying to see if I can move the fuze box out of the way but it wouldn't budge and didn't want to push at it too much. So I ended up going through the wheel well.
They look nice. Do I also notice a color-matching high beam or is that a trick of the camera?

As for installation, I found that if I take the cover off of the air filter and push that aside, there is just enough room for my average-sized hands to squeeze through and make the change.
 
#38 ·
CAN-BUS is the one of the method of communication ,,, so it's not matter if error is communicated analog communication or CAN-BUS
communication.

If our car has bulb out detection, then regardless CAN-BUS or analog communication, we see error.
If there is no bulb out detection, regardless CAN-BUS or analog communication, we don't see anything..


I think lots of people not understanding what CAN-BUS means, also it's because of stupid marketing terms flooding without proper explain.



Anyway,,, yes out headlight system does uses CAN-BUS communication method to exchange signal of ON-OFF etc..
But it does not have bulb out detection.

So system uses "CAN-BUS" method but will not cause issue using HID kit within its communication category. Because it is "CAN-BUS " communicated On or Off
status of light operation and it is NOT communicated to tell if bulb is out or not.
 
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