Better options for headlight bulbs
- Thread starter memphisj
- Start date
HID swap will make the biggest difference, and can be done for under $50 bux. I did a 55 watt 6000k in my 13 Touring and its amazing the difference in light output.
+1.
DDM Tuning kits are quite reasonably priced, and very good reliability. Had a 35w 5000k setup in my old 6 for 4 years, no problems.
Buy them from DDM tuning, plug them in. That's about what's involved. Did my touring about 2 months ago so I can't comment on the how robust they are. I got the 35w 5000k kit because I wanted the more stock look and didn't want to risk people flashing me. So far no one has and the light output is great.
+1.
Note: There will be two separate boxes, one bigger, one smaller that are involved in the HID system (and of course included). One is the ballast, this is about length and width of a deck of cards, but about half the thickness. Another more square box is the igniter, and is pretty small.
I believe the CX-9's headlight enclosures are big enough you can mount the igniter and ballast in there (@mxer can comment to this?), otherwise the kit allows you to do a pass through (cut a hole in the enclosure) and externally mount the ballast, as anyone with a Mazda 6 does.
Link to product http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W
My ballast's are installed inside my headlight housings there's plenty of room. And our cars have factory projectors with cut off's. So even going with a 55w kit, you wont have to worry about blinding other drivers. Thats an issue with other cars that dont have projectors with the correct cut off's. 
Even with cutoffs, from a distance and on inclines you can still tell that they are brighter than normal IMO. Plus too bright of light causes a higher contrast for your eyes so on long trips, it will cause more eye fatigue. In short, I didn't want to be one of "those" guys.
Everything just stuffs into the headlight housing. I maybe should have used velcro on the inside but I think it's packed enough to where the ballasts won't bounce around.
Everything just stuffs into the headlight housing. I maybe should have used velcro on the inside but I think it's packed enough to where the ballasts won't bounce around.
Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I have a similar issue......I recently had to get new headlights & in an effort to save some money I opted for aftermarket instead of OEM. My guy at the shop did tell me I'm gonna need ballasts cuz the aftermarkets don't come with em, so I figured I'd just get an HID kit while I'm at it. I've used ddm before on my honda & loved it so I went & got their 55w 8k. But my issue now is after going through the connections 3 times, I'm not getting any lights. Anybody has any suggestions?
Here's some troubleshooting ideas:
1. Check for reverse polarity? You have your OEM connector to aftermarket ballast reversed?
2. Did you check to see if the headlight fuse didn't blow? If you reversed the polarity you may have blew the fuse.
3. Also use a meter and check if current is going to headlight connector.
4. Faulty OEM headlight relay? I doubt this, but should check if none of the above works.
Hey Aviden, thanks for the tips.
1) I did check the kit before connecting it, I believe there's only one end that has the connection for our bulb type.
2) I did check both fuse in the engine bay
3 & 4) Good ideas, never thought of that. Will check those in the am
1) I did check the kit before connecting it, I believe there's only one end that has the connection for our bulb type.
2) I did check both fuse in the engine bay
3 & 4) Good ideas, never thought of that. Will check those in the am
no problem, I hope you figure it out.
my issue was two folds, first I had the polarities reversed, when I flipped the connectors, it still didn't work.
upon a more detailed inspection, I noticed my CX-9 (non OEM hid) have H11 connectors but my aftermarket kit hid ballasts
came with the more popular 9006 connector.
my OEM H11 fit into the 9006 ballast connector and looked like it was connected but in reality it wasn't making electrical contact at all.
the narrower H11 leads center to center didn't match the wider 9006 socket center to center.
I had to get some 9006 to H11 adapter cable,
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)
then voil, it worked.
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colnago1331
Member
I've had DDM Tuning kits in a lot of my cars and have loved them. On the CX-9 I did have to aim the headlights down a bit, but that was easy enough to do.
So I went back at it today with 1 ballast set this morning. Connected it & switched the ballast connection incase I had it reverse, still nothing. Switched around the oem connector, no dice either. So I tested the oem connecter with a volt meter & its dead, then I checked the fuse for both L&R low beams & they're not blown, both fuse are def good.
*EDIT* Friend of mine suggested swapping relays, so I swapped the low beam relay & put in the AC slot & the AC worked quite fine. Also found another fuse box behind the glove box, but nothing for headlights there.
*EDIT* Friend of mine suggested swapping relays, so I swapped the low beam relay & put in the AC slot & the AC worked quite fine. Also found another fuse box behind the glove box, but nothing for headlights there.
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