How To Install DDM HID Slim Kit In A 2010 MS3
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Connectors
The connectors are the same ones as posted by Dano on page 1. Ther are the spades..exactly the same. I purchased the Male connectors on ebay; however, I am going to try and install today using the spades..by just shoving it in the stock harness.
Installed the Raptor DDM
Well, finally installed the HID kit. BUT...guess nuthin can go smooth with me...the first headlight i tried installing, I messed up. ..I assumed the Red seal around the bulb had to be removed..well ok..so I went along with this plan...of course the bulb dd not sit properly..so I figured maybe there is a reason the seal was there ..so I put the seal back in (THE WRONG FREAKING WAY) and i tried forcing the bulb in...used Dano..suggestion and used a wrench to turn the bulb into the housing..and viola!! it turned...BUT wait a minute..it popped out...AND noticed a piece of plastic on the inner part ( it was from the HID bulb kit which broke off) of the housing tried to get it out but the bugger fell into the housing...so..DAMMIT..no way to get it out..anyways I now have the HID bulb in the housing...and holding it in the hole are strips of electrical tape:argh 1::argh 1::argh 1::argh 1::argh 1::argh 1:
The other side went smoothly..Ballasts were placed along the fender..(place where Dano had his) I used 3M tape that is double sided specifically used to hold the molding of a car..got it from Autozone.
Well the lights work fine...BUT the side I messed up on..I noticed a banding on the road...its quite prominent ..but the HID's really light up the road quite well...I now am thinking of getting the Bulb harness for the messed up side. Will have to call DDM tuning and see if they sell this separately.
Will post pics of my project soon. BUT its a breeze to install the kit
Well, finally installed the HID kit. BUT...guess nuthin can go smooth with me...the first headlight i tried installing, I messed up. ..I assumed the Red seal around the bulb had to be removed..well ok..so I went along with this plan...of course the bulb dd not sit properly..so I figured maybe there is a reason the seal was there ..so I put the seal back in (THE WRONG FREAKING WAY) and i tried forcing the bulb in...used Dano..suggestion and used a wrench to turn the bulb into the housing..and viola!! it turned...BUT wait a minute..it popped out...AND noticed a piece of plastic on the inner part ( it was from the HID bulb kit which broke off) of the housing tried to get it out but the bugger fell into the housing...so..DAMMIT..no way to get it out..anyways I now have the HID bulb in the housing...and holding it in the hole are strips of electrical tape:argh 1::argh 1::argh 1::argh 1::argh 1::argh 1:
The other side went smoothly..Ballasts were placed along the fender..(place where Dano had his) I used 3M tape that is double sided specifically used to hold the molding of a car..got it from Autozone.
Well the lights work fine...BUT the side I messed up on..I noticed a banding on the road...its quite prominent ..but the HID's really light up the road quite well...I now am thinking of getting the Bulb harness for the messed up side. Will have to call DDM tuning and see if they sell this separately.
Will post pics of my project soon. BUT its a breeze to install the kit
How's the performance been?
Hi Dano285,
Kudos on your posting! AWESOME job! How has the performance of your DDM HID kit been holding up?, any problems and/or warranty issues? I've got a 2010 3S, had an 07 Mazda 3 touring sedan that had Xenon headlight and my new 2K10 has halogen, really miss the performance of the Xenons and I've been researching these upgrade kits/options and yours was very precise and informative! I also don't like the look of all the wires and will probably go with the slim ballast 35W and 5000K bulbs (low beams & fogs) to keep it simple and have a more tidy install.
Some of my research indicates some problems and warranty issues with DDM, at this point this is my only major concern with pushing the order button.
Any further insight you can offer with your experience with DDM?
Thanks, and again..... GREAT job on your posting!!!!
Hi Dano285,
Kudos on your posting! AWESOME job! How has the performance of your DDM HID kit been holding up?, any problems and/or warranty issues? I've got a 2010 3S, had an 07 Mazda 3 touring sedan that had Xenon headlight and my new 2K10 has halogen, really miss the performance of the Xenons and I've been researching these upgrade kits/options and yours was very precise and informative! I also don't like the look of all the wires and will probably go with the slim ballast 35W and 5000K bulbs (low beams & fogs) to keep it simple and have a more tidy install.
Some of my research indicates some problems and warranty issues with DDM, at this point this is my only major concern with pushing the order button.
Any further insight you can offer with your experience with DDM?
Thanks, and again..... GREAT job on your posting!!!!
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102 Posts
Oh dang man, that's a huge bummer! The kit is so cheap you might as well buy another and you'll have backup bulbs God forbid one goes bad, do it right before water gets into your housing.
I'd love to, I actually plan on it, I just haven't had the time to get out my DSLR and go find a good place with optimum lighting. My condo complex is too lit up at night and there's no good place to bounce the headlights off to show the throw well.
No problems at all with the kit so far. My mounting points have held up perfect, nothing has moved a millimeter. Bulbs don't flicker, are as bright as anyone could possibly want, and work as promised.
DDM does ship out some bad units, mostly ballasts or bulbs (kinda hard to fudge up wiring I guess), but it's not really a fault of the company, more of the fact the units are mass-produced and sold cheap so you're bound to get a bad kit now and again. That's what you get for $35. If you want to spend $300 and be guaranteed a functional kit, go ahead, but it's throwing away money. I keep trying to tell people this kit ain't bad quality, but for $35 it just sound unbelievable. I was blown away myself what you get for the money.
DDM was fine for me. I ordered the kit, it was in the ship queue on their website the next day and I had it within a week.
You got Lucky
My Raptors came with the spades...seems like DDM ships out whatever they have in stock
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229 Posts
Mine too i just ordered them on ebay last night
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102 Posts
This is the first I'm seeing "metal mounts" for the bulbs? Not mentioned at all throughout this thread, I did visit the "Official HID" sub category somewhere else in this forum and noticed that someone indicated that to do this HID modification you need to change the headlight housing to the Xenon one if your car came with stock halogen bulbs?
So:
1. Please explain what is meant by "metal mounts" for the bulbs
2. is there a different Xenon headlight housing/assembly that needs to be changed to upgrade to aftermarket HID's if your/my Mazda 3 came the stock Halogen headlight assembly?
Thanks!
So:
1. Please explain what is meant by "metal mounts" for the bulbs
2. is there a different Xenon headlight housing/assembly that needs to be changed to upgrade to aftermarket HID's if your/my Mazda 3 came the stock Halogen headlight assembly?
Thanks!
Metal Mounts
If by saying Metal Mounts is indicative of the circular area which clicks in the housing when you turn the bulb? if so, nope it was plastic. I received my replacements today. Will change the affected headlight this evening. I hope that the threading in my housing is not affected by my previous forceful install. If my stock bulb sits in the housing as expected..I will breathe a sigh of relief.
Not sure of the answer to Question1.
For question 2; if your car came with the projecter type of lens, then all you need to do is replace the stock bulb with the HID bulb. But if your's is the reflector housing; then you would HAVE to do a conversion of the Light Assembly.
I believe all of the 2010 Mazda 3 headlight housings are projector housings. Someone correct me if I'm wrong
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102 Posts
By metal mount, yes I am talking about the 3 prongs that click into the housing to hold the bulb securely. If people are getting plastic ones then that's just the randomness of DDM I suppose. In my research after having purchased the Slim kit I dsicovered everyone who had ordered the Raptor kit was getting the H9 connectors (not spades) and metal mounts (not plastic).
Sorry if this turned out to be bad advice, but I can only go with what I know.
Dude! no need to apologize, in fact I should be saying THANKS! for your posting of the DIY. I would not have considered doing this if it was not for your posting. I bought the Male Connectors from e-bay just as you suggested as well as mounted the Ballast's in the location you mentioned.
The Raptors seem solid so i have no regrets in getting these. Also, I replaced my HID bulb Harness for the side I goofed up. For some reason i still had a hard time turning it in the housing; but all said and done, it's sung in place and the lights look good.
Couple of questions. How Can you raise the light beam? are there any adjustment screws? I would like my lights point a lil higher.
Also, on another topic, have you used plasti dip on anything? I do a lot of highway driving and would like to black out the bumper with plasti dip and a clear plasti dip on the front part of hood 9where the emblem lies)
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229 Posts
Mine came with the plastic mount which i don't really care about as long as it keeps the bulb in place. Now I noticed that I could put the ballast right underneath the headlamps kind of under the high beams and low beams. Do you guys think this is a good spot to hide them? I would really like them to be completely out of sight. I was planning on mounting them with a few strips of really sticky tape. Sorry I can't show a picture of it but if you guys feel under the headlamp housing there is a flat surface thats easy enough for me to put them under.
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1,091 Posts
That's actually where mine are mounted, but with stickier Scotch super heavy duty outdoor mounting tape from any hardware store. May have to sand the surfaces down a bit to get some adhesion going.
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