SharpHID

When I first got in the business of selling HIDs I linked with a supplier offering two types of HID kits - the Apexcone large ballast kit and the DDM Ultra Slim ballast kit. Technology has progressed somewhat since I started and the products SharpHID offers have become better.

The Apexcone HID line used to use analog large style ballasts that were far heavier and thicker than the DDM Ultra Slim ballasts. The DDM ballasts have always been a thin digital ballast that has an external bulb igniter. The advantage of digital technology is that it offers a constant flow of power to the bulbs. The Apexcone output would vary slightly from ballast to ballast.

Recently Apexcone the company, who started the DDM product line, have switched to using all DDM digital slim ballasts for all the HID kits. This has allowed us to keep our prices the same even though shipping costs from Apexcone and from the manufacturer over seas have gone up a great deal.

So in summary there is no longer an Apexcone vs. DDM HID kit. They are now both the same. You may see some places offering the Apexcone kits with the battery and bulb out warning harnesses included. SharpHID offers these also but as additional items. Not all cars require them and having the two brands has brought up some confusion among customers. SharpHID has seen no reason to offer the kits this way.

I hope that this helps to answer some questions and reduce some confusion. As always SharpHID loves to hear from customers with questions, concerns, or simply feedback on the products.

Regards,

John Sharp
Owner

I installed a hi/lo beam HID kit on my jetta I put a relay on it
and the low beams work fine I am just not able to switch up to
the high beams… My headlight indicator on the dash is lit up all
the time when I have my lights on and when I go to pull the headlight
switch back like your going to flash someone who has there high beams
on the high beams work,. but when I go to normally put the high beams on
they don’t work… I have been told that I need to put in a resitor so that
the head light can recieve the correct amount of power and if so can you
please tell me what size resistor and where I should put it in the circuit..

thanks…

I recently installed a 35W 4300K HID conversion kit on my B6 A4 1.8T Quattro with stock projection H7s. The new HIDs look excellent and well resemble other OEM Audi HIDs. The installation was straightforward. I completed it in an hour on my lunch break and experienced no ‘bulb out’ warning once everything was installed.There are however a few difficulties you may encounter and they are as follows:       -Finding all the Torx screws that hold on the headlights: There are four screws for each headlight and there is little room to loosen the lower two. On North American spec B6s (02-05) you do not have to fully remove the two lower screws, just loosen them and the headlights can slide out (the lower holes are slotted). This way you won’t drop a screw. Also, this can all be done without removing anything else… like the intake for example.        -Removing the main wire harness plug that connects to the headlight casing: This is done by pushing down on it slightly, inserting a screwdriver into the slot on the side and turning, then pulling the plug out with the screwdriver still turned. The plug should come out fairly easily once you had turned the screwdriver, so if it doesn’t, you probably haven’t turned it far enough. You could do this install without completely removing the headlights (leaving them plugged in) … but it’s nice to take them out and get a good look at them… and much easier on the hands.       -Drilling the hole in the lamp cover. In another H7 installation guide, I read to drill a 1″ diameter hole. However, the plugs you need to pass through the hole and just under 1 1/8″ across and will not fit through a 1″ hole. So use a 1 1/8″ hole saw to drill the hole and all will be well.        -Wiring: Dark to dark, light to light works great… though I don’t think it matters in an H7 anyway.  The two flat slotted male connectors go into the the female plug that pulls off the old H7 bulb. This all happens on the inside of the lamp cover. You need all the wires provided, so don’t cut anything.       -Reinstalling the headlights: I mounted the ballasts in the convenient little recess under each headlight, however this ended up causing some problems. If the ballasts are mounted in this way, the wiring has to travel out from under the headlight and up to the lamp cover. This causes spacing problems when sliding the headlights back in, as the wires interfere with the lower mounting brackets. I ended up just forcing them into place… but they definitely didn’t go in as smoothly as they came out. So maybe just rest the ballasts in the recess and try sliding the headlight in and out prior to taping them in, just to see if a similar problem is encountered. If so, simply mounting the ballasts in a different location would solve the problem.       All fairly simple stuff, but hopefully it can save you some grief. Best of luck. 

I installed an HID upgrade into a customer’s 2007 Subaru WRX this past weekend. The car has stock projectors and uses an H7 bulb. The customer decided on a 35w 4300K kit. The install went very well with no issues. The customer also chose to use a battery harness to take strain away from the OEM wiring. The car does not typically require it but it is a great idea to install one. An installation guide will be posted this weekend.

Here are some pictures of the results. Night pictures are to come. The output looks OEM as does the beam pattern and cutoff.

Installation guide now up. You can find it here.

I recently purchased a 2002 Audi Allroad and it had stock reflector fogs. I had upgraded the fogs in my Volvo and loved the difference they made. The bulb type is an H7 which made the upgrade that much simpler. A full installation guide will be posted this weekend but I thought I would post up the initial results here.

I decided on the 55w kit as I wanted the fogs to be bright. There is some risk as the 55w kit gets very bright. The fogs on the Audi are of a reasonable size and being that they are H7 means they have a lot of space behind the bulb inside the fog light cap. So far I have not seen any issues with anything overheating. I do try not to let the car sit with them on for long periods of time to prevent any excessive heat. For most fog applications I would recommend the 35w upgrade.

I am completely stunned by the output of these 55w HIDs. I went with the 5000K bulbs which produces a pure white light. They complement the OEM HID low beams fairly well though I think 4300K would have matched better. They are incredibly bright and really fill in the darkness to the side of the car and directly in front. I have yet to use them in inclement weather but I have no doubt they will do the job.

Here are some pictures of the results:

Update: installation guide now available here.

I purchased the BOW for my 04 Volvo XC90.  After I installed the BOW the flickering seems to stop but the Bulb Out Warning is still there.  Does anyone have any success with the Volvo XC90? 

We have had success with the new Volvo C30 and our bulb out warning (BOW) harness.  Pictures will be posted up shortly.

We have been experiencing great success with our new Bulb Out Warning Decoders (BOW Harness).  Out of 12 various new Volvos we have had 10 of them work flawlessly with the addition of this new harness.  Most vehicles required both the battery wiring harness and the new BOW harness and a few have been working with just the BOW harness.  We are still receiving feedback and I will keep you all up-to-date here on the blog.  We are unsure as to why there are a few cars that are just not working with this new fix but it is definitely an improvement over the previous edition.

We continue to find on the new Volvos that turning off the Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) has no effect on fixing any of the issues.

We have also had huge success in Mercedes and BMWs with the BOW harness.  To-date we have had zero issues with either make of car when they use this harness.

The new decoders:

We have been testing the Bulb Out Warning Cancelers in two S40s and we are waiting on feedback from some others.  So far the new harness has worked at solving an issue with one car but has not solved it with another.  We are hopeful the the results from the other S40s are more what we are looking for.  This may be a fix to solve more than the majority of S40s/V50s/S60s/V70s but I will continue to keep you all posted here on the blog!

Thanks,

John

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