Converting Hella 500/700FFs to HID?

M

millhousenator

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Ohio
Just wanted to see if any jeepspeed/prerunner guys have converted any halogen hellas to HID with any luck. There are various writeups on how to do it on Pirate and some yota forums. Sure its cheap, but I dont live out in the desert, and it would be cheap to replace one if it gets busted by a limb or tree, and not have to worry about the rotating reflector issue that the cheap kragen ones have. Thoughts?

Hella 700FFs + DDM Tuning HID kit = $110 for a pair
Kragen Style = $240 for a pair
 
i used to have a set of hella 500's, converted to HID....

no hotspots, decent optics. i was very happy!

as far as writeups... heres one.

STEP 1: figure out bulb type (h3 for hella 500)
STEP 2: buy appropriate kit.
STEP 3: swap out the bulbs, and wire em up!

... the only modification to the 500's, was to open up the hole on the backside, to let the new wires thru... it was obvious.
 
Hellas, buy far much higher quality kits, and better output. I would recomend the 700s, they are a notch above the 500s.
 
Let me know if I can help, I have converted many of these myself....
 
I guess my first question is what HID brand would you recommend for converting these? DDM is cheap, and that is good for me, and they have a lifetime warranty.
 
Ddm makes a great product. I'm a little biased, and would recommend bajahid.com.

I have helped many folks getting them kits and helping with conversions.
 
Ill stick with DDM this time around since these lights wont be used in high demand. I plan on doing a projector retrofit headlight setup also, and will look into a higher quality ballast since its my DD. Im still doing research as Im fairly new to the HID market, so I dont know what brands are good and bad.
 
Im looking into getting Rallye 4000 lights rather than the 700FFs. One Cornering Beam and one Euro or Driving beam. I assume I can convert these just the same as the 500 or 700s?

Edit: Now that I realize the 4000s dont appear to be very water tight, I might pass on them.
 
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Heh. Everytime I go wheeling around here Lights get ruined either from getting whacked by a tree, or water and mud getting into them.

I might just go with two cornering beams and get a driving/euro if there is room on the bumper for three. As far as waterproofing goes, if they arent, Ill just sell them before I ruin them, and go with the 700s or 500s.

Edit: nevermind... just checked to see how much I have in savings. XXXX me.
 
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I have 3 Rallye 4000s that I have run for going on 4 years now, no issues with them not being water tight........

how deep do you dump your rig? are you constantly submarining it?
 
millhousenator said:
Heh. Everytime I go wheeling around here Lights get ruined either from getting whacked by a tree, or water and mud getting into them.

I might just go with two cornering beams and get a driving/euro if there is room on the bumper for three. As far as waterproofing goes, if they arent, Ill just sell them before I ruin them, and go with the 700s or 500s.

Edit: nevermind... just checked to see how much I have in savings. XXXX me.
Click to expand...

My Hella 500's went through plenty of mud holes and such and never had a problem. That damn Mercedes I hit killed one though!
 
I dont really "dump" my rig, but the bumper will get submerged often when entering a mud hole or flooded hole. I just read something about them not being watertight, but rather "shed" water. By that I assume it just drains it out? I suppose as long as they dont trap water it would be fine.
 
by that argument, modern buildings are not water tight either, but rather weep water out, as modern windows utilize weep holes and sill cans.


as was said before, i dunno shit about water, but im pretty sure people use silicone and such to seal em up if they do a lot of swimming.
 
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