[sortudo7]

DIY: DDM Tuning HID kit TSX Install

Ok, so I have been getting a lot of e-mails and PM's about this so decided to do a little write up. I will try to address all the concerns that I came across and that have been asked to me. Hopefully this will help people out in the future. This kit has been lasting just fine and I absolutely love. Didn't mind paying a little bit more for that special piece of mind with a lifetime warranty.

Really simple install though overall. 2 people will make it go a lot smoother but you can do it by yourself. It's just good to have someone to help you remove and place the bumper down nicely and test the lights for you to make sure they work. I used the included 3M tape but you can also screw in the ballasts if you choose.

General Tools/Equipment:
* 2 People if possible (I did it by myself)
* Philips head screwdriver
* 2 flat head screwdrivers
* 10mm socket wrench or equivalent
* DDM HID kit
* Cloths for cleaning area for 3M tape (couple old socks and paper towel will suffice)
* Witch Hazel or Rubbing Alcohol to fully clean the area for 3M tape adhesion
* Beach towel or equivalent for a soft area to rest bumper on
* Car keys

General steps:

1) Remove grille trim (use 2 flat head screw drivers to pop up clips as shown). You only need to remove the front clips on the radiator trim and not the whole thing, makes it faster to pull apart and put back together again. 5 clips.

Turn the screwdrivers and it will simply pop up the clips. No need to forcefully pull them out. I haven't broken one clip doing it this way

2) Remove wheel well screws (Philips head). You do not need to remove your wheel for this. Turn the car on and turn the wheel all the way to the left or right, either side, and then you can easily access the screws. No need to jack up the car or anything.

3) Remove bolts under the bumper (10mm socket) and trim clips. Every single bolt and clip pictured needs to be removed. It should be all of them I have shown in the pictures. I keep the bolts in the same order as I removed them and how they sit on the car. Just to be sure I know which ones go where when I put it all back together.
Bolts:

Trim Clips:

4) Pull off top of the bumper slightly and unplug the OEM fogs. No pic of this but simply remove the top of the bumper off lightly and you can see the fog lights, unplug them from there. There are two tabs on the grille that help hold it in place, simply pop it up over those little tabs to remove it. There are clips holding in the bumper underneath the headlights. Just pull the bumper and it will come off. Nothing serious or scary, just tug and it should come out. If you look at the removal of your bumper DIY somewhere on here it will show what I am talking about.

5) Remove entire bumper and place bumper on something soft, I used my zipper hoodie but a beach towel would be good. The bumper will come out without much force if you remove everything I said. It will be hard to take it off if you missed a clip or bolt somewhere, trust me lol.

Off the car

Bumper on the ground:

It is sitting on a sock on the side that looks like it's on the ground.

 

[sortudo7]

Now putting together the kit. It is simple and straight forward overall. ONE CATCH FOR IT TO WORK! You need to flip around the connector. You can splice and solder together the wires if you want but it's a strong fit and you don't need to do that if you don't want. Just do it the way I did it.

Part of the kit:

Properly connected for it to work. Is backwards from what it's designed to be though.

Notice the hook on the opposite end

Improperly connected. The way DDM wants it to connect:

Notice no hook with it improperly connected.

Blue and red wires together

Once you put the kit together you just need to simply plug into the connectors for the fog lights and turn on the lights. If they work then you're set, if not the you connected it backwards. Simply flip and you'll be good to go.

 

[sortudo7]

Almost done!

7) Use a clean cloth with a little bit of soap to wipe up the dirty areas within the bumper of where you're putting the ballasts. I REMOVED MY RESONATOR so I have more room on the driver's side to place the ballast than if you haven't. You can still easily put it somewhere else in there, just find the spot, clean and put the ballast there.

Use a paper towel with a little bit of rubbing alcohol or witch hazel to thoroughly clean down the area you are going to be placing your ballasts on.

Passenger Side: I placed mine between the windshield washer tank and the beam to the bumper.

Driver Side: Plenty of room without the resonator there. A lot less with it there.

8) Place sticky pad on the ballast and then place it on the car, you can do it on the car first if you choose, doesn't matter.

Passenger Side:

Driver Side:

10) Be sure everything is on there secure and that you have enough slack to connect the bulbs into the bumper. Be sure you tested the kit again to make sure it worked!

11) (if with two people) have one person hold the bumper and other person insert the bulbs into the housing.
(if alone) place back on bumper and then leave a little gap at the top like when first removing the bumper and then place back in HID bulbs into the housing.

12) Put humpty dumpty back together again and enjoy.

 

[sortudo7]

Bumper back on with 3000K fogs on in bright daylight at like 1PM on a hot day. No yellow film, but appears a lot more yellow than in the daytime pic.

Kit installed without the lights on but kit installed.

 

[sortudo7]

I have gotten a couple of questions regarding the install so I decided to put in a DIY. Plus some ppl aren't members of the other forum so figured I share the knowledge I've picked up from looking at other DIY's on here too. Other ppl have done it a bit different though.

FAQ/Notes:

* MSMChing said his ballasts fell off of the tape after a while, but after checking mine I still have no issues and it's been a while.

* Both sides need to be connected up the same way, in reverse since Japanese cars have reverse polarity or something along those lines.

* Ordered the H11 3000K kit from DDMtuning.com which is a general kit there. With shipping it came to something like 90 bucks which isn't bad, esp with lifetime warranty. Most kits are the same as Hip put up a thread regarding the really expensive kits, interesting video...llloonnnggg but still good piece of mind to know

* You can drill and screw in the ballasts if you choose, I just didn't want to go that route but it's definitely an option.

Any other questions, feel free to ask or place comments if there is an easier way to do the install. This was a strictly plug and play kit which helped me in my decision to buy it so I could avoid cutting wires etc. My car did come with OEM fogs already installed for any n00bs wondering if this will be simple for a car without them. Anyways, thanks for letting me bug your minds everyone!

 

[scratchieepants]

whoa, great write up

 

[dmassott]

is it just the reflections or is the color of the grill alittle off?

 

[sortudo7]

The grille was kinda freshly painted when I put it in but it matches overall. I had just washed and waxed it and put it back in while the rest of the car was dirty and then took the pics lol. But yea, sometimes in the light it looks a bit off while other times it looks fine...guess it's just the way the paint wore down over time since I had it done by a certified Honda/Acura painter that my boy happened to know. When I wash the whole car though it looks fine. I still need to do a full detail of my car with wash and wax etc. I did this install a while ago though.

 

[bc811]

nice write up~ i'm gonna install my 6000k soon! thanks man
Also, is there any problem/disadvantage to remove the resonator?
and how to remove?
Thanks!

 

[sortudo7]

Removing the resonator frees up some airflow, the only point to it is to reduce the sound of the intake. In general, it sounds the same removed below 3K rpms and once you go above 3K it starts to sound a bit more growley but nothing annoying IMO. A lot quieter than a CAI for instance. Removing it is fairly easy and since you're looking to install the HID foglight kit I would do it all at once since without the bumper it's very easy. All you have to do is remove it with a few bolts and then take it out, done. You can look at the DIY for a CAI install and it should have it on there on how to remove it as well. There are like a total of 3 or 4 pieces to remove, the main resonator and then a couple tubing parts.

 

[TS-SEX]

do you have to turn on your fogs twice or three times sometimes just for the passenger side to come on?


i have that problem with the diff. manufacture (HIDExtra)

Heres a pix of my 3000K (Golden yellow)

HeadLight and Fog

 

[msm_ching]

To the OP, Better check out the ballast after a month or two to make sure it's still THERE.

Because i did stick my ballast at the same place, and one time when i took off the bumper, i realized that both sides fell, and was hanging for no idea how long already.

Found the safest place to be right under the headlight. stuff it in there, and it won't fell. (And yes, i m using the same brand HID as you).

 

[sortudo7]

MSM, yea I checked recently and noticed the same thing, the ballast came loose. Now deciding on if I should drill or maybe zip tie it in. Luckily they aren't just hanging for me so I have some time to decide on what to do. Sick right now and been out of work the whole week or else I woulda taken advantage of this wonderful weather and worked on my car

TS-Sex. I don't have to turn on my lights multiple times for it to come on, just once. Sounds like your ballast might be going bad or something. I would contact the manufacturer and see what the replacement policy is. Of course, check all your connections and make sure they're strong but def sounds like a defective passenger side unit.

 

[TS-SEX]

TS-Sex. I don't have to turn on my lights multiple times for it to come on, just once. Sounds like your ballast might be going bad or something. I would contact the manufacturer and see what the replacement policy is. Of course, check all your connections and make sure they're strong but def sounds like a defective passenger side unit.

yeah, your right. i just called 'em up and they said that they will send another set off ballast for free.

 

[bc811]

do i plug in the power from the car to the DDM fog light plug (the plug nearest to the fog light bulb)?
I'm pretty sure coz it's the only plug left? right?

 

[sortudo7]

Yea, if everything is plugged in and set up then you should be fine. It is a simply plug and play which requires no splicing so just plug in the adapter to the car and test it, if it turns on then you're all set.

 

[reallifebear]

Can someone explain why the connector has to be flipped around? And would i need to disconnect the battery too?

 

[sortudo7]

Can someone explain why the connector has to be flipped around? And would i need to disconnect the battery too?

Tbh I didn't disconnect the battery to install mine but it's recommended just for precaution, to avoid anything bad like blowing something out.

The reason the wires are flipped around is that our wiring system in our cars are reverse for some reason. I think something about the whole JDM idea is what I was told. It still works perfectly fine without any issues but that is why I was told it had to be flipped. Some people also decide to splice and solder the wires together so it can still connect liek normal, your choice. I was just too lazy to do that haha.

 

[renntecher]

hey I was wondering did your H11 bulb have plugs other than the red and blue indicated in your pictures? the bulb that I have contains two more plugs and when I look at the users manual it looks like they are for the Hi/Low Controller - i don't really need this as I am using it for fogs.

 

[sortudo7]

hey I was wondering did your H11 bulb have plugs other than the red and blue indicated in your pictures? the bulb that I have contains two more plugs and when I look at the users manual it looks like they are for the Hi/Low Controller - i don't really need this as I am using it for fogs.

I didn't have any extra wires from what I remember. Do you have any pics of it? I can see but all the wires connected on mine. Connected to the bulbs and then to the car.