How to Upgrade Headlights? I think there has always been a question in the minds of many car enthusiasts, when should I change the Headlights and How to Upgrade Headlights? If your headlights are not bright enough, there are a number of ways you can upgrade them to improve your ability to see at night. The easiest way is simply to install better quality or brighter bulbs. You can also replace the headlight housings with ones that are clearer or more reflective. If you don’t mind getting your hands a bit dirtier, you can even convert a traditional headlight system to run much brighter HID or LED bulbs by installing a conversion kit. Before you begin any of these projects, make sure to disconnect the cable from the negative terminal of the battery to stop power from flowing through the electrical system.
Method 1: Swapping in Brighter Bulbs
1. Open the hood of the vehicle. You can find the hood release near your left leg when you’re sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. Pull it toward you to release it. At the front of the car, use your hands to release the safety lever holding the hood closed. Then lift the hood up to open it.
- If you have trouble finding the hood release or the safety lever in your specific vehicle, refer to the owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website for help.
2. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. Look for the battery in the engine bay or trunk of your vehicle. Locate the terminal marked with a negative sign (-) and use the correct sized open ended wrench or socket and ratchet to loosen the bolt holding the cable on the terminal, then slide the cable off of it.
- If you can’t locate your battery, refer to the vehicle’s owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website.
- Tuck the cable to the side of the battery so it can’t come into contact with the battery terminal while you work.
3. Remove the headlight dust cover (if present) and disconnect the wire pigtail. If there is a plastic cover over the back of your headlight assembly, pop it off by pulling it up to release the plastic clips holding it in place. Then use your thumb to release the clip holding the wiring pigtail into the back of the headlight bulb housing. The wire pigtail is the only wiring going into the headlight.
- Press the clip release and pull backward on the plug itself to disconnect it.
- Pulling on the wire could damage the wire’s connection to the plug itself.
4. Release the clips holding the bulb in place (if present). Some vehicles have clips that hold the headlight bulb housing in place. If yours came equipped with these clips, release each of them with your index finger and thumb before trying to remove the bulb housing.
- If no clips are holding the bulb housing in place, you can skip this step.
5. Rotate the bulb housing counterclockwise and pull it out of the headlight. The bulb housing will come out of the headlight in one piece after you release it by turning it to the left. Slide it out carefully to avoid hitting the bulb on anything and breaking it.
- Removing a broken bulb is far more dangerous than removing an intact one.
6. Pinch the bulb’s base with your index finger and thumb and pull it out. The headlight bulb sits snugly inside the bulb housing, so you may need to give it a good solid tug to remove it. Do not pull on the bulb itself, as that may break it.
- Pinch the bulb as close to its base as possible to avoid breaking the bulb and cutting your hand.
- If the bulb does break, use pliers to remove it from the housing to avoid coming into contact with the broken glass.
7. Insert the new, brighter bulb and wipe it off with an alcohol swab. Press the new bulb into the headlight bulb housing. The oil on your fingers is bad for the bulb itself, so use an alcohol swab or a bit of rubbing alcohol on a rag to wipe off the bulb once it’s in place.
- Leaving your skin’s oil on the bulb may cause it to blow out prematurely.
- You can avoid wiping off the bulb with alcohol by wearing gloves as you install the new bulb.
8. Put the bulb housing back into the headlight. Slide the headlight bulb housing back in and turn it clockwise to secure it. Then plug the wire pigtail back in and reinstall the dust cover and clips if your vehicle has them.
- Repeat this process on the other headlight to replace its bulb with a brighter one as well.
Method 2: Replacing Headlight Assemblies
1. Open the vehicle’s hood. Locate the hood release for the vehicle inside the cabin near your left leg while sitting in the driver’s seat. Pull the release and exit the vehicle. At the front of the car, use your hands to release the safety lever holding the hood closed. Then lift the hood up to open it.
- If you have trouble finding the hood release or the safety lever in your specific vehicle, refer to the owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website for help.
2. Disconnect the vehicle's battery. Find the battery in the engine bay or trunk. It will look like a black or grey rectangular box with two posts sticking out of it. Locate the post for the negative terminal, marked with a minus (-) sign. Loosen the bolt on the terminal with the correct sized wrench or socket, and then slide the cable off of the terminal.
- If you can’t locate your battery, refer to the vehicle’s owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website.
- Tuck the cable to the side of the battery so it can’t come into contact with the battery terminal while you work.
3. Purchase an application specific headlight assembly kit. Every vehicle’s body is shaped a bit different, and headlights are no exception. Purchase an aftermarket headlight assembly kit that was made specifically for your make, model, year, and trim vehicle to be sure it will fit.
- Aftermarket headlights have more reflective material inside the housings, allowing more of the light produced by the bulbs to project outward.
- New headlight assemblies will also have a clearer plastic cover compared to the worn out ones already on your vehicle.
4. Locate the headlight assembly in the engine bay. The headlights are located at the very front of the vehicle on either side. The assemblies are the plastic headlight-shaped containers that the headlight bulb housings sit in.
- If you need to remove any dust or engine covers to gain access to the headlight assemblies, remove them now.
- Do not disconnect the pigtails by pulling on the wires, as it may damage them.
- Grip both ends of the clip as you press the release and pull them apart.
6. Remove the mounting bolts that hold the headlight assembly in place. Most headlight assemblies have between 2 and 4 bolts that mount them on the body of the vehicle. Use the appropriate sized open ended wrench or socket to loosen and then remove these bolts.
- Be sure to use the correct sized wrench or socket. If you use a larger one, you may strip the bolts, making them impossible to remove with a wrench.
- Set all the bolts aside somewhere safe as you remove them, for use with the new headlight assemblies.
- Once you removed the bolts from one side, do the same to the other side.
- If anything is still connected to the headlight assembly set it back down and disconnect it before trying to remove it again.
8. Slide the aftermarket headlight assembly into place. Your new headlights should fit into the vehicle exactly like the old ones did. Lower them into place from above or insert them from the front, depending on what works best in your particular vehicle.
- Be careful not to tuck the wiring pigtail under the new headlight assembly as you slide it into place.
- The new assemblies may look quite different from the old ones, but they should both be the same shape.
9. Bolt the headlight assemblies to the vehicle. Reuse the bolts you removed before to secure the new headlights into position. Start by inserting the bolts and tightening them by hand, then switch to a wrench or ratchet once the bolts are starting to thread properly.
- Starting by hand will ensure you thread the bolts well and avoid cross threading that will damage both the bolt and the threads it screws into.
- Tighten the bolts until they’re good and snug so the headlights can’t move at all.
10. Insert the headlight bulbs and plug them in. Remove the headlight bulb assemblies from the old headlight housings and replace the bulbs with new ones if you wish. Then insert the completed assemblies into the new housings, secure them in place, and connect the wire pigtails that power them.
- Test the headlights to make sure your new lights work.
- If one of the headlights doesn’t turn on, check the connections leading to it and try again.
- Once the headlights are on, you may need to adjust them for alignment.
Method 3: Converting to HID Bulbs
1. Open the vehicle’s hood. Locate the hood release for the vehicle inside the cabin near your left leg while sitting in the driver’s seat. Pull the release and exit the vehicle. At the front of the car, use your hands to release the safety lever holding the hood closed. Then lift the hood up to open it.
- If you have trouble finding the hood release or the safety lever in your specific vehicle, refer to the owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website for help.
2. Disconnect the battery by removing the cable on the negative terminal. Locate the battery in your engine bay or the trunk of the vehicle. It will look like a black or grey rectangular box with two posts sticking out of it. Find the post for the negative terminal, which is marked with a minus (-) sign and loosen the bolt on the terminal with the correct sized wrench or socket. Then slide the cable off of the terminal.
- If you can’t locate your battery, refer to the vehicle’s owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website.
- Tuck the cable to the side of the battery so it can’t come into contact with the battery terminal while you work.
- If you can’t find a kit at an auto parts store, you can find them online at auto parts retailers and even on websites like Amazon or eBay.
4. Remove your existing headlight assembly from its housing. Remove any dust covers in the way by pulling them up to release their clips, then disconnect the wire pigtail leading into the headlight bulb assembly by pressing the release with your thumb and pulling them apart. Then turn the assembly counterclockwise and pull it backward to remove from the headlight housing.
- You will not be reusing the headlight bulb or its assembly, so set them both aside.
5. Insert the HID bulb assembly into the headlight housing. The HID bulb assemblies will slide directly into the same hole your old headlight assemblies came out of. Once you’ve got it inserted, turn it clockwise to secure it in place.
- Be careful not to touch the new bulbs with your hands. If you do, wipe them off with an alcohol swab or some rubbing alcohol on a rag.
6. Connect the HID kit to the positive terminal on the battery. Although every HID conversion kit is different, they all have the same basic components. One of the wires in the kit will be marked as the positive (+) lead or the "hot" wire from the battery. Use a wrench to loosen the bolt holding the cable on the positive (+) terminal of your battery, then slide the cable off its post. Place the battery lead from the HID kit on the post, then put the cable back in place and tighten it down.
- Remember, the negative terminal on your battery should already be disconnected and should remain that way until you’re done with the installation.
7. Use a zip tie to secure the relay box and ballast near the headlight assembly. The relay box and ballast are two components of the conversion kit that need to placed somewhere in the engine bay where they won’t interfere with any moving parts. One common solution is to zip-tie them to a nearby bracket or even to the wires coiled near the headlight. You can drill and tap holes in the body of the vehicle to mount these components to, but it is not necessary.
- Make sure wherever you stick both components that they won’t interfere with the engine’s belts, chains or radiator fans while moving.
- The ballast regulates the flow of electrical current to the new bulbs and will be clearly labeled.
8. Plug the relay harness into the factory headlight wire pigtail. The relay harness has a wire extending from it with a plug designed to connect to the wire pigtail you removed from the old headlight bulb assembly. Connect it to the pigtail so the new HID lights will know when to turn on and off according to the vehicle’s cabin controls.
- Press the clip into the headlight pigtail until you hear a click indicating a strong connection.
9. Insert the connector from the ballast into the relay harness connector. The relay harness connects to the ballast using a different kind of wiring clip to avoid confusion when wiring the kit. Plug the connector from the relay into the wire coming from the ballast where you’ve secured it.
- With these wires connected, there will only be one loose wire left coming from the headlight conversion kit.
- Make sure you have solid connection otherwise the headlights will not function.
- The HID conversion kit is now installed.
- Reconnect the negative terminal on the battery and test the lights. If they don’t work, check to make sure all the connections are tight and try again.
Method 4: Installing an LED Conversion Kit
1. Pop the hood. Use the hood release located near your left leg when in the driver’s seat to release the hood, then open it to gain access to the engine bay.
- If you have trouble finding the release or opening the hood, refer to the owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website for help.
2. Remove the cable from the negative terminal on the battery. Use a socket and ratchet or open-ended wrench to loosen the bolt holding the negative cable on the terminal of the battery that is labeled with a negative (-) symbol.
- If you can’t locate your battery, your owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website can guide you.
- Tuck the cable to the side of the battery to keep it from coming into contact with the terminal while you work.
3. Purchase a vehicle specific LED conversion kit. In order to avoid having to do any custom fabrication, purchase an LED kit that was made for your specific make, model, and year vehicle. You can purchase your kit at most auto parts stores or online auto-part retailers.
- Make sure to provide the clerk with the exact year, manufacturer, and model of vehicle you are working on to get the right kit.
4. Take the headlight assembly out from its housing. Press the release on the wire pigtail connected to your headlight with your thumb, and pull the connection apart. Then turn the headlight bulb assembly counterclockwise to unlock, and remove it by pulling it out of the housing.
- You can set the headlight assembly aside as the LED kit will replace it.
5. Install the LED headlights into your existing headlight housing. Take the LED headlight assembly out of the box and insert it into the headlight housing. Turn the assembly clockwise to lock it in place inside the headlight.
- Be careful not to touch the new bulb itself. If you do, wipe it off with an alcohol wipe or with some rubbing alcohol on a rag.
- It usually only takes a quarter-turn to lock the headlight in place.
- You can zip tie the ballast to any nearby bracket, bundle of wires, or even plastic reservoirs for things like windshield washer fluid.
- Make sure the ballast and its lines will be clear of any moving belts or chains while the engine is running.
- If you don’t hear a click, the connection is probably not tight enough.
- Reconnect the battery once you’re done.
Warnings
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Be sure the negative terminal of the battery is disconnected before doing any work on a vehicle’s electrical system.
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Wait for the engine to be cool before working inside the engine bay to avoid burns.
