HermanH's PASSAT Site

Tools Required

Vision HID Conversion Kit Installation

The Vision HID conversion kit was obtained in a group purchase on ClubB5 back in mid-late June 2001. The kit came out to $435, which was a great price considering LLTEK was selling a similar version for $666. As a comparison, true "projector style" Hella OEM HID's go for $1,000-$1300, depending upon the vendor.
Unlike the Hella kit, the Vision HID conversion kit retains the OEM housing. However, the Vision kit is bulkier due to two components: the ballast and igniter boxes. Finding a proper mounting spot for both these boxes on each side of the vehicle was really the biggest challenge. When I look back on the installation, I believe I spent a good 2 hours just thinking and looking to see where things would actually be located. As you will see, the results were well worth the $435 and a few hours of installation.
INSTRUCTIONS:

The first thing you should do is read the manual, primarily for laughs; the grammar is very awkward and the warnings at the end, despite their best intentions, are good for a few chuckles as well.
After going over the manual, you'll note they are not done very well. What I did was perform a preliminary hookup so I knew what was going where:

 
Fig 1.

DRIVER SIDE INSTALLATION:

1. I chose the cover of the power steering reservoir to mount both the ballast and igniter box. It's location is within very close proximity of the lamp case. In Fig. 2, you can see where I drilled the screw holes and mounted each box. I utilized the mounting plate that was supplied by the kit for the ballast. The ballast has some double sided 'cushioned' tape; the supplied tie-wraps were incorporated to ensure it would not fall should the tape fail. Also note that the hookup is very close to the headlamp assembly. With everything in place, just follow the diagram in Fig. 1 for hookup. Note that Fig. 3 is actually the finalized hookup of the driver side lamp.

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

2. In Fig. 4, I show where the positive and negative leads go to (Red=+, Black= (-) ). Taking a voltmeter, I determined that the receptacles "yellow" plug was +12 volts, and the "brown" plug was -12 volts.
NOTE: when you secure the actual bulb into the headlamp unit, you will need to push in the spring clip a bit harder before it clamps into the locking-indentations.

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

3. Prior to finalizing the installation of the driver side, we modify the dust cover to mate with the grommet/bulb unit; using a pair of Fiskars/scissors (if you have a pair of "curved" hobby scissors, it will be a bit easier), cut out the hole as shown in the series of photos below:

4. Tie wrap everything up and you're done with the driver side.

PASSENGER SIDE INSTALLATION:  The passenger side installation requires a bit more work but the results are pretty good considering the limited space we have to work with. Essentially, we are going to remove the headlamp unit to allow us access to the front of the airbox. This is where the "ballast" will be mounted. The "igniter" will be mounted underneath the plastic chassis which surrounds the headlamp unit. This allows for close proximity of all components to the main HID bulb.

1. First, disconnect a primary power receptacle to the headlamp unit. In Fig. 6 (not the picture is of the final hookup), the receptacle is the light-grey boot on the left. There is a metal retainer clip which needs to be removed; use a screw driver to remove the clip; then pull on the plug.

Fig. 6

2. Next, you will need to remove the corner signal lens. In Fig. 6 again, note the "ring" on the far right; pull back on the spring loaded ring until it clear the plastic housing it was anchored to. This will release the clear corner; all you need to do is simply pull the corner lens straight forward. Note: you may need a long screw driver or needle nose pliers to remove the ring as it is a tight area if you have big hands/fingers.

3. With the corner out of the way, you will see a black torx-sytle screw; you will need a T25 torx driver to remove this screw. Note in Fig. 7, the Torx number is incorrect.Above the headlamp assembly, you will notice two plastic cap/covers; pop these off to reveal two more torx-style screws. Remove both of these screws.

4. Remove the single phillips screw which holds down the passenger side of the front grille. Removing this will allow you to move the "skin" directly next to the headlamp; this will avoid you from chipping the paint when removing and re-installing the headlamp unit.Pull back a little bit on the bumper skin on the right of the lamp assembly, and slip out the head-lamp unit.

Fig. 7

5. Now to mount the ballast; I first took the mounting plate and using the supplied double sided tape, affixed the ballast to the plate. I also used the two large tie-wraps to secure the ballast even further. Next, take the assembly and locate it on the front of the airbox; taking a 1/8" drill bit, drill two holes for the mounting plate. Then take two #8x1/2" pan-head screws and mount the ballast as shown in Fig. 8:

Fig. 8

6. The igniter location that I chose was more out of necessity. Note the "secondary intake" on the front of the airbox. Had this not been done, I would have most likely used this location for the igniter box. However, this was not the case and I chose a rather convenient spot: under the plastic housing which surrounds the headlamp unit:

Fig. 9

Note in Fig. 9, I drilled two 1/8" holes which corresponded to the two mounting holes of the igniter. As you can see, I did try one hole but found it a tight fit for the "START" wire, so the second hole gave me a better angle. 

7. Since the headlamp unit is now seperated from the car, now is a great time to install the HID bulb, power leads and dustboot before putting this back together. 

8. Bolt everything back in the reverse order now. Remember to pull back on the bumper skin when re-inserting the headlamp unit. And do not forget to reaffix the screw which holds down the grill! Also, don't forget about the metal retainer clip for the main power receptacle; that can easily be missed.
And here are the results:

FINAL DETAILS: as many have noted on the ClubB5 forums, the DRL's should be disabled since there is question on supplying half voltage to the ballast and igniter. Although I was able to run the HID bulbs with DRL's, I noticed it got a bit brighter when I turned on the lamps to full power. To disable the DRL's, simply remove Relay #173. This sits way behind the fuses but can be seen from that angle. You may need to remove the lower dash cover to access it. If you have small hands like me, you can wiggle it out from the fuse box side.

Also, the kit came with a couple of fuses: 20 amp and 30 amp fuses, but these were the larger style; the two fuses that control the driving lamps, positions 20 and 21, both use 10 amp "mini" fuses. So you may want to go to PepBoys and pic up a few fuses. Since I wasn't sure which to use, I split the difference and got 25 amp mini fuses.

Finally, it is recommended have your headlamps professionally adjusted/aimed.

Summary: I think a few things need to be said; first, these things are very bright when compared to halogen lamps. When you use your H4 high-beams/fogs, you'll see "yellow" light compared to the HID's. After such an installation, I would suggest you get your lamps readjusted just to be sure you've done everything possible to avoid blinding ongoing traffic. Overall, I find this kit and it's price, a great upgrade to the Passat.

Drill with 1/8" drill bit
Phillips Screw Driver
#9 Torx driver

Misc. Items.
2 or 4 #8 x 1/2" pan head screws.
(2) 20 or 25 Amp "mini" fuses.
Black Tie Wraps
Wiring Casing (optional)