Being inspired by other members doing this mod decided to install HID kit from ddm. I had to modify it a little since I was not happy about placing ballast near fog lights being exposed to moisture etc.
I wanted to place them so they dry and have easy access to all of the components should one of them fail.
Enjoy! BTW hardest part of the project was trying to run wires from passenger side fog light since washer fluid reservoir and other components took all of the space above.
I am yet to test them at night but they are very bright. Haven't adjusted them, not sure if I have to.
Pretty interesting install to put it on the dummy panel. Not sure I like that, I would have done the underside if anything.
Except that those slim ballasts are pretty shoddy, I swapped about 2 sets of them before giving up and getting a full size ballast instead. Doesn't matter if water get to them or not, they just blow after awhile. I got a set of 55W full size ballasts that I installed behind the bumper above the fog light grills, not much water gets there.
I have the same slim ballast and they do get hot but no hotter than our engine's heat soak. IDK what kind of plastic Volvo chose for those covers but it can take some serious temps.
I had the 55w Raptors in my foglight housings. I stuck my ballasts in the bumper, so far about 8 months Ok. I did adjust the beam height.
I also ran a new fused power tap from the power block with a heavy duty relay, triggered from the factory fog light switch. the +12V feed for the OEM fogs was getting really really hot during operation, like burning-insulation hot. The new power feed I put in works much better.
35W 4300k HIDs (colour temp with most light output) are almost 3X brighter than 55W (about 3500k) halogens, so 55W HIDs would be about 4X, assuming the bulbs are designed for the extra power.
I ran the 35W slim ballasts in my car for about a year. One of the ballast fell from its mount, and dragged the ground for about 15 miles on the highway, and still worked fine afterwards. They were much brighter than the OEM bulbs. I also matched them with new 6k headlights. DDM is great.
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