How to install 9004 or 9007 LED Headlight bulbs from GTR Lighting

OK, so I got my hands on a set of the 9007 LED headlight bulbs from GTR Lighting and I wanted to show you how to install them because at first glance it looks kind of tricky.

 

The vehicle I’m going to demonstrate on is a headlight from a 2002 Ford F250. This is a very common headlight and I will tell you this: These headlights suck!!! No matter which types of bulbs you use, high power halogen, HID or new LED style headlight bulbs, these housings are awful and it’s impossible to get amazing light output from them. Your best bet for amazing light is a light bar or a projector retrofit… but that’s a whole other story! For now we’re going to try to put these GEN 2 9007 LED Headlight Bulbs from GTR Lighting into these housings.

The original 9007 halogen bulb is held in place by a retainer. In the case of this Ford F250, the retainer is very tall. Sometimes they are snort and sometimes they are tall, but they all work the same way. The retainer goes on top of the bulb and holds it in place.

Here you can see how the original halogen bulb sits when you take the retainer off.

The new GTR Lighting GEN 2 LED Headlight Bulb is a little longer than the original halogen bulb, but it doesn’t matter for this application because there is nothing inside the housing to interfere with it. The mounting method is identical. The new LED bulb has the same mounting collar as the halogen bulb.

Here’s an aerial view showing the slots in the mounting collar between the original halogen bulb and the new GTR Lighting LED headlight bulb. They insert into the headlight housing the exact same way as each other.

The housing for either a 9004 or a 9007 will have 3 alignment tabs inside like this. The bulb will only seat one way.

This is how the new 9007 LED headlight bulb should seat when you have it resting on the housing. There should be no gaps, it installs perfectly flat.

The original retainer that held the halogen bulb in place will likely NOT fit over the top of your new LED headlight bulbs, they are far too large to facilitate the heat sink and cooling fan.

The mounting collar on the LED headlight bulbs comes off easily by twisting it. Separate all the parts and re-install the original headlight bulb retainer between the heat sink of the LED bulb, and the mounting collar.

With the collar removed from the new LED bulb insert the bulb into the mounting adapter that the headlights originally with. The next step is to re-install the LED bulb collar to sandwich the adapter in place.

Here you can see the 9007 or 9004 bulb re-assembled with the original mounting adapter sandwiched between the heat sink and the mounting collar.

When you have the 9007 or 9004 LED headlight bulb re-assembled with the mounting adapter between the fan and the bulb collar, you can re-install the color shield and top screw.

 

When you have the original mounting adapter installed between the heat sink and the LED bulb collar, then you can install everything like the factory bulb was installed.

Here are a couple notes about the final install:

1. If you have a tall mounting adapter like shown in these pictures, it may be a good idea to either drill holes in it to allow the LED bulb fan to “breathe” and flow more air to keep it cool, or just trim the excess material off to allow the LED heat sink fan/bulb to be fully exposed.

2. In order to get the LED bulb and mounting adapter fitted to the housing there are several things to line up and it can be a tricky puzzle! Just examine it and see how everything fits together. The housing has alignment posts, the LED bulb collar has 2 alignment posts, and the mounting adapter for the original bulb has 2 sets of alignment posts!!! Everything has to be put together just right.

3. This install guide is specific to the early 2000’s Ford trucks that use 9007 or 9004 headlights, but the basic premise should be universal to anyone trying to install 9004 or 9007 LED headlight bulbs.

Instructions on How to Install Vision X End Cap Mounts

If you have a mount for your car or truck that’s designed for end-cap style light bar mounts, but you want to use a Vision X LED Light Bar there is a solution! Vision X invented a really nice low-profile mounting system that works by adding “feet” to a track system below the light bar and there’s nothing on the end caps. If you need to mount your Vision X light bar on the end caps you need the End Cap Mounting Kit sold here, just make sure you get the right one for your light bar!

This is how Vision X LED light bars normally mount. With feet underneath the bar on a rail system. This style will not work with most aftermarket offroad bumpers or roof mount bracket kits.

Many light bars use end-cap mounts with a stud coming out to attach to the vehicle. If your light bar mount is designed for this style of light bar but you want to use Vision X you need to add the end-cap mounting kit.

Vision X makes 3 different end-cap mounting kits so you can transform Vision X LED offroad light bars into end-cap mounting styles to work with popular light bar mounting products like grilles, bumpers and roof mounts.

First Step: Choose the appropriate mounting kit for your application:
XIL-LPECM works with the new XPI series light bars (e.g. XPI-27M) and also works on the Low-Pro Xtreme LPX Series (e.g. XIL-LPX3910) LED light bars.
XIL-PECM works with PX series (e.g. XIL-PX9040) and EP series light bars(e.g. XIL-EP1220).
XIL-ECM works with the standard Xmitter series LED light bars like XIL-400 or XIL-120.

Second Step: Remove the 2 allen head bolts on each bottom corner of the light bar. These bolts are the larger ones that hold the rod in place that passes through the entire body of the light bar. That rod holds the mounting feet in place for the traditional mounting method. DO NOT remove the end cap to take the rod out. You will likely not be able to re-seal the light bar properly and you will void your warranty! When the one allen-head bolt on each side of the bar is removed, that’s where your end cap mounting kit will go:

One allen-head bolt on each end cap needs to be removed. This is where the new bolt mounting kit installs on the light bar.

Step 3: Tighten each mounting stud until they are very tight on each side. You don’t want them to be able to spin at all. If you’re working with a long light bar like 40″ or 50″ you might need help, one person on each side. Congratulations, now you’re ready to install your Vision X light bar with an aftermarket mount designed for a light bar that comes with end-cap mounts!

The end cap kit comes with all the required hardware and allows you to mount a Vision X LED light bar with end-cap style vehicle mounts.

 

WARNING! If you try to install the end cap kit in the wrong holes, you WILL break the end cap mounting kit and possibly damage your light bar! Follow the above steps and instructions to avoid this kind of damage:

This picture shows the right way and the wrong way to use the Vision X end cap mounting kit!
If you try to install the end cap mounting adapter into the middle hole(s) it will not insert deep enough and it will damage the bolt and light bar. You must use the larger bolt hole in the corner of the end cap that connects to the rod going all the way through the body of the light bar.

How to install a Royalty Core Light Bar Truck Grille

Lots of people see these new grill replacements for their trucks for sale and on cool truck builds but they don’t really have a good understanding of the logistics of how to install them. You either don’t know at all and won’t buy the product due to uncertainty, or you buy it without thinking how it works and regret it because you can’t figure it out.

There’s a new video out explaining a lot of information about these steel mesh aftermarket grilles for trucks and how to do the install. Here’s the video detailing how to install a Royalty Core grille replacement on a Toyota Tundra using Vision X LED offroad light bars:

The first and most important thing most truck enthusiasts probably don’t know is that you have to cut out the center section of your original grille first, in order to install the new one. On some vehicles that middle section will just pop out and there’s no cutting involved, but most of the time you’re not that lucky!

This is what the grille on the Tundra looked like before being cut up to fit the Royalty Core grille.

This is what the Tundra grille looked like after being modified. The middle is cut out so the new grille insert can fit in place properly.

Once you have the original grille removed and the center section cut out, if you do it properly the new aftermarket steel mesh grille should fit in place. To hold it in place the new grille should come with some type of mounting mechanism. The Royalty Core grilles come with a bolt and anchor type attachment that works really well:

Royalty Core grilles have some of the best mounting hardware on the market. This method makes it very easy to install.

Royalty Core grilles have some of the best mounting hardware on the market. This method makes it very easy to install.

When you get the new grille insert in place then it’s time to install the light bars. Most of the time they will come packaged separately and it’s up to the installer to mount the lights. This is good because the lights add a lot of weight to the product and can make the grille hard to handle.

The LED light bars mount to the back side of the grille so just the face of the light is showing.

Royalty Core uses Vision X brand of LED light bars. This is because Vision X has the world’s brightest light bars: more than double the light output of any other company, light bar per light bar.

When the light bars are mounted and aligned to the grille you can re-attach the truck grille to the truck. Now that the grille is heavier than it was at first it’s a good idea to get some help!

Re-attach the grille to the truck.

With the new grille mounted to the truck and secured using all the factory mounting points it’s time to run power wires to the light bars. The best way to do this is to start with a universal relay harness, wire it to the battery and to a switch inside the vehicle, then safely through the firewall and up onto the hood and finally connected to the new light bars.

Drilling a hole in the dash and mounting a switch; passing wires through the firewall; connecting power wires to the battery; and running power wires up onto the hood all require a fair amount of skilled installation ability. If you don’t understand already how to wire in a relay harness either hire a professional to do it or research the safe methods and learn how to do it yourself. Just be warned that this is definitely considered custom electrical wiring installation.

Run new wiring from a switch inside the cab, into the engine bay and safely up and onto the hood to power the new lights.

The way the install was done on this particular truck grille was to use a set of GTR Lighting LED Halo style in-dash switches. These are some of the nicest looking switches around and fit in most spots on the dash.

Custom mounted halo switches from GTR Lighting.

At the top of this post there’s a video to show all of this information in more detail. It’s about 20 minutes long but really goes in depth on the ins and outs of this type of install. Before you decide which grille to purchase, and if you can handle the job yourself check it out. Or click here to watch the video now.

2010 Toyota Tundra featuring a Royalty Core steel-mesh grille with a pair of Vision X LED offroad light bars installed.

Nissan 350z LED Driving Lights – Vehicle Specific

Nissan 350z LED Driving Lights

 

 

 

 

Finally, there’s a product available to add a classy and super-bright LED driving light to your Nissan 350z. The kit (made by GTR Lighting) comes with everything involved to do the install, including vehicle specific brackets to hold the DRLs in place. Just remove your bumper and install the lights and you’re good to go!

Here is a video showing you exactly how to install the lights with step by step instructions to help you make it REALLY easy!

Components to the LED Kit