Silverado 2007-13 HID Projector Headlight Upgrade

Upgrading your OEM headlights to HID's (High Intensity Discharge lamps) will noticeably improve your visibility on the road, especially with older models of vehicles. I also wanted to upgrade my headlights to utilize projector lenses which help to focus the light on the road and not off into the ditch. This project was somewhat of a necessity for me since my original headlight assembly had been tampered with by the previous owner. Water was collecting inside the housing, causing my lights to fog.

Here's what you'll need:

-Socket wrench set

-Flat nosed screwdriver (preferably a pretty long one)

-Needle nosed pliers.

-Electrical Tape

-Wire stripping tool

-Wire connectors (I used twist-ons, but you could also use crimp-on type or solder the wires together)

-New headlight assembly (I purchased SPYDER LED Projector Headlights pn#PRO-YD-CS07-HL-C)

-HID bulbs and Ballasts (I purchased the XENTEC H1 5000K Advanced Slim Alloy Ballast HID Xenon Kit)

ProTip: Run a bead of silicon caulk around the factory seal of the headlight to ensure the headlight will not fog.

Step 1: Remove the Dust Cover

In order to remove the headlight assembly, we must remove the front grille of the truck. The first thing we want to do is remove the dust cover on top of the grille by popping out these plastic tabs. There's a bit of a trick to them, just wedge a flat head screwdriver under the top part of the tab and pull it up. The entire tab should be unlocked and able to pull out now. Set the cover down off to the side.

Step 2: Remove the Front Grille

There are four hex screws and 6 tabs holding the grille onto the frame. The screws are located on top as seen in the pictures and the tabs are on the back of the grille. We will use the socket wrench set to remove the screws. I found that the easiest way to remove the tabs is to pinch them with a needle nose pliers and push them through their respective holes. Once the screws are removed and the tabs unlocked, the grille is free to swing up and out. Lay down the grille off to the side with the dust cover.

Step 3: Remove the Headlight Assembly

The part we've all been waiting for! There are three hex screws holding the headlight assembly. Two are on top and easily visible, the third is tucked away behind the side bumper. You will need to pull back the wheel well liner to reach it. The screws should all be the same size socket as the previous screws on the grille (thank you, Chevy). Once you remove all three headlight screws, shimmy that bad boy outta there and disconnect the wire harness. We will re-use the wire harness in our new headlights.

Step 4: Splicing in the LEDs

The new Spyder headlights came with some cool LED halos and lights that need to be spliced into the wiring harness. This was the trickiest part to figure out from online research, so here's the low-down:

We want to splice the LEDs into our DRLs (daytime running lights). On this model, that is the brown wire (positive) and black wire (negative) on our original headlight harness. Note that there are two black wires, I spliced into the one that does NOT go to the high beams.

All Spyder headlights use colored wires for positive polarity and black wires for negative. On this model, the LED strips had two red wires and the LED halos had one white wire.

Use the wire stripper to cut the brown and black wires on the harness. Strip off a tip of the wire jacket with the stripping tool. Splice all colored wires (both ends of the brown, the white and 2 red wires) with the twist-on connectors. Secure them down with electrical tape to create a water tight jacket around the wires. Do the same with all of the black wires.

Step 5: HID Bulb Installation

One last thing: we gotta install the HID bulbs. Popping off the rubber cap on the low-beams, you'll find the bulb socket. To remove the bulb, push down and out on the thumb tab. Make sure not to touch the bulb with your fingers, the oil from your hands will cause the bulb to burn out sooner.

Once you insert the new HID bulb into the socket and secure it down with the tab, we will need to wire it to the ballast. Pull the rubber cap back on the wires and connect the ballast wires to the bulb. Fold the wires over and pull the rubber cap back down. There will be a small gap in the rubber cap where the wires hang out, so try and position the gap toward the under side of the headlight to block water from draining into the opening. You can wrap electrical tape around here to ensure water does not leak inside.

Step 6: Done!

Re-assemble the truck, take a step back and enjoy the new 'eyes' on your ride! Please comment with any questions you may have and I will try to help. I wanted to make this instructable because I was unable to find a guide on how to do this myself. I hope this is a one-stop-shop for you so that no one else has to go around and piece information together as well.