After I built the HID headlights for my boat a couple of weeks ago, I got working on trying to build an HID handheld spotlight for use on my boat as well. This turned out to be a lot easier than the headlights I built since the housing I used required no modification. I'm also willing to bet that the majority of the housings we already own won't require any modifications as well as long as they look similar to the one I used.

When choosing an acceptable housing, I looked for two things. One was that the housing was big enough for the HID ballast to fit in and the other was that it used an H3 style light bulb as well. One thing you need to look out for are the lights made by Optronix, I found out that these have a storage compartment in the rear for the cord that will require modification if you are planning on using one. Brinkmann also has these lights that the bulb and glass housing are one piece so they won't work.

Luckily I found one at Dick's Sporting Goods today that was on sale for $9 and it worked perfectly. So below are the steps I took to turn this handheld from a Halogen to an HID.

1. Remove the screws from the side of the housing and open it up carefully. Make sure to not lose the spring in the trigger and on this particular light there was a rubber ring around the front of the housing that needed to be pulled off for the two halves to come apart.



2. Secondly unplug the light bulb from the wiring coming off the trigger and just unscrew the ground wire that's connected to the rear of the reflector. You may need to cut it depending on how the light you use is set up.



3. Now cut off the current connectors on the wiring located inside the housing and strip the ends of these wires. Now do the same for the power wires on the HID ballast and splice the two together. I used butt connectors but you can use any type you want.



4. Then go ahead and install the HID light bulb in the reflector making sure NOT TO TOUCH THE BULB! Every light is different but on the one I used, there was a small wire going over the back of the bulb that needed to be removed to take out the halogen bulb. I just used the same wire to secure the HID and it worked good.





5. Using the double sided tape provide with the HID kit, place a piece on the back of the housing and press the ballast up against it. This will keep the ballast from moving around and keep things secure inside the light. Be sure to dry fit everything before placing the tape so the housing will close properly.



6. Finally install all the components back in the light and carefully accommodate the wiring so that it doesn't interfere with any of the holes were the screws go in. Also, if you took out the trigger while doing all of this, now is the time to put it back and make sure it's installed properly. Then put back all of the screws and you're done. It took me about 10 minutes from start to finish.






All of the HID handhelds that I've seen boast somewhere around 15,000,000 candlepower which I really doubt but it's still a big improvement over a 1,000,000 candlepower halogen. One thing I forgot to mention is that I don't think this will work with rechargeable handhelds because of the reduced space in the housing.

another good one

Good job man, I was planning on doing one of mine the same way.

Thanks guys, I just tried this light out at night and it's good for about 300 yards or so. It's a lot brighter than the one I have on the boat now that's supposed to be a 3,000,000 candle power.

you my friend are an HID madman! keep up the good work man.

I like your ideas on these lights. Thanks.