Probably, you’ve heard something about the bulb holders or spacers. In this article we would like to give you a better understanding of their types.

You can face the issue when upgrading high or low beams to HIDs and LEDs which are of H1 or H7 sizes on BMW, Honda, Ford or Volkswagen. In most of cases, these bulb sizes require holders (adapters) or sockets which mount to the vehicle. This accessory can be needed for the housing with a spring clip and twist-style base. In general, there may be two sorts of issues: the first is that the new bulb cannot be fixed in the housing and the other one is an inability to connect the bulb OEM plug to the headlight of your vehicle.

The first thing you may try is an installation of the HID lights without additional accessories. This may work for the housings which have a spring clip for a bulb and the light does not go deep into the housing when being installed and secured.

Here is an example of 2013 BMW X1 headlight housing. You can see that the adaptors are not used for the OEM H7 bulbs.

Have a look at the Mazda’s 3 headlight bulb. Possible feature of the holders is that they may come with the socket inside. Sometimes there is no way to take the construction apart so you will have to install the new lights with the aftermarket adapters though they look similar to the factory ones.

Paying attention to the next possible course of events, we would like to mention that there are bulbs which come with the socket and holders used to lock the construction in its place by twisting. As an example, we are illustrating 2012 Golf’s 6 headlight bulb. The metal holder can be taken off the socket. It can be used with the HID lights, though, modifications may be needed.

The other possible things which may happen is that the OEM adapter will not fit the Xenon lights at all and you will not be able to install the bulbs without new holders. You can notice that the adapter is wider than the bulb base itself looking at the following picture (2005 BMW 325i). Plastic latches lock the construction in the housing.

Here is another example of factory bulb base with for the Volkswagen MK5. The OEM bulb connects to the power source with the help of bulb holder and two leads which are inbuilt into it.

To make the HID kit fit this headlight type, the bulb holder with two the additional wires are needed.

Now let’s come to the H1 bulb size. This size has the same peculiarities as the H7.

The housing may come with a clip which locks the bulb in its place, like in this case with 1999 Jaguar X Type so the bulb can be installed without additional holders.

H1 housing with the clip may hold the adapter which secures the bulb in its place. As an example, we are using Honda Odyssey headlight and OEM adapter. Sometimes, it can be taken apart so you can try and use the factory holder with the Xenon light bulb. Though, modifications may be needed. In case you would like not to hassle with this, you can choose the aftermarket holder.

For some vehicles the aftermarket holders with the clips may be needed:

LED and HID bulbs differ in size and construction. Today a lot of HID bulb holders can be found on the market. But as for the LED, there are very few manufacturers who can offer you a real solution for the installation problem.

Unfortunately, for now we do not sell any type of H1 holders and those which may fit the LED bulbs. They can be found in the car shop or online.

As for the H7 HID bulbs, you can find a sort of universal adapters which may help you with the installation of the Xenon lights on our website.

The bulb holders are required to lock the bulb in its place and in case the adapter comes with a socket, connect it to the circuit. We are drawing your attention to the fact that the H1 and H7 sizes may require professional installation since hard wiring job may be needed.