Members projector retrofits
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Blckshdw
Moderator
Finally got them finished. I would have wished the lights were about .3"-.5" bigger and I could have gotten a 4.5" version but those did not come with mounting and adjustments. Ended up having to paint the Iris shrouds and chose piano black. I would have preferred then chrome but I messed them up when clear coating. Maybe later I order a new set sometime in the future. It's hard to really make out the shrouds in pics.
Blckshdw
Moderator
Nice job man, that's one good looking truck!
Thanks. I need to put back on my 20s, but it's been raining all week. Finally got some sun today.
Better pics with her cleaned up and wheels back on.
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Will try to upload more pictures later as the internet is acting up. The retrofit is 90% completed, just need to finish the alignment of the projectors and seal them up. Will post a cutoff pic which I need you guys to help me with.
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Blckshdw
Moderator
That's a good start so far. I agree with @dna59, since your projectors aren't sealed, if you don't use a shroud you're going to have all the light that bleeds out from around the projector lens bouncing around off the reflector bowl and go in many directions besides where it's supposed to. Granted the haze will block some of it... 
Are you going to polish up those lenses before you seal it back up? That will improve the light output quite a bit, and allow for a more clear view of those LED strips you're putting in.
Are you going to polish up those lenses before you seal it back up? That will improve the light output quite a bit, and allow for a more clear view of those LED strips you're putting in.
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
The one that came with the projectors was too big and don't fit properly and didn't look really good
That's a good start so far. I agree with @dna59, since your projectors aren't sealed, if you don't use a shroud you're going to have all the light that bleeds out from around the projector lens bouncing around off the reflector bowl and go in many directions besides where it's supposed to. Granted the haze will block some of it...
Are you going to polish up those lenses before you seal it back up? That will improve the light output quite a bit, and allow for a more clear view of those LED strips you're putting in.
Oh yeah I have seen the light bleed from the sides. What I plan to do is get a sheet of aluminum, cut it to required size and fold around the openings in the projectors to form a nice cylinder
Yeah the lens are really bad. I will polish them before I seal everything up
Let me know what the cutoff looks like
Also think the driver side projector is a bit lower than the passenger side one. So I might have to align them. For now I have put the grill back on. Keeps the lens from falling every time I drive. Might have to travel so wont be able to put in much until I get back in about 2 weeks time.
And now I am thinking about doing something to the fogs!! It just doesn't STOP !!!!!
Stay tuned for some night shots coming later in the evening
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Sparky
Member
- Dec 4, 2011
- 12,927
I think those lenses are really screwing with your light because there isn't really a cutoff there. How's it look without the lenses?
Blckshdw
Moderator
I hope all that light bleed is a result of not having a shroud on there. That output is not good at all. Can you share a pic of the shrouds that came with them? If they are anything like the tons of choices we have here, they are plastic with a chrome finish. You can put a sanding drum on the rotary tool you used to cut open the headlights, and shave down the shroud to the shape that will fit comfortably inside the reflector bowl and behind the bezel.
I'd say take an output shot without the lens on it. That way can rule out if the lens is messing with it and to what degree. I can't make out anything remotely close to a cutoff in that pic. I'm assuming the projector is oriented correctly. Even without a shroud I don't think it should be that bad.
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Could be. But I'm quite certain it's due to having no shroud on
Will post some pics later. It's just that I don't like the way they look more so than the size. Just a personal preference.
Will try to get one but will be a bit difficult as I'm preparing to travel. Hopefully when I'm back I can pit more work on them. From what I'm seeing, it's the gaps on the projectors since there's no shroud where light is bleeding out which is getting reflected by the original reflector housing of the headlights and just creating havok
As promised night shots :
Sparky
Member
- Dec 4, 2011
- 12,927
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
These are the shrouds I got with the projectors. Not really a fan of the way it looks
What I was thinking was making a cylinder of the same size from a sheet of aluminum to cover the gap
What I was thinking was making a cylinder of the same size from a sheet of aluminum to cover the gap
Blckshdw
Moderator
Those are a very similar style to the ones I use in my low beam buckets for my 2 retrofits. Mine don't have the flat bottom, so I had a lot of trimming to do there. Also the top and bottom sections on mine are textured, not smooth like that one.
I don't know what shipping costs look like, but you should be able to find 2.5" projector shrouds similar to your proposed design on sites like aliexpress.com, which will snap on as a direct fit. You can also use 3" shrouds, with shroud mounting rings. Otherwise you'll have to come up with a way to secure your fabricated shrouds to the projector, and make sure they don't get shaken loose by road vibrations.
Trust me when I say, once you get your retrofit done, you won't want to open the headlights again if you can help it.
I don't know what shipping costs look like, but you should be able to find 2.5" projector shrouds similar to your proposed design on sites like aliexpress.com, which will snap on as a direct fit. You can also use 3" shrouds, with shroud mounting rings. Otherwise you'll have to come up with a way to secure your fabricated shrouds to the projector, and make sure they don't get shaken loose by road vibrations.
Trust me when I say, once you get your retrofit done, you won't want to open the headlights again if you can help it.
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Those are a very similar style to the ones I use in my low beam buckets for my 2 retrofits. Mine don't have the flat bottom, so I had a lot of trimming to do there. Also the top and bottom sections on mine are textured, not smooth like that one.
I don't know what shipping costs look like, but you should be able to find 2.5" projector shrouds similar to your proposed design on sites like aliexpress.com, which will snap on as a direct fit. You can also use 3" shrouds, with shroud mounting rings. Otherwise you'll have to come up with a way to secure your fabricated shrouds to the projector, and make sure they don't get shaken loose by road vibrations.
Trust me when I say, once you get your retrofit done, you won't want to open the headlights again if you can help it.
Will check out some different shrouds soon and get back.I was thinking about fabricating the same snap on connectors which the shroud has so as to allow my cylinder tube to fit into the grooves of the projectors. I don't want to have to open them up again either as soon as I get a cut off I'm happy with I'll be sealing them up
aaronbtb
Member
- May 16, 2015
- 82
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Well put my projectors back into the TB. This is the output im getting :
The passenger side seems to be a tad higher than the drivers side includong the highbeam. Any advice on the output. Im not really sure if thats how its supposed to come out. The output though is waaay better than before, just the cutoff seems wonky
The passenger side seems to be a tad higher than the drivers side includong the highbeam. Any advice on the output. Im not really sure if thats how its supposed to come out. The output though is waaay better than before, just the cutoff seems wonky
xavierny25
Member
Your way to close to that wall for use to even have a clue as to what your cut off line looks like.
The best cut off line I've gotten with that type of retro fit is this.
Editing... stand by....
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djthumper
Administrator
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Sparky
Member
- Dec 4, 2011
- 12,927
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Blckshdw
Moderator
I think you have some adjustments to make, so you can improve that output. First off, from about 20 feet away from the wall you're using to align the beams, the step in the cutoff line (and the hot spot) should be 2 inches lower than the projector height on your truck if you're parked on a level surface. The beams should never go up, and it looks like yours are doing that, especially on the passenger side. Biggest problem is, you're going to blind other drivers, 2nd biggest problem is your light isn't hitting the road at distance where you need it.
I'm assuming all of those pics are with the projectors in low beam mode correct? If that's the case, you may need to adjust how the bulbs are seated in the projectors, as you don't have a well defined cutoff line, with the bright hot spot on it. Here's a shot from when I first tested out my RX350s, with their OEM frosted lens, but aftermarket bulbs before I modified them with clear lenses.
Depending on any variation in the angle of the bulb, you can move the hot spot up/down. This will also (un)focus your cutoff line. You should open the bulb clip on one projector, and disconnect the bulb from the other side. Fire up the headlights, and tilt the bulb up/down, and see how the output changes. After you figure out what gives you a better cutoff line, you can shim the bulb so that it stays in that position when the clips are closed.
Having a clean cutoff line will let you better tune in the rotation so the lines are horizontal, and line them up with each other. :two cents:
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
First off, from about 20 feet away from the wall you're using to align the beams, the step in the cutoff line (and the hot spot) should be 2 inches lower than the projector height on your truck if you're parked on a level surface. The beams should never go up, and it looks like yours are doing that, especially on the passenger side. Biggest problem is, you're going to blind other drivers, 2nd biggest problem is your light isn't hitting the road at distance where you need it.
I'm assuming all of those pics are with the projectors in low beam mode correct? If that's the case, you may need to adjust how the bulbs are seated in the projectors, as you don't have a well defined cutoff line, with the bright hot spot on it. Here's a shot from when I first tested out my RX350s, with their OEM frosted lens, but aftermarket bulbs before I modified them with clear lenses.
View attachment 84734
Depending on any variation in the angle of the bulb, you can move the hot spot up/down. This will also (un)focus your cutoff line. You should open the bulb clip on one projector, and disconnect the bulb from the other side. Fire up the headlights, and tilt the bulb up/down, and see how the output changes. After you figure out what gives you a better cutoff line, you can shim the bulb so that it stays in that position when the clips are closed.
Having a clean cutoff line will let you better tune in the rotation so the lines are horizontal, and line them up with each other. :two cents:
I agree for the passenger side. Its higher than the drivers side. But it's not just the low beam. The high beam is also a tad higher as seen in my post two posts back!
Blckshdw
Moderator
That's because the passenger side isn't aimed correctly. You can use the headlight assembly adjustment to aim the whole bucket lower to match the driver's side's height, but as unfocused as your cutoff lines are, it's difficult to tell how good your rotation is.
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
On a side note. There was a mechanism for switching the beam from low to high. I just completely removed it. Could it be that it was there for the low beam and since i removed it the projector is in high beam mode??
Sparky
Member
- Dec 4, 2011
- 12,927
Um, yeah. If you removed that moving shield, you'll never have a cutoff and you're stuck in high beam mode.
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Well there it is
!!!!The reason I removed it was because I thought it was only if you were going to use the bi-beam feature. Well guess its going to go back in
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Yup that's the entire shield assembly which gives the cutoff line and control light output. You should see a big difference.
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Yep, even though its soo bright outside i can already kinda see the difference. Can't wait till it gets dark. And to think i had ripped it all out throw in the garbage
$ Khalid ! 9130
Member
Sparky
Member
- Dec 4, 2011
- 12,927
Much better for sure. Did you put the solenoid back in or just the shield? It looks like you have a little bit of light bleeding through the solenoid mounting holes that you may need to cover up with some foil tape.
