Quad Bi-xenon retrofit? woot woot!!!

[NinjuhhNutz]

You already have yours open, just DIY the clear corners.

lol...yea, about that. I'll try again tomorrow. If I had hair, I'd have pulled it out by now. Can't tell you how many pieces I've cracked/melted trying to make them This is the first thing of this nature I've tried and can't quite get the hang of

 

[Sparky]

Remove amber piece, spray paint the plastic a silver color.... profit?

Don't really know how to form a new piece.

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

Remove amber piece, spray paint the plastic a silver color.... profit?

Don't really know how to form a new piece.

hahahaha

I'll try to take my time tomorrow, and slowly get them done.

 

[Blckshdw]

You know, it might be the light diffuser material itself that's causing your issues. I used the cheapest stuff I could find, which was a bit more flimsy than the more pricey ones. It formed pretty close to the shape of the amber lenses fairly easily right away. Set my heat gun on low (750 degrees) and kept it moving as evenly as I could. When I stopped, it would melt through, or give me air bubbles, so I learned quick... :banghead:

I developed cracks in mine, when I tried to cut the pattern in the molded pieces too close to spec. I had to give a bit of a margin all the way around, and then use a sanding drum to trim it down to size. Since it was so hot, it really melted the excess off, so no cracks. Hope that helps some.

 

[Blckshdw]

...go really slow when you're going to work with the dremel for the projector in the high beam spot, I took off a bit more than I should have and had to improvise

... requires a lot of extra trimming and fitting in the high beam bucket, etc etc...

I wasn't entirely sure what you guys meant by this until tonight. Looking at Chris' pics, your Morimotos are different than mine. Mine have larger bases for the lens, and big ass mounting points for screws that sit on the floor of the high beam spot. It makes the cutoff way too high compared to the low beam one, and cocked to the side slightly. In the morning, I'm gonna try to trim the upper rim of the opening so I can raise the rear of the projector some to bring it down. Hopefully just a little bit will be all I'll need and can also get some clearance for those mounts so I can rotate it.

Why do I have this sinking feeling, that when I try to test fit these on the truck to align both headlights to one another, the cutoff lines between the high and low beams on each side won't be far off, but the cutoff lines between the driver and passenger side will be at a slight angle to each other. That's how my luck works!

 

[ConeKilrAutoX]

cant wait to see the finished product! this looks awesome so far :thumbup:

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

Your projectors are bigger? Or the base of them? Grrrrr did I get ripped off? Lmao
I emailed the guys at TRFS abt getting the rest of the ish for my install, should be arriving by next friday, and be done and installed by the invest after next. (would be sooner but this horrific schedule they have us working now pretty much kills anything I have planned)

And yea, I think all 3 of us that are working on these right now are anxious to get them done

 

[Blckshdw]

Your projectors are bigger? Or the base of them? Grrrrr did I get ripped off? Lmao

The mounting base for the lens on mine appears to be bigger. Look at the bottom of yours, vs the bottom of mine. The place where the lower screws are on yours are much tighter to the lens, mine are more spaced out and giving me fitment issues in the high beam area. You might not be able to tell, but the 2 lower screw mounts on mine, are resting on the floor of the high beam reflector right now. But hey, at least that way there's extra support, and no worries about the weight on the back of the reflector right?

And yea, I think all 3 of us that are working on these right now are anxious to get them done

Hell yeah, and I JUST started mine!!

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

Ahhhhh, gotcha. Idk, thats weird! You have the d2s right? I didn't think there ws a diff between h1 n d2s other than bulb base?

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

You know, it might be the light diffuser material itself that's causing your issues. I used the cheapest stuff I could find, which was a bit more flimsy than the more pricey ones. It formed pretty close to the shape of the amber lenses fairly easily right away. Set my heat gun on low (750 degrees) and kept it moving as evenly as I could. When I stopped, it would melt through, or give me air bubbles, so I learned quick... :banghead:

I developed cracks in mine, when I tried to cut the pattern in the molded pieces too close to spec. I had to give a bit of a margin all the way around, and then use a sanding drum to trim it down to size. Since it was so hot, it really melted the excess off, so no cracks. Hope that helps some.

idk how I missed this...lol
I hit up smitty about getting a set of his, but no reply
will scoop up a piece on wednesday, as I'm beyond broke until payday
see how the cheap-o ish works. The stuff I was working with was pretty high quality, as it came from the excess pieces of the stuff the design crew used when they re-done the entire front of the house at work (I'm a chef at Outback Steakhouse) so that might be part of the issue...that stuff was pretty rigid

I wasn't entirely sure what you guys meant by this until tonight. Looking at Chris' pics, your Morimotos are different than mine. Mine have larger bases for the lens, and big ass mounting points for screws that sit on the floor of the high beam spot. It makes the cutoff way too high compared to the low beam one, and cocked to the side slightly. In the morning, I'm gonna try to trim the upper rim of the opening so I can raise the rear of the projector some to bring it down. Hopefully just a little bit will be all I'll need and can also get some clearance for those mounts so I can rotate it.

Why do I have this sinking feeling, that when I try to test fit these on the truck to align both headlights to one another, the cutoff lines between the high and low beams on each side won't be far off, but the cutoff lines between the driver and passenger side will be at a slight angle to each other. That's how my luck works!

your truck has a lazy eye? don't worry, mine has a drinking problem, everytime I look, she's on E again

 

[Blckshdw]

Ahhhhh, gotcha. Idk, thats weird! You have the d2s right? I didn't think there ws a diff between h1 n d2s other than bulb base?

Yep, running the D2s ones, maybe between when you bought yours, and I bought mine, the design changed slightly? Either way, raising the upper rim of the hole through the reflector bowl did the trick to at least let me align the beams to each other by giving a small nudge here and there. Gonna have to figure out a way to get some RTV in there to really lock these things in after I test fit them in the truck. I'm sure just one hard bump will be all it takes to dislodge them if the access holes aren't cut perfectly the first time.

idk how I missed this...lol
I hit up smitty about getting a set of his, but no reply
will scoop up a piece on wednesday, as I'm beyond broke until payday
see how the cheap-o ish works. The stuff I was working with was pretty high quality, as it came from the excess pieces of the stuff the design crew used when they re-done the entire front of the house at work (I'm a chef at Outback Steakhouse) so that might be part of the issue...that stuff was pretty rigid

Smitty still owes me and JimmyJam a set of those from forever ago...

The cheap stuff should play much nicer for forming, so you should have better luck getting a set cranked out.

Now this outback thing, does that mean you're gonna cook steaks for everybody when you come down here for our meet?

 

[smitty5150]

That is sex. Yeah, I owe you guys lenses. The factory repros are getting close. Oh yeah, I'm back.

 

[Blckshdw]

That is sex. Yeah, I owe you guys lenses. The factory repros are getting close. Oh yeah, I'm back.

The route I'm wanting to go, the turn signals are getting make overs, so I won't need them. Although if my fancy ideas keep blowing up in my face, I may say "to hell with it" and go back to pre-fabbed LED bulbs.

Next weekend, test fitting/aligning them in the truck and hope I can get enough RTV to the bases to hold them in place. Looking like I can get the tops, and outside edges directly. Might have to manipulate some with a stick to get the other sections....

Smitty you got any advice for securing the Morimotos so they don't shift due to bumps/vibration?

 

[ConeKilrAutoX]

WOW that looks AWESOME! nice work. that is going to look badass when its all done

 

[Blckshdw]

WOW that looks AWESOME! nice work. that is going to look badass when its all done

Thanks man, but this was the easy part!! Still got a long ways to go.

 

[ConeKilrAutoX]

Thanks man, but this was the easy part!! Still got a long ways to go.

True but that is going to look badass when its done. Love projectors and that output you have looks perfect. good color temp too. For your cutoff plate activation, did you just run the (+) signal wires to the original highbeam (+) ?

 

[Blckshdw]

True but that is going to look badass when its done. Love projectors and that output you have looks perfect. good color temp too. For your cutoff plate activation, did you just run the (+) signal wires to the original highbeam (+) ?

Yeah, they came with empty 9006 sockets, so I got a couple of high beam splitters 9005 to dual 9006, so that part will be plug and play. Time to start checking prices for parts to build that vacuum table. (where's the broke wallet smiley when you need one?)

 

[ConeKilrAutoX]

Yeah, they came with empty 9006 sockets, so I got a couple of high beam splitters 9005 to dual 9006, so that part will be plug and play. Time to start checking prices for parts to build that vacuum table. (where's the broke wallet smiley when you need one?)

wow nice that saves you some time! and haha I would have that smiley as my signature for the forum

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

Now this outback thing, does that mean you're gonna cook steaks for everybody when you come down here for our meet?

Haha dude it'd be my pleasure. I don't suppose it would hurt to mention I can get premium cut 14oz ribeyes for $3 a pop? Haha as long as I order them a few days before, anyone who wants one, I can get it I can see my back seat being packed with coolers now

 

[smitty5150]

The route I'm wanting to go, the turn signals are getting make overs, so I won't need them. Although if my fancy ideas keep blowing up in my face, I may say "to hell with it" and go back to pre-fabbed LED bulbs.

Next weekend, test fitting/aligning them in the truck and hope I can get enough RTV to the bases to hold them in place. Looking like I can get the tops, and outside edges directly. Might have to manipulate some with a stick to get the other sections....

Smitty you got any advice for securing the Morimotos so they don't shift due to bumps/vibration?

Lots of epoxy. Curious, how did you cut up the back of the reflectors to fit those in? I've been leaving the perimeter of the bulb retaining rings intact and filling with epoxy to hold everything.

If you need any help just ask. Believe it or not, the hard part is over.

 

[Blckshdw]

Lots of epoxy. Curious, how did you cut up the back of the reflectors to fit those in? I've been leaving the perimeter of the bulb retaining rings intact and filling with epoxy to hold everything.

If you need any help just ask. Believe it or not, the hard part is over.

I ground down the back of the reflectors, almost flush like Chris did on his, so not much space to fill with epoxy. If I had really thought about it, I would have only ground down grooves for that locking ring's tabs, with enough wiggle room to make the necessary adjustments. Then your method would have been perfect. (I guess now I know for the next retrofit )

Since my projectors shift slightly when I move the whole assembly, I was planning to epoxy them while on the truck, let that firm up for an hour or so, before taking them out again. I supposed I can get some epoxy around the shaft and under that lock ring if I remove my air box and battery cover.

As far as the hard part, if I wasn't obsessed with LEDs, then yeah, the hard part would be over. But I am the first to admit, I have a problem... And that's the first step to recovery... :wootwoot:

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

I ground down the back of the reflectors, almost flush like Chris did on his, so not much space to fill with epoxy. If I had really thought about it, I would have only ground down grooves for that locking ring's tabs, with enough wiggle room to make the necessary adjustments. Then your method would have been perfect. (I guess now I know for the next retrofit )

Since my projectors shift slightly when I move the whole assembly, I was planning to epoxy them while on the truck, let that firm up for an hour or so, before taking them out again. I supposed I can get some epoxy around the shaft and under that lock ring if I remove my air box and battery cover.

As far as the hard part, if I wasn't obsessed with LEDs, then yeah, the hard part would be over. But I am the first to admit, I have a problem... And that's the first step to recovery... :wootwoot:

yea, the hard parts are what make the project worth it snf it'll be over soon, lol no worries

 

[smitty5150]

I ground down the back of the reflectors, almost flush like Chris did on his, so not much space to fill with epoxy. If I had really thought about it, I would have only ground down grooves for that locking ring's tabs, with enough wiggle room to make the necessary adjustments. Then your method would have been perfect. (I guess now I know for the next retrofit )

Since my projectors shift slightly when I move the whole assembly, I was planning to epoxy them while on the truck, let that firm up for an hour or so, before taking them out again. I supposed I can get some epoxy around the shaft and under that lock ring if I remove my air box and battery cover.

As far as the hard part, if I wasn't obsessed with LEDs, then yeah, the hard part would be over. But I am the first to admit, I have a problem... And that's the first step to recovery... :wootwoot:

You can still build up enough epoxy. Don't forget that the lights are adjustable once they are assembled. The only two things you look out for are that they are centered and level in the reflector....the lights should do the rest. If you put them on the truck to line up the cutoff, use a Sharpie to mark a line on the back of the reflector and on the adapter plates for the projectors. As long as those lines match up in the end, your cutoff will be flawless. I wouldn't use rtv for anything other than maybe insulating or filling holes. Its a good sealant but nowhere near structural. I got my first local customer a few weeks ago. I had to repair his hack of a retrofit. He used the high temp rtv and it all rattled loose. Once I replaced that with jb weld, nothing went anywhere it wasn't supposed to.

I hear you on the led obsession. I am getting geared up for my new build. Gonna be simple, but leds everywhere! What are you going to do for the corners? I did a blackout on a set with paint/clear/wetsand/polish and they looked great. With the switchback led strip retrofitted into the parking lamp it was balls awesome. BTW I am also working to make a PnP Led strip that will plug into the stock 3157 socket to keep all the factory wiring intact.

 

[Blckshdw]

You can still build up enough epoxy. Don't forget that the lights are adjustable once they are assembled. The only two things you look out for are that they are centered and level in the reflector....the lights should do the rest. If you put them on the truck to line up the cutoff, use a Sharpie to mark a line on the back of the reflector and on the adapter plates for the projectors. As long as those lines match up in the end, your cutoff will be flawless. I wouldn't use rtv for anything other than maybe insulating or filling holes. Its a good sealant but nowhere near structural. I got my first local customer a few weeks ago. I had to repair his hack of a retrofit. He used the high temp rtv and it all rattled loose. Once I replaced that with jb weld, nothing went anywhere it wasn't supposed to.

I hear you on the led obsession. I am getting geared up for my new build. Gonna be simple, but leds everywhere! What are you going to do for the corners? I did a blackout on a set with paint/clear/wetsand/polish and they looked great. With the switchback led strip retrofitted into the parking lamp it was balls awesome. BTW I am also working to make a PnP Led strip that will plug into the stock 3157 socket to keep all the factory wiring intact.

Yeah the leveling part is my main concern at this point. I figured getting them close, inside the house would be OK, but would need to do the real alignment on the truck since I didn't think the headlights are mounted exactly level. That's a good tip on the sharpie trick, never woulda thought of that, without doing a few of these first.

For the corners, and lower turn signal, I was going to try to get into the SMD game. Wire up some RGBs, using those LED drivers to eliminate resistors, setup a monostable time delay circuit to a relay and make my own switchbacks. Those would be recessed, and then make a clear cover that would get Niteshaded. BUT, the LED drivers don't play nice with the RGBs as I found out last week, and the handful of schematics for the monostable delay circuit don't quite work right. So at this point I don't even know what I'm gonna do there. I suppose I could get some prefabbed switchback strips, but that's not as sexy.

You might be able to chime in on something Chris and I were going back and forth about earlier. I know you've done LED backlighting in the projectors, have you experienced any issues with the LEDs due to the heat output in there? I know he's using a prewired SMD in his. I've got bags of 5mm ones, so I was going to use some of those, probably on the sides, angled into the lens. Anything we should look out for?

 

[smitty5150]

I have a head full of ideas when it comes to led lights. I've been using the prefab strips for the parking lamps, but I have been toying with the idea of building my own and drilling them into the reflector for a much more stealth look. I found a hollow 3157 base the could be used to terminate the leads in the correct printout. If I am thinking about it correctly I could either incorporate resistors in the light or just get clip on module for the stock harness.

As for the heat issues with leds? I wouldn't worry too much. Just place them carefully, they light up well. I'm going to do demon eyes for the new ride, I can get a set up red led that mounts to the projector right inside the lens. That an a few other tricks I have planned are going to give a purely sinister front end presence. I've gotten really good at the mod thing since I've pretty much been gone for a year.

 

[Sparky]

To get my high beam projector's shroud on I had to oval out the bulb hole in the back of the reflector to raise the high beam projector upward. I do have older mini H1 projectors though so that might be part of it. I'm also only using them for additional high beam light, so if they point upwards a bit I'm not too worried. The low beam bucket projectors are the primary ones that I actually care about being lined up.

 

[Grey Thunder]

Hey Smitty, where are you at on my retrofit? Im getting antsy to see them! The clouded factory headlights are driving me bonkers. Let me know!

 

[smitty5150]

I'll pm you some updates. I hit a couple speed bumps with a set that was taken ahead of yours. Running a marathon catch up week starting today, so I can take some more orders and get some work done on my new ride.

 

[Grey Thunder]

Ok that'll work!

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

About this demon eye thing...lol got pics of what you're talking about? Pretty itch anything us better than my ghetto engineered demon eyes but they work, sooooo yea...

Lots of epoxy. Curious, how did you cut up the back of the reflectors to fit those in? I've been leaving the perimeter of the bulb retaining rings intact and filling with epoxy to hold everything.

If you need any help just ask. Believe it or not, the hard part is over.

I was wondering about this part too...so just plaster it everywhere I can get it that it won't be seen? Lol
when I get them I'm, I feel like I'm gonna gave a reoccurring nightmare about the bowl breaking again, or a projector moving, or the selenoid sticking etc... No bueno
P.s. Guys forgive my typing lately, phone screen is shattered to hell n I can't really see it that well

 

[smitty5150]

Nope....no crazy tricks. Just epoxy enpughbto hold them. Make sure that you seat the reflector properly on the adjustment joints, or they will pop off and you'll have to open the light again.

 

[BO TIE SS]

But I am the first to admit, I have a problem... And that's the first step to recovery... :wootwoot:

Like most of us around here, you'll never reach the second step...

Spoiler

the desire to recover.

 

[Blckshdw]

Well, looks like there will be more plastic carnage to come with this. I figured I was gonna have to do some trimming due to the projector in the high beam spot, and when I did a test fit of the projectors in the reflector, with the bezel covering them it was really close without the shrouds.

Popped those out and wanted to see what kinda clearance I had with the shrouds and reflector bowl, turns out the wide shrouds I chose for the low beams won't fit without some trimming on the bottoms.

If I lift the projector to fit the low beam shroud in, the shaft is at such an angle that you can't screw the locking ring on the back
Besides, it would be aimed right into oncoming drivers' faces

Down at the proper angle, you can see the bottom of this is gonna have to get cut off in order to work. The good news is, I need to get the low beam aimed slightly higher to match where I've got the high beam one, so if I get the bottom of the shroud trimmed right, I can use that as a brace to keep it where I need it, when I apply the epoxy to lock it down.

I know my bezel is gonna have to get some work done, hopefully I can minimize how much cutting and grinding will be necessary...

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

I saw carnage, n thought you broke something else...lol
Yea, mine needed a bit orf trimming, and I ordered the last of the parts last night, SO my next day off will be working on the lights and hopefully the framework for the bottom of my sub box
13hr shifts the next 2 days, sooooo no time for tb projects :sadface:

 

[Blckshdw]

Looks like I'm gonna have to get creative with the high beam area too. Those shrouds are too big to fit behind the bezels as well, as far as they stick out. Just have to remember, trim little by little ,and not take too much off at once. Hopefully I can get them aligned permanently in the reflector bowls tomorrow, and have that part out of the way.

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

Do your shrouds use the concentic rings to secure them? Or screws like mine? If it's the rings, you lucked up...if not, well...cut them, drill a hole, and tap the hole n use bolts...really wouldn't be all that much work.

 

[Blckshdw]

My shrouds use rings to hold them onto the projectors, but they are just going to be placeholders, to give the 1 piece shroud some definition and structure. The dimensions in relation to the top and bottom edges of the reflector bowl, are too big for each of them, so they will have to get trimmed down regardless.

At least the high beam ones stick out far enough that I can still mount the projectors for aiming purposes on the truck. But on the other hand, they interfere with the bezel a lot! The low beam ones I can't even mount without trimming first, so that's gonna be a delay. But at least with those, they won't cause issues with the bezel.

From the front, you can see the top of the bezel can be notched to clear the shroud. The bottom, I'll have to trim the bottom of the shroud, but not too much, because I still have to leave room to mount my halo. The bottom part of the bezel will probably have to get notched too so it can be seated. :banghead:

From the side, you can see just how badly they're all playing together right now.

Who's idea was this stupid mod in the first place! This is SO much work!!

 

[smitty5150]

That's to be expected. Just cut what you need to and lightly sand the edges. Also, use a care balance of cutting the shrouds and reflector bowls to seat everything nicely. It is like building a custom puzzle, and everything needs to fit just right.

 

[Sparky]

That's one reason I went with the mini H1 and the mini gatling shrouds. No cutting needed on the low beam and only some relatively minor cutting needed on the high beam's shroud and bezel.

 

[NinjuhhNutz]

I guess it's all worth it in the end...but damn if it doesn't auck until they're in. lol
Btw, smitty, pm me the 411 to get the clear corners? I gave up on them lol