my plan is to paint the black part of the headlight silver, it won't match the silver on the car, but it'll be different from other tc. also thinking of wiring a row of leds in the eyebrow area but not sure if i'm going to tie them to parking or turn signals yet. if i wire them to the turn signals then i'll have to do something about the stock signal light as it'll look funny both blinking. also going to wire a of CCFL halo ring on each side as angel/demon eyes, those will be wired to parking.

i also want to do something to light up the high beam area like the mercedes running lights or city lights. probably use LEDs for that.

Tools Needed:
Phillips Head screw driver
Dremel, or some other brand of rotary tool
Butane torch
Soldering Iron & solder
Wire stripper and crimper

Equipment Needed:
Oven

Parts Needed:
TSX projectors $200
HID ballasts $150
HID D2S bulbs $75
Bezel/Shrouds $5-100 (huge range, depending on what you want to use, its entirely optional since the TSX are fully enclosed)
CCFL halo rings $50 (optional)
spare headlights $282 (you may or may not need spares)
50 LEDs $20 (optional)
wires, relays, screws, bolts, nuts, misc - $50 (probably an inflated estimate)

The bare essentials needed are the projectors, ballasts, and bulbs. I got my set for around $330 shipped. You don't need to buy TSX projectors, you can buy german made Hella or Bosch projectors for around $150 sometimes, or you can buy S2000 projectors for $350 a pair. i feel the TSX is a great compromise in price/performance. And overall, the japanese projectors (all made by Stanley) outperform the german counterparts in beam spread and intensity. you should research the different kinds of projectors available and their prices on www.hidplanet.com/forums

Output Comparison
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02060.JPG
stock 9006 sylvania that came with the car

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02058.JPG
stock unmodified TSX projector with 4100k Osram D2S bulb

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02061.JPG
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02064.JPG
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02066.JPG
modified TSX projector - #8 sized washers were used to create more color at the cutoff line. the basic concept is to increase the distance between the front projector lens and the bowl of the projector to create more color, but at the expense of blurring the cutoff line.

Baking:
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02015.JPG
Here's one virgin headlight


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02017.JPG
There are four (4) screw on the back of the housing, remove them.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02018.JPG
Getting ready to bake headlight. I used 250F for about 15-20 minutes


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02020.JPG
Headlight barely fits inside my oven


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02021.JPG
Slowly and carefully pry the front clear lens apart from the black housing. You'll hear crackling sounds, probably not for the faint of heart


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02022.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02023.JPG
finally, The front lens came off



Preping/Test Fitting:
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02024.JPG
Took the black piece off


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02026.JPG
Orange reflector pops right out, i'll probably paint over it to get rid of the orange


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02025.JPG
Eyebrows held on by a few clips, Remove the eyebrow


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02027.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02028.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02029.JPG
Test fitting the tsx projector


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02030.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02031.JPG
Test fitting some bezels, here's the E46 bi-xenon


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02032.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02033.JPG
Range cover


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02034.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02035.JPG
A4 bezels



Reflector removal
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02039.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02040.JPG
this 8mm bolt needs to be unscrewed all the way out.


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02041.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02042.JPG
these two clips need to come out as well, a needle nose plier comes in handy


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02043.JPG
reflector removed from housing

Masking

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02044.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02045.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02046.JPG
carefully mask off the chrome parts. i used blue painter's tape because its easier to peal off and won't harm the chrome


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02052.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02051.JPG
first coat of high heat primer


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02054.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02055.JPG
here they are after 3 coats and primer with wet sanding between each coat


http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02056.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02057.JPG
first coat of high heat aluminum.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02075.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02076.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02077.JPG
here are some mock ups of the what it'll look like when finished.

Cutting and Mounting

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02047.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02048.JPG
here are just a couple of pictures of the initial steps of mounting the projectors, i used a dremel to cut out the rectangular outline in the reflector. wear a mask and eye protection, you get a sh!tload of white dust when cutting the plastic chrome. you don't want to be breathing in that stuff. with this opening, it looks like i might be able to fit the projector in without the backside extening out much more than the stock setup. As all of you know, there's not much room behind right behind the headlights.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02080.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02081.JPG
after a failed attempt at mounting onto the reflector bowl, i decided to cut out most of the back.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02082.JPG
mounting bracket made from a piece of sheet metal

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02086.JPG
same bracket jb-welded to the reflector

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02083.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02084.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02085.JPG
test mounting the projector

LED eyebrow
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02104.JPG
leds off

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02107.JPG
leds on.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02108.JPG
the eyebrows will be used for turn signal.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02112.JPG
almost finished with the other one. need to clean up the wiring.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02111.JPG
pretty bright. i think its bright enough for turn signals

LED sidemarker
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02119.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02121.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02122.JPG
i used 10 3000 mcd yellow leds on each side.

Remove headlight
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02124.JPG
start by removing bumper, there's a tech article if you don't know how to do that

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02125.JPG
take these 2 bolts off

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02126.JPG
one more on the side, then unclip a plastic piece on the bottle and the headlight comes off

Mounting
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02127.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02128.JPG
projector mounted and aimed, then removed again because i still have to fit the front piece back on

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02132.JPG
this is where i plan to mount the ballast on the passenger side

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02133.JPG
driver side, might be hard to get to when the headlights back on. i have to rethink this side

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02135.JPG
here's a pic of the side marker and eyebrow blinker on


Re-assembled headlights
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02136.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02138.JPG

Retrofit - DONE-
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02139.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02140.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02141.JPG


finally finished. I'll post picture of them on the car tomorrow. this project took up too much of my time but its definately worth it. As you can see, I ended up using the E46 shroud. I think overall the project came out pretty good. I'm happy, but the wife is not because I spent so much time on it. Now after a long time of slacking and a few nights of rush, its finally done, and right on time to enter the August tech article contest.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02143.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02144.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02142.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02129.JPG
here's a cutoff picture from when i was aiming the projectors. the output is not that blue in person since i used 4100k phillips bulbs. I didn't adjust the camera and just took a quick picture. the cutoff, on the otherhand, was full of blue from modding the tsx projectors with 3 washers.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02154s.JPG
daytime pic, everything off

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02155s.JPG
parking lights on

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02158s.JPG
HID on

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02163.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02164.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02165.JPG
eye brow signals. i changed the color on the mirror signal too, might as well.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02166.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02167.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02168.JPG
Doc Isotopes air diversion panel, painted silver to match the headlights.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02169.JPG
a night shot from the driver seat

Capping the back
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02194.JPG
a 3" pipe cap from ACE hardware

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02195.JPG
marked the where the bulb is

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02196.JPG
here i drilled a 1-1/4" hole

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02199.JPG

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02198.JPG
...like a glove...

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02197.JPG
and here it is on the car...i'll wash the car this weekend...likes like it should seal pretty well since it fits in there pretty snug.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! THANKS FOR LOOKING!

Hey Max, where did you get your spare set from, and how much? I was thinking the same thing, just haven't gotten around to that part yet :)

got them from trdsparks

thanks!

sounds like you have yourself a plan... good luck cant wait to see photos!

good job

keep us updated

words cannot explain my jealousy. good luck man!

JEEZ!!

-taek

WoW. See if you can wire in LEDs to light up ur eyebrows as turn signals too.

this is awsome.... im so gonna use this to do my retro fit... when i get around to it.

good luck. I'll be glad to help with online advice...looks great. I think that the best option is the e46 bezel. Thats the one I used.

This is awesome, if you continue at this level of detail, you should have it published as a book. :)

Good job.

By the way, could you maybe put together a shopping list of what you're using and estimated cost, I'm curious how expensive something like this would be. Thanks.

good stuff ....cant wait to see more!!!!

Wonderful visual writeup thus far!

Good luck with your project, and keep up the photos!!

WoW. See if you can wire in LEDs to light up ur eyebrows as turn signals too.\

great idea! you will be making $$$ if u can :D

keep it up man.

Did you wear oven mits when you pryed it off? Make sure to take a bunch of pics and list details so we can put this in the tech section... Ive started cleaning up the posts into one big post... PM me for any help you need with this...

BTW: Your doing a great job...

WoW. See if you can wire in LEDs to light up ur eyebrows as turn signals too.\

great idea! you will be making $$$ if u can :D

my plan is to wire up a row of about 20-25 white leds and put them in the eyebrow. i think they're 16000 mcd leds, should be bright enough.

apparently the black paint on the black piece is painted over a chrome surface. is there any way to remove the paint but leave the chrome? i have paint thinner at home but afraid it'll be too strong and eat thru the chrome as well. i'd like to see how it looks in chrome if possible before painting it aluminum silver like i had originally planned. any ideas are appreciated.

Did you wear oven mits when you pryed it off? Make sure to take a bunch of pics and list details so we can put this in the tech section... Ive started cleaning up the posts into one big post... PM me for any help you need with this...

BTW: Your doing a great job...

updated original post with shopping list. oven mits helped when i removed the cookie sheet from the oven, but were too clumsy to pry the front lens with. just suck it up and use your hands.

minor update on removing the reflector and masking off chrome parts. i'll take the other light apart tomorrow night and start painting the black part silver.

maximus which bezels did you end up going with? i like the a4's but it looks like its a lil too small

Did you wear oven mits when you pryed it off? Make sure to take a bunch of pics and list details so we can put this in the tech section... Ive started cleaning up the posts into one big post... PM me for any help you need with this...

BTW: Your doing a great job...

updated original post with shopping list. oven mits helped when i removed the cookie sheet from the oven, but were too clumsy to pry the front lens with. just suck it up and use your hands.

Thank you sir! That made my job a little easier :P

Like I said feel free to pm me with any help you need...

maximus which bezels did you end up going with? i like the a4's but it looks like its a lil too small

I still haven't decided yet. the E46 fit in there like it was made for the job, but a few other people already have that...the A4 will be different, but it a bit smaller. I was thinking of putting the A4 on top of the range cover, that way it'll cover the gap, but i'm not sure how that'll look yet.

good job man! keep us updated.....

you rule man! keep up the DIY :D

maximus which bezels did you end up going with? i like the a4's but it looks like its a lil too small

here's that i'm thinking doing with the A4 shround - glue it onto the range cover. that way it'll fill the opening of the low beam hole. i'll test it out after i'm done painting the plastic trim.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/maximus96/DSC02049.jpg

oh yea, updated original with some pictures of painting the plastic trim piece

man that might be too much work for me.

but someone should do these up and sell em!

you are awesome!!!

coming along nicely.

man that might be too much work for me.

but someone should do these up and sell em!

its actually not that difficult if you're a DIY type of guy. i've been taking my time, and only spent about half to one hour a night working on it. so far the longest step was painting the trim piece, waiting for it to dry, wet sanding, waiting for that to dry, then painting again, rinse and repeat... i still got 2 more coats of aluminum paint to do. normally i don't bother with primer and wetsanding, but this time i decided to take the extra step.

if you're not a handy person, it might be a little intimidating at the thought of ruining your $300 pair of headlights...

added comparison pics of the stock 9006 bulb and the tsx projector output.

Any more updates? :pray:

been busy the last few days and haven't done much. i did finish painting the trim pieces and orange reflector into silver. i will post some pics tonight. it won't be much of an update tho. i'm still waiting on the LEDs in the mail. and need to get some longer bolts to mount the projector. the 2" that i bought are too short.

ok.. this is the best thread i've ever seen! great step by step pictures!

wow u got skills

wow u got skills

thanks, but so far there's no skill involved. everything just needs to be taken apart. the real skills come when the actual projectors are fitted and mounted. i will be starting to do that this weekend. i try to update with more pictures but i've been real busy the last few days.

what kind of spray paint are you using?

awesome guide... cant wait to see the finished product

that is truthfully awesome!

I can't wait to see this finished.. The white paint might look interesting... =D

Looking good! The updates are great!

Keep up the good work!

Where can you get projector bezels and is there one that fits perfectly?

very small update with the freshly painted trim piece. I started drilling holes to mount the projector but didn't get very far because the curved reflector makes it difficult. i got some nylon spacers and will use those to help. i'll have pictures of those later tonight.

i used duplicolor hi-heat aluminum silver paint. it doesn't match the SSM color, but it was the closest match that i can find locally.

as for bezels, E46 bezels fit perfectly. its like they were made for it. but expect to pay around $80-$100 for a pair of those.

wow looks real nice painted. nice work

i didn't get anywhere tonight with the mounting. the reflector is a pain to mount the projectors onto. i need to get some bigger size washers tomorrow after work. i'm starting to think that i might have to cut the entire back side of the reflector off and attach a flat metal plate in its place. thats what i did on my maxima and mounting the projector there was a whole lot easier afterwards.

yo if i send u the stuff for an xb would u hook me up? ill pay ya!?! pm me!

Nice update! The paint job looks nice. Will the amber light through the silver painted side reflector? I'm trying to figure out how that will work.

Nice update! The paint job looks nice. Will the amber light through the silver painted side reflector? I'm trying to figure out how that will work.

nope. i don't want the amber light there. i think the orange is ugly. the CCFL ring will be visible from the side and is bright enough to replace the parking light.

juwt wondering if you received my email maximus

im going for the e45 tell me what i need to buy so i can try my hand at it. so all i need to get is the shroud, projector and what else???

you mean E46? or E55? one is the 3series bmw and other is a mercedes. either way, you'll need the projectors, bulbs, ballasts and shrouds or bezels.

i think both would be easier to do than the tsx i'm doing. the tsx projectors is like 5" wide at the middle and is a pain in the @ss to mount. after a failed attempt at mounting onto the reflector bowl, i finally cut out most of the reflector and will be sticking a mounting plate on the back instead. i'm gonna cut holes in the plate tonight and should be able to update with pictures. i spent the last few nights trying to mount onto the reflector w/o luck.

also, although the E46 and E55 projectors are easier to mount, the output will be inferior to the japanese projectors, but still many times better than stock halogen.

yeah thats what i meant e46. how much do you think i should pay for the whole setup. i going for an easy install that i can accomplish in less than a 3 days.

Nice job!

yeah thats what i meant e46. how much do you think i should pay for the whole setup. i going for an easy install that i can accomplish in less than a 3 days.

i bought a set of E46 bi-xenon projectors, osram bulbs, ballasts, and shrouds for $340 shipped. that was a good deal and if you can a setup close to that i would buy it. you should be able to get it done in 3 days if all you're doing is to install the projectors themselves. i've been busy myself and was only able to put about an hour a night into it. good luck with yours.

where did you get yours at??? can you refer me for that price

where did you get yours at??? can you refer me for that price

i got lucky in an ebay auction. sometimes you find great deals there...

updated with pics of the attaching the projector...

Looking good!

1. I have a couple questions. Like when mounting the projectors how do u know there being mounted level? How would u test them.. i mean if iam in my house how would i plug them in?

2. when prying the headlights open are they very fragile?

3. if i have an s2000 headlight (the whole light) does that have a bezel. (which i can use?)

4. And wiring in angel eyes? where do i wire them into? Do i need anything else?


Iam sorry but iam getting everythign together and just wanetd to know these things b4 i started. Any other advise is also great.

1. I have a couple questions. Like when mounting the projectors how do u know there being mounted level? How would u test them.. i mean if iam in my house how would i plug them in?

2. when prying the headlights open are they very fragile?

3. if i have an s2000 headlight (the whole light) does that have a bezel. (which i can use?)

4. And wiring in angel eyes? where do i wire them into? Do i need anything else?


Iam sorry but iam getting everythign together and just wanetd to know these things b4 i started. Any other advise is also great.

You can power them with the power supply from a computer. Here's how:
http://hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3908

When opening the headlights you have to make sure you have baked them well. They do take some effort in pulling them apart, but use common sense. If it feels like they aren't going to move at all, the glue probably hasn't melted yet.

Uhhh I'm not sure about your s2000 question, but I can answer your one about the angel eyes. Wire them to your parking lights. The angel eyes, however, are VERY fragile, so be careful not to bend them or pull the wires too hard.

i mark the cutoff line of the other unmodified headlight on a wall and align the projector to that. i use an old computer power supply to power anything 12v. to power a ballast, you'll need on that has at least 8 amps on the 12v rail. most already do.

the headlights are somewhat fragile from being heated up. they made crackling sounds when i took mine apart.

depending on the year, the s2000 have different bezels but they're just a chrome trim piece that fits right around the projector glass. you might want to get something else that covers up the entire projector and the nuts and bolts. also, be adviced that the s2000 projector is part of the entire headlight bracket and they don't come off like the tsx or other projectors. you'll need to cut away and rest of the bracket and drill your own mounting holes. its not difficult and is definately worth the effort for the s2k projectors.

you can wire the angel eyes to your parking lights. you probably don't need a relay but for $5, why risk it?

oops, projectD already answered most of the questions

bump

didn't make much progress on the retro these past few days. i was test fitting again the other night and realised i mounted the projector too low. i'll just elongate the mounting holes and it should be a quick fix. i'm getting a free pair of E46 single xenon chrome shrouds so i'm waiting for that to arrive before making more adjustments. and i've been busy painting the radiator cooling plate from doc isotope since that'll be an easier project to finish first.

patty cake patty cake
how many tC head light can you bake?

didn't make much progress on the retro these past few days. i was test fitting again the other night and realised i mounted the projector too low. i'll just elongate the mounting holes and it should be a quick fix. i'm getting a free pair of E46 single xenon chrome shrouds so i'm waiting for that to arrive before making more adjustments. and i've been busy painting the radiator cooling plate from doc isotope since that'll be an easier project to finish first.

After reading your first post on this retro i was intrested. I got all my parts from hidplanet.com and ebay. I did the retro and man what a project. But i finally finished after taking my bumper off 3 times, baking the headlights for the 3rd time and i came back from a work trip a week later and noticed water in my drivers headlight. But i got it aligned as close as i can and got a nice cutoff. here are some pics of the process. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/scott81603/album?.dir=fc11&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos I'll take more pics tonight and post it! thanks again for the great info on the retro and also a BIG thanks to integsrtite for answering all my questions and being patient with me!

Parts list:
2004 Acura tsx projectors
D2s bulbs from hidplanet.com
I had previous ballast and wiring from a plug and play kit
Dremel
Caulk
Misc. hardware
And time!

very nice! why did you need to use caulk? if it was for a sealant, caulk doesn't hold up well against water...

very nice! why did you need to use caulk? if it was for a sealant, caulk doesn't hold up well against water...

hahah your right! I found out last night. What do you suggest to use?

very nice! why did you need to use caulk? if it was for a sealant, caulk doesn't hold up well against water...

hahah your right! I found out last night. What do you suggest to use?

i used silicone on my maxima. once it dries it forms a great sealant against water. and you can peel it off if you really need to.

maximus96

are you using relays with hid setup or are you using the 9006 adapters. please tell because this is the only thing thats holding me up from starting this project on my own

maximus96

are you using relays with hid setup or are you using the 9006 adapters. please tell because this is the only thing thats holding me up from starting this project on my own

always use a relay, especially with these hid ballasts. don't be fooled by the marketing scheme of the 'plug and play' kits. sure they will power up from the stock plug, but eventually you'll melt your stock wiring. that'll be a b!tch and very costly to fix. a relay harness is just a cheap insurance and there's no good reason not to use one.

so do you can i use a kit that has the promper fuse rating and also has relays already built in to protect the stock wiring


check out this harness on this liknk to see what im talking about

http://www.xenondepot.com/product.php?product_id=50

i guess thats a fair price for a harness. i usually make my own, the parts cost no more than $10... i use a 30amp fuse to the battery, then 15amp on each of the two power wires for the ballasts...i don't know if the xenondepot harness include the additional fuses. its redundant and you can easily add those yourself...again, cheap insurance.

very nice! why did you need to use caulk? if it was for a sealant, caulk doesn't hold up well against water...

hahah your right! I found out last night. What do you suggest to use?

i used silicone on my maxima. once it dries it forms a great sealant against water. and you can peel it off if you really need to.a

I did use clear silicon, but i used a caulking gun to dispense it. so thats where i got confused. so i did do it right. i think that back of the projector is where my water is coming in. where the rubber seal is.

what did you use to cut the sheet metal?

what did you use to cut the sheet metal?

tin snipes to cut out the shape and a dremel for the hole. the piece i found wasn't very thick, but i did waste a whole cutting disc cutting the inside hole. and those reinforced cutting discs are $$$

hm... how much would it cost if i ask u to help me make one??

maximus96,


any update on the fitment yet??

will definately have an update this weekend. i need to get my act together and get this done and finish the writeup so i can enter it in the august tech article contest.

hm... how much would it cost if i ask u to help me make one??

hm...i'm not sure yet. i need to finish mine first before i can consider doing it for other people.

it's nice if you can help me on, it, i like in sf so actually we are pretty close to each other..

I'm doing it right now, but man the process is pain in the azzz, and the s2k lights kind of expensive too.

i'm in the middle of the process of doing the retrofit into mine too. i'm completing my wire harness right now so i can see if i did it right. the only thing that's really setting me back is that i have to align both my headlights so that they're aimed correctly. hoping to be the first tc in hawaii with hid retrofit baby!!! :pray:

very minor update of the eyebrow leds...i'm in the middle of switching jobs so looks like i won't be able to get too much done in a hurry.

i tested the eyebrow leds on the car last night. plugged wires into the stock turn signal socket and the lights were blinking twice as fast because the LEDs draws so little current compared to the 7440 bulb. i think i'll leave it like that and let it blink at that rate. the 12 14000mcd white LEDs were very bright at night and should be bright enough during day time but i haven't tested them in daytime. i bought some yellow leds and will be putting them in the side marker area so it still has amber/yellow light there but won't be ugly orange anymore.

keep it up man. its looking good to me

the yellow leds came. i plan on putting 10 on each side where the orange reflector used to be. what do you guys think?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/maximus96/DSC02118.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/maximus96/DSC02117.jpg

i think that it should be the best... but... are you going to change the highlights?

you mean high beams? i'm leaving those in tack. i'll still need them because the tsx projectors are low beam only.

did you get a clear reflector??? how are you gonna mount the leds. give us an idea.


what i was thinking about doing was taking a bunch of small leds and mount them around the chrome bezel of the projector. dont steal my idea though.

im still shopping for e45 projectors as we speak i have the ballast and bulbs

i already painted the orange reflector silver to match the rest of the headlights. i don't know where you can find clear reflectors from. these are 3mm leds, so i'll just drill holes and glue the leds from the back side. thats what clearcorners.com did with their $1xxxx headlights in regards to the leds around the bezel. they mount the leds in a tube bent to shape then mounted that tube to the bezel. i'll be using CCFLs so i won't steal your idea.

what i mean is im going to use individual led around the bezel rivetes or indentations along with the angel eyes. so imagine white ccfls with a small blue leds mounted inside the bezel. i so far have seen nobody with it . hopefully i will be the first. if you spot any e46projectors with bezels at a decent price dont hesitate to to pm me.

oh you mean mounting leds on the grooves of the E46 bezels? i misread it the first time. its very possible and easily done. but the only problem is that the LEDs will be very close to the projector and the its gets real hot around there. your LEDs will likely fail much faster than they should because they can not operate long under high heat. one way around that is to wire a relay so the LEDs turn off when the HIDs are on. that should prolong the life of the LEDs as heat is the one thing that kills them fast.

uh oh, bandwidth on the free photobucket account has been exceeded. its currently at 105% of the monthly allowance of 1500mb so i don't know how much longer the pictures will be up. photobucket resets the bandwidtch on 9/3...

This is Hot!

uh oh, bandwidth on the free photobucket account has been exceeded. its currently at 105% of the monthly allowance of 1500mb so i don't know how much longer the pictures will be up. photobucket resets the bandwidtch on 9/3...

make another free photobucket. and use it only to post pics here.

that sucks cus i'd have to upload all the pictures again to that account. i contacted kaeon to see if he can move them to scionlife's server.

but you can have 1/2 of the pics in one and the other 1/2 in the other

that sucks cus i'd have to upload all the pictures again to that account. i contacted kaeon to see if he can move them to scionlife's server.

Hey man your retro is looking good! Cant wait to see the finished product. Thanks for the info on my project.. Scott

what is the estimated cost u have currently put into this project?

i'd love to know so i can do something simliar

i've talked 2 HIDretro and they wanted to charge me 1400 for the one with angel eyes m3 HID one :T

what is the estimated cost u have currently put into this project?

i'd love to know so i can do something simliar

i've talked 2 HIDretro and they wanted to charge me 1400 for the one with angel eyes m3 HID one :T

i spent about $400 including all the misc. wiring stuff and leds and ccfl rings. $1400 seem like the going rate from hidretro. they are charging you about $$1000-1200 in labor because the parts are about $3-400.

wow, nice

i am a complete noobie to HID due to the fact it's illegal to retrofit it. thanx to the ricers out there who improperly put HID lights into the wrong housing(they really blinds people T_T)

how will u deal with the popo :T

i'll save this thread in my fav, currently at work. I'll need to read up on this and pull some info out of you hehe

i just copped bmw5 series headlight with ballast for 200 bucks total. all i need to get is a passenger side headlight, 2 hid bulbs, and my wiring harness from canada and im ready to start

wow, nice

i am a complete noobie to HID due to the fact it's illegal to retrofit it. thanx to the ricers out there who improperly put HID lights into the wrong housing(they really blinds people T_T)

how will u deal with the popo :T

i'll save this thread in my fav, currently at work. I'll need to read up on this and pull some info out of you hehe

even though retrofitting projectors is still illegal, you won't have much troubles with the police because there won't be any glare from the projectors to blind people or make you stand out from the crowd with purple 12000k lights. you'll blend right in with the rest of the OEM HID cars like bmws and mercedes or lexus.

ugh, im reading up at HID planet and im just got slappedin the face with the noob stick. my head is spinning and spinning, im going crazy, going to rest my head and research some more

ugh, im reading up at HID planet and im just got slappedin the face with the noob stick. my head is spinning and spinning, im going crazy, going to rest my head and research some more

yea, its best you readup on the materials on their "university" section of the forums. alot of how-to and other useful info there.

I spent the entire day sunday in the garage and still weren't able to finish the job. i started 5 am in the morning. aiming was easy and only took 30-45 minutes. the rest of the day was spent building wiring harness and wiring up everything. it also didn't help when i had to run to ace multiple times cus i keep on running out of heatshrink tubes. its taking me forever because i want to do everything right by soldering and heatshrink-tubing every connection. i still have to glue the bezels on and reassemble the headlight and more wiring. hopefully i can get most of it done tonight and put the bumper back together tomorrow night and finish in time for the august tech article contest.

i wanna see more pixs of it.... good job man!

Wow, this job just gets hotter and hotter!!

mounted everything tonight and was assembling the headlights back together. then i must have f0cked something up when i was pushing the front lens back on. parts of the led side markers would only turn on when i wiggle the wire...something got loose...have to open that side up again...f0ck!

Loaded everything to scion life server...

Keep us updated

damn looks nice!

DONE DONE DONE finaly! I'll post picture of them on the car tomorrow.

can't wait to see pix

sickness

very very nice, need pictures of them in the dark, and probably late evening when it's not that dark and during the day

once again good job
how much time did you put into it? as i read on the first page, you august review or something like that? i bet the outcome of that will be good due to the hard work you have put into it!

btw the design of your retro headlights is very very nice!

i cant wait to see the finished project! congrats you lucky lucky guy you. i wish i had the time and money (and skills) to do this kind of project(ors) :clap: :clap:

maximus, Send me the rest of the pics so we can move them to the server for you.

i updated the original post with couple pictures of the lights on the car. i'm late for work so i'll have more pics later.

here's a 'before and after' picture
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b383/maximus96-2/DSC02137.jpg

What about the highbeam? did you change something to them? new bulbs?

no i kept the high beams stock. i was thinking of getting some yellow bulbs for them. i'm not sure yet, don't use high beams much.

wow, thats awesome... now if somebody could make those available... id buy one.

Good JOB!!

goood job :clap:


i cant wait to i start mine this weekend. ill try and at least get one side done. i have a boat load of heat shrink ready . one question though what type of sealant did you use when you put back together th headlight.

just re-use the stock glue. on the back of the mounting bracket i put a layer of electrical tape. then lay a thin layer of silicone cover the electrical tape. i have to cover up the back side where the bulb goes in. i bought a 3" rubber pipe cap from ACE the other night and it fitted in there perfect. then after i mounted everything i find out the pipe cap was too shallow. its only about 1" deep and i needed about 1.5-2". now i need to find something deeper. anything 3" wide will fit into the groove where the stock rubber cap goes.

what type of spray paint did you use? would you think that it will be damaged due to the heat of the light bulbs?

congrats andd great writeup.

what type of spray paint did you use? would you think that it will be damaged due to the heat of the light bulbs?

i used duplicolor high heat aluminum. its suppose to be good up to 500 degrees. the headlight doesn't get that hot. they have 1200 degree paint too.

BAD A$$ JOB!!! You should do this on the side and make serious money!

BAD A$$ JOB!!! You should do this on the side and make serious money!

yea a few members contacted me about it. i was considering it before, but after doing it i'm really hesitant now. it takes up too much of my time. if anybody is up for doing it themselves, i'll be more than happy to help.

Holy Crap *bows down*

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/hid_retrofit_tc/DSC02129.JPG

here's a picture of the cutoff. the light below the cutoff is not that blue in person. i didn't bother adjusting the camera and just took a quick picture when i was aiming. the cutoff has real nice color from using 3 washers to mod the projector

how come i'm no longer allowed to edit my posts ever since the thread got moved to FAQ. I'll need to edit the original post later to update with more pictures.

That is one of the sexiest things ever!!!

That is an awsome DIY..

tell us why your using 3 washers. is because you can shift the color being sent out the projector .

thats the washer mod for color in some hid projectors. you create color at the cutoff by extending the distance bewteen the lens and bulb. i used three #8 washers to get that blue color. it doesn't shift the color of the light on the ground, that still white because of the 4100k bulb. only the cutoff is affected. when you see cars with hid projectors from a distance, they always appear blue or purple and the color will be flickering until they get close to you, then its white. it because the color band at the cutoff was shining right at your eye level. as the car gets closer, the cutoff goes lower and you see the white color. you can see in the first few pictures in the first post of the effects of different number of washers.

oh yea, note that when doing the color mod, you are trading color for the sharpness of the cutoff. the bluer you make it, the fuzzier it gets. 3 washers was a good middle ground for me.

looks awesome

thanx for the info, im planning to do this, just a plain HID retro with out Angel Eyes,(i'll be jacked instantly if i put angel eyes lol, philly is that bad)

and hopefully i can get a side job ^__^

but i have learn alot of things from you, HIDplanet was confusing the crap out of me T__T

yeah hidplanet is kinda of confusing because everything thrown in different places .

as far as adjusting is concerned how did you go about it. did you have to mod your projector to do so.

for adjustment i put three 3" bolts thru 3 of the 4 corners of the projector. put 3 springs around the bolts, and put t-nuts on the opposite of the mounting bracket. as i turn and tighten the bolts, the springs' tension allows me to make adjustments.

wait a sec... park lights? lol, what happened to them? :P

the ccfl halos are wired to parking lights. so are the yellow leds on side where the orange reflector used to be. I will also re-wire the 7440 signal light to parking. so yea, i got parking covered.

my writeup won the august scionlife tech article contest! sweet!!

Excellent write up and congrats on winning the contest. I personally have opened up headlights and modified the internals and repaint the casings. It's an overwhelming amount of work for the unprepared. :relief:

my writeup won the august scionlife tech article contest! sweet!!
Congrats! It looks great! I'm hoping to finish my retrofit over the weekend. :nails:

Excellent write up and congrats on winning the contest. I personally have opened up headlights and modified the internals and repaint the casings. It's an overwhelming amount of work for the unprepared. :relief:
I definitely agree with you. It's a lot of work.... I can't count how many times I've said "now I know why they charge $1300 to make these!"

yay UC davis engineering starting my 2nd year there in just a few weeks =)

my writeup won the august scionlife tech article contest! sweet!!

congrats, i was hoping you'd win. well deserved. :clap:

how difficult was the wiring? did you have to create your own harness, can you go in detail with the wiring process? would be nice if you modified pictures with circles to indicate where you are going to mount the ballast

congrats, im still lost in my research, but i wont' give up!

and yes, it'd be nice if you went in detail in the wiring process. very very important heh

^^^true . bmw headlights are a sunuvaB!tch to take apart even with baking the the ligth as suggested. it took me at least two hours to extract the projectors from a 2005 5 series housing. i still waiting for parts but i will start my own post from start to finish if maximus doesnt do a complete walk through

Congrats on being the victor of our tech article contest, maximus96! Keep an eye out for an email from me...

Kaeon and Mikochu, don't worry, you're not out of jobs... yet. :)

updated with a couple of daytime pics. i was in a hurry and didn't have time to snap more. as far as the wiring, I wired the stock inner turn signals into parking lights using a relay. the CCFL are also wired to parking, as well as the side yellow LEDs. the HID are wired with a relay to the stock 9006. the eyebrows are wired to the turn signal, but seem a little dim during high noon. the rest of the time it seems bright enough.

i got a favor to ask, can somebody confirm that when your lights are all off, and you pull on the light stalk to flash the high beams, does the low beams come on too? it does on mine now with the HID but i can't remember if it did before. I can't flash people anymore now because the rapid on and off puts a lot of stress on the HID ballasts. thats why i have the Hella supertones in to replace the stock horns.

Yea it does.

maximus,

that plate above your radiator what purpose does that serve.fill us in

maximus,

that plate above your radiator what purpose does that serve.fill us in

thats Dr. Isotope's "alternative radiator cooling plate". he got a thread over at drag coeff. $30 shipped. made of ABS plastic, i just painted it silver. its mostly cosmetic, covers the gap between the radiator and grille. suppose to also direct more air thru the radiator instead of going up and over it.

awesome!!!!

hey maximus how about a distant shot at night to see the aggressive look of the eyebrow and the halos... please

awesome!!!!

hey maximus how about a distant shot at night to see the aggressive look of the eyebrow and the halos... please

ahh crap, i got screwed with financial problems and housing for the next 6 months... i'll have to put this project aside now T__T

that looks really good. how is the cut off of the light?

Looks great. The color theme really looks good on your car.

that looks really good. how is the cut off of the light?
Look on the first page... there are photos.

all i can say is keep up the extreemly tight work...ive seen other examples but this is the most professional.. :bow:

final update with a few pics of capping the back side with a 3" pipe cap from ace. and thank you all for the kind words.

hey maxiumus

pics arent working

bandwith exceeded?!?! :cry:

well, i emailed the pics to scionlife to be hosted on their server...so as soon at they do that the pics should be back up.

Looks good . . . must have taken alot of time to do that.... keep us updated want to see the end result . . . your TC'c headlights looking good

Looks good . . . must have taken alot of time to do that.... keep us updated want to see the end result . . . your TC'c headlights looking good

well, that is the end result...i took me about 3 week of on and off working on it.

what kind of class would I need to take at a community college to learn how to weld, install LEDs, know what to put between the voltages, and know what heat shrinking is ? Amazing setup btw!

wow... i think i will try to do what u did altho i know i will run into many troubles.

wow... i think i will try to do what u did altho i know i will run into many troubles.

I agree with miracle...... When are yougonna post pics of the light reinstalled on the car?? I wanna see how the lights finished and on your ride....

____ING NICE!

pics are fixed and all should show up now.

Mad props to your great work! :bow: :clap:

hey maximus,

you showed the back of you setup how well is the seal going to hold up??. it looks like your ignitor is going to be exposed

hey maximus,

you showed the back of you setup how well is the seal going to hold up??. it looks like your ignitor is going to be exposed

yea, the ignitors exposed because the cap is not deep enough to cover the ignitor too. The only way i saw to get around was to drill a hole to fit the ignitor thru. i didn't wash the car last weekend cus i got lazy. i'll wash on sat. and see. i think it should hold up pretty well. the cap is on pretty snug. the back side of the ignitor is pressing pretty hard on the cap and i think that should form a nice seal there.

why dont you just seal it up because you shouldnt have to make any adjustments at least for 2 years right? the way im gonna do mine is a 3 inch shrink with heat resistant silicone

If you seal it up, there's no way to change the light bulb.

the hid light bulb has at least 10,000 hours of operation which roughly puts it at at least 8 years before it needs to be changed . can you now see my point.. unless you drive at night for 4 hours or more every single day it makes sense to seal it or cut the existing rear 9006 housing out and extend the rear and make the cut out the cap with grooves you need.

I understand what you're saying. My worry would not be changing the bulb from burning out, rather from them breaking. These bulbs are very fragile (I already broke one before I even got half way finished with the install :cry: ) and with the roads around here, I see them getting broken before they would burn out.

And for me, I do drive a lot at night... as much as, if not more, during the day. I'm also worried about my bi-xenon solenoid since I drive with my hi beams on, but maybe my lights will be so bright I won't even need my hi beams!

bixenon. how are you going to wire that half up????


you probably also wont need your high beams much

i also don't want to seal the ignitor in because i worry that i may have to change the bulb at some point before it dies from old age. but i guess if you silicone it'll be easy to remove when you have to. i may do that after i wash it this weekend to see how well it holds up. i'm pretty confident that i don't need to seal it up anymore than what i already did.

in regards to the bi-xenon, its not that difficult since the tc has separate wiring for high beams so you don't need a diode. but on a projector like the E46, you'll need to wire capacitors.

As far as the bixenon wiring, I have a diagram from HIDPlanet to follow.

Hey maximus-
you have the CCFLs from Umnitza right? Did you wire it into a dimmer switch or just into your parking lights?

As far as the bixenon wiring, I have a diagram from HIDPlanet to follow.

Hey maximus-
you have the CCFLs from Umnitza right? Did you wire it into a dimmer switch or just into your parking lights?

no i acutally used a set for E46...they fit the E46 bezels pretty well. i wired to parking lights so they blink when i arm/disarm my alarm.

hey maximus

did you splice your wiring or did you make a connector for the angle eyes. also did you know the e60 are using fiber optic angel eyes.

hey maximus

did you splice your wiring or did you make a connector for the angle eyes. also did you know the e60 are using fiber optic angel eyes.

i spliced it. i was going to rig up something to plug into the 194/168 socket, but decided to splice it and leave the empty socket plugged in to avoid water leaking in. what year is the E60? i never heard of that number, is it the new one? but all bmw angel eyes are fiber optic.

2005 BMW 5 series e60 and yes from what i understand they are going fiber optic

well sh!t...last night i took the car out after dark and saw condensation inside the passenger side light. it blocked most of the output to the ground on that side. the driver side is fine.

on sunday morning after i washed and dried the car, i didn't see any water getting inside the lights, but some water did get in the engine bay from the gap of the hood. that made me uncomfortable so i went and bought some weather strips from autozone to line the two sides of the hood.

i'm not sure what caused the condensation in the passenger side light. i have to see if it leaves any streaks or marks after it dries. it didn't rain yesterday, it was rather a very warm day. i'm thinking its because the car was parked outside all day at work, then i parked it in the garage when i got home at 6, the air inside the headlight was still warm compared to the cool air outside when i took it out at 8. i dunno, i have to research it on hidplanet now...

hmm keep us updated maximus

Sup man Nice job, I was just wondering are their different colors for that "Heat Resistant" paint or w/e you used? Silver would look like ____ on a Flint Mica.

Sup man Nice job, I was just wondering are their different colors for that "Heat Resistant" paint or w/e you used? Silver would look like poop on a Flint Mica.

duplicolor makes a whole bunch of color for their High Heat paint. i'm sure something will go well with a FM car.

Hey, excellent job on the write-up! :clap:

One question though... Do you have a problem with the keyless entry remote flipping the headlights on and off when you unlock/lock the doors, or is the wear that that places on the bulbs negligible? I can't think of an easy way to re-wire that system unless there's a way to disable it...

the alarm blinks the parking lights. i have a viper and it doesn't blink the headlights. the scion keyless entry blinks the signal lights. unless you got some other system your headlights shouldn't flash. you do NOT want your HID bulbs to turn on and off so fast. it kills the ballasts prematurely.

Well that's pretty strange!
The signals flash if you aren't changing the locks, but if I lock/unlock it, then the headlights stay on for maybe 5-10 sec.
This could turn into an interesting project... :eyebrow:

AWESOME PROJECT!!!!!!!!

THAT is UNBELIEVABLE!!! The best lighting project I HAVE EVER SEEN!

hey maximus i have some questions about your eyebrows, in the pics it shows a clear bar with the white leds wired into it , is this bar part of the tc's headlight assembly thats underneath the clear brow that you removed in one of the first pics of you post,, or is this a seperate peice you bought somewhere else?, if so were did you get it? also what kind of leds are you using in your brows. thanks.

i just made that bar out of acrylic curtain rods from homedepot...$2 for a 3' piece, heat and bend into shape. i just used plain 3mm white led, i forgot the mcd rating. i don't think its bright enough. at some point i'll redo it and used superflux leds. i'm too lazy to redo for now...

maximus
with your setup
do your hid shake noticably when you drive?? where did you buy the springs you used for the bolts ??? also are your lights still fogging???

the projectors themselves do not shake in the housing. the cutoff does bob up and down, but thats due to the suspension of the car. i bought springs from ace hardware. they're pretty stiff and holds the projectors pretty well.

i took the rubber boot off the side that fogged. i think the boot sealed it too much...not enought vent and thats why it fogged...it haven't fogged ever since, but then it hasn't rained yet...

hey, how did ur wiring harness look like, since u did wire the CCFL to the park lights, i was wondering how different it was from HIDplanet's samples

btw they weren;'t that detaild about it, i kinda dunno what to solder to gether :T

hey, how did ur wiring harness look like, since u did wire the CCFL to the park lights, i was wondering how different it was from HIDplanet's samples

btw they weren;'t that detaild about it, i kinda dunno what to solder to gether :T

i didnt' make a harness for the CCFL, they draw so little that i just tap into the parking light that normally sits in the low beam reflector. i don't have that bulb anymore, so i'm not over loading any circuits or wiring.

awsome, so u used the harness showed in hid planet?

ah, 1 quick question

for ballast, does it matter what u get? say i have tsx projectors, does it matter what type of ballast i get?

ah, 1 quick question

for ballast, does it matter what u get? say i have tsx projectors, does it matter what type of ballast i get?

doesn't matter what you get, all OEM equipment are better then the ballast from hid kits. some OEM ballasts are more convient than others. Hella gen. 3 ballasts are nice and compact with intergrated ignitors, i have bosch litronic ballasts in my maxima and it has a separate ignitor - not that its bad, its just one more piece of equipment to mount. mitsushibi and denso also make thin ballasts with integrated ignitors thats handy if you're tight on space, like the tc engine bay.

awsome, so u used the harness showed in hid planet?

i just made my own using a relay. its really simple. 5 pins on the relay, you need to use 4. pin 30 goes to battery with an inline fuse, pin 87 goes to your ballast (or both ballasts if you only want to use 1 relay), put an inline fuse in those to be redunantly safe, pin 85 goes to any one of your headlight power, pin 86 goes to ground...thats it.

DAMN....clean

awsome, so u used the harness showed in hid planet?

i just made my own using a relay. its really simple. 5 pins on the relay, you need to use 4. pin 30 goes to battery with an inline fuse, pin 87 goes to your ballast (or both ballasts if you only want to use 1 relay), put an inline fuse in those to be redunantly safe, pin 85 goes to any one of your headlight power, pin 86 goes to ground...thats it.

or you can go to summit racing and buy their if you want its like 17 bucks plus shipping of course

awsome, so u used the harness showed in hid planet?

i just made my own using a relay. its really simple. 5 pins on the relay, you need to use 4. pin 30 goes to battery with an inline fuse, pin 87 goes to your ballast (or both ballasts if you only want to use 1 relay), put an inline fuse in those to be redunantly safe, pin 85 goes to any one of your headlight power, pin 86 goes to ground...thats it.

or you can go to summit racing and buy their if you want its like 17 bucks plus shipping of course

yup, you sure can. if you dont' want to make one, you can easily buy it. i have all the materials already so i just made my own. i put a 30A fuse on the main power wire and two 15amp fuses to each of the ballasts. i also used 12ga wires. so in this case, home-made was is better.

thanx alot, well i hope i win tsx projectors on ebay XD so far 177.50 T__T 20 hours left to go XD

thatz pretty cool keep up the good work that too alot of brain work and some effort

ahh i lost lol, o wellz, i got a question, do you have the dimeonsion of the projectors you used? seems like it was a easy fit,
i want compare sizes (ie the kits hidplanet sells)

i used TSX too. best bang for the buck in projectors, IMO

a few people asked me about the eyebrow LEDs. turns out the 3mm white LEDs i used are not that bright in full daylight. I should have used brighter LEDs like superflux LEDs. Right now I'm too lazy to redo them. When i get some time freed up I'll get some superflux. they are more costly than the plain 3mm LED (3mm and 5mm are dirt cheap from ebay) but the output should be superior.

thanks for the update, the eybrows I think is one of my favorite part!

i lost the auction btw T__T
o wellz n e way summitracing eh? ...
(goes to the website)
....
(comes back)
http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=partdetail.asp&autofilter=1&part=SUM%2D890035&N=4294925143+4294839062+4294841923&autoview=sku
is this the one?

i lost the auction btw T__T
o wellz n e way summitracing eh? ...
(goes to the website)
....
(comes back)
http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=partdetail.asp&autofilter=1&part=SUM%2D890035&N=4294925143+4294839062+4294841923&autoview=sku
is this the one?

yea that one works. see if you can find another one, with thicker wires...this one is only 18 gauge....i built mine with 12 gauge...

This just came to mind, Where happens to the City lights once your retrofit is done?

i lost the auction btw T__T
o wellz n e way summitracing eh? ...
(goes to the website)
....
(comes back)
http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=partdetail.asp&autofilter=1&part=SUM%2D890035&N=4294925143+4294839062+4294841923&autoview=sku
is this the one?

they will work according to of couple of threads ive read but to be on the safe side upgrade to a 12guage which i had lying around on my job. i think thats 16 guage one.

This just came to mind, Where happens to the City lights once your retrofit is done?

no longer there...i took the bulb out and just plug the base into the hole to keep water out. i have no need for the city lights since i wire the stock signal at the corner and the CCFL and parking lights.

looks great

wow... awesome. looks very bmw-ish. i wish i am as talent as you are. can you do them on my xa ? :P :pray:

for those wondering how would you rig up projectors vs how maximus did his heres a pic.



hidretro was generous enough to show me their method. the pic show they are using the silver adjustment screw on the oem headlight which means the only adjustment you need to make is up or down and thats it!!!!

which by the way i didnt do on my retro fit.my adjustments are made independent of the reflector .


http://www.hidretro.com/pictures/pages/page32/06.jpg



in the pic below hid retro used a black sleeve to center the light



http://www.hidretro.com/pictures/pages/page32/01.jpg

I have some Existing DD Eyes on my stock lights....would I have to remove them in order for projectors to fit in? If so what a waste :(


Say I'll most likely be getting a E46 projector....what are you comments on those? Thanks.

for those wondering how would you rig up projectors vs how maximus did his heres a pic.



hidretro was generous enough to show me their method. the pic show they are using the silver adjustment screw on the oem headlight which means the only adjustment you need to make is up or down and thats it!!!!

which by the way i didnt do on my retro fit.my adjustments are made independent of the reflector .


http://www.hidretro.com/pictures/pages/page32/06.jpg



in the pic below hid retro used a black sleeve to center the light



http://www.hidretro.com/pictures/pages/page32/01.jpg

yup, thats how david liep (i think thats his name) does it in hidretro.com...a generous amount of jbweld. he does a good job, and the final product is worth the cost. but i worry that if he screwed up a little bit since he doesn't have the car to test fit, there's no room for rotation and horizontal adjustment.

I have some Existing DD Eyes on my stock lights....would I have to remove them in order for projectors to fit in? If so what a waste :(


Say I'll most likely be getting a E46 projector....what are you comments on those? Thanks.

you don't need to remove the DDE's. you may want to remove them durings fabrication and install since they're nice and fragile, but you can put them back on after installing the projectors.

i favor japanese stanley projectors myself, but the E46 are decent projectors, go for the bi-xenons.

same here .definitely remove them during the retro fit or you will be kicking yourself . screwed one of my halos up during the intall and now i have to take one apart to remove and replace soon.

maximus,

i was worried about the adjustments too but he claimed to me that he will redo them if he'd screwed up on that part. i also got a quote from him for 580 bucks if i provided him the projectors and headlights so im kinda of interested in seeing his work since hes done so many retros. that black sleeve hes using is the key hes says to successfull reto fits hes done for the scion tc.

my retro turned out good but i didnt have any level ground were i live the beam is slightly to low so i have to re aim mine this weekend. all my adjustments are inside the head so i have to take mine apart to reaim mine as well but no fogging so far on my end yet

same here .definitely remove them during the retro fit or you will be kicking yourself . screwed one of my halos up during the intall and now i have to take one apart to remove and replace soon.

maximus,

i was worried about the adjustments too but he claimed to me that he will redo them if he'd screwed up on that part. i also got a quote from him for 580 bucks if i provided him the projectors and headlights so im kinda of interested in seeing his work since hes done so many retros. that black sleeve hes using is the key hes says to successfull reto fits hes done for the scion tc.

my retro turned out good but i didnt have any level ground were i live the beam is slightly to low so i have to re aim mine this weekend. all my adjustments are inside the head so i have to take mine apart to reaim mine as well but no fogging so far on my end yet

when i was installing mine, i did the initial aiming in the garage. i backed the car out as far as i could, and lined the back wall of the garage with white paper. i had access to 36" rolls. i placed a level on the car and thank jacked up the car in the rear until its level. then i used the stock scissor jack on one side to make that level as well. that makes the car perfectly flat and level theni aimed accordingly.

usually don't you place the original housing on a table shine it against the wall and mark off the original cut off with tape then when you're aiming the projectors before you cement them in put the housing in the same position then make the cut off in the same place as the original?? I'm guessing that's how they do it when you ship them off to get them done? They probably keep the housing in a vice the whole time so it doesn't move-any ideas guys?

http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=egnsearch.asp&N=400304+311186&autoview=sku

they are all 18 gauge :T sad T__T i gotta make my own now T__T

http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=egnsearch.asp&N=400304+311186&autoview=sku

they are all 18 gauge :T sad T__T i gotta make my own now T__T


yeah they are 18 guage but it was sort of a guide to how to build your own harness and like i said i had 12 guage wire at my job so i i just swaped the 18 for 12 thus it helped me build my own harness.


your harness needs to look like this. ignore the the bulbs and conectors they show for the ballast they show in the pic
http://www.newcelica.org/other/installs/xenondepothid/instructions.jpg

I gotta see that when I come to Oakland again

beautiful looks great, nice job doing it

Guys check this out on ebay if anybody interest on them



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TSX-PROJECTOR-HALO-XENON-HID-HONDA-NISSAN-TOYOTA-SCION_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQitemZ8015408967QQrdZ1

I have 5000mcd led's. When I hook them up in a series they all blow out tho. And I cant seem to hook up more than 4 at a time? Do I need a resistor to be able to hook up more than 4 at a time or can I wire them up a different way?

I've seen a lot of ford focuses with HID's - anyone every look at purchasing those HID's? I imagine they are cheaper than BMW, Mercedes, etc

I just sold my "ghetto style" HID's in hopes of a true retro fit or a aftermarket projector headlamp

i *think* the focus uses E55 projectors. i have no idea if true or otherwise. i remember reading a thread over at hidplanet where somebody bought the focus light from a junkyard and the ballast was still attached at the bottom and was not charged for it....lucky bastard.

What an awesome project! You did a fabulous job!

BTW.. Awesome job you did on the retro.. The headlights look great. Prolly even better in person.. Great write up also.. I would certainly give you a 10 out of 10 on this..

I wish i had the balls to chop up my headlights, i dont have my car yet (on order dec. 30th-jan. 21st) but if i messed up, my dad would kill me b/c he's the one paying for the car.

HOW COME I NEVER HAVE SEEN SOME NIGHT SHOTS OF YOUR LED EYEBROW.
sorry aobut the caps im not yelling :P

if ya have time post em send them to me whatever.. or not up to you MAXIMUS

dbl post

Just a check up, i've allocated enough money, and just wondering hows your retro doing so..

how is it holding up?
did you come to any problems so far?
and how long have you had it?

Thanx ^

sorry no night shots of the LED eyebrows...for whatever reason a few of the LEDs burnt out...i end up re-wiring back to the stock signal. and the 3mm leds i used weren't bright enough during bright daylight. when I get some time I'll redo them with superflux leds. right now i have no time for these projects cus we just had a baby girl.

i've had the retro since sept 05. only problem is the led eyebrow i mentioned above. nothing wrong with the projectors themselves. it did get fogged up once, right after i capped the back with the pipe caps. i removed the cap and the fog cleared up and haven't returned since.

hey maximus, do you know the measurements of the shrouds u used? and did you have to do any modifications at all?

E46 bi-xenon shrouds fit nicely. the 5 series shroud also fit as you can see in the picture from hidretro.

koolz, from the picture above:
http://www.hidretro.com/pictures/pages/page32/01.jpg
it seems like they glued the shroud onto a range cover?

anyway... like always.. about the wiring harness... again... did you use one relay or two?

the ones in hidplanet forum pictures showed one relay where the harness will powerup both ballast and it will require one wire to connect with the oem 9006 wire(infact, if u scroll up, the drawing diagram from above also shows the same thing). isn't there two 9006 connectors? one on each side? what will happen to the other one? terminated?

i seen some drawing digram where they created one for each side.

and the wire that connects the pos(+) terminal, did you Undo the Pos(+) end of the battery connector and put it together?

I am just about ready to do my retro. Im waiting for my headlight housings and i need to wrap up my information gathering ASAP. So excited

also is it me, but the range cover you posted from page 1.... the center hole is pretty large... did that fit your tsx projector? the one i found just poked the tsx projector out. that's not a problem however, i can always cut it and make it bigger and glue a shroud on the range cover... let me know

the range cover is slightly too small to fit the tsx projectors. i used 6" covers. you'd have to cut the center hole a little larger to fit.

I used one relay. you can use one for each side to be safe. for one relay you'll only need one 9006 socket. its used to turn the relay on. the other one is not used and just sits there. you'll use both if you wire up one relay for each side. i don't have any problems using only one relay. i have a bunch of spare and can swap easily when it dies.