I got bored over the weekend so I picked up a spare set of head lamps and got to work. The projectors are "bixenon" off a E39 5 series, with the retractable flap. Here's the end result-





Getting the high beams to work is a trickier issue, since the existing electrical switches ground to the lamps and cuts off the low beam while the high beam in on, thus cutting off juice to the ballast. Tried a couple of relay setups though the momentary switch from low to high is hit or miss.

 

sweet start sale them man Ill buy one ('')

 

can we expect a writeup of the installation? please?

 

oh sh*t HID retrofits on a xD???

i think its a first cause theres no projectors out there for this car nor has any1 tried to do a retrofit

PROPS

 

looks damn nice man! where did you pick up the extra headlights and parts to do this?

 

Wow you either have cash or a good hookup to get those headlamps. The headlamps for ONE side are about $400!

rose: someone on CafexD did a retrofit but they're selling the headlamps or just did it for fun.

Either way this looks awesome!

 

Nice

 

not the first. already saw a set of TSX lights done. car was wrecked before they were done




http://cafexd.com/viewtopic.php?t=1340&highlight=[/img]

 

Are you the one that bought those headlamps on Ebay? I meant to put a snipe in for them but forgot.. =[ It came out nice, I would like pictures of how you mounted them if at all possible.

 

Indeed I am not the first, nor were these the first set of headlights I've put projectors into.

The spare set came courtesy of ebay. I have a ton of BMW headlights from being a former parts person there, they warranty the housings then toss them, I open them up and strip the insides.

As for the write up, that one's easy.

-remove headlamps (three bolts and a plastic clip, one hidden behind bumper cover)
-remove harness on headlamp
-bake the headlamp in an oven at 225F for 10-12 mins
-separate the clear plastic from the housing in one swift motion, starting with the top of the lamp. if you screw this up you'll get sealant everywhere, not fun to clean. it helps to practice on other junk headlamps.
-now you have two pieces, the clear part with the surround/turnsignal and the housing with the lamp.
-you can leave the surround alone, unless you want to paint it. removal is two screws. removing the turn signal lens is a pain though, you are better off unclipping the front part and masking it off that way.
-to separate the lamp from the housing, start with the side where the turn signal was. There is a black threaded adjustment rod there, simply push it off to the side and it will pop out. Remove the rod. On the other side, slide your hand under the lamp and firmly tug the lamp away from the housing, it will pop off the ball socket. On the adjustment screw (looks like a plastic phillips) turn it full clockwise, then pop off the adjustment rod using the same method.
-hack the lamp as necessary. On the back of the lamp there is a "guide line" molded on which I used, however I ended up enlarging the hole a lot more than that to accomodate the projector.
-once you can get the projector in at your desired depth, you'll need to fabricate some brackets for it. fortunately the lamp has three posts you can use to secure the bracket to, I used only two. bracket material can be anything, plumber's tape, strip aluminum, etc. I used hand bent strip aluminum.
-Once the projector is secure, test fit it in the housing to check clearances. With smaller projectors you might be able to get away without modding the housing, with the ones I used I had to enlarge the circle where the lamp protruded through the back.
-make sure you have a good range of adjustments via the rods otherwise you'll never be able to angle the lights.
-if all's good take it apart then paint the lamp.
-if you've never painted before, follow my lead. Useing 600 grit wet sandpaper, wetsand anything chrome off the lamp. you should be seeing greenish plastic. for the surround I wetsanded after masking the turn, then remasked the turn prior to primer/paint. When all the shiny is off, a light coat of adhesive promoter, then two coats of primer. Let dry a couple hours. Then start paint in your desired color, black works best since it minimizes any glare that may escape from the projector housing. I use about three to four coats of color. When paint is dry (overnight), use a tack cloth to catch any dirt on the lamp/housings/cover/surround.
-assemble the headlight.
-bake the headlight again.
-use vise grips and clamp the edges, let cool about a half hour.
-install headlamp.

 

interesting.

 

If I got the parts, would you do it if I paid you? I'm really REALLY interested in a Bi-Xenon projector retrofit in my xD but I don't have the time or the know-how to do it...

 

I think they look sweet on the xD

 

After many blown fuses I've finally figured out the wiring. The xD uses a floating ground and it seems the wiring is different between left and right sides. You'd use a relay off the high-beam side to keep the the ballast grounded, after figuring the pinout. I will post that info if requested.

 

I could, but turnaround would not be quick. My schedule keeps me busy until the end of November. PM me if you are still interested.

 

I'd like the wiring info. it would save me a lot of time when I finally get around to doing this on my car.

 

Those look great.

 

no offense but what does it matter if hes not the first? they look great and that's all that matters. the guy who had the TSX conversion also did a great job.

why dont we stop focusing on who did what first, and pay attention to simply what someone was able to do THEMSELVES. congrats on the conversion! keep us updated on the High beams as well, hope you get em figured out!

 

^^ Do you realize how old this thread is?

 

never really payed attention to that...it was at the top of the threads list when i clicked it (probably because a couple people recently commented on it)