Headlight projector retrofit - HIDs to the max!

You tried to link a page via the image button, which won't work. If you click that button mentioned, put the following into the post and it'll show one of the pictures on your Cardomain page of your Civic:

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/4/286/3501/38214250217_large.jpg

Photo sharing websites (photobucket, etc) will give links to individual images, which you could use as well.

 

[ IMG ] [ IMG]

OK, that seems to work, I hand typed them in with the space, although they still show around the photo....

Attempt number two:
That is the trick!!!!
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Welcome.

U could stick a pnp kit in there & be like all the other self centered ricers on the road, or u could do a complete HID retro. I'm not sure if its been done on the 3rd gen Prius, but I would suggest getting a pair of used OEM lights to test on. Get them opened & see what u can get in there. I think u have single halogen projectors, so u can look into a set of S2000 projectors. They are a single HID projector (the best I think) or u can go with a Bi-xenon projector.

Check these places out. They both have some good info.

www.hidplanet.com/forums

www.theretrofitsource.com

 

i wouldn't say he's a "self-centered ricer".....the 2011's have halogen projector lenses stock....a PNP HID kit works just fine and offers a SHARP cutoff. while an HID projector is better suited for the application, a Halogen projector will not produce the glare that a regular halogen headlamp produces

 

It won't produce as much glare, but it will still produce more than it should. Remember all OEM projectors (HID and Halogen) have cutouts or shield bendings to allow some amount of light above the cutoff. This is by design to illuminate the road signs and provide a more gradual light blend. Halogen projectors have a cutout that sends a certain amount of light up with halogen bulbs. HID projectors have a cutout that sends a certain amount of light out with HID bulbs. Halogens in HID projectors mean you don't get enough light upwards. HIDs in Halogen projectors mean you send too much light upwards.

Agreed it is a much better solution than reflector based PnP kits.

As to the projectors, the S2000 AP1 is considered a very good projector. However the RX330/RX350/RX400/RX450 AFS (the AFS is important) projectors with TSX (or TSX-R) lenses and a custom curved shield will outshine them nicely. If you want width, then the Asian Domestic Market LS460 Bi-Xenon are the best with no competitors.

An FX projector (or FX-R) with TSX (or TSX-R) or ZKW (not always ZKW-R) lenses can come close to the RX projectors and are bixenon. But the shield design makes the cutoff bland to me. It takes skill to make the FX's really shine well. The RX's will shine for anyone with a little work. The S2000 AP1's will shine for anyone with no modifications.

 

I'm not saying hes a sef centered ricer.......but that is the typical "stereo type"

Even a halogen progector will have glare. Its all about the optics. Yes, the output will be better, but its still designed for halogen optics, not HID optics.

2K1Toaster is right about the RX projectors. they will out perform the S2K projector......but need a lot of mods to get it there

 

I would agree if she doesn't have AFS. The non-AFS RX projectors are rubbish.

 

Picking up the '08 Prius later today.....
Some more wire diagram based questions for my impending HID mod.
Below is a wire diagram.

Circled in red is the Halogen headlamp system that I will find currently in my car. I should expect a connector with a blue wire (low beam circuit), a violet wire (high beam circuit) and a brown wire (common).

Circled in green is what the factory HID set-up looks like. With that set-up, I see the following: a total of four wires per connector a pink wire (to energize the HID bulb), a white with black stripe wire to complete the HID bulb circuit (common), an orange wire to activate the 'shade' and another white with black stripe for the 'shade' common.

Question from an HID neophyte: when the HID system comes on, is the bulb at one constant amperage/wattage and only the shade makes the difference between low beam/hi beam? I'm not quite understanding what a 'shade' will do in this system (and in my system that I will be putting into this car in about three weeks).

Question based on photos of instructions installing the H1 kit I ordered from TRS (and photo's in this thread): I see four wires that will extend out the back of the projector with the retrofit bulb in place (two white, plus one red and one black). I'll assume the two white shall be the common leads. The black lead is (?) (bulb or shade?). The red lead is (?) bulb or shade?). Which device needs the hi-amp current that requires the TRS folks to add relays as part of the kit?

Using the attached picture of the wire diagram with the halogen wires (that is what I'll have to work with) can someone show how/where the TRS system will electrically be grafted onto the OEM wire system?

Thanks

PS: I'll be off-line for the next ? hours while I go P/U my new car

 

The "shield" in HID setup runs off of 12v & the bulb remains on. When the high beam is turned on, the shield moves down to uncover more light creating the high beam.

With the halogen setup, the low & high beam are enclosed in the same bulb. When the high beams are turned on, the low beams turn off.

If you got the correct H4 relay from Matt, it will prevent the low beam from turning off when the high beams are turned on. There will be 1 end on the relay that u will plug into the H4 connector on the car. There will be a POS & a NEG that u will need to hook up. Next will be the new connectors to the ballast. More than likely they will be 9006 plugs & last will be the connector for the high beam.

Hope this all makes since.

 

I have a stock RX350 with AFS. I will remember to take an output shot next time I drive it.

If you start the Lexus and the lights go up and down only, you don't have AFS. If you start it and the lights go up and down, and then left and right fully centering in the middle, it has AFS.

 

I'm in the middle of the first headlamp re-fit. Can someone show me a picture of how the new bulb will actually clip/snap/hold into place please..........its been a long 4.5 hours and it's not fun!!!

 

Am I ready to re-bake or is there some other little thing I'm going to miss?
I hope I reuse this big black plastic circle.......how do i get the old bulb out of there?

Project on full stop until I know I can back the first light and put it back together......please help, thanks

 

I can't tell anything from the teeny tiny pictures you provided.

Usually for D2S bulbs, there is a spring retention clip that looks like a W with curly-cues on the end of it. That loops over the bulb base and into notches on the projector. I don't recognize the projector you are using, so I have no idea... Are those D2S projectors?

The big black circle is the moisture prevention seal. It twists onto the back of the headlights so just the wire sticks out and less water has a chance of getting in. The bulb shouldn't be stuck to it... You didn't bake it with the bulb in there as well as the seal did you? That would be silly. If you did, then the seal is no good anymore, and that bulb is not going to be happy if it is a D2S bulb. Halogen, probably ok and since you are retrofitting anyways, not an issue.

 

You have not installed this H1 bulb holder, with 3 screws.



Here is how it looks, with the included clip holding the H1 bulb.

Just pull the halogen bulb out. The rubber is a bit tight. Rotating it while pulling is the easiest.

The back looks good. Can I see the front?

 

Thanks guys....back to the oven.....will debrief later.....

 

I'm taking a break. My camera battery (and I) have run out of energy. I will capture my personal lessons learned and techniques used for the community (HID for dummies).....

As things sit right now: both headlamps are back together, cleaned up and the connectors are complete. Tomorrow I'll wire the system up and I should be up and running.

A few shots and comments:

I opened the kit this morning, unwound everything and only found one of these connectors (to tie into the OEM system). I also found another loose wire (not shown) and none of it made any sense to me. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with Andrew at TRS.

The passenger side OEM connector becomes redundant thus the reason for only one of these connectors...and the other wire is for testing the lamps independent of the OEM switch.

Opinion: the kit should come with two sheets of paper. One has a diagram showing how all the wires bundle together. The second, a cross section of what goes where, washer and screw wise, when one puts the actual lamps and shades together....



I spent 40 minutes before finally drilling out this stuck screw.

Opinion: these screws should not ship from the factory in such tight condition. They should all be in a bag and the aforementioned suggested "cross section" diagram showing exactly what goes where would prevent a whole lot of trial and error.



Some thread-lock and some RTV that I used to seal the rubber back of the housing.....



Trial and error before my technique of having the wires all go thru the central rubber grommet......again, one diagram would have saved me about two hours of "put it together, tear it apart, put it together, etc"

My camera battery died so I can't show the two finished headlamp units. I will capture all this later this week.....

My first headlamp took 4.5 hours. The second one took one hour. Nothing like experience.

The first headlamp I spent a long time cleaning up the black glue that had found itself on the front/clear area because I tried to lift the clear half too fast...

The second headlamp I separated the two parts but let it 'rest' while I kept the two halves apart enough not to re-glue together for about 2 minutes before lifting the clear housing away: result: less than 5% of a mess.

Tip: clean the goop off the clear half while the unit is still hot with alcohol/micro-cloth followed by Novus NOVUS Plastic Polish

Tip: I used a convection oven setting for the 265F for 7 minutes after a bit of trial and error.....

Thanks for the help today, kept the train on the tracks. Can't show a photo of the housings with the Gatling Gun shrouds until tomorrow.

Thanks
Cheers
Mike

 

/\/\ good to know. Looking forward to your results

 

I didn't have problem with the black glue. I put it on the rug between my legs while sitting down. I held the bottom part with both of my legs. I lifted the top clear piece straight up.

I could see the mess it'll cause if I do it side way. I wish I thought of that before so I could have warned you.