JimmyBurnWorld
Saturday 27th October 2012, 17:56
I finally got fed up of the short distance undefined beam pattern of my original headlamps. Even with a HID kit installed, the light still wasnt as good as I'd like, plus being reflectors (with a H7R HID kit), I'm always paranoid of annoying oncoming drivers. Then came an 85mph pheasant strike to the near side headlamp which completley knocked it out of alignment. It later turned out that not one mounting point was intact when I removed the unit, it was held in my gravity, hope and the surrounding bodywork!
Anyway, after a lot of research, I happened upon this outfit and their related kit:
Projectors (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=236)
The Mini projector uses the existing bulb hole to centre and align the projector to the original headlamp alignment, without a load of faffing around marking out beam patterns, making brackets and silicone sealant.
So I ordered the complete kit, with their Three 5 (35W) ballasts and 4300K bulbs (Previously had 5000K and they're a little too blue for me - I like the crystal white light of 4300K). 2 weeks later, via customs, it all arrived and I set about fitting it all together.
Now, I have a one year old who has just started toddling, and a very time consuming job. When I started this retrofit I had every intention of photographing every single step. As it happens I just grabbed every second I could in the evening and didn't photo some of the really interesting stuff. Appologies.
Anyway. The original 2003 model headlamps have the fresnel type lenses. These are no good with projectors, so I managed to find some 2002 OEM HID units on fleabay. The OEM kit is still reflector, and these were completley knackered anyway internally, however they did have the clear lens I desired:
1733817339
I set about stripping the donor headlamps, which involves baking them at 150 C for 5 mins, then prising the glass lens away from the body.
I stripped EVERYTHING out of these headlamps, as I wanted to get rid of the original large dipped beam reflector. Eventually I was left with the main beam reflector and dipped beam backing piece. This base is the main mounting point for the headlamp's reflectos and attaches to all the levelling gear.
The one unit's main beam reflector was corroded and therefore useless as a reflector. I got a quote to have it re-silvered which was the better part of £100. This gave me the excuse to do something I have been wanting to do for ages - LED main beam! I had originally intended to fit my old H7R HID kit to the main beams so that I could still flash when the headlights were off, but have the combined effect of the bi-xenon projectors AND the separate main beams when it's dark.
I sourced a couple of Bidgelux's 4500 lumen LED arrays (4000k colour temp), some reflector optics and a current regulating boost converter (Takes 6-30V in and outputs a constant current at up to 80V to drive the LED's). The Bridgelux's in series require 26V each at 2.1A for full brightness, giving 52Vdc @ 2.1A required! A little unit from the states the size of a £2 coin took care of this.
Hyperboost (http://www.taskled.com/techhboost.html)
This is the bit I really wished I had photographed. Sorry.
Long story short, I fitted the LED reflectors to the main beam holes from the headlamp assembly, then trimmed them flush with the dremmel so they looked like they grew there. I fitted the LED arrays to the back of the reflectors, then mounted some heat-pipe based CPU coolers from a dell lap top to the rear fo the arrays. This allows the heat generated from the LEDS (not as much as an incandecent or HID bulb, but still significant) to be removed to the outside of the headlamp unit. A heatsink is fitted outside of the unit onto each of the heat pipes.
Once all the LED goodness was sorted, I got on and fitted up the projectors. I fitted some LED 'angel eyes' inside the shroud that goes over the projector. Then it was all fitted back into the headlamp assembly, re-baked and ready for fitting. This last sentance wraps up 3 weeks of evenings faffing around, getting very annoyed and dremmeling much plastic out of the way!
The ballasts were fitted where the original OEM ballasts were fitted.
The whole lot was fitted to the car, with significant soldering and hacking of the loom (I used to do this as my job so it was done properly).
The original fit showed the projector aimt to be too low, and not only that the Bi-xenon shutter was sticking open. No good. The whole lot got stripped again, including baking the units, removing the glass and getting back inside the assembly. I believe the OEM HID dipped beam is aimed low, being a reflector type. The projector mount was modified to aim it up a bit. The projector shutter was sticking because the projector was being forced into the bottom of the assembly, distorting the projector housing. Once all this was sorted, some plugs and sockets were added to tidy up the installation and make servicing in the future easier.
The whole lot was re-fitted, and presto:
1734017341
The light output is fantastic. The bi-xenon shutter gives a straight line cut off, protecting oncoming drivers from glare. When Main beam is flicked on, the light fills the road evenly with no hotspots. The LED main beams are brilliant in their own right, even though I've got them turned down to 1000 lumens each (heat issues - to be addressed). The light is clean and crisp.
I will get some photo's in the dark at some point, however please feel free to comment on what you've got so far.
Anyway, after a lot of research, I happened upon this outfit and their related kit:
Projectors (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=236)
The Mini projector uses the existing bulb hole to centre and align the projector to the original headlamp alignment, without a load of faffing around marking out beam patterns, making brackets and silicone sealant.
So I ordered the complete kit, with their Three 5 (35W) ballasts and 4300K bulbs (Previously had 5000K and they're a little too blue for me - I like the crystal white light of 4300K). 2 weeks later, via customs, it all arrived and I set about fitting it all together.
Now, I have a one year old who has just started toddling, and a very time consuming job. When I started this retrofit I had every intention of photographing every single step. As it happens I just grabbed every second I could in the evening and didn't photo some of the really interesting stuff. Appologies.
Anyway. The original 2003 model headlamps have the fresnel type lenses. These are no good with projectors, so I managed to find some 2002 OEM HID units on fleabay. The OEM kit is still reflector, and these were completley knackered anyway internally, however they did have the clear lens I desired:
1733817339
I set about stripping the donor headlamps, which involves baking them at 150 C for 5 mins, then prising the glass lens away from the body.
I stripped EVERYTHING out of these headlamps, as I wanted to get rid of the original large dipped beam reflector. Eventually I was left with the main beam reflector and dipped beam backing piece. This base is the main mounting point for the headlamp's reflectos and attaches to all the levelling gear.
The one unit's main beam reflector was corroded and therefore useless as a reflector. I got a quote to have it re-silvered which was the better part of £100. This gave me the excuse to do something I have been wanting to do for ages - LED main beam! I had originally intended to fit my old H7R HID kit to the main beams so that I could still flash when the headlights were off, but have the combined effect of the bi-xenon projectors AND the separate main beams when it's dark.
I sourced a couple of Bidgelux's 4500 lumen LED arrays (4000k colour temp), some reflector optics and a current regulating boost converter (Takes 6-30V in and outputs a constant current at up to 80V to drive the LED's). The Bridgelux's in series require 26V each at 2.1A for full brightness, giving 52Vdc @ 2.1A required! A little unit from the states the size of a £2 coin took care of this.
Hyperboost (http://www.taskled.com/techhboost.html)
This is the bit I really wished I had photographed. Sorry.
Long story short, I fitted the LED reflectors to the main beam holes from the headlamp assembly, then trimmed them flush with the dremmel so they looked like they grew there. I fitted the LED arrays to the back of the reflectors, then mounted some heat-pipe based CPU coolers from a dell lap top to the rear fo the arrays. This allows the heat generated from the LEDS (not as much as an incandecent or HID bulb, but still significant) to be removed to the outside of the headlamp unit. A heatsink is fitted outside of the unit onto each of the heat pipes.
Once all the LED goodness was sorted, I got on and fitted up the projectors. I fitted some LED 'angel eyes' inside the shroud that goes over the projector. Then it was all fitted back into the headlamp assembly, re-baked and ready for fitting. This last sentance wraps up 3 weeks of evenings faffing around, getting very annoyed and dremmeling much plastic out of the way!
The ballasts were fitted where the original OEM ballasts were fitted.
The whole lot was fitted to the car, with significant soldering and hacking of the loom (I used to do this as my job so it was done properly).
The original fit showed the projector aimt to be too low, and not only that the Bi-xenon shutter was sticking open. No good. The whole lot got stripped again, including baking the units, removing the glass and getting back inside the assembly. I believe the OEM HID dipped beam is aimed low, being a reflector type. The projector mount was modified to aim it up a bit. The projector shutter was sticking because the projector was being forced into the bottom of the assembly, distorting the projector housing. Once all this was sorted, some plugs and sockets were added to tidy up the installation and make servicing in the future easier.
The whole lot was re-fitted, and presto:
1734017341
The light output is fantastic. The bi-xenon shutter gives a straight line cut off, protecting oncoming drivers from glare. When Main beam is flicked on, the light fills the road evenly with no hotspots. The LED main beams are brilliant in their own right, even though I've got them turned down to 1000 lumens each (heat issues - to be addressed). The light is clean and crisp.
I will get some photo's in the dark at some point, however please feel free to comment on what you've got so far.