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2005 Dual Halo Projector Retrofit Project

29K views 160 replies 24 participants last post by  Jgrove998 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all! Well this thread is going to be about retrofitting a better projector assembly into my black housing dual halo projector headlights I purchased from k2motors.

To start, my opinion on the headlights themselves. The fitment is perfect for my 2005 sedan. The connectors also fit perfect with no problems. It is a simple source and ground connection for the halos and 4 LED bulbs in the eyebrows. I wired them to my running lights. The low and high beams run H1 bulbs. The projector low beams are where the problem starts. The light output is decent but not what I was expecting. The cutoff is OK but not super sharp and there are the infamous flip ups on either side of the light output. High beams are very bright! The sealant of the lights seem OK but after 3 months of having them all 4 of the LED bulbs in the eye brows burned out. Overall, I really like the lights, I just wish the output from the low beams was better.

After a month of having the lights I purchased a Apexcone HID kit with 6000K bulbs. Wiring was soooo easy but the H1 bulbs didn't fit quite right so I had to grind off a bit of the plastic around the bulbs to get them to fit right. Light output was a little better but I still was not happy.

So to fix the problem: a new projector housing! I got really lucky to find a pair of Acura TSX projectors on eBay that i got for $112.50 plus 9.99 shipping.

I will document my progress in this thread! Any tips, suggestions or constructive comments are welcome!

Justin
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Day 1: Taking the Headlights apart!

So today I started to take the headlights apart. Of course you have to bake the headlights in the oven. I cooked mine at a temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 mins at a time. I reheated the headlights 4 times to get the seal apart. I broke the top apart first then pried the sides and bottom apart. I am happy with the results and I did not damage the headlights at all.

One question: How am I going to clean off all the old sealant and what sealant should I use to reseal them?

Now for pictures of what I'm working with!

What I started with.......


After breaking the headlight open.....




Notice the cutoff shield and how it is curved on the edges. Could that be causing the flip ups on the outsides of the light outputs?




Here is the bag-o-parts for each headlight....


Here is a close up of the cutoff shield....



Here is the reflector for the low beams. Why is it a oval shape?


Here is the projector lens....


This is the mounting location I'm working with, shouldn't be too bad!


The high beam reflector....


The wires from the headlight connector were so simple: 1 ground split for both lights and separate power wires.


This is the LED holders/connectors. No wires were broken. Maybe the LED's weren't rated for 12v use? I was thinking of replacing the white LED's with yellow ones. What do you think?


The halo's were simply wired with a male/female connector into the inverter box thing.





I won't be able to work on these anymore until I get the new projector housings.

I'm excited! [grinking]
 
#4 · (Edited)
are the Valeo projectors I'm getting D1S? not D2S? I thought i had it straight! thanks for letting me know!




Ok, did some research. The Valeo projectors I was looking at getting are D1S. I have no need for the D1S since I have a aftermarket HID kit. The D2S has the same mounting flange just without the ignitor built on the end of it. I must come up with a way to secure the D2S bulb but it will fit for sure. I saw pictures on other forums for HID retrofitting. Thanks slowduratec!
 
#12 ·
well just to let you know a guy who did this ran into a problem with the aftermarket len that are on the headlights. he had a really bad problem with the cut off line being all jagged and nasty. he fixed it by swapping the oem lens to the new headlight just in case you run into this problem. something about the line where they melt the 2 parts of the lens together. might want to look into that save some time and trouble good luck on your retro.
 
#13 ·
Mothers day Update!

Alright I'm super excited right now! I got me a pair of Acura TSX Projectors off ebay for $122.50!!!!!!!! Bulb type is D2S. This means I will need the AMP to D2S converter cable.

PICTURES!

The projectors!



And the AMP to D2S converter cable I'll need!



Thanks for the support! [thumb]
 
#17 ·
Just a little update.

Paid for the projector housings, hopefully they will be here by the end of this week.

I tore the other headlight apart today. It was a little easier now that I know what to do.

One question; What do you guys think about the LED eyebrows? Should I keep them or just get rid of them?

Justin
 
#23 · (Edited)
UPDATE: May 16, 2009

Well I spent 5 hrs working on one headlight today. The back part of the TSX projector housing is oval shaped so I spent most of my time grinding out the round mounting plate with the dremel. I have it pretty much where I want it, just gotta do some more grinding and stuff. I also did a lot of trimming on the front part of the projector housing itself. There is so much extra metal on the housing. Not anymore ;) Overall I am very satisfied with the way it turned out.

I was able to use the existing holes in the mounting plate which I really liked. I have to say I love my dremel, it was the only tool I used today. And for the fun part, doing the other headlight!!!!!

Pictures!

Here is shot of the cutoff shield from both sides.



The Acura TSX projector on the left, halogen projector on the right.


I have full adjustability like I had with the halogen projectors in there. I still need to buy the D2S bulbs and converter cables though.
 
#28 ·
Your telling me! I cant wait to get them both mounted and test them.


Another thing I am debating is whether I should replace the front clear cover on the halo headlights with a OEM cover from the stock ford headlights. I've checked out other retrofitting threads and saw that the front cover really causes a problem with the cutoff. But when I look through the covers that came with my halo lights they are clear with no distortion I can see.

If I could find a pair of 05-07 headlights for really cheap (since I'm going to hack them anyways) I would go ahead and replace the cover.

What do you think? And anyone got a set of 05-07 headlights for CHEAP! :-D
 
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