EBAY reflector headlight Projector retrofit
EBAY reflector headlight Projector retrofit
I finally decided to swap in projectors into my EBAY reflector type headlights. I have had 6000k HIDs in them and they got the job done but they had some pretty bad hotspots and the cutoff wasn’t very good. As you can see from the picture below
I decided to go with E55 projectors and picked up a used set off EBAY for $81 shipped. I decided on the E55 because they are bi-xenon and would allow me to have dual high beams. Another popular option is the E46 projector. I also picked up some D2S bulbs and adaptor plugs to fit the projectors and my existing ballasts.
Before I started I pulled the headlights and made lighting marks on the inside of my garage door so I could match them once I got things swapped over which was the first picture.
To get the lights apart I baked them at about 185° for about 10-12 minutes. At first I had them at 225° but something was smoking so I dialed it back. I took everything that easily came off of the headlights but I didn’t strip them before baking. Also throw a towel down on the rack too to prevent the housing from melting on the metal rack.
I worked my way around with a flathead screwdriver and they came apart after about 3-5 minutes of working at it.
Then I took the reflectors off, as you can see the high and low beam are one piece so I had to cut them apart later. To get them out you need to loosen the two adjusting screws at the back until it comes free. Alternate screws as you go otherwise you will crack the housing like I did with mine.
Once you get this off you can get the projector in place and start aiming it. I used one of the original adjustment screws as a mounting point as well as drilling two other holes to run bolts through to use as mounting points. The original mounting screw is a #10-32 (get those) I accidentialy grabbed #10-24 nuts and bolts (pictured) which didn’t really matter it just meant that I had two different thread pitches. Get #10-32 hardware and you wont have to worry about keeping stuff separate. I also had to drill out the mounting holes on the projector a little bit so the bolts would fit I think I used a ¼” bit for that. Something just bigger than the hardware you are using will work. Below is all the hardware you should need for the install.
I decided to go with E55 projectors and picked up a used set off EBAY for $81 shipped. I decided on the E55 because they are bi-xenon and would allow me to have dual high beams. Another popular option is the E46 projector. I also picked up some D2S bulbs and adaptor plugs to fit the projectors and my existing ballasts.
Before I started I pulled the headlights and made lighting marks on the inside of my garage door so I could match them once I got things swapped over which was the first picture.
To get the lights apart I baked them at about 185° for about 10-12 minutes. At first I had them at 225° but something was smoking so I dialed it back. I took everything that easily came off of the headlights but I didn’t strip them before baking. Also throw a towel down on the rack too to prevent the housing from melting on the metal rack.
I worked my way around with a flathead screwdriver and they came apart after about 3-5 minutes of working at it.
Then I took the reflectors off, as you can see the high and low beam are one piece so I had to cut them apart later. To get them out you need to loosen the two adjusting screws at the back until it comes free. Alternate screws as you go otherwise you will crack the housing like I did with mine.
Once you get this off you can get the projector in place and start aiming it. I used one of the original adjustment screws as a mounting point as well as drilling two other holes to run bolts through to use as mounting points. The original mounting screw is a #10-32 (get those) I accidentialy grabbed #10-24 nuts and bolts (pictured) which didn’t really matter it just meant that I had two different thread pitches. Get #10-32 hardware and you wont have to worry about keeping stuff separate. I also had to drill out the mounting holes on the projector a little bit so the bolts would fit I think I used a ¼” bit for that. Something just bigger than the hardware you are using will work. Below is all the hardware you should need for the install.
It took me forever to aim the light properly and figure out where to drill into the housing, if you can get an extra set of hands for this part it would save you tons of time.
Once I got them somewhat aimed in my garage I threw them onto my car without the front lenses and did a final adjustment using the mounting screws. Once I got everything where I wanted I used a little bit of locktite thread locker and tightened everything down on them to make sure they wouldn’t loosen up down the road. Make sure they are where you want them now because you wont be able to adjust them once you put the lens back on.
Mounting screws with locktite
I threw the housing and the lens back in the oven for a couple of minutes at 185° again to loosen up the sealant again and pushed everything back together and put them back on the car.
The last step was wiring everything up so when the highs went on the lows stayed on and the metal reflector moved out of the way leaving me with dual HID high beams. I did this by wiring the ground of the low of the low beam to the chassis and splicing the bi-xenon solenoid to the high beam.
Feel free to ask any questions, if i don't respond in this thread PM me because i probably forgot i wrote it and am not checking it
Once I got them somewhat aimed in my garage I threw them onto my car without the front lenses and did a final adjustment using the mounting screws. Once I got everything where I wanted I used a little bit of locktite thread locker and tightened everything down on them to make sure they wouldn’t loosen up down the road. Make sure they are where you want them now because you wont be able to adjust them once you put the lens back on.
Mounting screws with locktite
I threw the housing and the lens back in the oven for a couple of minutes at 185° again to loosen up the sealant again and pushed everything back together and put them back on the car.
The last step was wiring everything up so when the highs went on the lows stayed on and the metal reflector moved out of the way leaving me with dual HID high beams. I did this by wiring the ground of the low of the low beam to the chassis and splicing the bi-xenon solenoid to the high beam.
Feel free to ask any questions, if i don't respond in this thread PM me because i probably forgot i wrote it and am not checking it
Last edited by Feldman; Mar 22, 2010 at 12:34 AM.
There was already kind of a shroud built into the headlight that went around the old low beam reflector, I just used that. It wasn't exactly a perfect fit but it was a lot easier than hacking up the headlight more than i already did.
here is what they look like on my car
Thats why getting them aimed properly is so important before you put the lenses back on. I can think of any reason they would need any further adjustment down the road. I'm sure i could have figured out a system to make them adjustable but the way i did it seemed more secure and less complicated
hey im down if you can build them for me as well. Mine are the ebay ones that come with the halos. How much can you replace my halos for (i want brighter bluer ones)? and make my headlights look like yours lol? yours are sexy!!! give me a price and will talk more! (mines an 01 SE black) THX!!!
hey im down if you can build them for me as well. Mine are the ebay ones that come with the halos. How much can you replace my halos for (i want brighter bluer ones)? and make my headlights look like yours lol? yours are sexy!!! give me a price and will talk more! (mines an 01 SE black) THX!!!
I think it would be easier to retrofit the ones that start with projectors
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-01...#ht_2112wt_941
is this what you have?
As far as bluer halos, if you can find them i can install them for you but i have no idea where to find them
The tricky part was figuring out how to get the high and low beam to be on at the same time. It actually ended up being pretty simple but I had to think about it for a while. I don't have an easy way to diagram it out right now but the easiest way to explain is the ground of the low beam is grounded to the chassis instead of using the ground from the plug.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,043
From: Toronto, ONT
Man the mod looks good...I retrofit TSX projectors into my ebay projectors and they look and work great....
I bought custom CCFL angel eyes and swapped out the crappy, dim, and unreliable LED halos for CCFLs...took a while to get the fitment right but I think they look sick:
I bought custom CCFL angel eyes and swapped out the crappy, dim, and unreliable LED halos for CCFLs...took a while to get the fitment right but I think they look sick:
Last edited by M1RAG3; Mar 22, 2010 at 04:45 PM.
Man the mod looks good...I retrofit TSX projectors into my ebay projectors and they look and work great....
I bought custom CCFL angel eyes and swapped out the crappy, dim, and unreliable LED halos for CCFLs...took a while to get the fitment right but I think they look sick:
I bought custom CCFL angel eyes and swapped out the crappy, dim, and unreliable LED halos for CCFLs...took a while to get the fitment right but I think they look sick:
also where did you pick up your CCFL halos?
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/504020/3
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,043
From: Toronto, ONT
The TSX projectors were not that difficult to fit...however there was a bit of open space (clearly because the TSX projectors are a bit smaller diameter than the original cheap a$$ projectors) but I spend HOURS fiddling modifiing the bracket which the projector shroud and base screw into and I was able to close up the space for the most part.
The CCFLs are from www.retro-solutions.com. Definitely check out the site of you are a DIY-er its a great site with great products
The CCFLs are from www.retro-solutions.com. Definitely check out the site of you are a DIY-er its a great site with great products
I think MoncefA33 wants me to build him a set, if he decides to go ahead with that i will do a writeup on how to do it with the ebay projector headlights which i think will be much easier than the reflector headlights I used
that looks very good did it take a long time to do this? I would really like to do this on my car I have a HID Bi-Xenon kit installed in my 2000 nissan maxima and I would like to add in some projectors. What do you recommend for me to do?
In short you need to purchase a set of e55 projectors or a similar 3" bi-xenon projector. pick up a set of ebay projectors and bake them into halves. replace the ebay projector with the e55 projector put the two halves back together and wire it up. You'll also need the appropriate bulbs and harnesses depending on what projectors you go with (d2s or d2c for the e55)
I think it would look better than mine to be honest. The ebay projectors are 3" and the e55 projector is 3" so it should look exactly like the ebay projectors but with good output and bi-xenon capability
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 487
From: Baton Rouge, LA
I just cant get over the fact that the lows are smaller than the highs... I'm so used to seeing vehicles that have smaller high beam areas than low beam. Guess it just looks weird to see something non-stock on a maxima
Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 245
From: Lafayette/Jeanerette, Louisiana
Sorry for the bump, but would anyone know if the HID projectors are any good? Are they comparable to the result of this retrofit? I am wanting to replace my stock, fogged-up headlights, maybe with the HID projectors. I was thinking if the HID kit in the HID projectors aren't any good, maybe I could swap out the ballasts for my stock ballasts. Yes? No? What do you guys think I should do?
Shout out to avciugroar XD
Shout out to avciugroar XD
