DIY: Morimoto HID projectors into pre-facelift Euro Type-R housings w/ leveling motors
I've always liked the look of the pre-facelift headlights. The Type-R versions are even nicer, with a subtle smoked chrome look. I was able to get my hands on some used Type-R halogen headlights from Europe, but also wanted better light output.
First off, don't put HID Xenon bulbs into a halogen housing. The only proper way to upgrade to HID is with projectors, like the ones they sell at The Retrofit Source.
An added feature of the Euro Type-R housings is that they come with leveling motors that adjust the vertical aim of the beams. You can change the aim from a switch on your dash. The idea is that you might have a heavy load in the hatch that will consequently point your beams too high, so the leveling switch lets you lower/adjust the beams so they don't blind oncoming drivers. You can still adjust up/down and left/right aim with manual screws on the back of the housing (just like USDM).
This is going to be a bare-bones (less detailed) DIY. I'm going to assume:
1. you are comfortable jacking up your car safely.
2. you have enough mechanical confidence to remove your headlights and front bumper.
3. you have familiarity with HID retrofits -- I retrofit my wife's Xterra first as a trial run.
4. you bought a 2nd set of headlight housings for the retrofit (you don't have to do that, the instructions are written that way).
Things you will need:
1. Euro Type-R headlight housings - there are about 3-4 different pre-facelift housings out there. USDM (halogen), Type-R (halogen) and Type-R (HID/projector-less). I bought Euro Type-R housings that are meant for halogen bulbs. Found them on eBay international from a buyer in Holland. You can also do this to your stock USDM headlights, but note the housings are slightly different -- there are no metal clips holding the clear lens on, etc.
2. HID retrofit kit. Call up The Retrofit Source (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/) and tell them you have a 2002 Honda Civic Si and they will walk you through all the stuff to buy. In my case I got:
- Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III (H1)
- Morimoto 3Five (35w) Ballasts
- H1 Morimoto 3Five 4300k Bulbs
- Butyl re-sealing glue
- Mini gatling shrouds
- H4/9003 Wire Harness Relay
- 1 set of rubber housing caps 90mm
3. Flat nose screwdrivers and trim pry tool
4. a household oven big enough to fit one of these headlights
5. socket set with 10mm and 12mm sockets and extensions
6. torx driver bit set
7. allen wrench set
8. floor jack, jack stands, wheel chocks
9. roll of paper towels
10. mechanics gloves (to protect your hands from heat)
11. old blanket or towels (to place the hot housings on your work bench)
12. small hand file
13. HID instructions from The Retrofit Source (TRS), available online -- helps if you read it beforehand
14. threadlock (optional)
15. can of compressed air (to blow dust out of your housings before you re-assemble)
STEPS:
1. set ebrake, chock wheels, jack up front of car, place jack stands
2. open hood.
3. remove the clips and hardware holding on your front bumper. You only need to move the bumper forward about 5 inches, you don't have to completely remove it. See your service manual for more info.
- 4 plastic (short) clips above grille
- 6 plastic (long) clips under bumper
- 2 screws under bumper
- 2 screws in wheel well where bumper meets fender
4. use a 10mm socket to remove the 2 bolts above each headlight. Then remove the 2 bolts beneath each headlight. The lower inboard bolt requires an extension to reach it.
5. disconnect the headlight, city light and turn signal sockets. Remove the headlight housings from the car.
5.1 Remove the 2 10mm bolts that hold a small painted metal bracket to the underside of each housing.
Then your car will have no headlights!:
6. now inspect and clean your new headlight housings. Remove the rubber housing caps (they surround the opening for the halogen bulb).
6.1. use a flat head screwdriver to remove the metal clips holding the clear lens to the housing. Mine had 5 per side.
7. bake the first housing in order to loosen the glue. I did 220 degrees for 20 minutes. I used a cookie sheet with a layer of aluminum foil between the cookie sheet and the housing.
8. make sure you have a work bench cleared off. cover it with an old blanket or towel to protect the work surface and your housings. This was my workspace:
9. once the 20 minutes is up, pull the housing out and put it on your workbench. Don't forget to close the over door and turn it off.
10. you'll have about 5 minutes while the glue is soft to pull the clear lens off the housing. Using a pry tool, I pried carefully on the underside trying not to bend the black plastic housing too much. Once I got a section pried open I was able to use my hands to separate the lens from the housing. There is a bit of "string cheese" glue to watch for but it's not too bad.
11. If needed, you can clean off the inside of the clear lens and the main shroud. The main shroud is held in with 2 torx screws. Mine had some hazing that I was able to remove with some water. I avoided using any chemicals on the inside of the headlight. Here is the main "smoked chrome" shroud:
12. remove the stock halogen bulb mounts. I had to use an allen wrench to turn the 2 adjustment knobs clockwise quite a few turns to gain access to the torx screw that holds in the bulb mount.
Here is the back of the housing with the halogen bulb mount removed:
This is the removed halogen bulb mount:
Your housing should now look like this:
13. in the kit you get from The Retrofit Source, you'll get a bunch of adapters. See pic below. You need that big one of the left side with the 3 prongs. Using a small hand file, file down the tiny alignment nub on the inside that adapter. It is meant to keep the projector vertical, but since the entire adapter plate goes in at an angle, you'd end up with a severely angled cutoff line. So file it down so you can rotate the projector freely.
14. Now use a 9v battery to test the bi-xenon solenoid on your Morimoto projectors. Better to check them now than after everything is assembled! Polarity doesn't matter. Giving it 9v power should make the shield drop down instantly.
14.1 Screw the shroud onto the Morimoto projector with the 4 screws provided.
14.2 Unscrew the bulb clip from the Morimoto projector and set it aside.
15. Next install the projector into your housing. The assembly sandwiches together this way:
- Morimoto projector (make sure the side marked TOP is up)
- large white rubber gasket
- headlight housing
- adapter plate (the one you filed down in the previous step) - I inserted mine with the concave part extending rearward
- large projector nut (be careful not to cross thread!) - this holds the projector in place
- bulb clip (the one you removed earlier); install the wire tensioner that will later hold the bulb in place
- screw down the bulb clip with the 3 screws provided
Once projector is installed:
16. Do your best to make sure the projector is as close to level as possible, otherwise your cutoff line will be angled. Some people put the housing back on the car to do this. It's up to you how much effort you want to put into it. For me I was able to eyeball it and it came out fine. I put a few drops of threadlock on the large projector nut to help it stay in place. (I was able to make adjustments a few weeks after the install by removing the xenon bulb and inserting a large flathead screwdriver into the bulb hole and carefully rotating clockwise/counterclockwise to nudge the projector to be more level).
17. If you want to hook up the leveling motors (if your housing has them), now is the time to check that they work. Using this thread I was able to figure out how to mock up a wiring harness. I'll post separately about how to wire these up, since I'd like to make a better wiring diagram. This is how I discovered that one of my leveling motors was faulty and did not work. This was the bad part:
I called my local parts shop and they could not get it. So I had to source from Europe via eBay for about $40 used. The part is made by Bosch and is used in a few other cars including the Smart car.
This is my wiring mockup for the leveling switch harness.
18. disconnect your car battery.
18.1 Now go back to your car and wire up the TRS ballasts, main wiring harness, power lines, etc. The TRS ballasts come with mounting hardware. Here is where I installed my ballasts (it's the black box in the lower center of the pic):
driver side:
passenger side:
main harness:
Tuck and zip tie your wires. Avoid running any wires near heat or moving parts.
19. Now it's time for a test fire of the HID bulbs. Install the bulbs into the projectors. Hook up the wires from the projector solenoid (that controls the high beam shield). Loosely place the housings on your car. reconnect car battery. try out the lights. Remember you need to have the key in the on position to trigger the high beams.
20. you can adjust the rotation and rough aim of the projectors at this time if you like. There are a lot of vids on YouTube for how to do that.
21. Now remove the bulbs.
22. It's time to reseal the housings. Blow compressed air to clean them out. Get your oven ready.
23. I used the butyl glue from TRS -- it is super easy to use and not too messy. Sort of like sticky Play-Do. I worked it into a thin bead and put it all around the housing over the old glue. I didn't remove any old glue.
24. Press the two parts of the housing together. Now put the housing back in the oven. I did 220 degrees for 8 minutes, just long enough to soften the glue.
25. After 8 minutes, took the housing out, pressed the two halves together nice and snug. Clean up excess glue. Make sure the outboard edge of the housing is nice and tight/compressed, or else it will not line up your sheet metal properly once back on the car.
26. Install the painted metal bracket under each housing using the 2 10mm bolts.
27. Install/connect the HID bulb, high beam connector, city light, turn signals.
27.1. Install housings back on the car. Test the HIDs out again.
28. Re-install the bumper.
29. Re-connect battery if needed.
29.1. Set car back on ground, clean up.
30. Aim your headlights properly. The outboard adjustments are for UP/DOWN. Inboard adjust LEFT/RIGHT.
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...lights-diagram!!!
Side by side:
Finished!
Bulbs & sockets:
City bulbs: Needs the sockets that came with the new housings (USDM won't work). You can re-use the bulb.
Turn signals. Needs the sockets that came with the new housings (USDM won't work). You need new PY21W bulbs too (USDM 1156/1157 won't work).
I've skipped the leveling motor install/details for now, since I haven't completed that part of the install. I need to wait a few weeks for my replacement leveling motor to arrive. I'll post pics and a diagram of that wiring harness when it's done.
Any questions or if I forgot something let me know!
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