DIY: hid retrofit on a budget! (for halogen lights)

Originally Posted by Wassa2016

Completely forgot to post pictures up here >_< I'm just fixing my radiator, will post pics up in the next few days. Must say.. Mini really does hold up; seems brighter than OEM xenon lights haha, the 6000k bulbs add a nice purple flicker when driving, and lights up the road, with or without the bi-xenon function.

I'm really pleased with buying them and recommend TRS for future buys. Matt has great customer service skills.

If anyone else wants i can post more pictures up with installing the lights, if anything is missing

Hey I just had a question as to what ballasts and/or harness you used. I just picked these projectors off a friend but still need ballasts.

Originally Posted by shadow2132

Hey I just had a question as to what ballasts and/or harness you used. I just picked these projectors off a friend but still need ballasts.

Thanks for the PM, didnt see anyone replied to this thread. You'll want to get the 9006 harness, E46 use H7 bulbs but it uses the 9006 to H7 adapters.

Heres a pic of them attached
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/153/img04611u.jpg

I used 35 watt ballasats and 6000k HID bulbs. Reason was if you go any higher in the kalvin range for the bulbs, you will get a more purple color however the light intensity will drop. And 55w ballasats tend to overhead alot quicker and have a shorter life-span.

Thanks alot for this super useful DIY .... Bump

about to tackle this diy, looks great. i'm sure i'll be thanking you later.

Why has no one posted pictures of cutoff/output after doing this? lol... that is the most important part

hey guys i just did these today and had a quick question, anyone have a problem with a very slight flicker? the bulb doesn't go out but it seems the light output isn't constant as if the power is not consistent.

any ideas?

Okay, I am FINALLY going to start this retrofit next weekend after it has been sitting in storage for 2 months!

Anyways, I have done some testing with the ballast and OEM connection and it works BUT, I cannot get the OEM H7 harness (or is it 9006) from the stock low beam to fully connect and stay with the ballast. It fits and lets the setup work, but like I said, its not plugged in all the way.

Now I can do some simple trimming, or should I just go with the 9006 relay harness from TRS?

Originally Posted by shadow2132

hey guys i just did these today and had a quick question, anyone have a problem with a very slight flicker? the bulb doesn't go out but it seems the light output isn't constant as if the power is not consistent.

any ideas?

a friend of mine is having the same problem, i thought it was a faulty bulb but guess not ...

Originally Posted by Lsportlex

a friend of mine is having the same problem, i thought it was a faulty bulb but guess not ...

I've dealt with DDM stuff before so me and a friend have a spare HID parts bin. I took Error code eliminators and put them on which so far has fixed the problem.

Dash looks fine and there's not even a slight color change. Start up is fine and they warm up to color as expected.

I'll keep you posted if this works thru the next few days but it seems to have fixed the problem. Now I need to figure out where to tie off the balasts.

Originally Posted by shadow2132

I've dealt with DDM stuff before so me and a friend have a spare HID parts bin. I took Error code eliminators and put them on which so far has fixed the problem.

Dash looks fine and there's not even a slight color change. Start up is fine and they warm up to color as expected.

I'll keep you posted if this works thru the next few days but it seems to have fixed the problem. Now I need to figure out where to tie off the balasts.

thanks for the info, ill relay this message to help him out..

Ok so for any future people doing this retrofit if you go the route of DDM just order the error eliminators for $15 along with the bulbs and ballasts and you'll be all set
(H1 bulbs, 35w or 55w ballasts, and code eliminators) < I was somewhat confused at first of how it would all fit together but it really is plug and play.

Will post pics as soon as i get a clear night it's raining here in nyc ...to anyone doubting the cut-off i can say its beautiful

Originally Posted by shadow2132

Ok so for any future people doing this retrofit if you go the route of DDM just order the error eliminators for $15 along with the bulbs and ballasts and you'll be all set
(H1 bulbs, 35w or 55w ballasts, and code eliminators) < I was somewhat confused at first of how it would all fit together but it really is plug and play.

Will post pics as soon as i get a clear night it's raining here in nyc ...to anyone doubting the cut-off i can say its beautiful

Take some in the garage or out side even if it is raining. I really do want to do this just have never seen any pics of the cut off either.

I finally finished this retrofit.



I will get an image of the cutoff tomorrow evening, and like shadow said, its quite beautiful.

More pictures!

^ Nice!! Post some pics of the cutoff at night.

Wow that looks great. How much did it all come out too $$

Here is what I found:

(2x) 35w Ballasts and (2x) H1 bulbs --> $150.27 (From Retro-Solutions)
(2x) Morimoto Mini H1 projectors and E46 Shrouds --> $143.80 (From TRS)

So that totals out to be $294.07, but I also needed to buy a new Passenger Headlight (and the Drivers side was replaced for free). So that was an additional ~$250 for me.

I also have some "xenon" fog lights coming in to give it a more white/blue look when I turn them on, rather than the ugly Amber.

If anyone has a good idea of what clear/smoked corners I should get and where from, please let me know!

Cutoff as requested! I think this is a beautiful blue cutoff myself.

wtf that's better than my lights!

Granted I was only about 15' away, so it may look better.

Also, does that adjustment look right? I cannot find a place that has a flat 25' then a wall. So I did it at 15' and aimed a bit higher and further spread.