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

578K views 1K replies 214 participants last post by  PabloCruise 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello fanatics, this is my DIY on xenon/hid conversion if you have OEM halogen lights and don't want to spend money on buying OEM or DEPO projector headlights. Personally I do not like the looks of the DEPO headlights as there is a day and night difference in the appearance of them. This is a DIY on a budget...the total cost was less then buying a set of DEPOs and at the same time the performance and looks of the headlights is significantly improved.

The retrofit hid I used is the Morimoto Mini H1 bi-xenon projector that can be purchase from Umnitza or TRS. Why did i choose this instead of the FX-R? Well like I stated I am doing this on a budget and it's easier to retrofit because you don't have to do any cutting or trimming.

They fit right into the bulb holes in the halogen lights and doing a D2S conversion costs more money for the ballasts/bulbs and a lot of cutting. I paired them up with a set of 6000K H1 bulbs and ballasts from ddm tunning and the results were amazing considering they use the same clear lens found in the FX-R or so theretrofitsource says....



the parts you need...

*1 pair of morimoto mini H1 projector -
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/c...moto-mini-h1-7-0-projectors.html#.Vn1VjvmANBc

*1 pair of e46 replica shrouds - (I bought the budget ones for $15)
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/shrouds/e46-r-projector-shrouds.html#.Vn1V6PmANBc

*1 pair of whatever kelvin hid H1 lights/ballast
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/c...xb35-amp-hid-xenon-ballasts.html#.Vn1WCfmANBc

*or the entire kit with the wiring harness:

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/c...orimoto-mini-stage-3-kit-h1.html#.Vn1VsvmANBc


Total amount for this whole DIY should be roughly $250, less then DEPO reps!!!

You can also buy the complete kit here:

https://www.umnitza.com/hid-project...xenon-complete-retrofit-kit-with-options.html

Select: no accessories, no angel eyes, LHD for US, H1 mini projector, 5000k temp for pure white, superslim three5 ballasts, H1 standard bulb and E46 R shrouds. Comes to $225 plus shipping

*Optional, flat black paint

tools you need
*Philips screw driver
*Flathead screw driver
*Small needle nose pliers

--Do this at your own risk, I am not liable if things do not go accordingly or any damages that may occur to you or your headlights--


Here is a video by Solidjake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BFQu1dDU1o


To start off, remove your headlights from the car...


Then take your headlights apart following this thread.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=609558&highlight=diy+replace+headlight
you should have this by the time you are done.


*Optional - you can knock out this H7 adapter if you so choose, the projector should twist right in even if you dont knock it out but I didn't know that until I already took it out so I just left it out.



Heres the projector nice and pretty


The back of the projector, you are going to need to remove the backing, to do so just unscrew the 3 small philips screw drivers and everything should come apart. Don't lose the screws though.


How is should look like with the backing off


Here's the package of goodies that should come with the projectors


Now take this white rubber piece, the package comes with 2 different size white rings but I chose to use the larger one so the projector will sit farther up in the housing.


Put that rubber ring on the projector like so


Now put the projector through the bulb opening in the housing and use this part and twist it on the back of the projector


It should look like this when its on, you will need a small needle nose plier to twist it on snugly, after it's in there nice and tight put back the bulb holder with the 3 small screws.


Here's how it looks like when it's in there


Make sure the part that says TOP is on the top!!


Hehe my workspace...nice and clean :D


*Optional - if you choose to paint your housing and shrouds, like me, then you need to remove the projector again otherwise you may leave it in and skip these next couple of steps.

I decided to paint my housing and shrouds flat black. I used regular Krylon flat black paint found at any store ie walmart, home dept and such.


Once the paint is dry, re-assemble the projector into the headlight.



On a side note, if you want to hook up the bi-xenon feature you will need to drill a small hole to run the wires through from the housing.

As far as mounting the shrouds, this setup will NOT have the auto leveling feature so what I did was use BLACK RTV silicon and apply a light amount onto the back of the shrouds and the edge of the projector. Be very careful not to get it on the lens!


The rtv should dry in about an hour or so but I couldn't wait so I cheated and used a hair blower to speed up the process hehe...Once it's dry, it's time to assemble the headlight together, assemble is the same as taking it apart just backwards...

While your at it, add some angel eyes or so to add to the already so sexy headlights.


Once everything is assembled it will look like this...(while your at it, clean up your lenses!!!!)


Now mount them back on to your sexy e46 and install your hid lights. Sorry I don't have any pictures but if you got a kit from ddm like me the install should be straight forward without any wire splicing or cutting. The only hard part is finding where to mount the ballast so I mounted mine behind the bumper support with a couple of zip ties. This is also a good time to wire up the bi-xenon feature also.


Now comes the hard part, aligning the lights. Follow the guide for hid alignment for up and down leveling

http://www.diymybmw.com/e46/aligning-xenon-headlights/

To get perfect alignment horizontally you will need to make sure the projectors are lined up as horizontal as possible, tighten the back nut and turn the lights on on the car to see how they look. If they are still a bit crooked then loosen the back nut and turn the projectors as needed and try again.

_________ __________
__________ / ___________/

You will need to make sure the projectors are lined up as horizontal as possible, tighten the back nut and turn the lights on on the car to see how they look. If they are still a bit crooked then loosen the back nut and turn the projectors as needed and try again.

Now comes the hardest part, waiting till nightfall to test out your lights....and TADA!! This is what it should look like!!!



Notice the beautiful blue cutoff!!! (this is with 6000k bulbs)

Here's a shot with the angel eyes and the hid's on


Here's some daytime shots of them on my car, they really do add some sexyness to the car!!! lol



Thank you for looking at this DIY, this is my first diy so be nice with me hehe. Like I said this DIY is for us with halogen headlights that want xenon hids with projectors without paying an arm and leg for. This is a simple little mod if your on a budget....somewhat ghetto, but hey it works hehe

:thumbsup: Sorry I could not get anymore pictures, I sold the car a couple months ago =( and these were all the pics I can find on the memory card. Any questions please feel free to ask :thumbsup:
 
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#1,069 ·
Yes, you can. There are two sockets in the LCM that controls the Bi-xenon function, you basically just need to connect your bi-xenon shutter wiring to those sockets. After you are done, pushing the signal stalk forward with headlights on, you will get high-beam, while pulling the stalk anytime you will get original halogen flash-to-pass. It functions 100% factory. You only need to flash your LCM to make it work in Xenon mode. Hope that helps.
 
#1,075 ·
OK, I finally found Scott ZHP's thread on wiring the Bi-xenon shutter that I was referring to:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46813&highlight=

I am sure someone posted link before, just in case someone missed it but still need the information. It helped me a LOT when I was trying to do the retrofit in the stock fashion. Now my HID functions exactly as the stock Bi-xenon, except for the auto-leveling, all with the Morimoto Mini H1 kit. Since I am wiring the both the igniters and bi-xenon shutters directly to the LCM, I didn't even need the supplied relay and Y-splitter, which I ended up selling on eBay and earned some money back. It's a win-win solution.
 
#1,076 ·
It's my understanding that the stock functionality (LCM) does not use the halogen high beams when the stalk is pushed forward - is this correct? With the splitter you still get the flash to pass functionality, but you also get to use your halogen high beams + the xenon high beams for more light when the stalk is pushed forward. Just curious if there is another reason to using the LCM if that's the case.

Also using Rallye H7s will give you even more in the halogen highbeams: http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html
 
#1,077 · (Edited)
It's my understanding that the stock functionality (LCM) does not use the halogen high beams when the stalk is pushed forward - is this correct? With the splitter you still get the flash to pass functionality, but you also get to use your halogen high beams + the xenon high beams for more light when the stalk is pushed forward. Just curious if there is another reason to using the LCM if that's the case.
That's exactly right. The factory HID-only high beams was what I was aiming at. With the splitter you also get a side-effect that when you flash-to-pass, the shutter will also open while the halogen high beams light up. Theoretically it will produce unnecessary "click" noise due to the electric-magnetic shutter mechanism, but I guess it is almost unperceivable in the cabin on the road.
 
#1,078 ·
Has anybody had any experience using the Retro-Quik kit? Specifically with Bosch halogen headlights?
The RetrofitSource.com says that this kit is for ZKW housings. I don't want to drop $250 on something that may not work at all for my car or would be just as much if not more of a pain to fabricate than attempting to create my own retrofit setup.

Additionally: Anybody had experience retrofitting Bosch halogens at all? I am considering springing for FX-R 3.0s as an alternative. But making a kit from scratch seems kind of daunting. Especially since the links in the original post are no longer active.
 
#1,080 ·
Thanks for all the great info on this thread !

4g63GSX, would you please confirm my interpretation of your posts (Especially #1033 in this thread). You did the TRS Morimoto Mini ver 6.0 upgrade. And you did not have to code the LCM to avoid error messages?

Since I currently have INPA 1.4 as my most advanced software/hardware, I would like to avoid coding if possible. INPA has some LCM write function, but choices are limited to "bi-xenon". "xenon w auto HVAC", and "xenon w AHL" - all of which are currently not checked for my 12/2004 mfr data 2005 325xi w halogen headlamps.

Thanks !

Mariner05
'05 325xi at 115K miles
 
#1,084 ·
Has anybody done this retrofit with FX-Rs in a reflector housing? I've heard that there is considerably more work/cutting involved. I don't mind the work but I'd like to know whether this is possible and have at least some semblance of what I'm in for if I attempt this.
 
#1,086 · (Edited)
Another question: <b> is it worth it? </b>

I have never done anything like this before and I'm a bit worried about cutting up my stock lights. I'm also worried about aligning them. I know that the FXR's don't mount up easily. I have read that they need to held in by either the mounting screws which can crack the housing due to stress or by epoxy (sounds messy). especially when you are aligning them.

I know that the Mini H1's 6.0 are a pretty straight forward fit. A lot of people swear by the FX-Rs being noticeably better output but I have also read threads on HID planet.com saying that they really aren't a huge difference. (FX-R having better distance and wider view while H1s are better up front). Overall

Basically what I am asking is that

<b>The amount of labor vs. the payoff of light output. Is it worth it?</b>
(especially for someone who is fairly inexperienced with this type of work).

P.S. Call me vain but I am also a sucker for a clean crisp cutoff. Both sets seem to be on point with that.
 
#1,087 ·
I totally understand where you are coming from. There is also this option if you want OEM quality/parts without the cutting and too much aligning:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/co...tem-bmw-e46-zkw-lights-only.html#.VhG5nXpViko


To answer your question though, I have done the retrofit with FX-R projectors in what used to be halogen headlights. There is cutting involved, there are four points in the back of the projector where you can screw it into the bowl but I didn't realize that until after I cut. Not sure if they would even fit by screwing as some cutting may be involved. It may work but I used silicone in mine. Make sure if you use a glue you get a heat resistant one. The output is amazing. Night/day difference between them and my halogens. I have had these for more than two years now and I'm still amazed by them.

As far as aligning, park the car on a flat surface and shine the lights on a wall. Mark up the position of where the cutoff line is and after you do the retrofit you can align them to where they are supposed to be. There is also a guide for headlight alignment
 
#1,093 ·
Flame suit on:

I ended up getting a DDM kit with projectors and HID. I know everybody will says it is ****, but I haven't had any issues with their HID kits in the past. They drop shipped from China - wasn't too bad of a wait, but certainly not 3-4 day deal. I retrofitted them into pre facelift sedan, installed new plastic with LaminX.

Are they perfect? No. Are they solid for the money? - Hell yes. I would almost say that they are better than my EvoXR setup in my 540 in both, low and high beam departments.

Take it for what it's worth, but I am happy. I only spent $120 if that too. Just need to get the car re-coded now.

I have no affiliation with DDM whatsoever. Yes, their CS sucks - I had to deal with it for something minor thankfully.
 
#1,097 ·
I thought so. Actually what I need is to learn about XENON/PROJECTOR lights. I have a kit right now but it's got different issues that stresses an OCD guy like me. It seems like the previous owner installed the angel eyes or maybe the whole projectors himself and the glass around the edges is slighty cracked, foggy and 1 projector is either misaligned or the bulb is not providing. I also get error codes from time to time on the dash which is driving me nuts. Let's just say it was a job not so well done.

What I'm thinking is using the original halogen headlights he also provided as spare with the car and build something better like what you guys just did. However I need to salvage as much as I can so I don't need to spend a lot of money. I hate having to touch these things and wire stuff. I don't mind the mechanical work but the wiring is something hectic.

If I posted a list of what I already have as components would you be kind enough to tell me what I could reuse or perhaps what I need to change?

One last question... Your DIY focuses on the projectors but where did you get the angel eyes from?

Thanks again and sorry for the noob questions that again might have been answered. I'm trying to get the shorter version here hehe ::thanks:
 
#1,104 ·
If right now from the previous owners' setup I have the front bulb lights come up on the dash.... Is that because of the ballasts? I know I can get one of those error cancelling modules but I don't really want to because I'm planning on changing the ballasts anyway since the ones that are currently installed are no name, no label ballasts and I suspect they are the cause of the problem. My turn signals will also sometimes flicker much faster as if the bulbs were dead but they aren't.

Sometimes the warning lights will go away but come back all the time.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
 
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