Full HID Retro conversion. (Not just bulbs and ballasts)

[mick.]

Well I know how much people are liking HIDs these days and I know there are a lot of people just fitting HIDs to there conventional lights which aren't designed for HIDs. So I thought this mod might suit people who want HIDs like what you see in all the new prestige cars. This mod will look factory and the beam will be focused not just spread everywhere like the EBay HID kits that are getting around blinding everyone now.

This is not just a straight bulb swap and add ballast though. I'm hopping the kit I've bought will be pretty straight forward though and I've also done a lot of reading on a forum which is all about HIDs. There's also a buildup on the patrol forum which is where I got the idea.

I'll also be adding Angel Eyes for some bling. I've got 3 options there but until the HID kit turns up I don't know which ones I'll use. I'll also post links to all the places I've sourced parts from to help others if there interested. As I don't want my 4wd off the road while I'm doing the mod and do a bit of night driving I thought I'd buy some new aftermarket headlights to fit the kit too. The other reason for this is I wanted series 2 headlights for my patrol as they look more bling then the standard series 1 lights.

Now for the links. These are the guys I got the headlights off. Make sure if you ever purchase headlights you order ones for a right hand drive and this also goes for this whole conversion. The actual protectors need to be ordered for right hand drive also.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300654794555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

What I ordered out of that kit are below.

Morimoto 5five 50 watt ballasts x 2
Bulbs are new phillips 85122 + D2S x 2
Right hand drive reflectors x 2
Orbit shrouds x 2
Wiring loom H4/9003


These where recomended to me from heliflyer73 on the patrol forum and also by the guys at Retrofit. There is some pictures on the patrol forum which he has posted up.

Now for the angel eyes I did order a set off those guys but I've also ordered a set from 2 other places as I couldn't really work out which ones will work and what wont. I also didn't want to wait 2 weeks for a set to come from the States and only to have to wait another 2 weeks for more so for the sake of a few extra dollars I ordered 3 types and what I don't use on mine will probably end up being used on another set of lights I may do down the track.

[mick.]

All the gear turned up yesterday and luckily I ordered 3 types of angel eyes as one set didn't fit, one had a broken wire which wasn't repairable. Fortunately the ones which come which the kit which where supposed to be pretty hard to fit without breaking them went in without dramas.

The only real mods I had to do where modify the shrouds for the projectors to fit in the lights. I did this with a Dremel. I also had to drill a couple of holes to fit the angel eyes. Again this was pretty easy. I found the hardest part was to remove the glass from the light without burning yourself or getting sticky sealer everywhere. To remove the glass you need to put the light in the oven for 7 minutes on 125 degrees and then remove the glass while it's hot. The only drama I had was getting sealer in the cover a bit but it's easily cleaned up with Wax and Grease remover.

A picture of the angel eyes test fitted.
http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojectorconversion1003.jpg

The shroud mods before and after. If you look closely you can see the little holes where the angel eyes are wired into the shrouds.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojectorconversion1006.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojectorconversion1007.jpg


This is not my picture but it came out better then mine. This is the exact same projector that I used and as you can see there is a little solenoid in there that operates the cover which varies the light output depending on whether your on high or low beam. It works just like an eyelid. Low beam the eyes are only half open giving a sharp cut off and on high beam the eye lids are fully open.

These projectors literally fall straight in and are held in my a big washer that has a slot in it so you cant put it in wrong and everything has rubber seals making everything totally water proof. Prior to fitting these you have the option to paint your reflectors if you like and in any colour as there not used at all. A lot of people paint them black but I don't mind the chrome bling look and it would look silly with black reflectors in the lights and chrome in the indicators.

http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i372/Heliflyer73/DSC01136.jpg


Here's a picture of the projector fitted along with the lens. I didn't get any photos of it pulled apart as I wanted to get them pulled apart and put together as quick as possible to minimise the amount of dust that could get in the light.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojectorconversion1008.jpg


This is what the back of the light looks like after it's all fitted. The 2 white wires go to power supply box. The power supply box has 2 wires coming out of it which the red wire goes to your parkers and the black to your battery or any good ground. The other 2 wires plug straight into your loom which operate your eye lids for high and low beam.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojectorconversion1009.jpg

[mick.]

Everything is finished. It took about 3 hours to fit the projectors which I could probably do in 2 if I did it again and 3 hours to fit the lights up and wire it all up. I couldn't really save any time here as I had no dramas it's really just unbolt a few things and bolt them back up. The hardest part was finding somewhere to bolt the ballasts as the leads aren't long enough to fit in front of the radiator.

Here's a before shot of the standard series 1 lights.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojector1001.jpg

And here's a shot of them fitted to some series new 2 lights I bought a little earlier especially for this project.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojector1006.jpg

Project supervisor.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojector1003.jpg


I bolted the angel eyes power box to the back of the ballasts.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojector1002.jpg

The ballasts all fitted up.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/projector2003.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/projector2001.jpg

My accessory fuse box

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/projector2002.jpg


The only soldering I had to do was to wire up the angle eyes to the parkers.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojector1004.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojector1005.jpg

And a shot of it all finished.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojector1007.jpg

I'll post some before and after tonight after I've adjusted them.

Cheers Mick.

[Clunk]

Looking good there Mick, you'll have to let us know what the light output is like on those things

Tap tap tappity crap

[mick.]

Before shot

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/HIDprojectorconversion1013.jpg

After shot from the same spot.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/lightaftershots001.jpg

How many HIDs can you look into like this.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/lightaftershots006.jpg

Just the angel eyes on.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/lightaftershots005.jpg

High Beam

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/lightaftershots004.jpg

The lights a 10 times better then before and the sharp cut off makes them totally glare free for oncoming traffic. I still have a little bit of adjusting to do but I took the wrong tools and I wasn't driving home again to get them.:icon_bonk:

Cheers Mick.

[num_301]

Hey mate,
The conversion looks awesome, sure solved the problem of the dodgey stock ones.

Did the series 2 lights slot straight into where the series 1 wholes are? like bolts and all or did you have to make some new brackets up?

cheers

[mick.]

Looking good there Mick, you'll have to let us know what the light output is like on those things

Tap tap tappity crapThanks mate. As you can see they made a huge difference. I've also just bought a Digital Lux Meter which measure lumens so I'll be able be give some accurate measurements.


Hey mate,
The conversion looks awesome, sure solved the problem of the dodgey stock ones.

Did the series 2 lights slot straight into where the series 1 wholes are? like bolts and all or did you have to make some new brackets up?

cheersYes it solved that problem. The series 2 ones fit straight in without any mods what so ever. You just have to make sure you buy the indicators to as there slightly different shape where they butt up to the light. If you choose to buy them lights make sure you get them for right hand drive. The only people on ebay that sold them that I could find where the ones I bought. This is the link.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300654794555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4402wt_1209

Cheers Mick.

[gregs]

Top job Mick, though I don't know how the missus would feel if I did that to our patrol. Might just have to look at an HID upgrade at some point.

Thanks for the pics.

Cheers

Greg

[macca86]

very nice might need to look into this

[num_301]

Yes it solved that problem. The series 2 ones fit straight in without any mods what so ever. You just have to make sure you buy the indicators to as there slightly different shape where they butt up to the light. If you choose to buy them lights make sure you get them for right hand drive. The only people on ebay that sold them that I could find where the ones I bought. This is the link.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300654794555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4402wt_1209

Cheers Mick.[/QUOTE]

Cheers mate, Thanks for the info

[teno45]

Looks good mate, I'm glad you've spent the time and effort in doing it properly! I hate those dodgy ones.

Few questions,have you been flashed on low beam yet? I've noticed on a couple cars that have factory HIDs, the cut off is alot more defined, even more so than yours.

Whats the point of the angel eyes? Just looks?

and the burning question.... how much?

Cheers, Teno.

[GU_POOTROL]

Hey Mick,

Do you know if vehicles built after a particular manufacturing date have to have water spray nozzles fitted to HID headlights? And if so which one? I'm thinking of following your lead but am a little concerned about receiving a lovely defect notice from our friends in blue.

Thanks!

[mick.]

Hey Mick,

Do you know if vehicles built after a particular manufacturing date have to have water spray nozzles fitted to HID headlights? And if so which one? I'm thinking of following your lead but am a little concerned about receiving a lovely defect notice from our friends in blue.

Thanks!No mate I have no idea. In all honesty you wouldn't even know there HIDs from looking at them as there not even as blinding as some factory HIDs and there not blue.

I was at a car accident the other night and had my lights on and was talking to police for half an hour and we where standing in front of my 4wd when we where talking and nothing at all was said about the lights. Though one looked at the roof and asked if I was scared of the dark.:D

The only comments I've had from others are there not as glarey as factory halogens but give out heaps better light and the other one is how much to fit them. I used to get flashed regularly with my halogens because of the height of my 4wd but since these have been fitted that has stopped.

Cheers Mick.

[garrett]

Well I know how much people are liking HIDs these days and I know there are a lot of people just fitting HIDs to there conventional lights which aren't designed for HIDs. So I thought this mod might suit people who want HIDs like what you see in all the new prestige cars. This mod will look factory and the beam will be focused not just spread everywhere like the EBay HID kits that are getting around blinding everyone now.

This is not just a straight bulb swap and add ballast though. I'm hopping the kit I've bought will be pretty straight forward though and I've also done a lot of reading on a forum which is all about HIDs. There's also a buildup on the patrol forum which is where I got the idea.

I'll also be adding Angel Eyes for some bling. I've got 3 options there but until the HID kit turns up I don't know which ones I'll use. I'll also post links to all the places I've sourced parts from to help others if there interested. As I don't want my 4wd off the road while I'm doing the mod and do a bit of night driving I thought I'd buy some new aftermarket headlights to fit the kit too. The other reason for this is I wanted series 2 headlights for my patrol as they look more bling then the standard series 1 lights.

Now for the links. These are the guys I got the headlights off. Make sure if you ever purchase headlights you order ones for a right hand drive and this also goes for this whole conversion. The actual protectors need to be ordered for right hand drive also.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300654794555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Now the kit comes with options which I'll list below what I ordered which is suited for a GU patrol. For other makes and models you can email them. These guys are very very helpful and give you all the details on how to install everything.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=237

What I ordered out of that kit are below.

Morimoto 5five 50 watt ballasts x 2
Bulbs are new phillips 85122 + D2S x 2
Right hand drive reflectors x 2
Orbit shrouds x 2
Wiring loom H4/9003


These where recomended to me from heliflyer73 on the patrol forum and also by the guys at Retrofit. There is some pictures on the patrol forum which he has posted up.

Now for the angel eyes I did order a set off those guys but I've also ordered a set from 2 other places as I couldn't really work out which ones will work and what wont. I also didn't want to wait 2 weeks for a set to come from the States and only to have to wait another 2 weeks for more so for the sake of a few extra dollars I ordered 3 types and what I don't use on mine will probably end up being used on another set of lights I may do down the track.

These are the links for the Angel eyes I bought.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?cPath=31&products_id=103

http://retro-solutions.net/product-info.php?CCFL_angel_eyes-pid550.html

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2FAE.htm


These last ones have the option of changing to any colour you want so if you want them the same colour as you car you can within reason of coarse. I'd had a few to many drinks when I ordered them.:icon_bonk:




do you think this could be posssible with gq headlights

[mick.]

Yes mate it can be done and I'll tack down some info on it shortly and post up for you.

Cheers Mick.

[mick.]

Lately I'm been getting a bit of interest with this conversion from people on the forums and people who have seen my lights in person who want this conversion done but aren't confident in doing it themselves. So I've been getting a few people asking if I would do it for them.

So if I get enough interest from people I may start doing these conversions and set up a vendors section if the interest can warrant it. My boss has told me I should start doing this on the side and I have full access to our workshop. Being that I'm a painter by trade and have access to a spray booth and paint, custom colour reflectors is also an option.

I've had a bit of a think about a way of doing this so people aren't without the lights too. The options would be you could send a core deposit with the price of the lights and when I get your old lights (not chiped or scratched) your core deposit would be refunded and those lights would be used for the next coversion and so on. I couldn't use damaged lights so they would have to be in good nick.

The other option mainly for people who have the older style lights such as series one is you could buy some new lights off ebay and they could be converted. I cant really do final figures yet and depending on what options you choose the cost would be around $700 onwards depending on freight, aussie dollar, bulb and ballast options, if you need lights and if you want painted reflectors etc.

So if anyone is interested let me know and if I get enough interest I'll go ahead with this.

Cheers Mick.

[garrett]

Lately I'm been getting a bit of interest with this conversion from people on the forums and people who have seen my lights in person who want this conversion done but aren't confident in doing it themselves. So I've been getting a few people asking if I would do it for them.

So if I get enough interest from people I may start doing these conversions and set up a vendors section if the interest can warrant it. My boss has told me I should start doing this on the side and I have full access to our workshop. Being that I'm a painter by trade and have access to a spray booth and paint, custom colour reflectors is also an option.

I've had a bit of a think about a way of doing this so people aren't without the lights too. The options would be you could send a core deposit with the price of the lights and when I get your old lights (not chiped or scratched) your core deposit would be refunded and those lights would be used for the next coversion and so on. I couldn't use damaged lights so they would have to be in good nick.

The other option mainly for people who have the older style lights such as series one is you could buy some new lights off ebay and they could be converted. I cant really do final figures yet and depending on what options you choose the cost would be around $700 onwards depending on freight, aussie dollar, bulb and ballast options, if you need lights and if you want painted reflectors etc.

So if anyone is interested let me know and if I get enough interest I'll go ahead with this.

Cheers Mick.


if you end up doing one for a gq put up a few pics i would def do it myself, might do it when i have some spare coin

[num_301]

If you decide to follow through with this idea and make kits for them and sell as a package, I will be very keen for a pair :)

[mick.]

No dramas mate. What series is yours and do you need new lights or are you wanting to use your old ones (exchange) meaning I buy a set from the wreckers which is included in the orginal purchase which I fit the kit to. I then send them to you and then you send me your old ones provided there no chips and I then refund the original cost of the lights from the wreckers. .

I hope that makes sense.

Cheers Mick.

[garrett]

i have a set of hids in my lights atm, i got the crystal lenses what would you charge for gq set up from scratch?

[mick.]

i have a set of hids in my lights atm, i got the crystal lenses what would you charge for gq set up from scratch?In the next couple of weeks I'm going to be doing a conversion on a Dodge Ram which will be a similar sort of set up. Once I've done that I'll have an idea. I might even do a conversion on a set of GQ lights while I'm at it. Can you post me a link to the Crystal lights you bought please?

Cheers Mick.

[garrett]

In the next couple of weeks I'm going to be doing a conversion on a Dodge Ram which will be a similar sort of set up. Once I've done that I'll have an idea. I might even do a conversion on a set of GQ lights while I'm at it. Can you post me a link to the Crystal lights you bought please?

Cheers Mick.



http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nissan-Patrol-Maverick-MQ-GQ-7-Round-Clear-Headlight-/150770208436?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item231a9aceb4#ht_580wt_1164

[mick.]

Hey Garrett just letting you know mate that I haven't forgotten. I've actually just started a business selling all the gear and also fitting it as well but I'm waiting on stock. I've just ordered 30 projector kits in 2.5 inch and 3 inch projectors.

So I will have some pictures of these kits fitted very soon.

Cheers Mick.

[Robo]

What's the point of a water sprayer on hid lights lol.
This is a an old school accessory for frost or snow covered lights but not really needed here in Aus.
So rare and only really seen on anything but a volvo, so why now?.

[mick.]

Looks good mate, I'm glad you've spent the time and effort in doing it properly! I hate those dodgy ones.

Few questions,have you been flashed on low beam yet? I've noticed on a couple cars that have factory HIDs, the cut off is alot more defined, even more so than yours.

Whats the point of the angel eyes? Just looks?

and the burning question.... how much?

Cheers, Teno.This is a very late reply as I missed your questions altogether. To this day I still haven't been flashed and I think it has a lot to do the the colour of the bulbs I'm using which is 4300. They look more light a natural light then the blue look of even some of the factory hids.

Angel eyes are just for looks but done right they can look pretty neat. I'm about to put a 3inch set up in mine shortly that has the white angel eye set up as a parker and it has an orange run set up as an extra indicator.

As I said in the post above I've just started a business selling and also fitting these kits so I ordered heaps of them. The kit I bought cost me about $450 delivered to my door. Now that I'm buying the kits by bulk I can get them for a lot cheaper and they are almost the same as that. The ballasts are a different brand but thats about all. I'm also going to be using a different angel eye as I think an led angel eye would be better.

When everything turns up I'll speak to admin here about opening a thread in venders section with what I'll be offering and will give members here a better price again.

Cheers Mick.

[mick.]

Thats exactly right mate. It's not as if there going to wash mud off. lol

[mick.]

Heres a couple of pictures of my HID Projector install into a H4 7 inch headlight.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/7inchH4inserts010.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/7inchH4inserts012.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/7inchH4inserts019.jpg

I'll have some more pictures of the finished product plus before and after lighting shots when the lens dries. The time factor for doing the light conversion isn't that great (about 2 hours) but as there are a lot of little stages where you need to wait for different glues to fully cure before continuing on it's takes a couple of days to do. The picture below is of all the different glues and sealers I'm using to make sure it's all done properly, all water tight and wont fall apart.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/7inchH4inserts020.jpg

Once the CV boots go on the back the lights should be pretty close to totally water tight but as anyone knows there is know real way of stopping water getting though the bulb wiring on any light but these will be sealed better then most.

Cheers Mick.

[robbo0001]

Mate thats an awesome retro-fit......love the amount of time and effort that went into this.

The thing I never understood with the "washers required on HID lights".....if your doing an aftermarket mod on lenses (vehicles) that don't have washer nozzles...why not just put two OEM bonnet washer nozzles in the bumper, below the lights....and tap them into the windscreen washer circuit? A few metres of cheap plastic hose, some nozzles....and the car is "apparently" legal. Easy fix....

Once again mate, great work....

I put one set of headlights in the oven off a previous vehicle.
Never again, the Missus will definately kill me.

[mick.]

Thanks mate. I've spent a fair bit of time making jigs, setting up a plum bob and doing a lot of research to get them right.

The only real reason for the washers on lights is as most of the Europeon cars are from cold countries it's to remove the snow and ice from the lights which is why most of them squirt warm water apparently.

If I get enough people wanting the washer kits with these conversions I can get them out of China for about $50 which are designed to work off a seperate switch with there own watter bottle or you can wire them up to your existing window washers.

I'd had projector lights now for a while and been pulled up a couple of times for random breathe tests and I've never had anything said about them. If you use 4300 bulbs then no one really takes any notice of them.

Cheers Mick.

[mick.]

Here are some pics of the back which is pretty much water proof and defently a lot more water proof then they would be from standard. I was even surprised how well this idea worked. They work out to be about 80mm longer then standard.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/7inchprototype001.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/7inchprototype002.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/7inchprototype003.jpg

I've got some before and after shots of a mates 75 series. The shots are taken just with my I phone because it gives you a better idea then when I tried with a camera.

Before.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/7inchH4inserts016.jpg

The lights haven't been adjusted yet and as you can see the bullbar blocks a lot of the light as it's off a different model 4wd. Even the vertical bars are blocking some of the light. We new the bullbar blocked some of the light before but we had no idea how much until we put some decent lights in it.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/nightshots7inch008.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/nightshots7inch005.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/nightshots7inch002.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/nightshots7inch009.jpg

Cheers Mick.

[Winnie]

Are you selling these yet?

Tappa tappa

[mick.]

Yes mate I have everything in stock.

Cheers Mick.

[Winnie]

How much for the 7" units?

Tappa tappa

[mick.]

The kit you see in the photos is $300 for the Projectors, shrouds, D2S bulbs, ballasts, H4 wiring loom, angel eyes and drivers. If you choose to fit them to your own lights.

But if you want to fit them to the Britrax inserts then theres an extra $120 for a pair of them. I may be able to get them cheaper if I get a few orders but it wont me much. For me to install the lights into the Britrax inserts I charge $150 (which includes labor and glues) and an extra $50 for the CV boot covers.

So the pricing is below.

$300 for full projector kit with D2S bulbs.
$120 for Britrax Inserts.
$150 labour.
$50 for CV boots.
+ freight

Cheers Mick.

[gu4500]

Looks good.

What sort of price for a GU series 1? Including the Ser2 headlight & indicators?

I have a Suby with factory HID and the washers don't seem to do anything as the headlights are currently streaked with road grime (like the rest of the car.....)

[mick.]

Looks good.

What sort of price for a GU series 1? Including the Ser2 headlight & indicators?

I have a Suby with factory HID and the washers don't seem to do anything as the headlights are currently streaked with road grime (like the rest of the car.....)The headlights are $330 delivered to me which includes the indicators. What I usually do is just get the customer to order the lights and get them sent straight to me. My vendors page is below with the prices.

What's not in that price list is the LED angel eyes which I've just ordered which are a lot brighter then the standard angel eyes. They are $50 a pair though where the standard angel eyes are thrown in with my kits normally. Fitting double angle eyes limits the shroud options and the fitting price for twin angel eyes is $150 not $100 as there more time consuming.

I haven't had the new led angel eyes turn up but I'm hoping they will be here soon.

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?12691-HID-Projector-headlamp-kits-to-suit-GQ-and-GUs

Have a look though that and if you have anymore questions let me know. I'll be away for a few days but I'm taking a laptop with me so I'll randomly check in.

Cheers Mick.