'99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started

bristol16 · 10-10-2005, 10:49 PM

well tonight i started tearing my headlights up for the first ever (as far as i know) '98+ GMC Jimmy/Sonoma HID projector retrofit. i was a little overwhelmed at first not really knowing what i was getting into, but so far it hasn't been too bad.

bear with me as i am using the camera feature on my video camera and it isn't that great....

the first thing i did was dremmel out the circular hole where the low beam mounted. in this picture you can see where i cut out, it was basically the exact same shape as the high beam part next to it. if you cut all of that out the front part of the projector i am using will slide in almost perfectly.

after that i found that i had to round out the corners a little because the legs spread out as they go back.

i still have to deal with getting the feet of the lens section of the projector to mount well without changing the optics of the projector, so i will most likely have to bend them a little but i think they will fit alright.

and here is the housing with both the lens cover on and off.

i am going to setup the rear part of my projector and my ballast and fire this one up hopefully tomorrow night to make sure that it is level in the housing and that i can aim it alright and if i need to sand down the ridges in the clear cover.

i still need to setup my wiring, modify the mounting/aiming bracket to allow for the rear of the projector housing and balast and build a bezel to conceal the rear of the projector, but for a few hours work i am very happy with the results.

i will be posting here as i make progress, and any helpful hints and tips would be GREATLY appreciated

***orangesonoma*** · 10-10-2005, 10:51 PM

im not sure how good it is going to look thu the ripples in the lense...

but good luck!

i3owdown · 10-10-2005, 10:55 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by orangesonoma

im not sure how good it is going to look thu the ripples in the lense...

but good luck!

its going to messup the cutoff line. check out hidplanet.com

what projectors are you using?

bristol16 · 10-10-2005, 11:01 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by i3owdown

its going to messup the cutoff line. check out hidplanet.com

what projectors are you using?

yeah i have looked over a lot of information on HIDplanet but i haven't been able to find anything about this with a quick search for 'ripple' and 'ridge'. do you remember seeing a specific thread where they talked about it? i may end up having to sand them down but i will try it first and see how it goes.

and i am using their Bosch ECE E46 projectors.

s10cyncrvr · 10-10-2005, 11:40 PM

Looks good so far. Keep at it.

1) How hard was it to get the lenses off?

2) If you are needing bezels, I was at Home Depot looking around tonight and found a stove cover that fit nicely over the E46's. They also had a shower drain cover there with some holes that would be nice to place over the stove cover to give it some depth. I just took a 2-1/4" paper circle with me and walked around trying it out on different things.

3) You will need to sand down the ridges on the lense. It was discussed earlier in my HID thread. "zq8fromhell" said...

call me brandon if ya want , i know old school kid gay screename,,,,anyways, yes the lens on a stock light contains what you see to be known as pillow optics...so simple as refraction. This will affect the output to the extent that they will be illegal by technical standards quite a bit, and wont be noticable after all that work ( a real shame!) The light is all gathered in an infinitesimly small point at the peak of a projector lens. The light is then dispersed from that point in a hemispherical shape on the ground in front. quite ingenious. You can defeat the pillow optics by doing what I did, by protruding the projector physically through the lens. Not the CLEANEST of all installs, but there was absolutely zero options for the headlights i had. Secondly, you could also do some excellent sanding such as s10cyncrvr did, and make the lens completely clear ( which would make me just want to buy the projector lights for the lens themselves). Umm I think that answers your question?

bristol16 · 10-10-2005, 11:49 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by s10cyncrvr

Looks good so far. Keep at it.

1) How hard was it to get the lenses off?

2) If you are needing bezels, I was at Home Depot looking around tonight and found a stove cover that fit nicely over the E46's. They also had a shower drain cover there with some holes that would be nice to place over the stove cover to give it some depth. I just took a 2-1/4" paper circle with me and walked around trying it out on different things.

3) You will need to sand down the ridges on the lense. It was discussed earlier in my HID thread. "zq8fromhell" said...

call me brandon if ya want , i know old school kid gay screename,,,,anyways, yes the lens on a stock light contains what you see to be known as pillow optics...so simple as refraction. This will affect the output to the extent that they will be illegal by technical standards quite a bit, and wont be noticable after all that work ( a real shame!) The light is all gathered in an infinitesimly small point at the peak of a projector lens. The light is then dispersed from that point in a hemispherical shape on the ground in front. quite ingenious. You can defeat the pillow optics by doing what I did, by protruding the projector physically through the lens. Not the CLEANEST of all installs, but there was absolutely zero options for the headlights i had. Secondly, you could also do some excellent sanding such as s10cyncrvr did, and make the lens completely clear ( which would make me just want to buy the projector lights for the lens themselves). Umm I think that answers your question?

i had already taken my headlights apart once to remove the orange reflector, so it was pretty easy to do this one again. i set the oven for between 200 and 225, when it warmed up i popped the headlight face up on a cookie sheet and left the oven door open a crack (couple inches or so). checked the light every 4-5 minutes and worked from there.

i was gonna go wondering around ACE Hardware or Home Depot for some bezel ideas, but bringing a paper cutout with me is an awesome idea!

looks like i have LOTS of careful sanding in my near future

thanks for the information though

a quick question for you guys in the know: will having the projector lense really really close to the clear housing cause any problem with the light passing through if it is not facing straight at the lense? also, does the actual projector lense get hot enough to melt the housing or is most of the heat behind the lense? thanks!

s10cyncrvr · 10-11-2005, 12:00 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by bristol16

a quick question for you guys in the know: will having the projector lense really really close to the clear housing cause any problem with the light passing through if it is not facing straight at the lense? also, does the actual projector lense get hot enough to melt the housing or is most of the heat behind the lense? thanks!

I'm pretty sure you wont have any problems with the outer lense being at a different angle then the projector lense. Most cars have theirs at a 45 degree angle so it should be no biggie.

The projector lense gets a little warm but nothing to major. You shouldn't have any problems with it melting the lense. The reflective bowl however gets pretty hot. I had mine hooked up today testing out a rubber gasket I had made. I left it on for about 5 minutes and it was hot to the touch, but it didn't melt the rubber gasket.

zq8fromhell · 10-11-2005, 12:03 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by bristol16

i had already taken my headlights apart once to remove the orange reflector, so it was pretty easy to do this one again. i set the oven for between 200 and 225, when it warmed up i popped the headlight face up on a cookie sheet and left the oven door open a crack (couple inches or so). checked the light every 4-5 minutes and worked from there.

i was gonna go wondering around ACE Hardware or Home Depot for some bezel ideas, but bringing a paper cutout with me is an awesome idea!

looks like i have LOTS of careful sanding in my near future thanks for the information though

a quick question for you guys in the know: will having the projector lense really really close to the clear housing cause any problem with the light passing through if it is not facing straight at the lense? also, does the actual projector lense get hot enough to melt the housing or is most of the heat behind the lense? thanks!

ya you have to get rid of the pillow optics in the lens. no ifs ands or buts...i still say you should consider actually protruding the projector thru the front lens, but hey thats just me

and no the projector lens will not get hot enough to hurt anything. an HID burner actually burns cooler than a halogen lamp. good luck with this project!!!

so far I have done the 94-97 sonoma lamp
cyncrver has done the 98-03 s10 lamp
and you are working on the 98-03 sonoma lamp.... i think that has the majority of them covered, minus the 94 earlier s10's

bristol16 · 10-11-2005, 12:07 AM

cool, thanks guys. glad nothing will get melted

protruding the projector through the front lense will be a last resort for me. i don't think that i would like the outcome visually of the projector sticking out of the headlight. hopefully the sanding process will go smoothly.

zq8fromhell · 10-11-2005, 12:14 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by bristol16

cool, thanks guys. glad nothing will get melted

protruding the projector through the front lense will be a last resort for me. i don't think that i would like the outcome visually of the projector sticking out of the headlight. hopefully the sanding process will go smoothly.

oh yes, keeping everything inside would be awesome, just an idea, but they dont neccescarily have to stick OUT from the lens,,,,they can set back within the light, and you can create a "tube" that leads back to the projector. i posted pictures i think of that in s10cyncrvers thread.

bristol16 · 10-11-2005, 12:24 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by zq8fromhell

oh yes, keeping everything inside would be awesome, just an idea, but they dont neccescarily have to stick OUT from the lens,,,,they can set back within the light, and you can create a "tube" that leads back to the projector. i posted pictures i think of that in s10cyncrvers thread.

oh ok, i get what you are saying now. i went back through cyncrvers thread and found the pic you are talking about. that actually looks better than i thought it would and since my projector lense is so close to the housing anyway it wouldn't have to go back very far. another idea to roll around for now. thanks brandon.

bristol16 · 10-11-2005, 09:04 PM

wow, well it looks like i was NOT the first person to try this. this guy got wicked good output, color, and cutoff with his fluted lenses so i think i will give it a try with mine too.

http://hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12531

i got my projector mounted and cut my core support so my headlight can now be mounted. i am hoping that my wiring will come in tomorrow so i can build my wiring harness and then find a place for the ballast. other than that, all i need is a shroud/bezel and to clean it up a little and put it back together and the first headlight should be done. no good pics because it is too dark out though.

s10cyncrvr · 10-11-2005, 11:56 PM

Looks like its moving right along. How far are those going to stick past your core support, with the ballast cable on it?

That other guy did get a nice colorband out of those projectors. I like the adjustable shields on those as well.

zq8fromhell · 10-12-2005, 12:02 AM

not to be an ass, but if i read it correctly the guy said this later down in the post. I was gonna say there is no way he got that cutoff through those pillow optics....

"The headlights had to be sanded out. There is no way you will be able to get a cutoff line like that through a fluited lense."

it was on down in the post...

nystateofmind27 · 10-12-2005, 12:59 AM

It's gonna look nice but won't light up much. You should have just installed bulbs with casper shields in the reflectors.

s10cyncrvr · 10-12-2005, 10:32 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by nystateofmind27

It's gonna look nice but won't light up much. You should have just installed bulbs with casper shields in the reflectors.

He probably would have needed the Envoy lights in order to do that. Shielding the bulb is only one part of the problem of trying to put HID into a halogen reflector housing.

As for as it not lighting up much, thats wrong. After he clears the lense, he will have the same output as a factory BMW that used those projectors.

zq8fromhell · 10-12-2005, 04:06 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by nystateofmind27

It's gonna look nice but won't light up much. You should have just installed bulbs with casper shields in the reflectors.

ya what s10cyncrvr said

bristol16 · 10-12-2005, 11:19 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by zq8fromhell

not to be an ass, but if i read it correctly the guy said this later down in the post. I was gonna say there is no way he got that cutoff through those pillow optics....

"The headlights had to be sanded out. There is no way you will be able to get a cutoff line like that through a fluited lense."

it was on down in the post...

yeah i know i read that. he posted that after i posted here.

bristol16 · 10-12-2005, 11:28 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by s10cyncrvr

Looks like its moving right along. How far are those going to stick past your core support, with the ballast cable on it?

That other guy did get a nice colorband out of those projectors. I like the adjustable shields on those as well.

where the ballast connects to the projector housing will be xtremely close to the battery on the passenger side, i am not sure about the driver side but i think my Volant intake will provide enough space to mount it.

i spent about 4 hours making a shroud tonight....after about 1 hour i realized i didn't have the right tools to do what i was doing but i kept at it anyway. hopefully i will be happy with the results. what i need to do now is get busy with aligning the light. where i had mounted it initially it was pointed too far inward and it looked like it was facing down a little, so i will have to use nuts and washers to angle the light correctly, most likely through a lot of trial and error

i was hoping to have at least this one headlight finished before i had to leave for the weekend but i don't see that happening now. gonna have to drive with only one headlight for a while longer. i started my wiring harness during breaks at school today (like i have anything better to do) so i plan to get more of that done tomorrow and possibly get this damn thing finished tomorrow night.

bristol16 · 10-14-2005, 12:27 AM

well i got everything installed enough to drive it. the HIDs are aimed a little low, but i guess that is better than way too high. where the ballast plugs onto the bulb is pretty much sitting up against my battery (only the passenger side is hooked up) and it looks like when i do the driver side it will be smashed against my intake

. i am thinking that i will get some longer screws and some washers and put them between the housing and mounting bracket to push it off a little. these are definately NOT the easiest headlights to retro...

i still haven't found a reasonable way to get rid of the ridges in my headlights without trashing the lenses. i have a feeling that i will be buying a new headlight and trying this all over again. i dunno if this is really as difficult as it seems or if i am just more retarded than i first thought.

disabled my DRLs and AHDs today too. good ridance to them. i have my projector shining through my ridged headlight housing for now, it doesn't glare or shine above the cutoff line, it is just a more blurry version of the projector beam. not a finished product, but much better than the "plug and play" kits that turn out looking like this:

i dunno how people can drive like that, or even worse, think it looks good.

the illest · 10-15-2005, 09:07 PM

Go buy some Lexan or something and mold a new lense?

bristol16 · 10-15-2005, 11:24 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by the illest

Go buy some Lexan or something and mold a new lense?

i actually considered cutting the square out in front of the low beam headlight bulb where i have the projector mounted and then molding in a square of plexi-glass. i am not sure how clean i could do it without being able to see a mess of sealant though.

***orangesonoma*** · 10-15-2005, 11:59 PM

the output of them HID's look like shit...there is no light in the center...just all around it...

the hid's in my blazer....in this shot only the pass side is done...

bristol16 · 10-16-2005, 12:01 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by orangesonoma

the output of them HID's look like shit...there is no light in the center...just all around it...

yeah i don't remember what the car in the top picture is, but i am pretty sure that the bottom picture are HIDs in a stock halogen headlight on a Honda Civic. and yes, they look like absolute poop.

***orangesonoma*** · 10-16-2005, 12:06 AM

that is the worst pic i have ever taken...lol...

bristol16 · 10-16-2005, 12:10 AM

yeah but at least that picture was taken from well below the cutoff line

Mr Bravada · 11-06-2005, 08:00 PM

what ever happened to this project? i was outa town when this all went down and now am gettin around to lookin through all the stuff i missed? i was really interested in how this would end up?

10-10-2005, 10:49 PM	#1
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	'99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started well tonight i started tearing my headlights up for the first ever (as far as i know) '98+ GMC Jimmy/Sonoma HID projector retrofit. i was a little overwhelmed at first not really knowing what i was getting into, but so far it hasn't been too bad. bear with me as i am using the camera feature on my video camera and it isn't that great.... the first thing i did was dremmel out the circular hole where the low beam mounted. in this picture you can see where i cut out, it was basically the exact same shape as the high beam part next to it. if you cut all of that out the front part of the projector i am using will slide in almost perfectly. after that i found that i had to round out the corners a little because the legs spread out as they go back. i still have to deal with getting the feet of the lens section of the projector to mount well without changing the optics of the projector, so i will most likely have to bend them a little but i think they will fit alright. and here is the housing with both the lens cover on and off. i am going to setup the rear part of my projector and my ballast and fire this one up hopefully tomorrow night to make sure that it is level in the housing and that i can aim it alright and if i need to sand down the ridges in the clear cover. i still need to setup my wiring, modify the mounting/aiming bracket to allow for the rear of the projector housing and balast and build a bezel to conceal the rear of the projector, but for a few hours work i am very happy with the results. i will be posting here as i make progress, and any helpful hints and tips would be GREATLY appreciated
	[Reply w/Quote]

10-10-2005, 10:51 PM	#2
*orangesonoma* registered s10 sex offender Age: 30 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 37,742 Location: Indian Trail, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started im not sure how good it is going to look thu the ripples in the lense... but good luck!
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10-10-2005, 10:55 PM	#3
i3owdown Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 654 Location: Orlando, Fl User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by orangesonoma im not sure how good it is going to look thu the ripples in the lense... but good luck! its going to messup the cutoff line. check out hidplanet.com what projectors are you using? Last edited by i3owdown : 10-10-2005 at 10:59 PM.
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10-10-2005, 11:01 PM	#4
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by i3owdown its going to messup the cutoff line. check out hidplanet.com what projectors are you using? yeah i have looked over a lot of information on HIDplanet but i haven't been able to find anything about this with a quick search for 'ripple' and 'ridge'. do you remember seeing a specific thread where they talked about it? i may end up having to sand them down but i will try it first and see how it goes. and i am using their Bosch ECE E46 projectors.
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10-10-2005, 11:40 PM	#5
s10cyncrvr Canyon Carver Age: 28 Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,793 Location: Columbia, IL User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Looks good so far. Keep at it. 1) How hard was it to get the lenses off? 2) If you are needing bezels, I was at Home Depot looking around tonight and found a stove cover that fit nicely over the E46's. They also had a shower drain cover there with some holes that would be nice to place over the stove cover to give it some depth. I just took a 2-1/4" paper circle with me and walked around trying it out on different things. 3) You will need to sand down the ridges on the lense. It was discussed earlier in my HID thread. "zq8fromhell" said... call me brandon if ya want , i know old school kid gay screename,,,,anyways, yes the lens on a stock light contains what you see to be known as pillow optics...so simple as refraction. This will affect the output to the extent that they will be illegal by technical standards quite a bit, and wont be noticable after all that work ( a real shame!) The light is all gathered in an infinitesimly small point at the peak of a projector lens. The light is then dispersed from that point in a hemispherical shape on the ground in front. quite ingenious. You can defeat the pillow optics by doing what I did, by protruding the projector physically through the lens. Not the CLEANEST of all installs, but there was absolutely zero options for the headlights i had. Secondly, you could also do some excellent sanding such as s10cyncrvr did, and make the lens completely clear ( which would make me just want to buy the projector lights for the lens themselves). Umm I think that answers your question?
	[Reply w/Quote]


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10-10-2005, 11:49 PM	#6
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by s10cyncrvr Looks good so far. Keep at it. 1) How hard was it to get the lenses off? 2) If you are needing bezels, I was at Home Depot looking around tonight and found a stove cover that fit nicely over the E46's. They also had a shower drain cover there with some holes that would be nice to place over the stove cover to give it some depth. I just took a 2-1/4" paper circle with me and walked around trying it out on different things. 3) You will need to sand down the ridges on the lense. It was discussed earlier in my HID thread. "zq8fromhell" said... call me brandon if ya want , i know old school kid gay screename,,,,anyways, yes the lens on a stock light contains what you see to be known as pillow optics...so simple as refraction. This will affect the output to the extent that they will be illegal by technical standards quite a bit, and wont be noticable after all that work ( a real shame!) The light is all gathered in an infinitesimly small point at the peak of a projector lens. The light is then dispersed from that point in a hemispherical shape on the ground in front. quite ingenious. You can defeat the pillow optics by doing what I did, by protruding the projector physically through the lens. Not the CLEANEST of all installs, but there was absolutely zero options for the headlights i had. Secondly, you could also do some excellent sanding such as s10cyncrvr did, and make the lens completely clear ( which would make me just want to buy the projector lights for the lens themselves). Umm I think that answers your question? i had already taken my headlights apart once to remove the orange reflector, so it was pretty easy to do this one again. i set the oven for between 200 and 225, when it warmed up i popped the headlight face up on a cookie sheet and left the oven door open a crack (couple inches or so). checked the light every 4-5 minutes and worked from there. i was gonna go wondering around ACE Hardware or Home Depot for some bezel ideas, but bringing a paper cutout with me is an awesome idea! looks like i have LOTS of careful sanding in my near future thanks for the information though a quick question for you guys in the know: will having the projector lense really really close to the clear housing cause any problem with the light passing through if it is not facing straight at the lense? also, does the actual projector lense get hot enough to melt the housing or is most of the heat behind the lense? thanks!
	[Reply w/Quote]

10-11-2005, 12:00 AM	#7
s10cyncrvr Canyon Carver Age: 28 Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,793 Location: Columbia, IL User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by bristol16 a quick question for you guys in the know: will having the projector lense really really close to the clear housing cause any problem with the light passing through if it is not facing straight at the lense? also, does the actual projector lense get hot enough to melt the housing or is most of the heat behind the lense? thanks! I'm pretty sure you wont have any problems with the outer lense being at a different angle then the projector lense. Most cars have theirs at a 45 degree angle so it should be no biggie. The projector lense gets a little warm but nothing to major. You shouldn't have any problems with it melting the lense. The reflective bowl however gets pretty hot. I had mine hooked up today testing out a rubber gasket I had made. I left it on for about 5 minutes and it was hot to the touch, but it didn't melt the rubber gasket.
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10-11-2005, 12:03 AM	#8
zq8fromhell Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 935 Location: madison indiana User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by bristol16 i had already taken my headlights apart once to remove the orange reflector, so it was pretty easy to do this one again. i set the oven for between 200 and 225, when it warmed up i popped the headlight face up on a cookie sheet and left the oven door open a crack (couple inches or so). checked the light every 4-5 minutes and worked from there. i was gonna go wondering around ACE Hardware or Home Depot for some bezel ideas, but bringing a paper cutout with me is an awesome idea! looks like i have LOTS of careful sanding in my near future thanks for the information though a quick question for you guys in the know: will having the projector lense really really close to the clear housing cause any problem with the light passing through if it is not facing straight at the lense? also, does the actual projector lense get hot enough to melt the housing or is most of the heat behind the lense? thanks! ya you have to get rid of the pillow optics in the lens. no ifs ands or buts...i still say you should consider actually protruding the projector thru the front lens, but hey thats just me and no the projector lens will not get hot enough to hurt anything. an HID burner actually burns cooler than a halogen lamp. good luck with this project!!! so far I have done the 94-97 sonoma lamp cyncrver has done the 98-03 s10 lamp and you are working on the 98-03 sonoma lamp.... i think that has the majority of them covered, minus the 94 earlier s10's
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10-11-2005, 12:07 AM	#9
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started cool, thanks guys. glad nothing will get melted protruding the projector through the front lense will be a last resort for me. i don't think that i would like the outcome visually of the projector sticking out of the headlight. hopefully the sanding process will go smoothly.
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10-11-2005, 12:14 AM	#10
zq8fromhell Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 935 Location: madison indiana User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by bristol16 cool, thanks guys. glad nothing will get melted protruding the projector through the front lense will be a last resort for me. i don't think that i would like the outcome visually of the projector sticking out of the headlight. hopefully the sanding process will go smoothly. oh yes, keeping everything inside would be awesome, just an idea, but they dont neccescarily have to stick OUT from the lens,,,,they can set back within the light, and you can create a "tube" that leads back to the projector. i posted pictures i think of that in s10cyncrvers thread.
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10-11-2005, 12:24 AM	#11
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by zq8fromhell oh yes, keeping everything inside would be awesome, just an idea, but they dont neccescarily have to stick OUT from the lens,,,,they can set back within the light, and you can create a "tube" that leads back to the projector. i posted pictures i think of that in s10cyncrvers thread. oh ok, i get what you are saying now. i went back through cyncrvers thread and found the pic you are talking about. that actually looks better than i thought it would and since my projector lense is so close to the housing anyway it wouldn't have to go back very far. another idea to roll around for now. thanks brandon.
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10-11-2005, 09:04 PM	#12
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started wow, well it looks like i was NOT the first person to try this. this guy got wicked good output, color, and cutoff with his fluted lenses so i think i will give it a try with mine too. http://hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12531 i got my projector mounted and cut my core support so my headlight can now be mounted. i am hoping that my wiring will come in tomorrow so i can build my wiring harness and then find a place for the ballast. other than that, all i need is a shroud/bezel and to clean it up a little and put it back together and the first headlight should be done. no good pics because it is too dark out though.
	[Reply w/Quote]

10-11-2005, 11:56 PM	#13
s10cyncrvr Canyon Carver Age: 28 Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,793 Location: Columbia, IL User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Looks like its moving right along. How far are those going to stick past your core support, with the ballast cable on it? That other guy did get a nice colorband out of those projectors. I like the adjustable shields on those as well.
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10-12-2005, 12:02 AM	#14
zq8fromhell Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 935 Location: madison indiana User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started not to be an ass, but if i read it correctly the guy said this later down in the post. I was gonna say there is no way he got that cutoff through those pillow optics.... "The headlights had to be sanded out. There is no way you will be able to get a cutoff line like that through a fluited lense." it was on down in the post...
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11-07-2005, 08:42 PM	#28
bristol16 Registered User

10-12-2005, 12:59 AM	#15
nystateofmind27 Quad-Turbocharged Blazer Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,827 Location: NJ User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started It's gonna look nice but won't light up much. You should have just installed bulbs with casper shields in the reflectors.
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10-12-2005, 10:32 AM	#16
s10cyncrvr Canyon Carver Age: 28 Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,793 Location: Columbia, IL User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by nystateofmind27 It's gonna look nice but won't light up much. You should have just installed bulbs with casper shields in the reflectors. He probably would have needed the Envoy lights in order to do that. Shielding the bulb is only one part of the problem of trying to put HID into a halogen reflector housing. As for as it not lighting up much, thats wrong. After he clears the lense, he will have the same output as a factory BMW that used those projectors.
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10-12-2005, 04:06 PM	#17
zq8fromhell Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 935 Location: madison indiana User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by nystateofmind27 It's gonna look nice but won't light up much. You should have just installed bulbs with casper shields in the reflectors. ya what s10cyncrvr said
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10-12-2005, 11:19 PM	#18
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by zq8fromhell not to be an ass, but if i read it correctly the guy said this later down in the post. I was gonna say there is no way he got that cutoff through those pillow optics.... "The headlights had to be sanded out. There is no way you will be able to get a cutoff line like that through a fluited lense." it was on down in the post... yeah i know i read that. he posted that after i posted here.
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10-12-2005, 11:28 PM	#19
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by s10cyncrvr Looks like its moving right along. How far are those going to stick past your core support, with the ballast cable on it? That other guy did get a nice colorband out of those projectors. I like the adjustable shields on those as well. where the ballast connects to the projector housing will be xtremely close to the battery on the passenger side, i am not sure about the driver side but i think my Volant intake will provide enough space to mount it. i spent about 4 hours making a shroud tonight....after about 1 hour i realized i didn't have the right tools to do what i was doing but i kept at it anyway. hopefully i will be happy with the results. what i need to do now is get busy with aligning the light. where i had mounted it initially it was pointed too far inward and it looked like it was facing down a little, so i will have to use nuts and washers to angle the light correctly, most likely through a lot of trial and error i was hoping to have at least this one headlight finished before i had to leave for the weekend but i don't see that happening now. gonna have to drive with only one headlight for a while longer. i started my wiring harness during breaks at school today (like i have anything better to do) so i plan to get more of that done tomorrow and possibly get this damn thing finished tomorrow night.
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10-14-2005, 12:27 AM	#20
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started well i got everything installed enough to drive it. the HIDs are aimed a little low, but i guess that is better than way too high. where the ballast plugs onto the bulb is pretty much sitting up against my battery (only the passenger side is hooked up) and it looks like when i do the driver side it will be smashed against my intake . i am thinking that i will get some longer screws and some washers and put them between the housing and mounting bracket to push it off a little. these are definately NOT the easiest headlights to retro... i still haven't found a reasonable way to get rid of the ridges in my headlights without trashing the lenses. i have a feeling that i will be buying a new headlight and trying this all over again. i dunno if this is really as difficult as it seems or if i am just more retarded than i first thought. disabled my DRLs and AHDs today too. good ridance to them. i have my projector shining through my ridged headlight housing for now, it doesn't glare or shine above the cutoff line, it is just a more blurry version of the projector beam. not a finished product, but much better than the "plug and play" kits that turn out looking like this: i dunno how people can drive like that, or even worse, think it looks good. Last edited by bristol16 : 10-14-2005 at 12:29 AM.
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10-15-2005, 09:07 PM	#21
the illest Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 147 Location: User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Go buy some Lexan or something and mold a new lense?
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10-15-2005, 11:24 PM	#22
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by the illest Go buy some Lexan or something and mold a new lense? i actually considered cutting the square out in front of the low beam headlight bulb where i have the projector mounted and then molding in a square of plexi-glass. i am not sure how clean i could do it without being able to see a mess of sealant though.
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10-15-2005, 11:59 PM	#23
*orangesonoma* registered s10 sex offender Age: 30 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 37,742 Location: Indian Trail, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started the output of them HID's look like shit...there is no light in the center...just all around it... the hid's in my blazer....in this shot only the pass side is done... Last edited by orangesonoma : 10-16-2005 at 12:02 AM.
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10-16-2005, 12:01 AM	#24
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started Quote: Originally Posted by orangesonoma the output of them HID's look like shit...there is no light in the center...just all around it... yeah i don't remember what the car in the top picture is, but i am pretty sure that the bottom picture are HIDs in a stock halogen headlight on a Honda Civic. and yes, they look like absolute poop.
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10-16-2005, 12:06 AM	#25
*orangesonoma* registered s10 sex offender Age: 30 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 37,742 Location: Indian Trail, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started that is the worst pic i have ever taken...lol...
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10-16-2005, 12:10 AM	#26
bristol16 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,854 Location: Greensboro, NC User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started yeah but at least that picture was taken from well below the cutoff line
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11-06-2005, 08:00 PM	#27
Mr Bravada graduated!!!! Age: 26 Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,039 Location: Anchorage Ak User is: OffLine	Re: '99 Jimmy HID projector retrofit project has started what ever happened to this project? i was outa town when this all went down and now am gettin around to lookin through all the stuff i missed? i was really interested in how this would end up?
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