HID projector retrofit FXR 3.0

magrider

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I've posted most of the stuff below on this vwvortex thread for retrofiting projectors. Figured I should re-post everything here in a new thread for those interested.

The Chinese Audi and VW style replicas are slightly more expensive and easier alternatives. But judging by the output shots folks have posted, the projectors used in them frankly aren't very good. The manufacturers probably used the cheapest projectors they can find to save cost. So I decided to go the DIY route and use some good projectors instead.

Parts used:
Factory reject headlights from ebay.
FXR 3.0 Bi-xenon projector with 3 inch lens
Philips 85122+ D2S 4300k 35W bulb
Morimoto 3Five 35W ballast
Orbit Shrouds
Bought everything from The Retrofit Source

The idea is to pry open the stock headlights put the projectors in. I already had a set of the Mini H1 projectors. They are much smaller and fits through the existing bulb holes and screw onto the reflector. They are a big upgrade over stock halogens, but still sacrifice performance due to their small size. I decided to use the FXR 3.0 instead, which made a 5-10 hour project into a 30+ hour project. It was worth it in the end though as the output is amazing. Anyway here is what I did:

Pry open headlight:

+

+
lots of prying
=


Now if you want to retrofit the Mini H1, your hard work is done at this point. All you need to do is screw the projector through the reflector bowl, possibly with minor trimming of adapter plates, install headlights onto car to verify your projector rotation for flat cutoffs, reseal and re-install. However, the FXR is much larger than the Mini H1:


Larger projector means more light output:
Mini H1 output against garage door:


FXR output against garage door:


But as a result the stock reflector needs to be trimmed in order for the larger projector to fit.
So the next step is to remove the low beam reflector. This was a giant pain. The low beam reflector is held onto the housing via three points. One of the point is secured by a screw, while the other two are secured by plastic tab thingies. I had to obliterate one of the tabs using a flat blade screwdriver in order to free the reflector, but as long as you don't damage the ball joint you will be fine. The part can be reattached using epoxy just fine.


Now in order to make sure the projector's rotation is good, you have to mark the stock halogen's beam reference. The reflector is round so I had to turn it upside down on its only flat part in order to secure it with screws:


Install the halogen bulb and power it up. I used a standard computer ATX power supply for this.


Mark beam cutoff on the wall at least 10 feet away:


Now the stock beam cutoff is marked, it is important to keep your mounting places/hardware in place and not move them. Otherwise your marked cutoff will become invalid and you will be screwed.
 
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magrider

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Next trim the reflector using a dremel tool until the opening is large enough to fit the projector with the shroud, like so:



Orient your projector so the cutoff matches the stock:

I actually made a mistake here by not matching the cutoff exactly height wise. This messed up my stock high beam up/down alignment in relation to the low beams. I did not realize that the high and low beam height adjustments are linked. The result is now my halogen high beams are aimed at the ground when my projectors are aimed properly. Luckily the projectors have high beams also so I don't have to fix this right away.

Lock the projector onto the stock reflector with small dabs of JB-Qwik epoxy, available at Walmart, Home Depot etc. If you want to make absolutely sure that your rotation alignment is okay, you might want to re-install everything at this point onto the car and test it out. If things are not good, break the small amount of epoxy and realign on the car. If you don't get the rotational alignment correctly, you will be permanently looking at mis-aligned lights for years to come. So it is important that the projector cutoff is orientated flat.

After you are sure your rotation is good, liberally apply regular JB-Weld to secure the projector onto the stock reflector. I mean really put that stuff on there, 1/2 tubes worth maybe to make sure it won't come apart. Then re-install everything back:




Clean out the old perma-seal, solder your wiring and re-seal using buytl rubber and heatgun*.

*Edit: Just heatgun is not enough. You need to bake the headlight in the oven after you apply butyl rubber(250 F for 10 minutes). Also apply way more butyl than you think you need, until the seams ooze of the stuff. To keep the mess down, cover the butyl with masking tape. Also I would bake it 2 to 3 times, after each bake, press the butyl into the seam with your hands to make sure it is packed on tight. Also if you have force clamps, clamp the 2 halves tight after the last bake for a perfect seal. If not, press the 2 halves hard against each other with your hands often, while the butyl is hot. After resealing is done, re-install all the rubber dust guards and take your lights outside. Blast the headlight lens with water from a garden hose, from the front only. You are trying to simulate a heavy rain storm or car wash. If you see water inside, you need to work on your seal. This re-sealing part is very important, make sure you do a good job.

Install new headlights and enjoy lights that outshines most stock projectors. Took output shots with cell phone, will try to use real camera later.


Nice color band on cutoff at about 50 ft away. When a car in oncoming traffic goes over a bump and you see his white lights turn purple/blue or other colors, you are seeing this color band on the cutoff. Having a projector with good optics, clear lens and near OEM color temperature bulbs is the right way to achieve this effect, not 10000k ricer bulbs.

 
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IXLR8

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Nice!!! A lot of work.. but I think the output looks better than the Chinese HIDs folks have posted so it is worth it. I have the 3.0's, but need to find some "reject" lights to cut apart. You gave me the link to your ebay seller, but he only had one side available... still looking.
 

tdiatlast

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How do you keep cars in front of you from catching on fire with all that focused light?
Amazing job, sharp cut-off.
30+ hours? YIKES!!
 

Driver_found

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Impressive work. You get an A+.
 

VeeDubTDI

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Nice!!! A lot of work.. but I think the output looks better than the Chinese HIDs folks have posted so it is worth it. I have the 3.0's, but need to find some "reject" lights to cut apart. You gave me the link to your ebay seller, but he only had one side available... still looking.
Better than the factory Chinese HIDs or better than the knock-off Chinese HIDs? It's not hard to be better than knock-off Chinese HIDs. ;)

Install looks great - not really a fan of the way the lights look with the projectors in them and the reflector high beams, but the output is impressive.
 

IXLR8

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Better than the factory Chinese HIDs or better than the knock-off Chinese HIDs? It's not hard to be better than knock-off Chinese HIDs. ;)
I know there are a few folks around that have the OEM Chinese HIDs, but I haven't seen any output images of them, so I am talking about the knock-offs.
 

magrider

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Better than the factory Chinese HIDs or better than the knock-off Chinese HIDs? It's not hard to be better than knock-off Chinese HIDs. ;)
Install looks great - not really a fan of the way the lights look with the projectors in them and the reflector high beams, but the output is impressive.
This is the only output shot I could find of the OEM headlight, from TDI Brad on vw vortex:


The car is pretty close to the wall, so it's difficult to judge how good it is. But you can still tell that the hot spots are shaped like two blobs which means the width of the beam won't be very wide. Good projectors typically have a line shaped hot spot that runs along the cutoff line, sort of like how the Milky Way Galaxy appears when viewed from the side. This gives you good distance throw and a wider beam. I don't have the OEM Chinese lights but the FXR easily outperforms my OEM Touareg lights.(better distance throw, wider and more intense). I can't imagine the Passat having better OEM lighting solutions than the Touareg, the latter being almost twice as expensive.
The FXR is an aftermarket projector, so it is relatively cheap and easy to install, but definitely is not the best. Some OEM projectors from Lexus, Acura, Infinity etc with minor modifications will handily outperform it.

OEM VW projectors sadly are never mentioned on retrofitter forums, so I am guessing that must mean they aren't every good to begin with.

Some videos I found on youtube of the FXR 3.0:
Night driving
Showing the color flicker from head on

Night shots with better camera:



 
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Driver_found

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Wow! Output reminds me of the old Cibie Oscars I used to strap on the front bumper back in the day.
 

magrider

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Thanks for the complements guys, this was quite a bit of work but I am pleased with the results. It's great having Bimmers pull up next to me and seeing my lights totally overpowering theirs :D

Anyway the only thing that bothers me is that now my high beam reflectors are useless since they are aimed too low, and I can't adjust them up because that will make my low beams aim too high. I'll probably put projectors in the high beam slots to remedy this one of these days.

For folks who want to go the retrofit route, I took a look at all the none VIP projectors sold by TRS, and based on their dimensions relative to the FXR I am guessing the following should fit, possibly with trimming to the stock low beam reflector:
MH1(minor/no trimming)
Mini D2S(minor trimming)
EVOX-R(some trimming)
TSX(some trimming)
FX45(lots of trimming)
TL(probably won't fit onto stock reflector, but should still fit the housing and requiring custom alignment mechanisms. I wanted to retrofit the TL initially, but felt intimidated by its size and decided not to)
 
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IXLR8

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Anyway the only thing that bothers me is that now my high beam reflectors are useless since they are aimed too low, and I can't adjust them up because that will make my low beams aim too high.
I would think that the 3.0's on high beam would overpower the stock high beam reflectors and they would be useless anyway.
 

magrider

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I would think that the 3.0's on high beam would overpower the stock high beam reflectors and they would be useless anyway.
Yeah it is not a problem at night when the low beams are on so I can use the bi xenon feature. But during the day, the flash to pass function is greatly diminished since the high beams are aimed too low.
 

magrider

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I took the lights apart again and retrofitted Halogen projectors(Hella H7 3 inch) in the high beam slot to get the Quad projector look. Turned out pretty good:



 

magrider

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Here are some I took last night, it was raining so the pictures didn't come out so good:
Halogen high beam only:

HID low beam only:

HID high beam and halogen high beam:
 

magrider

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Did you mistype?

HID high beam and halogen high beam:

2 high beams?
The HID projector is Bi-xenon, within it there is a movable shield that creates the cutoff for low beams. There is a solenoid in the projector that moves the cutoff shield out of the way when power is applied to it, which creates the high beams. I wired up the solenoid to the stock high beam wires. So when the high beams are on, the HID projector retracts its cutoff shield. For flash to pass mode, this doesn't do anything since the HID bulb is not lit and you just see the halogen high beams come on. However when the HID bulb is lit for low beams, and the halogen high beams turn on, the retracting shield would reveal the reserved light above the HID cutoff and you get 4 high beams total which pumps out a lot of light.
 
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carlrx7

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Any chance you are interested in experimenting on LED ebay lights from winpower2008?


-Carl
 
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magrider

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Try playing around with the large hollow screws on the two mounting tabs(stock lights have these, not sure about chinese aftermarket I am assuming they have them too) Using a large plyer, rotate the screw on the tab near the grille all the way up so the plastic part sits flush with the mouting point. Rotate the screw on the other tab all the way in so the tab sits higher up. This way, you can sort of rotate the entire assembly clockwise so it will make the cutoff less crooked.

For the step, rotate both projectors to the left a little bit so you see more of the car in front of you.
 
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nkgagne

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Excellent "proper" HID install with fantastic results. Great job! The thread about just inserting HID bulbs should just redirect here.
 

VWJayhawk

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Wow, great job! How long would you estimate it would take for someone to do the mini H1 bulb retrofit? Would be interested in doing this as don't care for the LED DRLs on anything other than Audis ha. Thanks!
 

magrider

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Wow, great job! How long would you estimate it would take for someone to do the mini H1 bulb retrofit? Would be interested in doing this as don't care for the LED DRLs on anything other than Audis ha. Thanks!
Thx. Head over to HID planet, spend a few hours researching and looking at what other have done so you have a rough idea of what you need to do. After you do that, I would guess for a first timer, MH1 retrofit should not take more than 10-15 hours, and that's if you go slow. Get a spare pair of headlights so you can take your time doing it. OEM lights are going for pretty cheap on ebay now I think(around 50 bucks?). For MH1 I think your biggest challenge is making sure the lights are resealed properly, since the cutoff rotation will be easy to modify and fix. In fact I noticed tiny amounts of condensation on my driver side headlight after I washed my car yesterday, so I might need to seal it more.

If you have never done a retrofit before I wouldn't start with anything large like the FXR, the MH1 is much easier to retrofit and will still be a giant improvement over stock.
 

Fixmy59bug

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Wait wait wait wait, Hold the damn phone.......

The ONLY thing I HATE with a passion about these headlights is that usually when the headlights are on, the DRL LED's are on (as they should be) but the turn signal is also on at reduced power.

See Here:





I do NOT like the way that looks. Sorry Norm, Synergy, and Phat7Deuce... Your cars are beautiful, but I am not a fan of how the lights are functioning...

But I am not seeing a faint glow from your turn signal. Is that not the case with your headlights?
 

Fixmy59bug

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On second thought, It does not appear your headlights are on.....

Does anyone know how to eliminate the turn signal from glowing when the headlights are on?

I believe the black box on the bottom sends full power to the LED's when the DRL's are on and reduced power when the headlights are on, otherwise the LED's would just shut off when the headlights are on like the DRL bulb does now...

Maybe with the right resistors and diodes, I can figure out how to get everything to work the way I want (LED's on full power for DRL, reduced power for running light, and orange bulb for ONLY turn signal).

Maybe if I put some sort of voltage or current regulator that would only allow power to go through if a certain threshold is reached....
 

VWJayhawk

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Thx. Head over to HID planet, spend a few hours researching and looking at what other have done so you have a rough idea of what you need to do. After you do that, I would guess for a first timer, MH1 retrofit should not take more than 10-15 hours, and that's if you go slow. Get a spare pair of headlights so you can take your time doing it. OEM lights are going for pretty cheap on ebay now I think(around 50 bucks?). For MH1 I think your biggest challenge is making sure the lights are resealed properly, since the cutoff rotation will be easy to modify and fix. In fact I noticed tiny amounts of condensation on my driver side headlight after I washed my car yesterday, so I might need to seal it more.
If you have never done a retrofit before I wouldn't start with anything large like the FXR, the MH1 is much easier to retrofit and will still be a giant improvement over stock.
Great info, thank you! Good idea on picking up some spare headlights - also will allow me to not feel rushed. Had never run across that site, thanks for sharing.
 

VeeDubTDI

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Wait wait wait wait, Hold the damn phone.......

The ONLY thing I HATE with a passion about these headlights is that usually when the headlights are on, the DRL LED's are on (as they should be) but the turn signal is also on at reduced power.

See Here:





I do NOT like the way that looks. Sorry Norm, Synergy, and Phat7Deuce... Your cars are beautiful, but I am not a fan of how the lights are functioning...

But I am not seeing a faint glow from your turn signal. Is that not the case with your headlights?
That is correct! The only way to disable the forward-facing amber parking lights is to change the BCM light coding to China. To do this, you'll also need the Chinese LED rear lights and you'll have to modify a lot of wiring due to differences between the markets.

So far, nobody has come up with an elegant solution to make the LED DRL + HID front lights function *correctly* (correctly being no amber parking light and DRLs on with headlights on).

Remember that the front-facing amber light is a single-filament lamp that receives a PWM signal from the BCM so there is no easy way to kill it without also killing the front turn signal.

***edit: I just had a thought - you could build an electrical contraption (Jason is the wiring guru, not me) that only allows full voltage to pass through the circuit, effectively blocking the parking light from turning on. That could potentially wreak havoc with the lamp monitor, but I'm sure Jason can provide some more insight into how to make this work
 
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carlrx7

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i dont mind the amber between the projectors, i think it looks good actually. now on the audi lights with the amber at the bottom.. blah..
 

VWJayhawk

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Regarding the ambers/parking lights...can these just be disabled with vag com? Was able o turn to them off on my b8 a4 but unchecking/checking the box saying they were installed. Sorry if way off, maybe they are powered through the drl power?
 
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