Plug and Play Projectors
01-13-2010, 08:22 AM
#27
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so yall could make a set all blacked out? im just talking about around the halogen you guys left the spot stock. silver. chrome how ever you want to call it. i twont look good all black would it? lol
01-15-2010, 10:07 AM
#31
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It's an opening price. Gotta have somewhere to start so I can discount :P
----
Drill a hole to run the wires for the halo and bi-xenon shield. The projector itself, literally bolts in. So you use your stock adjusting screws.
In short, it is a 1-way process on the Cobalt headlights. The Kawasaki headlight I put together didn't have a reflector cap, so those could be removed.
----
----
Although I've played with a set of Dodge Ram projector fog lights, and they were... ok at best. But they were sealed.
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7228/simg1342.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/1243/simg1343.jpg
----
As far as price goes, I gotta poke a couple of the natives around here, but if you're adamant about it, I think we can swing $140 with ballasts.
01-15-2010, 12:17 PM
#33
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Let me hijack one of my coworkers Cobalts and put the other projector in. I'll probably have something up by Monday morning/Sunday night. Depending on when I pass out.
01-15-2010, 12:18 PM
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01-15-2010, 01:00 PM
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01-16-2010, 07:43 PM
#38
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Lol! thanks for the warning! You know where my keys are
I love how my car is always the guinea pig!
Last edited by 06blackSC; 01-16-2010 at 10:47 PM.
01-18-2010, 11:06 PM
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Mr. Projector - The Install
You asked for it. Here it is. The third easiest method of installing projectors, into Cobalt headlights. If you can bake apart your headlights to paint the insides black, you can install a set of bi-xenon projectors.
Before we even start. Take your headlights off and see if they'll fit in your oven. If they don't. Find someone with an oven that you can use. If you can't find someone, explain to your wife that now would be a great time to buy a bigger oven.
For all you guys who wanted the ability to revert the headlights back to stock, tough noogies. If it was an H4 housing, this wouldn't be an issue. Not the case here. You will have to drill the reflector cap on a 9007 application.
Tools:
1) An oven that will fit your headlights. (You may laugh about this, but they almost didn't fit mine.)
2) A couple flat head screw drivers.
3) T15 torx screwdriver.
4) Big enough table to work on.
5) Catch can for the small screws.
6) Razor
7) Precision screwdriver set.
8) Drill.
9) 1/2-inch drill bit.
10) Tube of threadlocker
11) Tube of anti-seize (never-seize)
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 200-degrees F. (It's a big word and I don't have spell check.) Once it's dinged at 200-degrees, set the oven to BAKE. Gently toss the headlights into the oven, then set a timer for 15-18 minutes.
Step 2:
Remove the headlights from the oven and furiously attempt to remove the glue from the seams and pry the headlights open. I went with the idiot savant method of scraping the seams, and finding an edge to squeeze a flat head screwdriver into. Then worked my way around the edges using a razor to slice through the gunk as I separated the headlight lens from the backing.
My separation method looked like this about half way through.
(The big picture)
Step 3:
Ok, this leaves us with a table full of gunk, a lens, and the headlight itself. If you're feeling chippy, take off the outter shroud. There's three torx screws holding it in. (See picture) Unscrew and then pull apart. Now when I was doing this, the glue dried back up again.
(Another big picture)
These weren't virgin headlights, so there was some excess around the edges, which is why the outter shroud stuck. I just tossed them back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Then I pulled the outter shroud apart. If you want to paint them, now is the time to do it.
You should have this hot mess when you're done.
(Deshrouded headlight)
Step 4:
As for the reflector cap, you've got two choices. Break the reflector cap or unscrew it. Breaking it is easier in my opinion. Simply bend it up and down till it pops. But if you absolutely want to unscrew it...
I basically jammed a screwdriver between this post (see picture), and applied pressure to pop the reflector cap up. I had to do the same thing on the other side. Technically there's three posts, but I felt it was unnecessary to go that far. You may feel otherwise. If you're feeling too much at this point, ease off the meds.
I started by jamming a screwdriver here, and popping the reflector cap up:
(Pivot number 1)
Then repeating the same, on the other side:
(Pivot number 2)
At this point, you can use the torx screw to unscrew the reflector cap:
(Another big picture)
Save the reflector cap in a jar.
(Another big picture)
Step 5:
You're going to need a hole in the reflector shield to run the high beam/angel eye wires. So grab one of the projectors. You'll need to remove the HID bulb out of it. The hold-down for the 9007 projector bulb is literally a small piece of metal and a tiny screw. Try not to lose either of them.
Picture of said screw and hold down clip:
(Another big picture)
Once you've taken the projector HID bulb out, unscrew the locking screw and remove the indexing ring and lock washer. You'll want to insert the projector into the housing at this point to see where you're going to have to drill through the headlight. Find a good spot, and punch a hole through. I used a 1/2-inch drill bit and then ovaled it out to fit the connector through.
Step 6:
At this point, you can drop the projectors into the housing. Insert the projectors through the front, slip the bi-xenon/angel eye connector through the new hole, drop the the bulb indexing ring, lock washer, and then locking ring on the back side of the projector.
DO NOT TIGHTEN THE LOCKING BOLT YET. I know, you're tempted to crank down on that little fella like you're last name is Gotti, but believe me. Hand tighten it first, but not all the way yet.
If you absolutely do not want this projector coming out, for the love of god, threadlocker.
When I was done, I had something like so:
(Front side of projector installed)
(Back side of projector installed. Minus the rubber sealing boot.)
Step 7:
Insert the projector HID bulb and screw it back in place.I'm really going to recommend never-seize or anti-seize on the screw. Call it a hunch, but it would be a massive pain if that nut decides to rust.
Step 8:
Wire up the relay harnesses onto the car. (See picture) Why you're doing this now, will be explained in the next step.
I know it's an H4/9003 harness. But the setup is almost identical to the 9007's. That and I already did the white out job on this one and it's labeled.
(Projector bi-xenon harness.)
Step 9:
Now we found this one out by a happy accident. Put the headlights on the car and get the lights aimed BEFORE you put the lens back onto the headlights. There's a little play in the rotation of the projectors, so you'll want to aim them vertically, then rotate them to get a level cut off line. Once you have them where you like them, crank down on that locking nut as hard as you can. Then verify that your hard work hasn't rotated again.
Just to warn ya, those little projectors get toasty.
Step 9:
That's it. Bring the headlights back in. Put the lenses back on and reseal them like there's no tomorrow.
The finished product looked a lot like this:
(Low Beams)
(High Beams)
(Had the flash on for this one.)
(Flash off for this one.)
(Low Beams)
Attempting to answer a few questions before they come up...
- The projectors have an opening behind the shroud, so that the housing backlights itself. So all the flash-off shots, were how they really came out in person.
- They were 6000k HID Bulbs. They looked white to me in the housing and projector.
- The projectors use a propriety bulb. Each version (H1, H7, 9004/9007, 9005/9006) use their own specific bulb. I have no clue what the actual turn around time is on just the bulbs themselves.
- The ballasts use amp connectors, so if you have ballasts already, you don't need to worry about it.
- The HID bulb stays lit when you hit the high beams. No stutter, no flicker.
- Estimated time: About 35 minutes per headlight for the projector install itself. Add time for the wiring harnesses and adjustments. If you can bribe a friend to run both wiring harnesses while you're baking the headlights, you can shave an hour off the install time.
- Compared to the last two projector retrofits I've done (2000 Navigator and a '93 SC400), this was a walk in the park.
Alright, ask all the questions you can think of.
Before we even start. Take your headlights off and see if they'll fit in your oven. If they don't. Find someone with an oven that you can use. If you can't find someone, explain to your wife that now would be a great time to buy a bigger oven.
For all you guys who wanted the ability to revert the headlights back to stock, tough noogies. If it was an H4 housing, this wouldn't be an issue. Not the case here. You will have to drill the reflector cap on a 9007 application.
Tools:
1) An oven that will fit your headlights. (You may laugh about this, but they almost didn't fit mine.)
2) A couple flat head screw drivers.
3) T15 torx screwdriver.
4) Big enough table to work on.
5) Catch can for the small screws.
6) Razor
7) Precision screwdriver set.
8) Drill.
9) 1/2-inch drill bit.
10) Tube of threadlocker
11) Tube of anti-seize (never-seize)
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 200-degrees F. (It's a big word and I don't have spell check.) Once it's dinged at 200-degrees, set the oven to BAKE. Gently toss the headlights into the oven, then set a timer for 15-18 minutes.
Step 2:
Remove the headlights from the oven and furiously attempt to remove the glue from the seams and pry the headlights open. I went with the idiot savant method of scraping the seams, and finding an edge to squeeze a flat head screwdriver into. Then worked my way around the edges using a razor to slice through the gunk as I separated the headlight lens from the backing.
My separation method looked like this about half way through.
(The big picture)
Step 3:
Ok, this leaves us with a table full of gunk, a lens, and the headlight itself. If you're feeling chippy, take off the outter shroud. There's three torx screws holding it in. (See picture) Unscrew and then pull apart. Now when I was doing this, the glue dried back up again.
(Another big picture)
These weren't virgin headlights, so there was some excess around the edges, which is why the outter shroud stuck. I just tossed them back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Then I pulled the outter shroud apart. If you want to paint them, now is the time to do it.
You should have this hot mess when you're done.
(Deshrouded headlight)
Step 4:
As for the reflector cap, you've got two choices. Break the reflector cap or unscrew it. Breaking it is easier in my opinion. Simply bend it up and down till it pops. But if you absolutely want to unscrew it...
I basically jammed a screwdriver between this post (see picture), and applied pressure to pop the reflector cap up. I had to do the same thing on the other side. Technically there's three posts, but I felt it was unnecessary to go that far. You may feel otherwise. If you're feeling too much at this point, ease off the meds.
I started by jamming a screwdriver here, and popping the reflector cap up:
(Pivot number 1)
Then repeating the same, on the other side:
(Pivot number 2)
At this point, you can use the torx screw to unscrew the reflector cap:
(Another big picture)
Save the reflector cap in a jar.
(Another big picture)
Step 5:
You're going to need a hole in the reflector shield to run the high beam/angel eye wires. So grab one of the projectors. You'll need to remove the HID bulb out of it. The hold-down for the 9007 projector bulb is literally a small piece of metal and a tiny screw. Try not to lose either of them.
Picture of said screw and hold down clip:
(Another big picture)
Once you've taken the projector HID bulb out, unscrew the locking screw and remove the indexing ring and lock washer. You'll want to insert the projector into the housing at this point to see where you're going to have to drill through the headlight. Find a good spot, and punch a hole through. I used a 1/2-inch drill bit and then ovaled it out to fit the connector through.
Step 6:
At this point, you can drop the projectors into the housing. Insert the projectors through the front, slip the bi-xenon/angel eye connector through the new hole, drop the the bulb indexing ring, lock washer, and then locking ring on the back side of the projector.
DO NOT TIGHTEN THE LOCKING BOLT YET. I know, you're tempted to crank down on that little fella like you're last name is Gotti, but believe me. Hand tighten it first, but not all the way yet.
If you absolutely do not want this projector coming out, for the love of god, threadlocker.
When I was done, I had something like so:
(Front side of projector installed)
(Back side of projector installed. Minus the rubber sealing boot.)
Step 7:
Insert the projector HID bulb and screw it back in place.I'm really going to recommend never-seize or anti-seize on the screw. Call it a hunch, but it would be a massive pain if that nut decides to rust.
Step 8:
Wire up the relay harnesses onto the car. (See picture) Why you're doing this now, will be explained in the next step.
I know it's an H4/9003 harness. But the setup is almost identical to the 9007's. That and I already did the white out job on this one and it's labeled.
(Projector bi-xenon harness.)
Step 9:
Now we found this one out by a happy accident. Put the headlights on the car and get the lights aimed BEFORE you put the lens back onto the headlights. There's a little play in the rotation of the projectors, so you'll want to aim them vertically, then rotate them to get a level cut off line. Once you have them where you like them, crank down on that locking nut as hard as you can. Then verify that your hard work hasn't rotated again.
Just to warn ya, those little projectors get toasty.
Step 9:
That's it. Bring the headlights back in. Put the lenses back on and reseal them like there's no tomorrow.
The finished product looked a lot like this:
(Low Beams)
(High Beams)
(Had the flash on for this one.)
(Flash off for this one.)
(Low Beams)
Attempting to answer a few questions before they come up...
- The projectors have an opening behind the shroud, so that the housing backlights itself. So all the flash-off shots, were how they really came out in person.
- They were 6000k HID Bulbs. They looked white to me in the housing and projector.
- The projectors use a propriety bulb. Each version (H1, H7, 9004/9007, 9005/9006) use their own specific bulb. I have no clue what the actual turn around time is on just the bulbs themselves.
- The ballasts use amp connectors, so if you have ballasts already, you don't need to worry about it.
- The HID bulb stays lit when you hit the high beams. No stutter, no flicker.
- Estimated time: About 35 minutes per headlight for the projector install itself. Add time for the wiring harnesses and adjustments. If you can bribe a friend to run both wiring harnesses while you're baking the headlights, you can shave an hour off the install time.
- Compared to the last two projector retrofits I've done (2000 Navigator and a '93 SC400), this was a walk in the park.
Alright, ask all the questions you can think of.
01-19-2010, 06:44 AM
#42
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these will work in 2nd gen lights as a replacement for the shitty cutoff line wont they? **** ill even leave them bixenon and use these high beams as im sure there better as well.
01-19-2010, 09:22 AM
#43
oh wow this looks really nice. Too bad I dont have your skillz, lol or this would be something I would totally be into! how much do stock cobalt headlights run for?
better yet, how much would it cost for you to make them for me
better yet, how much would it cost for you to make them for me
Last edited by CudaJoe; 01-19-2010 at 09:39 AM.
01-19-2010, 10:40 AM
#44
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If you want me to do it, you've gotta supply the headlight unless we can source one locally. Even then, I won't reseal the headlight and leave the lens off. Why? Rotational play in the projector itself. The Cobalt I have access to now is sold, so it's out of here by the end of the week.
01-19-2010, 10:47 AM
#45
Cut the bi-xenon/halo wires!? Are mad!? Actually I think this particular set is going to go into a Ford Ranger, as soon as the guy gives me the headlights. Besides, people wanted to see how the high beams came out.
It probably won't be a straight drop in for a 2nd gen headlight, but anything can be done with some angel irons and JB weld.
Honestly, there's no real skill required. It's like screwing in a really big bolt. If you want though, I can post pictures of a Scion TC headlight with quad bi-xenons we had done up for around the tune of $500. It honestly looks like they jammed the projectors in place, and then used gigantic amounts of double sided tape to cover up the back side. That was done by a "professional" retrofitter.
If you want me to do it, you've gotta supply the headlight unless we can source one locally. Even then, I won't reseal the headlight and leave the lens off. Why? Rotational play in the projector itself. The Cobalt I have access to now is sold, so it's out of here by the end of the week.
It probably won't be a straight drop in for a 2nd gen headlight, but anything can be done with some angel irons and JB weld.
Honestly, there's no real skill required. It's like screwing in a really big bolt. If you want though, I can post pictures of a Scion TC headlight with quad bi-xenons we had done up for around the tune of $500. It honestly looks like they jammed the projectors in place, and then used gigantic amounts of double sided tape to cover up the back side. That was done by a "professional" retrofitter.
If you want me to do it, you've gotta supply the headlight unless we can source one locally. Even then, I won't reseal the headlight and leave the lens off. Why? Rotational play in the projector itself. The Cobalt I have access to now is sold, so it's out of here by the end of the week.
