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Bad flicker on road side signs with retros.

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Old 10-28-2015 | 08:46 PM
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Bad flicker on road side signs with retros.

Anyone else deal with this? I understand its because of the sharp/blue cutoff, but surely there is some way to minimize this... At night time my lights make those signs on the side of the road flicker and flash super bright. Every time I see it happen I feel like I could give someone with epilepsy a seizure cause it is so bright and noticeable.
Old 10-28-2015 | 09:04 PM
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What retros do you have?
Old 10-28-2015 | 10:16 PM
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Mini H1's
Old 10-29-2015 | 09:08 AM
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Sounds like something is loose buddy.

It takes minimal movement to make road signs flicker really bad - take out your lights and inspect to see if the projectors are in there as tight as they can be. Also make sure the headlight is set properly in the bracket and bolted down snug
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Old 10-29-2015 | 10:19 AM
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That's usually allot to do with no auto leveling. Every little bump changes the angle of the light output and reflects back like a strobe. It's not as bad looking at it directly but off road signs with a flat surface your only seeing light from one angle therefore it appears as flickering vs the constant stream of light that is actually happening.
Old 10-29-2015 | 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by riceburner
Sounds like something is loose buddy.

It takes minimal movement to make road signs flicker really bad - take out your lights and inspect to see if the projectors are in there as tight as they can be. Also make sure the headlight is set properly in the bracket and bolted down snug
Ill check it out after work. I had the lights open a few days ago and everything seemed to be tight. Also, I have the headlight assembly bolted down as hard as humanly possible. Even with the headlights bolted down snug there is still maybe a quarter inch of play if you grab the lenses and pull them up and down.

Originally Posted by slapbetcommissioner
That's usually allot to do with no auto leveling. Every little bump changes the angle of the light output and reflects back like a strobe. It's not as bad looking at it directly but off road signs with a flat surface your only seeing light from one angle therefore it appears as flickering vs the constant stream of light that is actually happening.
Thats what I figured. On a lowered car with low profile tires the headlights are going to be picking up every single little tiny bump in the road. The strobe effect is just so obnoxious I was just hoping to reduce it as much as possible.
Old 10-29-2015 | 11:13 AM
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Make sure the bulb holder is tight, the bulb should be pressed fairly hard against the retrofit housing
Old 10-29-2015 | 11:16 AM
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aim them down a hair. they must be right at the sign level and minor bumps/bouncy car will do that.

If the cutoff of the road jiggles more than the car is moving, then something is loose
Old 10-29-2015 | 11:52 AM
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The bulb holder I have holds the bulb down incredibly tight so I know thats not the problem. Ive never noticed the cutoff moving around more than the car does, just the damn road side signs that turn into strobe lights when I drive by. The only think I can think of is to tighten the nut on the back of the reflector that holds the projector in place, and that is what I will try tonight.
Old 10-29-2015 | 01:08 PM
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^thats what i was talking about
Old 10-29-2015 | 08:40 PM
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Yep it was the lock nut. Before I started messing with it I spoke with TRS and they said that there was no specific amount of torque it needed, but it should be "as tight as possible without using tools", which was how it was when I went to check it initially. Well needless to say I pulled out some tools and torqued the **** out of it and the problem is gone.
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Old 11-05-2015 | 12:51 PM
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Well when I did tighten the lock nut down it did help a lot, but I am still getting flickering. My concern is that if I tighten it down too much I will either break the stock reflector, or snap the threads off the projector. After some research and talking with TRS, 2 new options have been presented. Number 1 I found on HIDplanet, which is to remove the silicone washer between the projector and reflector. That sounds easy enough, but will require me to buy more retro rubber, and reopen and reseal lights that I sealed with RR just last week....Pain in the ass. Suggestion #2 was from TRS "Having said that,... or just basically coat the lock nut and back of the reflector around it in a two part epoxy. This would keep the nut from bouncing away from the reflector on bumps, and stop that annoying bouncing cutoff line on street signs.". Putting epoxy there sounds like a major headache in the future if the projector ever needs to be rotated or taken out......someone has to know of another way. Maybe loc tite on the projector threads? This is becoming a real issue in my life.
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