Just another HID projector build

I finally got sick of the output from my stock lights to do something about it. My lenses were pretty clear, but the output was pretty terrible. It was probably just an aiming issue, but I wanted to retrofit anyway.

I started with this kit:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=227
Morimoto H1 Mini kit from the retrofit source. Great product, decent price, awesome customer service! With the options I wanted and the facebook coupon code, it came out right about to $300 shipped to my door.

Now, the kit is supposed to use the same hole that your stock halogen bulb uses, but I found that the Contour headlight housing is way too shallow for that, so there was some custom work involved.

I didn't take pics of the actual build process, but I'll show the pics that I do have.

The first rough spot was breaking my stock headlights open. That didn't go so well. The gray sealant on the OEM headlights is RIDICULOUS. I broke one lens, so I went on ebay and bought a brand new pair of lights. I used the internals from the stock lights to modify for the projectors and then just swapped them into the new housings.

I think it came out pretty well considering I've never done anything like this before. Best part is, the projector is mounted to the stock reflector, so the stock headlight adjustment screws are still functional.
Worst part is, I sealed the headlights and then it poured the next day and I got lots of water in the passenger side. Took it out, opened it up and resealed the life out of it. Hopefully I don't get any more moisture problems.
Questions, comments, suggestions?

It looks like it came out really well! Do you have any impressions of visibility during night driving? Have any drivers flash you turn off your "brights"?

Looks great!

Mr. Bill said:

Now, the kit is supposed to use the same hole that your stock halogen bulb uses, but I found that the Contour headlight housing is way too shallow for that, so there was some custom work involved.

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I had this same problem. I guess I should have expected it. If I did it again I would piece together a set. I have the same lights, and they're great, but not on par with S2000 or Acura TL.

If I were you, I'd paint the chrome black and wire your bixenons for high beams as well. You only lose the ability to flash your lights when your low beams are off. The original lens glue was horrific on my lights. Now that that's over with.. I've taken them apart a few more times and can get the lens off and back on within about a half hour.

I too have had leaking problems. I think mine leak near the sides. I pull one of my lights out to dry it everytime it rains

It looks like it came out really well! Do you have any impressions of visibility during night driving? Have any drivers flash you turn off your "brights"?

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I have the same lights the OP does and it's pretty fantastic. I would have liked to use 50W hid's, though the Mini H1's have had problems with the chrome melting on the projector.

I've haven't been flashed yet. At first they were definitely aimed too high, so I adjusted them a bit, then it was too low, and then I adjusted to what is seen in the pictures I posted. I haven't driven the car at night since the last adjustment but it looks a tad high to me.

The projectors are wired for high beam use as it is now, in addition to the halogen high beam. The only thing is, I didn't have anything to gauge the aim for the high beam when I JB Welded the projector in place, so the high beam on the passenger side is aimed way low. That's one of the things I learned during my project. If I had to do it again, I would have centered the high beam before jb welding and then made the fine tuning adjustments so the high beam wasn't out of whack.
Also, here's a fun fact: all the black painting was done with plasti dip, except for the edges of the lenses.

How'd you wire in the high beam part?

Set aside from baking time, I can get a headlight open in 30 seconds. It's easy.

Like I said before, these look good. I've been looking to order be projectors to work on another set, and I have some more shrouds coming in now.

They look great man. Awesome work!!

Mr. Bill said:

The projectors are wired for high beam use as it is now, in addition to the halogen high beam. The only thing is, I didn't have anything to gauge the aim for the high beam when I JB Welded the projector in place, so the high beam on the passenger side is aimed way low.

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My thoughts exactly.. just paint the shrouds black and don't use them Projector high beams are sick.

How'd you wire in the high beam part?

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It's simply a solenoid. So wire red to the hot wire for high beam wire harness, and black to the ground. Hit your high beams and the shield flips down.

Ahhhh fair enough lol that's what I though lol

I like the projectors alot and the molded in Mirko!!

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

As for high beam wiring, there is actually a splitter included in the wiring harness they give you. Plug it in to the stock plug for the high beam, one end goes to the high beam bulb, the other end plugs in with the solenoid that activates the shield.

I still love my moldy Mirko, but it's gotten chipped up a bit which makes me sad.

Now I'm wondering how difficult a retrofit would be to swap out the "OK quality" stock HID projectors on my Focus. :laugh:

Looks great Bill, those came out very nice.

I may have to do that this summer with the mini kit. I'd love to have usable lights at night like my other car.

I'd go for it! It's a worthwhile upgrade and I'd definitely do it again.

Mind sharing what you had to do in order to over come the shallow-ness of the headlight?

Forgot to say this: Do not use 50W HID ballasts or bulbs. They will damage your projectors!!!

Quicksilver said:

Forgot to say this: Do not use 50W HID ballasts or bulbs. They will damage your projectors!!!

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Definitiely on the Mini H1's. I really wanted to too

QUOTE=The Digital Slacker;1009147]Mind sharing what you had to do in order to over come the shallow-ness of the headlight?[/QUOTE]

I simply enlarged the hole in the reflector so I could mount the projector far enough back so it would clear the lens. I used JB Weld to hold it in place where the projector contacted the edges of the hole I made.
I got some condensation in the same headlight I already had to redo. Just condensation this time, no water even after washing it and the pouring rain from yesterday. Can a headlight be sealed too well so that the air inside the housing won't equalize with the air outside? I can't imagine it can be cause factory lights are pretty airtight.

Mr. Bill said:

The Digital Slacker said:

Mind sharing what you had to do in order to over come the shallow-ness of the headlight?

Click to expand...

I simply enlarged the hole in the reflector so I could mount the projector far enough back so it would clear the lens. I used JB Weld to hold it in place where the projector contacted the edges of the hole I made.
I got some condensation in the same headlight I already had to redo. Just condensation this time, no water even after washing it and the pouring rain from yesterday. Can a headlight be sealed too well so that the air inside the housing won't equalize with the air outside? I can't imagine it can be cause factory lights are pretty airtight.

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That is why you have those rubber hoses on the backside of your headlight. The lenses should be sealed, but your headlights still need to "breathe"

Not to hijack your thread, but this is a pic I have when I was working on my projectors.



^ this pic was a mock up on a spare set of headlights. If you want your projectors to line up with your stock headlights, you want to do the whole taping/cutting/gluing process while they are mounted on a flat surface

And here's me aiming them:


I used JB Kwik Weld. It gives you about 2 minutes to aim them as it sets. The heat from the HIDs shortens the time, so you have to be sure!



You have to cut a pretty big hole. My projectors stick out far (the shroud touches the plastic lens), so I imagine most people cut a hole even bigger than this.

If you have a rotary tool.. buy "rotozip" bits.. they look like drill bits, but can cut sideways.

For the thread starter.. did you do this with your Morimotos?



I was like.. "NOOOOOOOO! They don't fit!"

Also for the threadstarter.. you may be able to sharpen your cutoff. If you ever take your headlights apart again, I'm pretty sure you can slightly bend your cutoff shield to make it sharper and get more blue on the edge. You'd have to search TRS forums though to be sure

I bent my cutoff shield (you can see it's sharp, but it bows at the edges), but they are always coming out with new designs.


This was my intitial cutoff, **since then I turned both lights closer together so they overlap**. But this is the cut off you should get, even with the cheapest aftermarket projectors. ($150+, I'm not talking Cougar projectors)

If you are not getting this type of cut off, it is most likely a cut-off shield problem.

There is a reason S2000 and TSX projectors look awesome. They have it down to a science. Cheaper projectors are more of a work in progress.

Your projector should be mounted and attached to your reflector somewhere at its midlength. The reason people have probs with them sticking out too far is bc they mount them at the very end. This is no good for a few reasons, esp that your reflector will eventually crack from the uneven weight of the projector mounted too far up front. And dont worry about the hole being too large. I got my S2000 projectors to fit like a glove, and they are huge.