Headlight projector retrofit - HIDs to the max!

*Updated 05/19/2011*
*Update* The Mini D2S is a great projector but if you want a better projector use the Mini H1 like usbseawolf2000. I ended up buying the FX-R to replace my D2S but they require a lot more retrofitting work.

First I would like to thank usbseawolf2000 for his valuable input and writeup on installing the Morimoto Mini H1 kit in the Prius stock halogen headlights. His help ensured all 2004-2009 Prius owners could perform this upgrade whether they have stock HIDs like me or halogens like his.

I was fed up with the lousy HID system (stock) in my Prius. I tried to upgrade to a 55w HID kit from DDM and the difference in output was marginal to barely noticeable. I also didn't care much for the look of the aftermarket bulbs. They were either too blue or too yellow. I had to face the simple fact that reflector style housings and HIDs just don't work well.

I purchased a Morimoto Mini D2S retrofit kit from The Retrofit Source (TRS) after doing much research on HIDPlanet.com and taking with Matt at TRS. The Mini's do not require much cutting of the factory reflector housing and it would be easy to realign the projectors to factory spec so I chose them as this is my first attempt at a retrofit. If I was gutsy I could have used the FX-R projectors but they require a lot more work than I was willing to do. I also purchased the Side-emitting LED strips to add to the headlight for a little bling but mainly to serve as a day time running light.

Morimoto Mini D2S


I went with the D2S because the bulbs will mate up to my factory D2R connectors and because I can use OEM bulbs which tend to be brighter and last longer than aftermarket bulbs. I purchased the new Osram 66240 bulbs because it starts out as a 4300k color but gradually shifts to approx. 5000k after 100hrs or so. This will hopefully match my Blazer foglights with the Morimoto 5000k bulbs which are VERY white and put out an amazing amount of light for such a small foglight.

Here is an example of the LED strips in a retrofit


How To Install Morimoto D2S and H1 Projectors (similar project instructions supplied by TRS)

Step 1
Try to choose a location to work on your car in which you have a blank, flat wall in front of the car. This will help you to aim your new headlights before putting everything back together.

Step 2
Turn on the factory headlights and using blue painters tape (or masking tape), mark the upper cutoff line of your factory headlights. This is your baseline and will help you to aim your new headlights. How to aim your headlights. Turn off your headlights before proceeding.


Step 3
Prudent safety dictates you remove the negative battery cable on your 12v battery before you begin any major work on your car. I didn't but I do not recommend this hazardous practice!

To remove the headlight assembly you must remove the front bumper cover. The following sequence of pictures will show you where the fasteners and screws are that need to be removed before the bumper will pop loose.

Radiator cover plate - Remove small fasteners with a Phillips screwdriver. They are a 2-part fastener that requires popping the Phillips part up out of the lower "female" part before the fastener will release.


Remove the air intake tube


With the radiator cover plate removed, start removing the 2 screw-in hood spacers and the 2-part fasteners near them.



Remove the screws holding the bumper cover to the plastic aeroplates below the front lip of the car. (Pictures are from the ground looking up at the front lip of the bumper cover)


Once the aeroplates are loose, go to the front wheel well (passanger and driver's side) and peel back the plastic wheel well shield and you'll find a screw holding the fender to the bumper cover together. Remove it.




With both wheel well screws removed and all of the front bumper cover fasteners/screws removed, you can now pull the bumper cover away from the fender. Get a good grip on the cover near the wheel well and work it loose. It's scary I know.


Pop the other side loose and the whole bumper cover will pull free from the car. If you have foglights be sure to disconnect them if you wish to move the bumper to a clean area to avoid scratching it. Mine is trashed so I left it right there and worked around it. *shrug*


To remove the headlight - Located the screws in the pictures below and remove them. There are 3 screws for each headlight. Once the screws are removed the headlight will pull free. If your hands are small enough to unplug all the lights from the headlight before removal then do so. It will help you avoid scratching the car or the lens.




Step 4
Prep the Headlight for baking: (Alternate method is to use a quality heat gun instead of the oven) Place a pan or aluminum foil on the lower rack of your oven to protect it in case you forget about your headlight and recreate Chernobyl. Preheat your oven to 265 degrees. With the headlight removed from the car, start removing all of the screws, metal plates and anything metallic you can find on the outside of the headlight. I chose to leave the factory HID ballasts in place because removal is not worth the effort and they can handle the heat.

Step 5
Baking time! Ensure your oven has been preheated to 265 degrees for at least 10min to ensure uniform temperature. Place a single headlight in the oven on the upper rack. You may need to adjust your racks to ensure the headlight sits in the middle of the oven and DOES NOT MAKE CONTACT WITH THE SIDES OF TOP of the oven. Set a timer for 7 minutes. STAY IN THE KITCHEN FOR THE ENTIRE 7 MINUTES. You do not want to over cook these things and by straying away from the kitchen you risk your headlight and your head when the wife finds a melted mess in the oven! Some retrofitters use a thick piece of cardboard or even a block of wood to keep the headlight from touching metal parts on the bottom of the oven.

Step 6
With a good set of mechanics gloves or similar protection, remove the headlight from the oven and place it on a soft towel or similarly non-abrasive surface. Using a flathead screwdriver, start prying the clips that hold the outer lends to the headlight housing. Once these appear free, start prying on the outer lens with one hand on the lens edges and the other on the headlight housing. If you baked it properly the lens should separate fairly easily. I underbaked mine at first and I had to pry pretty hard to free the lens. If you have someone to help you, put them to work by ensuring the glue holding the lens to the headlight does not drop onto either the reflector housing or the lens. Think of it as pulling taffy. The glue will stretch between the lens and housing as you pull it apart.

Step 7
Once the lens is off, start removing the light bulb cover and associated parts from the reflector housing. When complete the reflector should look like this.



Spare parts from my HID capsule system


Step 8 (see step 11 before proceeding or installing the bulb)
Take the new Morimoto Mini D2S projector and insert the back end (where the bulb goes) through the hole in your factory reflector housing. I did my best to rotate the projector so it is sitting in the correct position now so I will have less to adjust later. The 4 bolts on the front help to eyeball it as upright. On the backside you can see a round hole with a square notch in it. This is where the bulb goes and the "bar" on the HID bulb always faces down. This will help you with eyeballing the correct rotation as well. Once you feel the rotation and alignment is correct, screw on the fastener and gently tighten it down with a pair of pliers or channel grips. Do not over-tighten or you will strip threads or worse.


Frontal view after fastening the projector but before the new shroud is in place


Step 9
Install the new shroud. There is a shroud adapter that comes with your kit. Install the shroud adapter by clipping it into place on the inside of the shroud. Then simply slip the shroud over your projector and press it into place. In my case I had to sand down the lower outer edges of the shroud to get it to fit into my reflector. Different shrouds will may not require this sanding. I only removed a small amount of material using a Dremel and sanding bit. The shroud is plastic so this can be done with an exacto knife or sandpaper.


Step 10
Ensure your projector and shroud are tight and secure. Clean the reflector housing and projector lens, etc. with a soft cloth. You do not want to have to rebake the headlights because of fingerprints or other smudges. It is important to keep the lens clean and do not try to clean the inner portion of the lens with anything or you risk scratching it. Put the lens back on the headlight housing as best you can. With the oven preheated to 265 degrees, place the headlight in the oven and bake for approx. 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and with mechanics gloves or similar protection, start pushing the lens cover back into place on the headlight housing then press the holding clips into place.

Step 11
I borrowed the following instructions for mounting the bulb from Matt at TRS. Because this is a very critical step in the installation process I did not want to mess it up and give you bad instructions. If you have the Morimoto Mini H1 projector kit then scroll down and see usbseawolf2000's instructions.

How to: Mount Morimoto Mini D2S Bi-xenon projectors

This tutorial outlines the mounting procedure for the Morimoto Mini D2S Bi-xenon projectors.

Step 1: Remove all hardware from backside of the projector except for the big silicone crush washer (white)



Step 2: Insert threaded shaft through the pre-existing H4 bulb hole in the back of your reflector bucket.




Step 3: Align the projector rotationally by adding the H4/9003 adapter plate on the backside of the threads. The notch on the inside should slide down the channel for it on the projector. Run the wires for the solenoid (and CCFL's in this case) in the small cavity off to one side that remained after removing the metal halogen bulb shield.



Step 4: Slide the black rubber o-ring over the threads. Ensure it does not get twisted during the process.



Step 5: Tighten down the whole assembly by threading on and torquing the threaded lock-ring. Be careful not to over-tighten or it may break. You only need to have 2-3 rows of threads left to work with after this goes on.




Step 6: Clean your D2S bulbs thoroughly and then insert into the back of the projector. The notches will only allow it to go in one way. Put the metal split ring washer over the back, as shown.



Step 7: Add the black o-ring over top the split metal ring. The angled side should face down.



Step 8: Lock the bulb in with the end cap. This only needs to be hand-tight to the couple leftover threads.



The projector is now mounted and aligned in your headlight. In this particular retrofit, the Gatling Gun shroud was pre-affixed to the projector using silicone. Typically though, you'll mount the shroud after the projector is clamped onto your reflector. The original reflector bucket was also painted black before the installation, to help reduce unwanted reflections.

How to: Mount Morimoto Mini H1 Bi-xenon projectors (courtesy of usbseawolf2000)

Remove the screws highlighted in Red. See below.


Leave the ones highlighted in Green.


Headlight in the Oven. 265 deg F preheat and 7 minutes baked.


Headlight cover removed.


Remove the halogen H4 bulb cover. The bolt is in the back.


H4 bulb cover removed.


Mini H1 projector - Prepare it to look like this with the silicone rubber installed. Remove the H1 holder and the projector locking ring first.


Remove the high beam wires from the connector. Use a paper clip to push the two sides and it will slide through.


Snake the wires through the hole highlighted. You can see the rear of the Mini H1 projector.


Put the H4 adapter plate (comes with the projector) and screw the projector lock ring tight.


Silicone rubber sandwiched between the projector and the reflector.


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Hal, that is the reason I am going with a projector type system. They have a very sharp cutoff so that the light doesn't blind oncoming traffic. These are the same types of projectors that come factory in many high end cars. See the picture below for an example.

 

They are about 9"-10" long. I want to put them along the bottom of the light then curve them up on the inside (towards the hood). If they are not long enough to do that then I will put them along the top like you indicated. I will install them inside the headlight. TRS said they either don't work out of the box or they last forever. They also test each strip before it is sold. For $25 it was worth it if they come out nice.

You know you want to do it....

 

Nice! Do you have a thread on the DTRL install? Grats on the mpg increase.

If mine turn out well you can send me your headlights and projector kit and i'll mod them for you, Ryan.

 

You guys are killing me. I need it sitting here in treatment.

I 'lltry to get get plenty of good pictures that entice you to spend more money. : p

 

Sweet! Where did get the OEM headlight and the projectors?

I can't wait to see how yours come out. I might try to do mine this weekend. So far so good on this treatment. I better ryan is excited too. lol