My quad projector retrofit

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hunterdan

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So, figured I'd start a somewhat diy for a simple projector retrofit into the quad housings. End goal is using basic chrome housings, paint the surround black, keep the reflectors chrome and keep the oem reflector high beam, which will be augmented by the projector high beam.
So, ordered all the parts Wednesday morning.
Screenshot_20210324-080351_Chrome.jpg
Parts list is accurate, except I switched from the profile peak turns to diode dynamics switchback 3157s. I also had a set of ballasts to use, so I didn't order those.
Also ordered some jb kwik weld to hold the shrouds on.
Once I got home from work, I stripped the housings down, removed bulbs and wiring harness and threw the first one in the oven for 10 minutes at 225 degrees.
20210324_093424.jpg
Pulled it out and slowly worked the edges with a flat screwdriver trying to separate all the glue. Top and bottom are easy, it's the sides that get tricky. Had everything pretty loose, then popped back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes to reheat. Worked the inner side (closest to the grille) and once the clips were loose, was able to start peeling it apart, and it came apart fairly easily after that. You can see the glue separate from the lens, so just take it slow.
20210324_094001.jpg
Once I got the lens off, I popped the other light in and worked on removing the remaining glue from the housing. This is the hard part. Using a flat screwdriver I was able to work it and pull up chunks, but once it got cold, forget it. Pulled the other housingnout and repeated the process. This one fought me a bit more, took 3 hearings, and bumped the temp to 250, but less time. The higher temp seemed to really help. Once they were apart, I focused on removing the glue. Heating them at 250 for 5 minutes at a time seemed to really help speed the process. Getting all the glue out is only going to help the reseal process. It's a pain. But not impossible. I popped the reflectors out, will be reusing them, but need them out so I can paint the housings. Next step is cleaning up the frames and hitting them with some black.
This is the first time I've attempted something like this, so keeping the build simple. Plan is to have the housings painted by Friday, parts should all be here by Friday, and final fitment/install should be completed by Saturday.

Screenshot_20210324-111836_Amazon Shopping.jpg
 
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hunterdan

hunterdan

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Nice. Keep posting
Will do once I make more progress. Rain today and possibly Friday means painting might get pushed back til Saturday. Either way, looks like everything should be done this weekend.
 
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hunterdan

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All my parts are scheduled to arrive today. Hoping the sun comes out here long enough to get a few coats of paint on the surrounds. I've got them cleaned and decreased, now drying. Nothing picture worthy really until I start to assemble everything. I forgot to bring one of my bigger unibits home from work, so I'll probably just run out and grab one this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Either that or use my dremel to enlarge the holes for the hid grommet.
 
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hunterdan

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Ok, been busy this morning/afternoon. Painted my housings, twice. First time I tried a matte black that turned out more green than black. Went to grab a new can of paint from the store and the wind knocked a piece of plastic on top at which point stuck to the paint and peeled the paint off when I pulled it. So, had to strip the paint and start over. Anyway, got the housing painted black and while waiting for that to dry, I started fitting the projectors.
20210326_102943.jpg 20210326_131327.jpg 20210326_131330.jpg
Fitting the first projector took some time as I figured out what I needed and where things needed to go. I had to ream out the hole for the stock bulb to fit. I used a dremel with a sanding wheel and it took care of it in no time. At this time I was also fitting the projector shroud. I ordered the smallest shroud I could find to minimize any trimming. I still had to trim the bottom of the shroud because of the little hump in the reflector.
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At this point I tightened things down so they'd hold in position. I ran the wires for the high beam flap through the hole where the glare shield was. I wired up the flap to a 9006/9005 connector so that I can activate it with my standard high beams.
 

Treburkulosis

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Looking good! Subscribed!
 
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hunterdan

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At this point, I needed to start figuring out the wiring. I had 2 9006 splitters and 2 h11 to 9006 adapters. I set the splitters up to activate the shutter in the projector and the 9005 led bulb I'm going to be using. Figuring out the wiring was time consuming. As I had to make sure all the negatives went to the negative leads on the ballasts and same for the positives. Since I am using h1 based projectors, my h1 bulbs had to be converted to an h11 connector. I had to pull the h1 spade terminals through the grommet, de-pin the 9006 connector on the adapter and feed the adapter leads through the now vacant holes on the grommet. This is what triggers the ballast to fire up the bulbs. I didn't take pictures here because your harness may differ. Once I figured out the first wiring harness, I went to the next housing and fit that projector into it. Making the same trim on the shroud. Once done, I finished up the second wiring harness. So, currently, I am waiting on paint to dry, I will need to test the wiring to make sure everything works, then I can pull the wiring back out, and seal up the housings. 20210326_152341.jpg 20210326_152841.jpg
Once the paint is fully dry, I will pop the reflectors back in (yes I kept the stock amber).
 
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hunterdan

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Plugged everything in to check for function. We've got lows, We've got highs, and we've got projector highs. Success!20210326_164011.jpg
 
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hunterdan

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20210327_110809.jpg 20210327_110804.jpg Update:
Lights are on. I need to make some tweaks but I need to order a socket to loosen the nut on the projector and rotate slightly. The cutoff lines aren't even, but should be easily fixed without taking everything apart. I also need to get resistors for the switchbacks, or figure out what other settings I can tweak in alfaobd.
 

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Looks awesome! Great job! What did you use to seal them back up?
 
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hunterdan

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Looks awesome! Great job! What did you use to seal them back up?
I used the morimoto retro rubber. Man is that stuff sticky when it heats up.
So, took some time to aim them, still need some tweaking, but its hard to find flat ground and a wall all in the same area.
Haven't had a chance to drive around in the dark yet, but output against my wall at home is very bright. 20210327_190307.jpg 20210327_190325.jpg
 
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hunterdan

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So far, I still need to tweak the cutoff lines. I was messing with it last night and my crooked ass driveway is making it difficult to adjust. Output wise, I think I'll be very happy once I get the cutoff lines straight. However, the high beams, wow. They are absolutely insane. I need to polish the headlight lenses and I may run a bead of sealant around the edges to make sure no moisture gets in. I figured out my switchbacks, no resistors, no errors.
 
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hunterdan

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Great work !!! They came out good man .... that light output from the pictures looks fine
Thanks, now that I did it, I almost want to try again but this time do a full chrome setup on the quads that I am not using now. From a distance the black looks good, but as you get closer you can see all the small paint imperfections. Plus, the chrome probably would have looked a little better on the front end of my truck. I'm pretty confident that I could pull off a similar build with no painting in just a few hours. I think once my buffer gets here and I can get the lenses polished up a bit better, they'd start to pop a bit more and grow on me.
 
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Thanks, now that I did it, I almost want to try again but this time do a full chrome setup on the quads that I am not using now. From a distance the black looks good, but as you get closer you can see all the small paint imperfections. Plus, the chrome probably would have looked a little better on the front end of my truck. I'm pretty confident that I could pull off a similar build with no painting in just a few hours. I think once my buffer gets here and I can get the lenses polished up a bit better, they'd start to pop a bit more and grow on me.


I have a set of quads that @the_goodguy07 took off his 1500 when he put the Alfarex on his truck in my garage .... I need to do something to them now lol ... I am going to probably start on them this weekend maybe even tomorrow.... cook them and opened them up to start prepping them for new paint ....
 
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hunterdan

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I have a set of quads that @the_goodguy07 took off his 1500 when he put the Alfarex on his truck in my garage .... I need to do something to them now lol ... I am going to probably start on them this weekend maybe even tomorrow.... cook them and opened them up to start prepping them for new paint ....
I ordered all my stuff from www.thelightingguru.net
The guy commented on a post on Facebook and he literally walked me through every step and helped me choose the parts that would work best/easiest. I wouldn't hesitate to order from him again. If you go this route, I can send you the parts list that I used.
Word of advice, if you're painting chrome housings do the oven cleaner method on the chrome to strip the chrome off. I skipped this step but wish I hadn't.
 

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I have a set of quads that @the_goodguy07 took off his 1500 when he put the Alfarex on his truck in my garage .... I need to do something to them now lol ... I am going to probably start on them this weekend maybe even tomorrow.... cook them and opened them up to start prepping them for new paint ....
Cool

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