mini D2S front end by nes☆, on Flickr


IMG_0974 by nes☆, on Flickr

i finished up the install last thursday and perfected the aim yesterday.

the project consist of:
morimoto mini D2S projectors
morimoto three5 ballasts
the retrofit source wiring harness
osram 4300k bulbs
apollo shrouds

the install was straight forward but i ran into a few snags. the sealant used in our GE headlights are insane. i tried the oven baking method but could not get them to budge. the soft plastic rear housing got soft before the sealant did. is this what they call "permaseal"? opening the housing was a challenge but i got it done in two nights. i spent an hour on each to open them up with my heat gun. once i got them open, i installed the projectors on the car but each side had a slight counter-clockwise rotation that i could not live with. i've read many a time that some cars just don't have the H4 mounts perfect and i guess i can understand why if it's in a halogen housing which has lines in the reflector to determine the angle of the cutoff. so in order to get the rotation perfect, i used my trusty dremel to cut off the little notch in the included H4 plate so that the projector rotated freely. once i got it the way i wanted, i tightened everything back up and put the lens back on the housing using window weld. i then went to a nearby underground garage to get the cutoff height nice and friendly for other drivers.

i'll be taking a few more pictures and hopefully a nice little video of me driving around with them.

oh, and if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask here. also, check out HiDplanet : The Official Automotive Lighting Forum for expertise on the subject. i spent hours there before i spent the money @ TRS doing research and they have a lot of knowledge there.

 

morimoto mini D2S on honda fit GE

 

MINI'S they rock!!!!

 

wow that fits souunds like a deisel but the lights look good!

 

hey, you're one of the many i drew inspiration from.

 

i thought the exact same thing when i reviewed the video. i had the mic mounted right in between my airbox and throttle body.

 

Terrific Job NPH. Another Nor Cal Fit with a retrofit. Rep for you.

 

thank you, brotha. i read your thread over and over again before i attempted mine.

 

as far as wiring, was it plug and play? which wiring harness did you go with?

 

it really was pretty much plug and play. the only thing that you actually screw down is the power cable that has to come straight from the battery and the ground wires for each ballast. very, very simple.

here's the wiring harness that came w/ the kit.

 

I just got my morimotos. Hope I didn't bite off more than I could chew. It took me 6 hours to do my springs. 2 of those hours were used to try and put the axle back in that popped out. and 1 hour was to cool down because I was sooo pissed.

I've taken my headlamp apart on my STI so I don't expect it to be too hard.

Good job on yours!!

 

thanks. it really wasn't too hard. taking apart the housing was time consuming because I did not want to break anything. aiming wasn't too terrible either. if you like to take your time like I do, you may want to look for a cheap pair of housings to use on the car while you're modifying yours.

 

If I run into any snags, I'll be asking questions and I expect immediate responses.

 

Like Neil said, it's pretty simple once you get the headlamps open. That is about the hardest part of the whole project. Patience is needed with the aiming so take your time with that part for best results.

 

So, I've started on my Retrofit and it wasn't as bad as I thought it could have been. I'm close to being done but there are some things I need to work out. First is aiming, I'm guessing the only way to perfect the aim is to dremel the notch off on the H4 plate? I wish it would have been easier but if that's what I have to do then I guess I'll get on that.

Second is the highbeams. I got the Mini Morimoto D2S Bi-xenon and the small plug that is attached to the projectors are what I'm guessing moves the plate which create the hi-beams. They're plugged into the harness but they're not moving. The hi-beam indicator on the dash stays lit whether I turn the hi-beams on or not but I have no hi-beams. Can't figure that one out.

Let me know if you could help.

 

about rotational aiming, I personally took the notch off of the H4 plate so I can rotate it freely. I read one post from a hidplanet member who stated that flipping the plate may correct the aiming. give that a shot before you take off the notch.

as far as the high beams, you do have the ground wires hooked up from the relay, right? I'm sure you do, but if that's not the problem, you may want to ask in one of the GD3 threads from the guys who have done these projectors in their car. I'm sure they can help you out.

good luck!

 

Couldn't figure out the highbeam thing. I tested it with a 9v battery and it works but nothing happens when I actually turn on my highbeams. I don't use it much anyways. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

did you seek help from the GD guys? they should be able to help. if the solenoid works when you use a 9v battery, it should be a simple fix. i've read many a time that switching the two pins for the solenoid might do the trick for certain car harnesses. i don't know if that's the case with the GD. that kinda thing freaks me out because i don't wanna fry anything. even if you don't use your highs often, it's pretty glorious when you get a chance to. it's one of my favorite things about the mini D2S.

oh, and did flipping the H4 adapter plate work? or did you just take the notch off?

 

I got it fixed. It was the pins on the H4 harness from TRS. They were just switched around. It was any easy fix. As for the plate, flipping it really didn't do anything so I just shaved the top portion a hair to shift it. It worked out pretty good. Now I just have to fix the hot spot on the passenger side. Overall, I'm happy with it. Thanks for all your help.

 

i'm glad you got it worked out. got pics?