How I changed the beam patern on JDM proj, idea taken from Jason :) Options

[Culpable04]

to change the beam patern of the JDM projector we need to change the shape of a metal piece inside the projector.

that piece looks like this on the stock form


and you want it to look like this



the red color is what we're gonna installed now so the beam patern will be a straight line


Materials used


aluminum foil
small tweezers
crazy glue or equivalent
patience ( lots of these will be needed )


1- open the back of the projector, removing the bulb cover and bulb


2- make a "L" shape piece with the aluminum foil thing enough to pass by the opening on the back of the projector but as thick as possible ( don't make it snug fit need to leave room to insert the aluminum "L" without touching the side of the opening )



3- apply glue to the base of the "L" and pass it through the opening, for this step you need someone holding a flashing or light source from the other side so you can see the metal plate with which you're gonna align the aluminum "L" also try to practice this step a few times without the glue so if the piece falls off no damaged will be done.





when you're done you should have something like this




I hope this helps a few and to me was a better idea than opening the whole housing.

Thanks a lot Jason for the idea.

[DSToyo]

i dont quite understand what or why you did that, do you have any good before and after pics?

[Culpable04]

unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the original pattern, the JDM projectors are designed for RHD cars so the output light of them will blind oncoming traffic when used on LHD cars.

hopefully this sketch can explain better why I did this

[GTSOwner]

Honestly that sounds like a PITA to do compared to the boiling method. Opening up the projectors might be time consuming, but it's much easier to do, and harder to screw up.

My 2 cents.

[Culpable04]

Honestly that sounds like a PITA to do compared to the boiling method. Opening up the projectors might be time consuming, but it's much easier to do, and harder to screw up.

My 2 cents.

I agree is not as "nice" as the other method. but It took me less than 45 minutes to do both,that's including the pratice time I took.

I just didn't feel comfortable opening my projectors.

[malpaso]

i dont quite understand what or why you did that, do you have any good before and after pics?

original pattern...

...
I just didn't feel comfortable opening my projectors.

x2... however I have tried this way as well and failed... I'm not so patient to do that or I did something wrong...

[Culpable04]

malpaso

another member of this forum, point me to a solution way better / easier than any other

read this article

conversion kits


at the bottom it says

" The kits contain specially shaped adhesive black plastic which sticks to the glass and alters the direction of the beam. "

[My2Celi]

Could you explain why the light shines more to the left and not the right side? Is the pattern the same for both sides?

This post has been edited by My2Celi: May 27, 2007 - 12:46 AM

[Culpable04]

found the right one.


RHD conversion kit !

This post has been edited by Culpable04: May 27, 2007 - 12:52 AM

[Daftboy]

NIce...now i just need mty projectors...=[

[jason]

haha for all who havent had projectors, its normally supposed to just be a flooding sheet of light in front of the car that abruptly cuts off a bit below the vertical horizon in front of your car, the idea is to provide maximum lighting in front of your car while reducing glare to other drivers - allowing you to put in much brighter bulbs while note blinding anyone. on jdm projectors the cut up severely to the left, glaring off of directional signs on highways, tops of houses etc and blinds the hell outta oncoming traffic. since they drive on the other side of the road over there, the lights do a great job at lighting up the road given that oncoming traffic is on your right there, not on the left like in the states. i for one do not feel comfortable removing the lens of my nice projectors that dont leak or fog up so i decided to do something like this, yes its kinda ghetto, imo its straight forward, no more a pain in the ass the changing any interior lighting (gauges, cc unit) and is very simple, as culp will say once you do one projector, the other one is a million times as easy

when i did mine, i kinda rolled the foil a bit to fit through the hole a little better, then just poked it with tweezers then bent the top part back to form the straight line you want, since doing mine earlier in the week, the glue i used (just hot glue for ease of application) has given way so im going to try using something different and probably more of it since i only used a spot on each

good job culp and what kinda adhesive did you use? i was contemplating using a few cut pieces of duct tape because of its opacity and it sticks well - like cut 3 small pieces instead of one big one so it fits in there and you can line everything up better.

[Culpable04]

duct tape is not a good option for the job, you have to consider the temperatures you'll have inside the proj. with the HIDs. I use an epoxy based permanent glue that is suppose to hold high temp. also the aluminum foil is excellent with high temp so no problem on that side, if you're gonna try something new why not try the product on the link I posted ? is available in UK and Europe , not visible from at all once is installed and fix the beam patern. is suppose to last ~ 4 years and only cost ~ US$15.00, If the set-up I have doesn't work I'll use that.

[jason]

i may try some epoxy like that, now that i think about it the heat is probably why me using hot glue was a dumb idea, it worked for like 2 nights. im also thinking of using a larger piece of aluminum foil to reach horizontally the whole length so the glue has more surface area to work with, and the foil can "hang" better to support more if its weight if for whatever reason the glue does start to liquify a bit. if all that fails, im gonna try and use a metal clip so no adhesive is needed, just the friction provided from the clips pressure.

on another note... vw beatle projectors have a lever you pull and the whole head light housing pops out - no bumper removal - take out and replace headlight in under 20 seconds with no tools needed. why cant the jdm projectors be all trick like that