[t_mo_t]

This is my first write-up guys, so bear with me.

First of all, READ all the stuffs before you buy/retrofit

Bosch e46 HID projector retrofit, renamed post

and

RETROFIT

I paid 415USD shipped from a seller on eBay. I can tell you guys his eBay ID if you want. I've got couple of sellers.
If you want to buy a new one, get them from hid-planet. And if there're 10 people are buying, they will give you guys free shipping, and just 20USD to Canada. (the main point is that they are all brand new, the bad news is that the ballast is Hella)

What's needed for retrofit only:

• T-20 secure-torx bit as in picture below
  
  
  
• 2 butter knives (get them from dollar store, you wont be able to use them anymore after all those silicone)
• needle-nose plier
• small and thin screwdriver (both + and -)
• Bubble wrap for your headlight, projectors, and other important stuffs
• Wide heavy duty aluminium foil
• Electric Drill
• Silicone sealant
• Everything you need to do electrical stuffs (crimp, terminals, etc)
• Assorted screws from homedepot or anywhere else (for the ignitor and ballast)
• IMPROVISE IF YOU NEED TO.
• (OPTIONAL) H1 wire harness

STEPS:
1. TEST YOUR KIT AND REMEMBER THE WIRE COLOURS (YELLOW = +, BROWN = -), try not to turn it off after it works, let it warm up 1-2 minutes.

2. Remove bumper (CLICK HERE!!!)

3. Remove headlight(CLICK HERE!!! AND DOWNLOAD THE WORKSHOP MANUAL)

4. Taking apart the headlight assembly(CLICK HERE!!!)

Note:

• Cover you headlight COMPLETELY, if not, the headlight's plastic (black colour will melt; mine melt a bit)
• Dont be cheap, go to supermarket and get a wide heavy duty aluminium foil
• Use masking tape to hold the foil down, but dont stick it to the headlight.
• DONT pry it vertically, do it horizontally. That way, it will reduce the pressure on the black plastic thing while prying.
• ALWAYS pry from the corner end, and stab your butter knife (or flat-head screwdriver, etc) deep into the headlight, dont be afraid, the clear housing is "pretty" strong
• Like what everyone says, get a used headlight if you are afraid. I didnt get a used one, and i messed up 1 of my headlights.

5. Disconnect 2 wires from the original projector (Brown and black wire)

See the pictures below; it's self-explanatory.

6. Whichever you want to do first, it's up to you, but i found it easier to release the bottom part first.
Below, you'll see this clip. Use a needle-nose plier to grip it, then use your hand to pull it out (hold the orange housing, instead of the projector) OR you can just slide it out to the left/right (depending on which side you are doing it first).
NOTE: I find it it easier to just slide it out, as either on the driver's or the passenger's side, the clip is blocked by the orange housing, which makes it impossible to unclip it using needle-nose plier.

This is the picture where you use the needle-nose plier.

 

[t_mo_t]

This is the picture when you've unclip it using needle-nose plier.

This is what leftover on the orange housing, if you use the needle-nose plier.

This is the picture of what leftover when you just slide the clip instead of using needle-nose plier

The clip is still on the orange housing if you just slide it out.

This clip in on the top of the orange housing, you can use needle-nose plier to pinch it out (SHOWN HERE IS THE CLIP THAT IS THE OUTMOST OF THE HEADLIGHT HOUSING)

This is the culprit that holds that clip

It's the same clip on the other side of the orange housing

This is what's holding the other clip, which you have to use force to get it out. NOTE: It is easier to just pull it out (instead of using needle-nose plier), BUT hold the orange housing, instead of the projector.

VOILA, the orange housing along with the projector is out

 

[t_mo_t]

7. OK at this stage, i know that you are very anxious to get the stock projector out, but hopefully, you bought the T-20 secure-torx bit as i told you. ( I didn't know this, but when i found out it uses different bit, i got mad :swearin: and quarelled with my gf )

And there you go, the stupid :swearin: torx-bit (i got it first thing in the morning)

8. Take the (bulky) projector out of the orange housing using the T-20 secure-torx bit.

And out you go, bit*h. And take out the clip from the orange housing as well.NOTE: If you are using electric drill, make sure you hold that orange housing strong, cz the screw are so tight.

9. Insert the clip that you've just released, into the orange housing before installing the projector. Now, install the E46/Audi TT projector into the orange housing. Simply just PNP.
This is the BOSCH projector. It's just PNP into the orange housing. NOTE: Make sure you have both of the BOSCH projector near, so that you get the correct side.

YES!!! projector installed, and tight. Pretty huh!? and make sure you tighten the screw; not too tight, and not too loose. Same steps for the other headlight.

 

[t_mo_t]

10. Screw in the ignitor. If your ignitor doesnt have the screw housing (like mine), dont go and yell at your seller, that ignitor probably is the last generation's OR it broke (like my other one). You can use a strong 3M double-tape and/or use silicone sealant.
Position and screw your ignitor

This is the window where you have to cut/drill to make way for the wire harness from the ballast to the ignitor.

The connector to the ballast (mine came with the rubber housing)

 

[t_mo_t]

11. Initial step to open the window (you dont have to do it like me). NOTE: If you are in the step, then you can see that there's a long plastic rod (for low&high beam aiming) below the window, just control your power when you are drilling the window.

Open sesame!! You can file off the rough edges using file or keep drilling the sides, but you dont need to be SOOOO neat . And btw, you dont have to cut the 2 smaller side windows, i dont think it is useful.

Ballast connector goes into the window. Notice that there are 2 clips on the side of the connector, those will help you secure the connection. I notice that the long plastic rod on my 1 side of the headlight is lower than the other side, which makes it impossible to put in the connector, so i just took out the rubber housing of the connector and position it on top of the window, then i put in the connector from below the window (but i have to cut 1 of the bottom clips that holds the rubber housing down)

Align the connector the ballast securely and start to screw in the ballast into its position. You can use whatever screw you can find as long as it's not too long or loose. Please not too tight !! if too tight, the screw housing on the ballast will bent; just make sure that the ballast's surface remains straight, not U-shaped.

This is all the wiring that is inside the headlight housing now. Notice the colours of the wires. (in the picture below, the black stock headlight wire is the negative, it's hard to see from the picture). Btw, you have to cut the stock wire inorder to splice it.

Connect the connector from the ballast to the ignitor. The wires will be stretched, but dont worry, it wont mess up anything.

This is my new wire harness to protect my stock headlight harness and make my ballast runs longer.

DONT SOLDER YOUR CONNECTION IF YOU ARE USING NEW WIRE HARNESS!! Put the orange housing along with the projector into its original position. To reinstall it, you can slide in the bottom clip first, then make your way up. You just have to push the top clips in.

 

[t_mo_t]

***If you are going to use a new wire harness, please go to step 13***

12. There are 2 bare wires that run from the BOSCH ballast's wire harness.
YELLOW = POSITIVE(+)
BROWN = NEGATIVE(-)

There are 2 wires that you disconnect from step 5,
LIGHT BROWN = POSITIVE(+) (you need to cut the H1 bulb connector)
BLACK = NEGATIVE(-)

Just solder them together (+ with +, - with -) and put electrical tape around them to ensure safety.
OR
get butt connectors (if you prepared couple of them), and just connect them together, but as you can see from the pics, the wires from the ballast is thicker than the headlight wires, so make sure you crimp them properly, if possible, you can either get a heat-shrinkable tube or electrical tape to secure them again.

You are done!!!! BUT before you seal back the headlight, try them on your car and see if they works. If they lights up, VOILA, congrats, you've done your retrofit. Just remember to put all the things where they belong. Do it slowly. If you want to tint your headlight, do so and wait for it to dry up a little bit. I sprayed mine 2 times and 2 times clear coat. Before you screw everything back on, CLEAN the clear lens. Dont leave any print marks on them. DONT SMOKE WHILE INSTALLING YOUR HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY TOGETHER, my headlight has ash(ass ) from my cigarette.
GO TO STEP 21 for completion.

 

[t_mo_t]

***THIS STEP BELOW IS REQUIRED FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A NEW WIRE HARNESS***

13. I got myself a H1 wire harness from xenondepot. I dont think it matters what i get, because in the end, i cut the wires and solder them to the headlight wires and the ballast's wires. If you have the same harness as i do, cut the H1 connector and the ballast connector. DONT SOLDER THEM YET !!!!! I made that mistake when I was about to try my headlights on my car.

14. Get your dust cap, and drill a hole in them (wherever you think it's good). I use a 3/4" drill, just enough to stick the wire harness in. You can use silicone sealant on the hole to prevent water/dust going into your headlight.

15. Put your new wire harness into that hole, and pull them from front. Secure the dust cap into the housing.

16. Now, my harness it like this.
Ballast connector:

• Green = Positive(+)
• Black = Negative(-)

H1 connector:

• White = Positive(+)
• Black = Negative(-)

Solder/butt-connect them together and use electrical tape. Note: for more flexibility, you can get male connectors and female connectors if you want to take your headlights out again.

17. Now, you can place your headlight into its original position (in the car), and tuck all the wire harness neatly, BUT dont install the clear plastic housing yet (put it on your crash guard with bubble wrap underneath your precious headlight). Then, get a chair (and put bubble wrap on the chair), and put the other headlight on that chair. Do step 14-16.

18. Plug in the stock headlight harness, connect the + and - from the new wire harness to the battery, and try them on (dont get your beer yet), if they lights up, HOORAYY !!!, if dont, check your connection.

19. Disconnect you stock headlight harness, then start to put everything back in place. A chair would be useful.

20. While putting the clear housing back, you'll notice that the old silicone is still there, you can try to scrap them off, but it would be hard, so i just reapply the silicone on top of the old one. Just apply as much silicone you can on the clear housing, and press the clear housing against the black plastic housing, then use the bronze clips to hold them together. This is where all my new wiring harness go.

 

[t_mo_t]

21. VOILA!!! You are done, go grab 2 dozens of beer and celebrate it !! drive around :drive: with your new retrofit. BUT, i think you need to realign your headlight aiming, as mine shoot up kinda high. And here's the pics of the results. I have video too, but i dont know how to upload.

 

[renniew98]

nice Job T_mo_T....i cant wait to do mine.....And one of the Moderators please pin this ASAP...

 

[t_mo_t]

Originally posted by renniew98@Mar 1 2005, 10:55 PM
nice Job T_mo_T....i cant wait to do mine.....And one of the Moderators please pin this ASAP...

[snapback]371363[/snapback]​

lol thanks man... hope this how-to can help you install your retrofit.

Are you planning on using new wire harness?

1 more thing i forgot to mention... with this installed, DRL wont light up. It will make 'bzzz' sound, just disconnect the DRL, i have a guide that disconnect the DRL without the parking brake light on. And besides, i m getting a fog light for my DRL, and i m going to plug it straight to the battery with the included switch.

Good luck in your install.

 

[renniew98]

I dont have to worry about the DRLs mine is an 03. But i'm making my harness. I'm thinking of runing it through the headlight plug. If you look at the plug there is an open slot. I'm planing on running my power through there...but i havent decided yet. I need to look at it when I take the head light a part before i make my final decision. If I dont then I'm going to have to drill into the housing...

Do you know the size and dept of the screws that you use to install the ballast?? and what silicon did you use for the housing?

Oh one thing I would add to the write up is in step 12...I would add a something about thats its recommended that you use a wiring harness. due to the fact that our wiring is made for the halogens and the high load the HIDs use on start up could eventually fry the wiring... thats just my opinion...

But I still thinks its a great job. I just hate the fact that you beat me to the write up. I was going to do the same thing and I wanted to get the praises...lol

 

[renniew98]

also, did you do the washer mod to the projectors?? There isnt that much of a blue hue!!

 

[t_mo_t]

Originally posted by renniew98@Mar 2 2005, 03:08 AM
I dont have to worry about the DRLs mine is an 03.  But i'm making my harness.  I'm thinking of runing it through the headlight plug.  If you look at the plug there is an open slot.  I'm planing on running my power through there...but i havent decided yet.  I need to look at it when I take the head light a part before i make my final decision.  If I dont then I'm going to have to drill into the housing...

Do you know the size and dept of the screws that you use to install the ballast??  and what silicon did you use for the housing?

Oh one thing I would add to the write up is in step 12...I would add a something about thats its recommended that you use a wiring harness. due to the fact that our wiring is made for the halogens and the high load the HIDs use on start up could eventually fry the wiring... thats just my opinion...

But I still thinks its a great job.  I just hate the fact that you beat me to the write up.  I was going to do the same thing and I wanted to get the praises...lol

[snapback]371487[/snapback]​

HMMMM i c..... i didnt really look into our headlight plug that closely, but i know what you mean, you can try, but i think you need at least 4 positions. BUT, if you take the yellow and brown wires from the ballast and run it OUTSIDE instead of inside the headlight, you COULD probably succeed. But i m not sure.

Just look at you ignitor and ballast, if the head of the screw and the width of the screw fit in there, then you should be ok. The depth of the screw SHOULD not exceed 1", i m not sure.. i just find any screw in my toolbox.

Yep, well said about the need of the new harness, that's always true eventhough you are only planning to get a HID kit instead of retrofit.

:laugh: Sorry to beat you first, but i think robinlb should get all the credit. He was the one who started telling us all the info about retrofitting our 6. So thanks Robinlb!!! :yesnod:

Washer mod? you mean washer for the headlights? Ehmm, i've thought of that, but i really dont want to drill a hole on the bumper, and i dont like that bulge (like MPS6)

It isn't that blue because we got the 4100K (which is yellowish white), i was thinking of getting the Philips Ultinon 6000K, but i like the brightness now, and i have videos if you want, it shows you the flicker that those BMW or Acura has. And, robinlb said about bending the cut-shield, but i dont find mine has one, so prob mine is ECE

 

[renniew98]

they talk about the washer mod on hidforum.com. what you do is seperate the lens part and the reflector part and you put it back together with washers or spaces....pushing the lense away from the blub a bit....what it does is give you more blue of a hue but on some projectos the cutoff sharpness suffered...but yet on some it got even sharper... theres always a thread on the hidforum talking about it..

 

[renniew98]

what silicone did you use?

 

[t_mo_t]

OOO that washer... lol... well i didnt retrofit for the cutoff, lol, so i didnt do any research on those. But you can try and let me see how it looks, probably i'll play around with it a little bit more... lol

i use Permatex Black Silicone Adhesive Sealant

 

[robinlb]

Very nice job, Congratulations! Thanks T_mo_T
You even give us a 1st writeup for hid retro on mzd6 I ever seen in many mzd6 clubs.
I am busy in other city recently, so no spare time to finish my final job. But I think renniew98 and I will deliver our write up to reinforce you at last

4100k bulbs will become more white after a period of running(named colorshift). Relative to 6000k bulbs, 4100k has max output and practicability.
BTW, we may do the process such as bending shield or adding washers to get more blue above cutoff line.(but your cutoff beam looks like well)

You may not notice that, compare with H1 aftermaket hid, e46 prj retro can bring wider and softing lighting effect.(especially more wider on ground vs my original h1 hid).

 

[t_mo_t]

Very nice job, Congratulations! Thanks T_mo_T
You even give us a 1st writeup for hid retro on mzd6 I ever seen in many mzd6 clubs.
I am busy in other city recently, so no spare time to finish my final job. But I think renniew98 and I will deliver our write up to reinforce you at last

4100k bulbs will become more white after a period of running(named colorshift). Relative to 6000k bulbs, 4100k has max output and practicability.
BTW, we may do the process such as bending shield or adding washers to get more blue above cutoff line.(but your cutoff beam looks like well)

You may not notice that, compare with H1 aftermaket hid, e46 prj retro can bring wider and softing lighting effect.(especially more wider on ground vs my original h1 hid).

Thanks... Well i was the 2nd mazda6 to retro by far (the other one went to illusion-lighting to get it done which cost him 800+shipping )

Yep yep... you guys probably (most likely) to do better job than mine, as i broke couple of the black ABS plastic on my driver headlight, and i left a fingerprint on the clear lens.. :tear: :swearin:

Ehmm, i dont know about philips bulbs, but mine is osram. Do you know any difference in those? which is better?

About my cutoff beam, i think it's ok, but my passenger side kinda shoot up higher than the driver's side, is it normal?

 

[its rayden]

this mod looks like it yields the same result as removing the upbeam reflector on our stock projectors in terms of removing glare.

are there any other benefits for doing this mod instead of just buying an H1 HID kit?

 

[FICHSTIX]

Great write up, I have one side down one to go. I'm going with 8000's. Waiting for them to come in.