takerwolf

Okay, I got my new HID kit that looked almost the same to Icemarks, but alas it was not close enough (was on a budget but sick of blowing out Xenon's). Anyway got it all hooked up and it works nicely (though aim is way off atm, got done just before work). I got the hi/lo 6000k kit with the half shield around the bulbs.
Anyway, on to the problem. I've attatched to pics of where the back of the bulb is catching (in a rare stroke of common sense I retracted manually and slowly to check first) and I was looking for ideas other then cutting notches for them to clear.
I've got the Diamond Euro's off ebay back when they were twice as much and for some reason I had decided to grind off the little cicrles in the corner flush though don't remember why. I'm waiting on a set of DOT housings from Icemark though, think these might clear a bit more or maybe a way to shim it?
I'd like to upgrade to actual projectors sometime if someone finds a good retrofit. Also any opinions on Casper shields or something else? Haven't looked them up to see what they are yet.

rotarybeat1287

iTrader: (16)

ugh... so the diamond ones off ebay dont fit. its early so no flaming. i was thinking of ordering these friday. any suggestions? later. hope your problem works out man.
-allen

takerwolf

I hope so too. The diamond ones do fit fine, just not with these bulbs though the bulbs might not fit with anything, have to wait till the others get here. It's the high/low beam set so they stick out more, but icemark said he never heard of a problem so maybe I got the one brand that doesn't fit, wouldn't be surprised. WIth just regular xenon's though they were fine, just got too hot and burned out/melted the connector a bit. Guess you really do need the harness upgrade for those.

ilike2eatricers

I'm fairly sure changing the housing wont have any effect on clearance of the bulbs. I know someone who experienced the same problem on an FC although I dont know the brand of HID he had.

takerwolf

probably not, unless the bulb sits farther into the housing or something. Ordered them anyway since they have better cutoff. Any idea if you could shim something for more room? This is an FC too, any idea what they ended up doing?

ilike2eatricers

they ended up selling the kit and getting something else. i dont see shimming as being a very effective option.

Icemark

I suspect that the lens/housing is too deep, or the bulb is not sitting correctly or locked in correctly in the lens/housing. It looks like the Lens/housing is in correctly for the mounting... but it is hard to see with those pictures. Remember the bulb must be locked into the housing with locking bars... not just sitting on the lens/housing.

Normally there is about an inch of clearance between most Hi/lo bulbs and the front support.

takerwolf

Yeah hard to get a pic around the moving arms. Yeah, it's locked in with the clip which is tightened down.
Hope it's the housing, and again thanks for the help. Did you send out the DOT housings yet or are you waiting on a shipment? Not nagging or anything just wondered. I can rock the broken retractor look till I see if those help any. If I have to notch I will, don't think a small cut would hurt the chassis stiffness but I'm probably wrong on that one.
I wouldn't think these would be an inch longer, when I take them out to switch housings I'll have to measure the length.
The high/low separation with the Diamond cuts and these HIDs is terrible too, that would be something to add to your comparison if other kits are like that too.

Icemark

My DOT H4 Lens/housings have been in stock and shipping for the last couple of weeks. In fact I am gonna have to order from India again this week as I am down to just a case of 12 left. I think your's went out earlier this week, but I would have to check with my S&R girl. You should have got tracking numbers from Paypal and either USPS or UPS.

And there is a example of a Ebay Diamond cut lens in the HID lights comparison I posted and is in the archive.

takerwolf

That's alright, I'll look through my email, order quite a few things at once.
Yeah, I know there's an example, just read somewhere that the highs are aimed to high on these and it seems to be the case with mine, I'm lighting up the trees, heh.

takerwolf

Thanks again Icemark. I got the lights in the mail today. These had little bracket spacers on them and after looking at the sylvania plastic sealed beam it was about the same. The glass sylvania has smaller spacers, dunno why, and that's probably the reason I ground the diamond kits off which were small like the glass one.
Anyway, they now retract without hitting, just need to correct the aim better. When pulled up directly behind a car where is the cutoff point supposed to be? I thought I had them aimed pretty good with a slightly off level driveway but had 2 out of 10 cars or so flick their highs at me. It's lighting up at the top of the rear bumper and a bit higher on a friends Accord I parked behind. Also, anyone have pics of correctly aimed lights low and high? Looks like the highs might be too high, but I forgot what the old lights looked like and could be normal.

Icemark

Find a nice flat area with a wall for setting the the aim.

DOT and E-code headlamps require a careful visual aiming procedure to ensure correct alignment. The car should have between a 1/2 tank of fuel and full. Weight in the trunk should be about equal to the normal load (this may be a full trunk, or it may be an empty one, or anything in between), and weight in the driver's seat equivalent to the most frequent driver. All of the tires should be checked when cold to make sure they're at the correct inflation pressure. Bounce each corner of the car firmly (grasp the bumper and push down several times rhythmically) to ensure that the suspension is settled into a normal position.

Park the car on level ground 25 feet away from, and perpendicular to, a vertical wall. The vertical wall should then be marked:

+ o +
(c) (v) (c)
b------------------------b



+ (c) is the axis, or aim-respective center, of each headlamp. This is usually indicated by a name brand or another mark on the headlamp lens.

If no mark is present, make a careful estimate by looking at the bulb location inside the headlamp. The bulb axis is also the headlamp axis.

o (v) is the centerline of the vehicle. Site through the backglass and windshield of the car to aid in placing this mark accurately.

b-b is a line parallel to and three inches below (c)-(c)

Note: US regulations have recently been modified to permit new cars to be equipped with headlamps very similar to E-code lamps, but with line b-b raised to 2.1 inches (5cm) below c-c. You may wish to experiment with both settings and use the one you feel offers the best performance for your specific driving situation. My housings are this type.

+ Draw a vertical line through through the center of each (c) point. Do the same with the o (v) point. You now have an accurate plot on the wall of the locations of the headlamps.

(The (c) and (v) designations are for purposes of clarity in these instructions. It is not necessary to draw "(c)" and "(v)" on the wall--just plot the points. Of course, you may use the letters in your aiming procedure if it will help you.)

VERTICAL AIMING

The upper horizontal edge of the low beam light pattern must be directly on line b-b. This will place the upper horizontal edge of the low beam light pattern 3 inches below the centerline of the headlamp at 25 feet with ECE-spec aiming, and 2.1 inches below the centerline of the headlamp at 25 feet with US-spec aiming.

HORIZONTAL AIMING

The "break point" or "kink" in the top edge of the low beam light pattern is where the horizontal upper edge of the low beam light pattern begins to rise to the right or steps upwards (see diagram). Adjust the headlamps so that the kink is within +/- 2 inches of point (c).

After adjusting a high/low beam headlamp in the low beam mode, do not attempt to readjust it in high beam mode. All high/low beam headlamps are meant to be adjusted on the low beam setting only--the high beam adjustment is correct when the low beam adjustment is correct.

takerwolf

Thanks again, read that on your site and appreciate the posting. Just gotta find a nice flat area with a wall.....was just wondering how far off they were for now.
not to mention a flat road for G-Tech measurements.