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Projector headlights

2K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  LX98Civic 
#1 ·
First off I missed superhonda while it was gone Sniff Sniff, ok to make a long story short I fucked up my stock headlighst on my 98 civic. So I orded some projectors from shmotorsports.net Now people are saying they suck at night, they dont put out enough light, and they leak. Although I will check for spots and put sillicon wher i feel it needs it. Is any of this true or am I just worrying too much? Sometimes I wish I had a piece of shit car I didnt car about. Thanx fellas. Its good to be back even though I am back to 1 post
 
#4 ·
Hossfowler said:
Am I gonna need new wiring for these projector headlights? Or new bulbs or what? Thanx Will the stock bulbs fit?
Very good Q I never thought about!! >> I have been considering projectors myself for a while. I would imagine you need an extra set of wires somewhere since it will now be three bulbs instead of 2 :confused:


I've read a few horror stories about the light output not being to great as well as out of whack beams, to whack beam patterns...

This is one reason I have not been to impressed with the projectors. However, I will probably end up with JDM or a entire BMW conversion up front :)
 
#5 ·
I have a 5th gen so I don't know if this will apply to you or not. I am on my second set. The first set one got busted. The first set was not as nice quality as the second set. I used OEM bulbs and all the wiring came with. There was no instructions but if you lay it all out and look around it was pretty obvious. I siliconed very well around both sets and never had a leaking problem.

One point of advice. On the second set I didn't tie back the wiring as well as the first set. Going down the road at night I hit a nice bump and all of the sudden was in the complete dark. My wiring had worked it's way out and gotten rubbed partially through (the bump was the last big rub it could take). Luckily there was a gas station right there where I could buy some overpriced electrical tape and fuses. The rubbing had blown the fuse (thank goodness) and not rubbed all the way through. 20 minutes later of tucking and taping, I was on the road again and no problems since. Just a little warning. :) Use tiebacks!

If your wiring does get damaged I wonder if you could contact the company for a new set of wires rather than a whole new set of lights. Oh, and changing a bulb in this new set was a real bitch. I had to take the bumper off and remove the headlight because the little plug in had slipped down behind the projector bulb. That took a while.:mad:
 
#7 ·
Just like Civic_Grl, I have a 5th Gen with projectors. Mine are Denji Jaguar Eyes and their pretty decent quality. When I installed them, I used all the stock wires and connectors and haven't really experienced any problems.

In terms of bulbs, you can't use the stock bulbs because they're different sizes, but if you buy a set they should come with the bulbs already inside. The light output is good and they actually shine brighter than the my old stock lamps. If you want, you could always buy brighter bulbs, but I think the regular bulbs are sufficient.

Overall, I'd say I'm pretty happy with my projectors.
 
#8 ·
Mine came with bulbs, but I replaced the one that was in there with one from Advance Auto. Hmmmm...I need to go see what the "code" is on the bulb that I replaced with. I'll check later....

Yeah, go ahead and say it.....I'm lazy.:p
 
#9 ·
Carefull...

My experience with projectors has sucked so far. I have a 00’ civic… So my lights should be close to what you are going to get. First, they DO leek! Put some sealant all around, weather you see leeks or not! And the beams ARE way out of alignment! Here is the key to this problem: there are three screws on the back to adjust the projector, and there are two to adjust the high beam. Go to a parking garage or something, take bumper off, install the new lights, (no new wires are required, it has the same plug) don’t bolt the lights on until you align them. First look where your stock lights are pointing. Use some chalk to mark the spot on the wall of the garage. Adjust the new lights to point at your mark. BE CAREFULL!!! Adjust the beam using ALL the screws on the back, little by little. Spend an hour if you have to, when it feels like the screw is getting tight, STOP turning it. There are these little plastic tabs that the screw goes through inside if you pull the tab to much it will pop out and you are never going to be able to adjust that thing again! Also, look at the projector lens itself as you adjust, you don’t want to get it into some strange position. I did everything wrong, so I know how it works now. I had to take the whole thing apart to fix it, because it leaked and the beam was all crazy… so I opened the light and fixed it, and then the damn thing broke again! I still put up with it, because those lights look awesome. Just seal it, and be careful, you should have no problems if you take your time.
 
#10 ·
I have a question on how the projectors work. I have a set of nearly destroyed fogs that I want to pull. I live in CO so low hanging fogs are going to shatter from the gravel they drop for the snow so I wanted to try projectors as a substitute. I can't find a single web site which actually tells you anything about the projectors, just pictures. I was hoping that I could wire the turn signals up just like the stock, then wire the main lights as the headlamps and the blue(ion) lamps (which should light yellow like fogs) up to my fog light wiring. After reading a few posts, I think I might be confused as to the operation of these lights.

Do they really go (from center of car to outside) headlamp, fog(type) lamp, turn signal? Or is it actually low beam, high beam, turn signal? Or is it high beam, low beam, turn signal?

Also, anyone know where to read about these online? Specs, etc?
 
#11 ·
* = turn sig (normal bulb and wireing)
O = projector (low beam)
<> = looks like normal headlight only smaller (High beam)
These last two have thire own wireing... there is a plug where you connect your normal headlight wire.

Right*O<> . . . . . . <>O*Left


hope that kind of helps.
 
#12 ·
Have u guys seen the TYC projectors - they look kinda cool - only made for the 2000-2001 civic so far - and its 100% street legal (DOT approved)
 
#13 ·
Okay, does anyone know if there is a manufacturer who makes a set of projector headlights that integrate fogs or driving lamps in the construction. I'm looking to add additional light without having to hang anything on the bumper and from what it sounds like, most projectors only do hi-beams, lo-beams, and blinkers...help???
 
#14 ·
I bought my set of projectors about 1 year ago for my 2000 civ hb. They are awesome looking lights but the lighting (area of view) is pretty bad, the fit sucks, and the bulbs the I received with them blew a week after I got them. The projector headlamp is a direct replacement of the OEM headlamp (at least for the 99-00 civ). One time changing the headlight, the power wire for the headlight bulb fell inside the housing and I had to remove the front bumper and take the headlamp off of the car to reach the wire. Also the adjustment sucks and align the beam up is a chore in it self. I just said screw it. I just aligned the low-beams, the high-beam are so off. So it really depends on what you want though. I love the look but I think I might go JDM type-r headlamps.

BTW>> H3 is the high/low beam bulbs (they come with the lamps) & use factory turn signal bulbs (they don't come with the lamps)

I have a set of PIAA SuperWhite HID bulbs H4 (fit OEM lamps) never used becuz I bought projectors if anybody would like to buy them.
 
#17 ·
bulb size for 96-98 projectors??

I jus bought the projectors for my 96 civic. does n e 1 have these for their civic(96-98)?? If so, what size bulb is the low beam projector?? i know the high beam is an H1. any suggestions as to what brand and kind of bulb to use for the projector??/ thanks-late;)
 
#18 ·
Re: bulb size for 96-98 projectors??

JRFedEk said:
I jus bought the projectors for my 96 civic. does n e 1 have these for their civic(96-98)?? If so, what size bulb is the low beam projector?? i know the high beam is an H1. any suggestions as to what brand and kind of bulb to use for the projector??/ thanks-late;)
Don't quote me on this, but I am 99% sure it's H1 and H3 :)
 
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