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Dual Beam (Hi/Lo) Retrofit?


pwmin

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I got a set of old headlamps to mess around with for my 99 GP and I was thinking about doing a retrofit.  However, I don't want to mess with two separate headlamp bulbs and the projector retrofits I'm finding only use H1 single filament bulbs and it's not logistically feasible for separate bulbs/projectors in the factory style housings.  Unless, maybe, I would take the turn signal bucket and put on in there, but that seems even more ghetto and difficult to line up.  I do have Spyder projectors on it now, but I guess I'm just looking for a project. 

I guess maybe a simpler question would be if anyone has but H4/9003 bulbs in place of their factory 9007's?  Is there enough material that can be cut out to put an H4 bulb in an H1 projector?  (I'm going to guess no.) 

I was thinking about finding an H4 projector retrofit, but I can't find one.  I came across bulbs with their own projectors, but I'm not sure what modifications I would have to make to get them to work with the 9007 bulb opening without ordering them and looking at them.  I can't find them in 9007, only H4. Anyone know or have any ideas?  This is what I came across: https://www.ebay.com/itm/224764647659?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item34550458eb:g:flgAAOSw8IFhzC9K&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSvtkx670Z0mbyfWqmxLFLYfLSCJKYdRKMppgLfbzPMqTTXSMbmvuTlXswc93RHWtAvSAdtg2FAihIf3Qz7PKeQtYn%2FsQsA4pmLdXVM%2B372EEnm%2FbeevGewwlDBtFo1HwVDvGS%2BnfDjrlCDx2bQRHAzQgb2qG15Us2iFdfXGl83J6QfEMdSoQiRk3k4ay5R91EpU0ne2JjDkGikdts4uZ3IVJK6z8S0fTXrwyXANwbYQUoKw9juMTf8FSNioDT5Wd%2F3VSN2h74ZC0UKKOYYH3fVqlKfNc7%2BkQZRBrz0cxbM0ejwZNVQ1cNrBlJJ3%2F%2Fspk8LNfzZAR2gyK%2BUuvftP0raLCVaV06qXfyCRJTv3CJnr9JOCqJdK7%2Fr%2BLHSw6MH9AQoqmN8%2FjyT49ieApA2ljcvIWYpG0nXtCkVqScVKRKqoYyEnD0IaWF7HVFuJsWOjW29R1wdQDSay8sawisP1vNRTwZDeMbS7rep2LULI7HOtAerkwfy475ttzE30j2h23X7vjUJaEr4Da8bDK56aRQri6jxsB3HPz73t0p5i1RFpd1PVn1yv4%2Fwz%2BjqQCDfCRvFiBTDT2U%2F1uxZRHPG%2B5Vc%2B8BfxQcplej45YN3Fy5uBM%2B1p7REckouU%2BhadEU5pjlC%2FGKTohx5D3S6TbfBX%2F1Ns7ljJcmkXtiwCNqmmNLduwVyrHe%2FLOnuzyEMm9SmmR%2FVxROr2Uo82wm14pozxHUTs997xHuyyjo1OF7tka4BfKX2K3uLbk9ZBgR%2BS4%2F7oSj1AHtnzDWkbq5f9tpWajj%2B5mtjiCJQZGGoXP31WDlJ18NI9sY6PhAG91VmSHLKM6RetmvktOpz2aC791YtJvbTg%3D%3D|clp%3A2334524|tkp%3ABFBMiqSwycFf

 

Edited by pwmin
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  • 3 weeks later...

I got the bulbs and started messing with the housings.  I hogged out the hole for the bulb as it was larger than the 9004 hole.  I was going to try and figure something out to hold the bulb in, but I'll probably end up just using silicone.  It's going to need a seal, anyway.  Unless I can come up with something.  The screw holes don't line up, only one of them, but there wasn't enough material to use the screw to hold it in.  Should I paint the chrome part black since it has a projector?  Here's where I'm at so far...

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  • Like 1
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  • 2 weeks later...

How can you hope to focus the beam when using an LED bulb in a housing geometrically aligned for an incandescent bulb?

You may get lots of light output, but the reflector can't focus it into a coherent pattern.  That's one reason those bulbs are illegal for street use.

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On 1/29/2022 at 1:27 PM, Schurkey said:

How can you hope to focus the beam when using an LED bulb in a housing geometrically aligned for an incandescent bulb?

You may get lots of light output, but the reflector can't focus it into a coherent pattern.  That's one reason those bulbs are illegal for street use.

So, the built-in projector won't help? Just something I'm messing around with just because.

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On 1/31/2022 at 10:10 AM, pwmin said:

So, the built-in projector won't help? Just something I'm messing around with just because.

It's possible to hit on a combination that works, but generally speaking, no, it won't help. The light will probably be blindingly bright looking at it, but the actual amount of light making it 50, 60 yards, or whatever down road where you actually need it most while driving is usually less than factory.

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  • 1 month later...

Got it done finally.  Of course, the high beam doesn't work on one of them and it's past the return window.  Still have to adjust everything and see if it's binding at night.  Beam pattern doesn't seem to scattered.

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Edited by pwmin
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  • 2 months later...

I've been going back and forth with these and the Spec-D projector assemblies and I'm liking these better.  I haven't been flashed once, lol, and the light output seems a lot better than the stock lights. 

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On 6/4/2022 at 12:35 AM, pwmin said:

I've been going back and forth with these and the Spec-D projector assemblies and I'm liking these better.  I haven't been flashed once, lol, and the light output seems a lot better than the stock lights. 

PWMIN, to address your question I would tell you this. I have had projector headlights in my Grand Prix since “02” I bought Spyder chrome units, as they were at that time about the only ones available. Since then many others have come to the market & I have looked at them, but never liked them as well. Unfortunately you can no longer get them other than black! Which kind of defeats the purpose of a parabolic reflector for the high beam.
 So you would have to choose what works for you, but the projector headlights for low beam are by far superior over the OEM lights when you use HIDs. Which will be the H1 HID bulb. What I found was when I would go to the brights, which was just a halogen 9006? I think that was the number, it was like I turned off all the lights by comparison. Because in the W-body as you know it doesn’t work like old school. It turns off the low beams, dumb! 
So to remedy that I put in HID 9006 bulbs & ballast for the high beams, but to feed them power I went back to the inside fuse box picked up 12 volts ran that to a relay, from the relay I feed the lights by a switch that is mounted in the cubbyhole on the left side of the steering wheel. Of course I made a plate for it. So when I want bright I just hit the switch & than I have low beam & high beam just like back in the good old days. Now with that you can actually seethe road. 
One other piece of information, since these lights are projector & not factory they tend to not be as ridged as the OEM lights. So I ended up stabilizing then by mounting a support/shock pad under them, see picture.
 

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I had to put a block under my Spec-D tuning projector lamps, which are similar to the Spyder ones.  I finally got the LED's hooked up, too.  I like the protector bulbs in factory style housings better, but I had a hard time sealing them correctly.  

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19 minutes ago, pwmin said:

I had to put a block under my Spec-D tuning projector lamps, which are similar to the Spyder ones.  I finally got the LED's hooked up, too.  I like the protector bulbs in factory style housings better, but I had a hard time sealing them correctly.  

One thing that you might want to think about trying is to alter the cut off plate. Projector lights should out perform regularly headlight housings. But one of the problems that I found with the Spyder projectors was the cut off plate was not right. 1 the plate needs to be polished like a mirror! Mine were just flat anodized, no shine of any kind. Two the actual cut off plate height & configuration makes a huge difference in the pattern of light the projector throws. So I took the projector apart, took the cut off plate out. Than I took comparable thickness aluminum flat stock. With a scriber, I traced the cut off  pattern on the new aluminum plate. I cut out the pattern, filed the top edge smooth & then polished it to a mirror finish, put it back in to see what I now had, compare one modified side to the non modified side. From there I ended up shortening the whole cut off plate down in height. This made a big difference in my final product. 

Edited by Last American Indian
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