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Projector Head Light Installation, Page Updated January 27, 2008

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Project Completed in August 2006

On this page, I describe what I did to my projector headlights.

These lights are never plug and play, since they require extra wiring to get the halos/LEDs to work. But it is easy to wire them to your parking light, like I did. Just use the wires that go to the corner light. For these headlights, there are two 194 bulbs in the halos, and 1 194 bulb in the three bars. All are changeable, and I changed them to LEDs. You have to take the black plastic piece off of the back of the headlights in order to change them.

Buy head lights here

Anyways, wanted new lights, ones that were cooler and brighter, plus I liked the blue lens over the low beam. I also liked how the high beam was circular, for I was already planning to use them as DRLs. I liked the projector/halo style for it's low beam cutoff pattern. Here is a pic of what I mean.

The light on the left is my old aftermarket headlight, and the one on the right is my new projector headlight. You can see how much brighter the new is compared to the old. This is the same style you see on BMWs, Volvos, Mercedes, Lexus, and other luxury cars. These lights have almost no glare for oncoming traffic, since there is almost no light above the cutoff line.

Also, I wanted something that was brighter and that put more light on the road. Here are two pics taken in the bright beam of each headlight, and you can see how much brighter the projector is.

New projector head light
Older chrome reflector head light

The low beams are H3 bulbs, the high beams are stock bulbs, and the three little lights are changeable 194 bulbs.

There was one thing strange about the new headlights. Normally on cars that have projectors, there is a blue color above the beam. On my lights, one was a little blue/purple/green, and the other one was very red. I did not want red headlights, so after researching cutoff patterns, I figured out that moving the cutoff shield results in different colors. The cutoff shield is what blocks the light and produces the sharp line you see. If you bend the shield one way, it is redder, but if you bend it the other way, you get more blue. I spent hours trying to bend it correctly. I used a 0.5 lead pencil with the shirt clip broken off to bend it by sticking it through the hole and either pushing or pulling on the shield to bend it forwards or backwards. Yes, you can do this on your aftermarket lights, too! Finally, I was rewarded with the result:

Another problem was that they leaked. They fogged up even before I installed them. After caulking the seal twice, they never leaked again.

In addition, I found some really good 194 LED drop in bulbs with a color that I liked. I bought 4 pairs of them for my corner lights and headlights.

I found some promising new LED bulbs on Ebay for my headlights that are a lot brighter, and the color is perfect. They are 921 bulbs, so they were too big for the headlights, but I drilled out the holes they go in, and they fit! I did not have to drill out the holes in the corner lights. These bulbs light up the reflectors much better, and the rings are lit up the entire way around!

The old 194 LED bulbs are in the left head light, and the new 921 ones are in the right head light.

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Don't forget that if you have any help, advice, comments, criticisms, or questions about my car and future mods, please sign my Guest book!

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Table of Contents

My Corolla Today
Page 1: Current Exterior
Page 2: Current Interior
Page 3: Current Engine
Page 4: Current Audio

Corolla Time Lines
Page 5: Phase Time Line
Page 6: Detailed Time Line

Other Stuff
Page 7: Photoshop
Page 8: Look at this page before you buy replacement LED bulbs
Page 9: Details on my current and future mods
Page 10: For Sale!

DIYs and Project Write-ups
Page 11: Bumper light LED retrofit 1
Page 12: Third Brake light LED retrofit
Page 13: Diablo Mirror LED replacement
Page 14: Taillight LED Retrofit 1
Page 15: High Beam DRL Mod
Page 16: Bumper Light LED Retrofit 2, PLUS detailed description of how I do LED mods
Page 17: Painting preparation (details on my fenders, grille, trunk, and Bondo)
Page 18: Side marker LED retrofit and installation
Page 19: HID fog lights and headlights
Page 20:
Interior painting, modifications, and exterior trim painting
Page 21: Installing Halo/LED/Projector headlights
Page 22: Mirror cover LED replacement
Page 23: Installing a new stereo and speakers
Page 24: Body kit installation, front end conversion, and other body work for round 2
Page 25: Retrofitting LEDs into my third mirrors and front turn signals
Page 26: Putting interior LEDs behind the dash and in all the buttons and all over the interior
Page 27: LED tail light retrofit 2 and baking your lights in the oven to remove the lens