7x6 Mini H1 7.0 retrofit (EASY: no cutting/jbweld)

Yeah np man. I was just tossing ideas and whatnot around really. Seeing as you might have to rethink your build on the fly since my method doesn't really apply anymore. I know them 7x6's are a pain in the ass. My first set (hack and weld method) was a disaster. Lol.

 

I have a set of those. The glass lens does not sit as high as the plastic lens from the Pilot housings and will require more hacking in the back in order to fit the 7.0's. I can take a pic when I get home.

 

Yeah glass is better for sure. Plastics tend to degrade/yellow/haze over the years. (Still haven't asked my brother how his are holding up).

Ahhhhhh bummer.. Moment's too late it looks like. "Bought". But are the metal housings any easier to work with for hacking?

 

Only thing I don't like about the glass is it makes the cutoff a little fatter and not as clean and it chips/breaks easier. I will say those Nokya have really nice glass and is almost as clear as the Plastic/Polycarbonate versions. Then again the plastic scuffs and swirls really fast.

 

3 years later and my brother says his are still holding up great. Lenses seem to be showing slight signs of degradation but minimal. Might just need cleaned good he said. He didn't look to close. Like I said the vehicle mostly sits(under the az sun too mind you).But we can always just buff and reseal them too if need be.

 

When I did mine on the S10, I used plumbing caps Welded to the back of the housing. Just not a problem. Worked out extremely well, not sure I see what the issue is with that approach?

 

I was just trying to come up with a simpler solution because my first set I did was with those plumbing caps and it was a total mess and ended up in disaster. I probly didn't do the greatest job on it (was my first hack job) but I was determined to find an easier solution after that. Which I did with the pipe flanges but that option is kinda impossible now unless you can find identical housings as the pilots. If I do them again I'll probly cut and bolt the projectors into the back and seal them up with weld. I like the idea of being able to retain adjustability of the projector post retrofit, but it just adds to the work and additional (possible) failure points with caps.

What caps exactly did you use? Were they plastic or metal or??

 

PVC plumbing caps. As simple as that.

 

Yep thats what i used. Tried to find a metal one that would work but wasn't having any luck. Even went for the highest rated pvc(forgot what it was). It melted around the projector shaft tho. Installed a metal plate to the back after that but i guess I didn't seal that good enough so it caused an entry point for water to get into and pretty much ruined the internals.. Idk what I was doing wrong but it just deterred me from wanting to try that method again. Heh.

 

The next set I do I'm going to cut the bowl in half and retain the bulb side for mounting and just extend the middle enough to clear the lens. Where I cut and graph new will be hidden behind the shroud and black paint.

 

Sounds like you were running too high a wattage of bulb.

I am using the cheapo $26 projectors off Amazon (wanted to keep the trial to a budget price). They have a pretty decent cutoff (bearing in mind I don't have a test lab, and am not going to spend $1000 on a "proper" set of factory projectors) as witnessed by my garage door. They don't overheat (as witnessed by my not having to replace them after hundreds of hours of use in the hot SE USA), and the fact I've run the lights as DRLs, trying to stress test the system.

Now, the cheap relays I bought on Ebay, that's another story. Even then, not bad- I bought them from the Installbay on Ebay, about 36 relays for various projects, for about $40. I've been using them for over a decade, and just now had a failure- the relays for the driver's side lights, both high and low at the same time. I rewire the lights on my vehicles in order to use the factory wiring to switch relays, and 5' or less of 10 gauge wire to supply current to run the bulbs. I do a seperate high and low relay, for each side. Crazy as it sounds, the high and low relays on the driver's side both failed at the same time (and yes- I do troubleshoot things, don't just replace them). I got out there with my meter last night, verified I had trigger voltage from the factory wiring, verified I had supply voltage to the load, and continuity to the bulb from the relay NO terminal. Tested the relay, feeling it click... on a whim (never having seen this happen before- but then I usually use Bosch relays), I replaced the relay anyway.. sure enough, lights sprang to life. The primary coil (terms 85 and 86) was fine in the old relays, but apparently there was enough corrosion or something in the load side of the relay that it didn't make/break contact.

 

That is actually a really good idea if I can't get them to fit that's exactly what I'll do I'll cut the buckets in half and then I'll get some rubber trim that fits on both sides an extended out another quarter of an inch if I need more, thanks for this idea this will make a really easy now and if that doesn't work I can use a spacer I push it out more if needed and then use epoxy tape all the way around that


Yep just take a chop saw or band saw and cut it perfectly straight two pieces

 

Sorry, had to parse it into something other than a run-on sentence. Figured I'd save others the trouble.

 

The process has begun,

I decided I want the glass lens and aluminium brackets,

I know the metal buckets will be harder to modify over plastic but I'm wanting metal and glass lens quality

1st step was to get a quart of acetone
and filled the inside and the lower part of theens over night in the acetone and the glass literally falls right out of the bucket.
Step one is done,
Now to cut out.the fat in the round bulb section next.

 

Nice work. I was wondering how one would get the lenses off of those. I have never had much luck with them.

 

Acetone doesn't hurt the paint and the glass lens seal completely lets loose, so simply.
I had some acetone and decided to try it.

One lens literally fell out when I picked up the bucket and the other lens needed a small push from the inside of the bucket with a screw driver.

Bingo

 

So I got all my parts and tools needed.

Here is my setup with glass and metal buckets
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...on-morimoto-mini-h1-7-0.643068/#post-22251039

If you have an air tank compressor with a air grinder this will go a lot faster

Dremel

Dremel grinding wheel, NOT cutting wheel.

Four 2.5” THICK 1/16 steel washers that will need to be ground out in the centers

Two shower flange covers, these are very thick and need the back metal supports ground off.

Two rubber tub seals

Two glass with thick aluminum buckets, either Nokya/Rampage H6054 will work.

You will be able to install these completely without the projector hitting the glass lens, but it will be tight.

In order for this to happen the thick steel 2.5” washers with the rubber gasket are needed because the bucket back flange needs to be a bit deeper to hold the projector tight and get the added depth for the glass lens to not hit the projector.

The 1st 2.5 washer needs to be trimmed extra wide inside to allow the back of the projector to come through.

If you get thin washers you will have to stack them to get the added depth.

You probably could use layers of thick plexiglass and would be a lot easier.

The advantage to not cutting the bucket up is with the structural support of the metal bucket and metal
washers the projector will line up true to the bucket inside and not be pointed in a different direction.

The round back INSIDE of the housing has to be all trimmed out round.

The inside of the lens where the projector hits will need to be ground down for that extra 1/16 “ for the glass lens to clear. The projector is not perfect rounds,
So the EAST and WEST sides need to be ground in particular.

The bucket metal is very thick and needs a lot of grinding.

Go slow and try the different options as how much needs to be ground from the washers to the lens
lip where the projector hits.

This will end up being a super high quality setup now.

If you get a bread pan glass and set the lights in upside down and put acetone inside the lens
and in the pan, the lens will fall out from overnight or maybe a little push from the inside. Don’t let it fall and break tho.

 

I must have missed it. What buckets and projectors are these?

 

Read my link below, I have the complete setup,

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...on-morimoto-mini-h1-7-0.643068/#post-22251039




Nokya H6054

BI-XENON: MORIMOTO MINI H1 7.0






https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IsJQUbLv7Ss

 

Well got them all wired in and installed them today.

So my problem is I went to align the lens and I’m seeing that they are not solid in the housing assembly.

They have a little play in them, if I grab the lens it will move if I twist them.

If I put a thicker layer of Butyl, will that help?
Or maybe I need to wrap the outside seam between the glass and housing to maybe get them tight?

Did your have play between the lens in the housing assembly ?

With the play there you can’t align the beams,

And one of the high beam solenoids quite working almost immediately

So I have to get another replacement for that.