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Pre-facelift to Facelift Headlight Conversion

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265
This isn't really a how to guide, more of a collection of photos and guides that i used for my conversion.

To start with, i followed this guide:

http://www.civictype-r.co.uk/index....ting-facelift-headlights-to-a-prefacelift-car

it explains what parts you need for the install, i didn't completely follow this guide, first of all, i was on a slightly lower budget and opted for an ebay job :D for this i bought a pair of facelift headlights (£120 posted), i then bought a set of H1 bulbs, HB3 bulbs, and a pair of silvatec indicator bulbs. 1 thing i did feel was necessary are the bulb holders for the H1 bulbs and the indicator bulb holder which i bought from my local honda dealer for around £25.

Now that i had this ready, i needed the plugs to connect them with as the preface uses different plugs. To do this i went to my local breakers yard and scavenged the plugs. Here is a picture of the 2 plugs i grabbed:
P6270192.jpg

You will need 2 of each (a pair for each side).
I spent hours looking in the breakers yard, and is really a needle in a haystack but i will give a pointer, most BMW's i found used the HB3 connectors (the big plug in the picture) and so there was a lot to choose from, the indicator bulb holder plug however was a mission. I actually found it completely pointless looking at headlights and side repeaters as i checked well over 20 cars. I actually found them in the old style (1997) corsa's. There was 1 per car, and was behind the rear driverside light.

Next to remove the bumper, follow any thread on the forum, these pictures might help:
P6260165.jpg

undo poppers 8 on top, 4 underneath, unscrew 2 screws underneath (1 at each end) and finally in the wheel arches 1 screw holding the bumper to the wing.

P6260166.jpg

prise the bumper away from 1 corner

keep prising until the bumper comes off.

next remove the headlight by unscrewing the 4 nuts labeled here:
P6260170.jpg

the arrowed nut is actually underneath and is quite tricky to get to and undo

i then followed the following diagram:
FACELIFTWIRING.jpg


This diagram is amazing, if you follow it, it will work. Using a relay and a fuse holder with a 10 amp fuse, wire up the new headlights and plugs.
My relay, fuse holder is inside the fuse box which cant be seen in the photo:
P6270198.jpg


some before and afters:
before
P6210158.jpg

P6210162.jpg


after
P6270196.jpg

excuse the messy wires, this was taken before i made it smart and a lot of cable ties :D
P6270184.jpg

P6290201.jpg

IMG_0158.jpg


Thats it! looks a lot better now, and cost around 150 pounds for me :eek: with around 2-3 hours installation. The reason it took so long was to get my head around the wiring. Its something that the first time will take absolutely ages but seconds will take an hour.

post any questions

Pre-facelift headlight example/wiring pictures:
http://type-r-owners.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?76678-Picture-request-please&p=890245#post890245


/////////////Added Photo's////////////////

The inline fuse:
P6290203.jpg

and both fuse and relay:
P6290205.jpg
 
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It's really not that hard, the only part that is slightly head scratching is the diagram, i live in torquay, devon and you will kick yourself after you've done it cause it is that easy
 
It just baffles me mate:smt101 i just don't get electrics

You got some pictures of your fuse box open showing what youve done, where did you get all your electric cables,relays etc
 
well i used just a standard 4 pin relay, these can be bought from Halfords for about 5 pounds:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_753007_langId_-1_categoryId_165562
i got mine from my step dad who's an electrician so he had everything.
Cables that i used were just random cabling that i had a reel of, again if you don't have any im sure you can scavenge some from the local breakers or buy it.
my step dad had a lot of connectors which were perfect and he had a crimper which meant it was even easier so you can do it that way or anyway you like as long as they are firm connections and are safe. If you really want, you could always splice the cables, wrap the 2 ends and use insulin tape, whatever does the job :D

The fuse holder i used looks a bit like this:
http://www.fastsupply.co.uk/images/inline-fuse-holder.gif
again can be bought from any electrical/halfords store...or rob them from the breakers yard. Whilst looking for my plugs, i came across a LOT of relays. I will post some pictures of my fuse box tomorrow.
 
Spot on mate, there is actually a pair of genuine facelift lights on ebay for i think 150, saw it yesterday
 
nice one, ive actually got the headlights with apparently half the wiring already converted,(its got wires going in and out of the h4 plug??) got the H1 bulbs got the hb3 bulbs, just need the bulb holders and connectors and the covers for the back of the headlights.

I'll post some pics up of the wiring on the back of my lights so you can advise me:lol:
 
just got a qoute from honda for all the bulb holders and covers, as stated in the ctro thread............................came to £97:eek:

I am now on the lookout for someone breaking a facelift:lol:

Q ash- do the sidelights plug straight in?
 
Yea and the adjustment motors, that seems quite expensive, i paid around 25 pounds for the holders without the covers, try going to google and try 'honda original parts' seeif that is cheaper
 
It looks so much better with the facelift lights, cool pictures:cool:

cheers for the fusebox pic

I'm currently on the lookout for someone breaking a facelift, so i can get all the bits in one go
 
Agreed, i didn't realise how different the car looks with the new lights, it's a little mod that has a really big effect on the way it looks, love it :D
 
Ash ,on the back of my headlights where the h3 bulb goes, there are 3 screws? do you just loosen these off pop the bulb in and tighten the screws or am i missing something, i have the h3 bulbs with like a right angled plastic connection already on
 
on the back of the headlight, i didn't touch the screws, it's a twisty thing so you have the bulb attached to the right angled connector and the connector should have a triangle shape just at the base of the bulb, you twist that so its snug under the screws.
 
Ash , did you have to buy a pair of H1 bulb holders? and i cant seem to see what you did about the H1 connections? .....sorry dude

just going to order my bits from "honda original parts".
 
the only things i actually bought from honda was the H1 and the indicator bulb holders, the reason you need a bulb holder for the h1 bulb is because the h1 bulb has 1 terminal, the bulb holder allows the bulb to be plugged into it, and then gives you 2 terminals, a positive and negative. you then have a h1 bulb, connected to the bulb holder and that can then be inserted into the new headlight. Once fitted, we have 2 terminals on the back of the bulb holder, i then used the original plug (which was connected to the dipped/full beam plug on the old headlight) it is a small black box with 3 holes:
the plug on the left
P6260177.jpg


during the wiring process, you will need to open this up which contains 3 wires (1 dipped ground, 1 full beam ground and 1 positive 12v) you will then leave 2 of the wires and snip the 3rd. You can then close the box up and use it on the new headlight. 2 of the 3 holes will be plugged into the 2 terminals on the bulb holder leaving 1 hole not used which we snipped the wire anyways.

honda original parts are great, just remember that sometimes the vat and shipping needs to be slapped on top. also, some parts are sourced from abroad whereas honda stealers, although more expensive, will source their parts from other dealers/depo sites so the parts arrive literally the next day.
 
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thanks Ash, told you i was **** at this :lol:

Just been into the garage to test fit the h3 bulbs, they didnt seem to fit snug, does this look right
headlight.jpg

plugh3.jpg

headlight2.jpg
 
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