Bi-Xenon projector with angel eye installed

[krid80]

Re: Wiring complete

Pretty big project isn't it?

 

[jrevans]

Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so angry at myself!!!!!!! :banghead::rant:

I just finished cleaning off the HID projector lenses and the inside of the plastic headlight covers with a microfiber glass cleaning cloth, then placed the headlight covers back on. Since it's cold out and the glue is a bit cold, I was having troubles getting the covers down far enough to click on the tabs.

I figured I'd just get out my heat gut, so I placed the cleaned assembly on my motorcycle seat (since I'm tight for space in the garage) checking that the assembly was secure and wouldn't fall. Well, I walk away from the FZ6, on my way to get the heat gun out of the cabinet, and I hear the assembly fall.

Oh crap. I go over and it landed face down on the concrete floor, putting big, relatively deep scratches in the middle of both lenses.

I am so angry! I checked to make sure it was stable, but I guess it wasn't, even though it seemed to be. I'm betting that the rubber cover things on the back of the bulbs moved, making the assembly move. I might as well have placed it face down on my seat.

Anyone know if it's possible to polish scratches out of something like this? I once tried using a cotton polishing wheel in my dremel on a pair of scratched plastic sunglasses, and it was a major fail, with my melting a spot on the glasses. This is right in the middle of both lenses, so it needs to be optically clear.

Does Yamaha sell the plastic lenses separate from the housing? EDIT: Apparently not, since I just checked out bikebandit and see only the entire assembly for $194, which I will not spend.

I still can't believe that this happened. I was intending to finish up and go for a ride tonight, but now I'm out of luck and can't finish the project until I fix my lenses.

I've attached a picture of the scratches.....

 

[jrevans]

Some installation pictures

Since I screwed myself over by dropping and scratching my lenses (see the previous post) and can't finish the installation project anytime soon, I might as well post up some pictures that I took today during my wire-a-thon.

The yellow halos picture shows the color of my angel eye halos. I was hoping that they'd be more yellow-amberish, but they're okay.

The ground point picture shows where I drilled a hole and installed a bolt to attach all of my HID related grounds. This is the trouble maker that didn't have a good ground to the frame, causing me to add a ground wire TO the ground point, from a different frame point....

The last shot shows how thin the HID ballasts are with this kit. Well, they do also have that separate small rectangle box, but the hi-voltage part is really thin, which will hopefully make them easy to mount.

Please tell me if anyone knows how to successfully polish out those scratches, or where to get replacement lenses. I'm off of the road, missing my favorite fall riding season weather until then....

 

[CMH]

if you haven't done anything about this yet I would try getting a headlight restoration kit, I got one from walmart for about 15 bucks for my Subaru, it had a small super fine abrasive pad that I used to remove the yellowing and small scratches/chips from the lens essentially making the whole lens cloudy, then there was a polish that you put over the cloudy lens that dries clear, it worked great and the lens looked brand new. Only thing is I'm not sure if my lens was glass or plastic, I don't have the car anymore or I'd check, but it seems like it was plastic. That abrasive pad might be enough to remove your scratches though, I'd just check in the instructions and make sure it's safe for plastic lenses.

 

[jrevans]

if you haven't done anything about this yet I would try getting a headlight restoration kit, I got one from walmart for about 15 bucks for my Subaru, it had a small super fine abrasive pad that I used to remove the yellowing and small scratches/chips from the lens essentially making the whole lens cloudy, then there was a polish that you put over the cloudy lens that dries clear, it worked great and the lens looked brand new. Only thing is I'm not sure if my lens was glass or plastic, I don't have the car anymore or I'd check, but it seems like it was plastic. That abrasive pad might be enough to remove your scratches though, I'd just check in the instructions and make sure it's safe for plastic lenses.

Thanks for the tip. I thought about one of those kits but ended up getting a Novus plastic polishing kit. It arrived yesterday, but I've had no time to work on the bike again. *sigh*

Freakin' summer is over, my bike isn't inspected and I've probably ridden less than 800 miles this year.

On the bright side, I'm employed again, healthy, have a great family and I at least still have a motorcycle.

 

[jackay]

Finally received my kit late last week. Only had a chance to open it up and have a proper look. Should not be too hard of an install.

I also had a chance to open up the projector. To the RHD guys that thought about swapping the light pattern shade over to suit the road...it is possible...but you definitely need some sort of a heat gun to bend the steel. Anyone got any ideas how to bend it without breaking it?

I thought I take some pictures while I'm at it. One of the pic shows the shader, the other shows how the mechanism works. When high beam signal is sent the electrical-magnet attracts the armature which brings down the shader = high beam.

 

[OZXJR]

I recently took my damaged projector apart and had a look too.
I removed the shade and bent the tabs the other way with long nosed pliers,that bit is ok,but putting it back together is damned difficult !

 

[jackay]

Awesome! Thanks Mick! I thought about using pliers, just weren't sure how it will go...but now I know !

I'll give it a go later, maybe tomorrow. Took my butterfingers 30min to put the shade back to the spot, not after I found out it was easier to unscrew the relay.

 

[jackay]

OKAY...that didn't work too well...it broke in half...lol

NOW...how do I 'glue' it back together? Open to suggestions...Solder the two pieces back? JBWeld the thing back?

 

[brad81987]

OKAY...that didn't work too well...it broke in half...lol

NOW...how do I 'glue' it back together? Open to suggestions...Solder the two pieces back?

You broke the shield?

Can try soldering, but I'd be more inclined to go for JB Weld. Or get some thin sheet metal (galvanized steel or aluminum) and just cut out a new shield. Lots of guys over at HID Planet cut new shields themselves to give themselves the cutoff they want.

Edit- definitely JB Weld. The inside of HID projectors gets very hot, sometimes 180+ degrees F. I think most solders melt at 350-400 degrees. I wouldn't want to risk it softening up.

 

[jackay]

Thanks! I'll go with JB Weld. If I just solder it, I think it'll probably break when I try to put it back in the holder...and take the chance that it might melt?

Hopefully it'll be strong enough and works out. Then I could swap the both shaders around.

 

[brad81987]

Thanks! I'll go with JB Weld. If I just solder it, I think it'll probably break when I try to put it back in the holder...and take the chance that it might melt?

Hopefully it'll be strong enough and works out. Then I could swap the both shaders around.

JB Weld should be plenty strong. Just be sure to follow the directions and make sure you smooth it out enough that it won't catch on anything and cause the shield to get stuck.

 

[jrevans]

Thanks! I'll go with JB Weld. If I just solder it, I think it'll probably break when I try to put it back in the holder...and take the chance that it might melt?

Hopefully it'll be strong enough and works out. Then I could swap the both shaders around.

I'm not sure where your part broke, but I haven't had a lot of luck using JB-Weld when connecting smooth thin parts end to end. If you snapped the shutter shield sheet, I'd suggest brazing it or silver soldering. But, since I can't do either of those myself, I'd probably end up JB-Welding it too, or cutting a new shield piece.

 

[brad81987]

If you have a way to, cutting a new shield is the best bet.

 

[OZXJR]

OKAY...that didn't work too well...it broke in half...lol

NOW...how do I 'glue' it back together? Open to suggestions...Solder the two pieces back? JBWeld the thing back?

You broke it !
Bloody hell mate what did you use , a hammer ,lol
Mine worked with long nose pliers ,no probs.

 

[jackay]

Well I used a long nose pliers as well...except I tried to bend the metal at exactly the same bending joint (if that makes any sense).

It's not the end of the world, except I weren't prepared for it LOL!:BLAA:

I just hope jb weld will do the trick, a bit pessimistic at the moment about strength that it will have since I'm joining them butt to butt on little thin piece of metal like this. We'll see

 

[Astennu]

I'm having problems with one of my projectors.

If i'm riding with the highbeam and switch to low. the left projector sometimes stay's in the highbeam setting. Flipping the switch to high and low again resolves the issue. But now i have to check the light on the road every time i use the highbeam. Do more people have this problem?

I hope i dont have to replace it its a ***** of work to get them out again.

 

[OZXJR]

I had the same problem with one of mine staying on high.It turns out that water had got into the connector.I sprayed WD40 in ALL the connections and didn't have the problem again unless I rode in very heavy rain.

 

[Astennu]

I had the same problem with one of mine staying on high.It turns out that water had got into the connector.I sprayed WD40 in ALL the connections and didn't have the problem again unless I rode in very heavy rain.

Well its not on all the time. But sometimes it fails to switch back to low. I will check the connector but i dont think thats the issue. Because then it would stay on all the time no matter what.

 

[brad81987]

Sometimes the return spring is a little undersized and doesn't always push the shield back up when you turn off the high beam. (The solenoid pulls it down, the spring pushes it back up). Also possible the mechanism is binding ever so slightly. If the connection is bad, it should default to the low beam (no power). That was a common problem with people using the Morimoto Mini H1 over at HIDPlanet. The solution was to just stretch out the spring a little bit before assembly, and maybe hit the mechanism with a little high-temp lube of some sort.