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Depo V1 Headlight Bi-Xenon Mod - UPDATED Page 1

38K views 124 replies 19 participants last post by  Ant_Smiggy120D 
#1 ·
Hi All,

A lot of you may have read through this post when I did it first time round, however as I revised them, I will revise this thread accordingly.

I have recently completed my second version of bi-xenons retrofitted into a set of my Depo V1 headlights. The light output was far too poor and virtually non existent in the rain in standard Depo's, so this will improve your visibility no end.

Before and after.



Back to the beginning. LED's in Depo V1's. Not the best.





First off, I bought a set of projectors from The Retro Fit Lab in the Netherlands. They are the H1 2.5" Projectors and also an H7 - H1 solenoid wiring harness so that full beam works the shutter.



I also had to make a new bracket / adapter plate for the projectors to be fitted into the original mounting holes of the headlights. I found this to be the most tricky part of the whole mod, but mostly everyone should be able to undertake this.

I bought some small bolts from B&Q to mount the plate to the projector then used the original bolts to mount that back to the headlight.



I started making a template bracket out of card so that I could adjust it to fit and change any errors I came by. This proved to be quite tricky as its not see through to which I had a bright idea to use an old milk bottle as its translucent, its much easier to see where the bolts need to be. one cut out and holes drilled through, I mocked it all up to see how they looked. After I was happy with how they sat and make sure they sit level. This will be how they sit when all fitted back on the car so this is quite important to get right! I cut out the final plate out of 3mm Perspex or Acrylic - which ever you prefer to call it. They can be bought pretty cheap on ebay. I went for clear as it would be easier to see through and work with, even though its hidden out of site it does really matter. (if you were a little more handy, you could make them out of steel or aluminium or similar, but I don't have those resources, but my way seems to work just fine!





Once this is all done, its just a matter of bolting the projector back into place and plugging in all the necessary bits and pieces, including the harness that I bought with the projectors. There doesn't seem to be any other place that sells them apart from Retrofitlab but making one isn't too tricky.

However...

I went a step further and split the headlights so that I could change the angel eyes. I thought the led bulbs which I switched out for the standard yellow bulbs looked crap in daylight. Not too bad at night, but still, you could see the 4 bulbs per ring and cheap was screaming out at me.



After splitting the lights which I placed in the oven at 120'c for around 7 minutes. (I do not take any responsibility for this if you copy this! You are not baking a cake, you are softening the sealant so it becomes soft and easier to split the lights)!!!



Angel eyes out, rings out, all bulbs out, as many of the wires out as you can just so you have a blank canvas to work with. I bought some COB LED rings from ebay. They are very bright. I was worried they wouldn't be very bright but i couldn't be more wrong. All my phone photos honestly in the dark just look like the headlights are on! haha. The inner ring is a 95mm ring which I found from China. The larger outer ring is 100mm and fits very snug, but does fit around the edge of the projector shroud. You will need to sand the end of the shroud very slightly so the ring sits back enough for the ring cover so slip over the top of. I sprayed the outer shroud black so that it matches with the OEM units and left the inner one chrome. Again, to match with the OEM look.





The rings are made with a gel coated top which is yellow. They still light up white, but the yellow is very visible. With a bit of playing around, I found out that if you spray a thin layer of white or primer spray paint on them, so it is consistent the still shine through very bright. This eliminates the yellow for when they are off and keeps everything looking as neat as possible.

You can see through the lens cover a yellow tinge.



Sprayed primer



Still bright



I have had some questions about what I did with my inner lens. First time around I covered it with a translucent plastic cover to give it that adaptive xenon look, however, my version looked a little tacky to me, so I changed it.



I updated it so that if you use another projector shroud, if you cut it down enough, it can sit on top of the halogen full beam edge. In this I fitted a glass lens from the old projectors out of the Depo's. It needs holding in place, so I hot glued it into place. Once set, that shroud can be suck into place. I used some resin glue for this as it's clear and not so thick/messy. Probably a lot stronger as well as it really smelt. Haha. Also, just to mention... I used some smoke black tint film to stick on the back of the glass so it matches the outer lens. You also cannot see through it vey clearly so nothing is given away when you look in.











With that all set in place, I soldered the angel eye wires together so they light up together, and snipped the old plug off the old angel eye wiring harness, soldered the rings to that, so it was just a matter of plugging them in. All bulbs put back in, I went to test them in the car. All worked as they should! I also noticed that you can test them with a 9v square battery. That provides enough power to light them up well.

With the inner lens in place, it has a flat back so reduced the depth of where the bulb can go. A standard H7 halogen bulb is too long by about 8mm. I searched for the smallest H7 bulbs that I could find and came across these. I didn't care if they didn't project light as I needed them to 'fill a gap' and also so you can flash people when your lights are off as I haven't figured out a way of tricking the xenons into flashing when they are off. Turns out they are plenty bright enough to look at, they just don't project it, which is fine.









For a cheapo H7 LED, I fitted a canbus load resistor so I wouldn't have any errors and all would work correctly. I also did the same for the angel eyes, although I don't know if this one was necessary as I didn't try without.

If all is good and everything works, which it did for me, I married the lens back up to the body and back in the oven for the same time. I bought some butyl on a roll. If you want, even though I don't think you have to, although I wanted to be extra sure they were sealed. Apply this around the edge of the light but stretch it as you put it in so its about 3mm thick. You only need a little to add in otherwise too much and it won't seal together properly.





You can see the spring preloaded shutter for the full beam solenoid - and the cut off.



4300k HID's because - Factory spec of course. (You will also need to change from H7 bulbs to H1's).

Beam cut off...







This is just rings believe it or not









And that concludes my write up. I can confirm everything works as it should, with no errors, flickering or issues. I had a little condensation on the first day of use which I drove 130 miles in the cold and heavy rain. Once they settled and had been in for a few days or so, they no longer mist up whatever weather. (Touch wood).

I have started offering my services for anyone who would like a set or their Depo's converting. Price will vary on what you want doing, but get in touch.

Cheers,

Toby
 
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#81 ·
One of mine went about a year ago so you've done well to get this long out of them. It's time to buy yourself some halo rings mate and some butyl rubber sealant and change the rings yourself.

It's what I'm about to do soon.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#82 ·
Not having this issue with my current ones, but I'm making some custom headlights for myself and the rings I've gone for are Morimoto. They have a separate driver to the rings themselves
 
#83 ·
Dan116i said:
Not having this issue with my current ones, but I'm making some custom headlights for myself and the rings I've gone for are Morimoto. They have a separate driver to the rings themselves
Morimoto or diode dynamics are the ones to go for in my opinion. As long as you don't mind the delivery charge and potential import duty from the states.
 
#84 ·
Ant_Smiggy120D said:
Does anybody know if Toby is still active on here? I tried to pm him regarding one of my LED rings which have failed but had no joy?


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Mate. Toby and warranty don't belong in the same sentence. In his own words, "I'm a one man band so I can't offer warranty but I'll help if there's a problem, you just have to cover the postage/parts".
 
#85 ·
aj_mckay said:
Dan116i said:
Not having this issue with my current ones, but I'm making some custom headlights for myself and the rings I've gone for are Morimoto. They have a separate driver to the rings themselves
Morimoto or diode dynamics are the ones to go for in my opinion. As long as you don't mind the delivery charge and potential import duty from the states.
You don't need to go to the states. EM Tuning can get them. Based in Northampton.

Anything that The Retrofit Source can get, EM Tuning can get.

I have the first (and only, so far) COMPLETE Morimoto setup in the UK and the only set on a 1 Series so far.
 
#86 ·
Sonic1506 said:
aj_mckay said:
Dan116i said:
Not having this issue with my current ones, but I'm making some custom headlights for myself and the rings I've gone for are Morimoto. They have a separate driver to the rings themselves
Morimoto or diode dynamics are the ones to go for in my opinion. As long as you don't mind the delivery charge and potential import duty from the states.
You don't need to go to the states. EM Tuning can get them. Based in Northampton.

Anything that The Retrofit Source can get, EM Tuning can get.
True. Prices aren't much different. Just quicker delivery [emoji6]
 
#88 ·
Sonic1506 said:
aj_mckay said:
True. Prices aren't much different. Just quicker delivery [emoji6]
EM Tuning can do it next day delivery as long as he has them in stock. :thumbs:.

EM can also split OEM lights as well. As can the above poster.

[emoji1316]
 
#90 ·
Twenny said:
One of mine went about a year ago so you've done well to get this long out of them. It's time to buy yourself some halo rings mate and some butyl rubber sealant and change the rings yourself.

It's what I'm about to do soon.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This lasted less than a year mate. Just not been on here much myself tbh tried contacting Toby direct as I have his number and never heard back from him. Bit of a shame really.

Are the rings are standard size/ fitment? I don't really have the time to be messing about with them tbh flat out with work.

You'll have to let me know how you get on mate and document it. And what ring you use. If not I'll fire the standard lights back in with HID's and blind everyone with no projectors.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#91 ·
Ant_Smiggy120D said:
Twenny said:
One of mine went about a year ago so you've done well to get this long out of them. It's time to buy yourself some halo rings mate and some butyl rubber sealant and change the rings yourself.

It's what I'm about to do soon.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This lasted less than a year mate. Just not been on here much myself tbh tried contacting Toby direct as I have his number and never heard back from him. Bit of a shame really.

Are the rings are standard size/ fitment? I don't really have the time to be messing about with them tbh flat out with work.

You'll have to let me know how you get on mate and document it. And what ring you use. If not I'll fire the standard lights back in with HID's and blind everyone with no projectors.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Give me a shout it you want rid of your depos. I'll take them as they are, subject to price.
 
#92 ·
Ant_Smiggy120D said:
This lasted less than a year mate. Just not been on here much myself tbh tried contacting Toby direct as I have his number and never heard back from him. Bit of a shame really.

Are the rings are standard size/ fitment? I don't really have the time to be messing about with them tbh flat out with work.

You'll have to let me know how you get on mate and document it. And what ring you use. If not I'll fire the standard lights back in with HID's and blind everyone with no projectors.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mine didn't even last that long :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:. He used cheap **** Chinese rings and silicone sealent to put them back together as well as other issues.

The rings are 95mm and 100mm.

I got another set made up by EM Tuning, using top end Morimoto parts and couldn't be happier. Give me a shout if you want more details.
 
#94 ·
Anish1993 said:
I knew sonic would be around eventually lol i just knew.

I dont blame him for not having a warranty doe. He probably should have rehearsed it more clearly from the get go.

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Mate. I been replying to this for ages.

If you're offering a service, you should also plan for potential problems. Toby didn't and neither to Headlight Retrofits.

Toby wanted payment for replacement parts and he wouldn't offer a refund on problematic lights.
Headlight Retrofits just used to bull**** about condensation and said some coating was the problem. They wanted £500 & old lights back to fix the issue by doing a new transplant. Again, refund would not be given.

At the end of the day, if YOU Are taking payment for a service and your service is not up to scratch you should either fix the problem OR refund the money. If you aren't going to offer this, then don't offer to make lights for people OR be clear from the start. Not half way down the line when problems occur.

Avoid BOTH on all accounts. Also avoid NEM, so called Europes best. Use a proper company/proper person.
 
#95 ·
Sonic1506 said:
Ant_Smiggy120D said:
This lasted less than a year mate. Just not been on here much myself tbh tried contacting Toby direct as I have his number and never heard back from him. Bit of a shame really.

Are the rings are standard size/ fitment? I don't really have the time to be messing about with them tbh flat out with work.

You'll have to let me know how you get on mate and document it. And what ring you use. If not I'll fire the standard lights back in with HID's and blind everyone with no projectors.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mine didn't even last that long :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:. He used cheap sh*t Chinese rings and silicone sealent to put them back together as well as other issues.

The rings are 95mm and 100mm.

I got another set made up by EM Tuning, using top end Morimoto parts and couldn't be happier. Give me a shout if you want more details.
That would be brilliant mate. Think I'll have to chuck in my old lights and make time to have a go. Just time for me.

If you could let me know what rings I need to buy that would be a huge help. How are they fitted? Glued in? Appreciate the help

Ant

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#99 ·
To be fair Ant if you follow Tobys how to at the beginning of this thread it's pretty easy.

Just need to find some decent/suitable glue to stick down the new rings and then something I don't know is, once the butyl sealant is re applied do I put them back in the oven to soften it up before sticking back together? I'm jumping the gun and will worry about that when I get to it lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#100 ·
Twenny said:
To be fair Ant if you follow Tobys how to at the beginning of this thread it's pretty easy.

Just need to find some decent/suitable glue to stick down the new rings and then something I don't know is, once the butyl sealant is re applied do I put them back in the oven to soften it up before sticking back together? I'm jumping the gun and will worry about that when I get to it lol

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The rings compatible then? Wiring wise?

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