JDM HID Headlight Conversion Walkthrough

Materials

 

• JB Weld
  
• Aluminum Foil
  
• Binder Clips
  
• Pliers and/or Dremel
  

Steps

 

1. Remove squirrel hole shield
   
2. Mock it up on opposite side
   
3. Viewed parallel with edge of squirrel shield, it should meet top edge of squirrel hole
   
4. Use JB Weld to affix. Once affixed...
   
5. Mock up aluminum foil to fill remaining hole between top of squirrel shield and main shield
   
6. Use JB Weld and binder clips to affix
   

Here's a little contribution back to the forum after being a member for such a long time. I decided I didn't want to eliminate the squirrel spotters because, as tysparks81 mentioned, their purpose is to illuminate road signs (link).

 

When you put the JDM (left) and USDM (right) shields next to each other, you can see the USDM also has squirrel spotters. This was the main reason I decided to keep it. The other difference is the JDM shields also have curvatures where the USDM doesn't. The USDM shield is smaller than the JDM shield, which complicates swapping into the JDM housing. The pins do not match up and fall slightly outside of the USDM shield. It's still possible but I just decided to retain the JDM shield.

 

 

To begin, I removed the squirrel hole shield by prying it off with a pair of pliers. This is a clumsy method as it bends the squirrel shield as well as the rest of the shield - you may choose to use a dremel. I was able to do it with without distorting too much of everything. After removing the squirrel shield, I mocked it up on the other side.

 

The squirrel shield is supposed to maintain a 45 degree angle from the rest of the shield. The top of the squirrel shield is supposed to meet the top of the squirrel hole. Given the curvature of the shields, this is impossible once you flip the squirrel shield to the other side. To circumvent this problem, I decided I could use a piece of foil to cover the gap (credit to eekay).

 

 

The light that will be bouncing through the squirrel hole originates from somewhere in the lower half of the reflector housing (see red line in photo above - illustration purposes only). If you place the squirrel shield too high, light from the HID will escape directly through the hole, thus blinding drivers. If the shield is placed too low, it will end up blocking the light from exiting the squirrel hole.

 

 

 

My solution was a compromise given the curvature of the shields. When looking at the squirrel shield squarely (parallel, in line with the angled edge of the squirrel shield), the shield should line up with the top edge of the squirrel hole [see red line in photo above]. Because of the curvature, the squirrel shield will rise slightly above the top of the center of the squirrel hole and go below the left and right corners of the squirrel hole.

 

This geometry will deviate slightly from the JDM OEM specs because of the curvature. The result is the angle of the light will not be as high. This was an acceptable compromise to me because I didn't want to try to recreate the correct curvature on the main shield. The following photo shows the gap if you look at the squirrel hole perpendicular to the main shield.

 

 

Once I mocked up a position I was happy with, I used JB weld to attach it. As you can see in the photo above, a gap remains between the squirrel shield and main shield. If this is not covered it will blind oncoming traffic.

 

I decided to go with aluminum foil. The goal is to extend the squirrel shield so it meets the surface of the main shield, without going above (and thus disturbing) the main shield's cutoff line. I recommend folding a piece of foil and mocking it up again before using JB Weld to permanently affix it. Once you are happy with the location, you can use small binder clips to hold it in place while it cures.

 

 

Below are photos of the final product. It's not pretty from the back given my crude JB Weld/Aluminum skills, but it fulfills its function. Moreover, it looks clean from the front where you can see the aluminum foil doing its job.

 

 

 

Ah, I love the smell of engineering! Thank you for this!

Great addition enlight! I was to lazy to document mines as I was rushing. I ended up using the inside of a soda can and hitting it with a polisher before jb welding it to the shields. You can also use a rivets to fasten Fasten the shields back on.

Thanks for all these precious information ! Will do these modification this week-end ! Im just debating if im good enough to build my own little squirrel shield instead of using the one from my usdm headlight since they look quite good and would probably be better if i sold them .

Thanks for all these precious information ! Will do these modification this week-end ! Im just debating if im good enough to build my own little squirrel shield instead of using the one from my usdm headlight since they look quite good and would probably be better if i sold them .

 

It’s not hard at all. When you get it all apart and reference all the info here you’ll be able to see what’s going on. Shameless plug I make plug and play harnesses that work with our cars. But I’m all for learning and doing it themselves

My JDM headlights developed a lot of internal crazing that can't be polished out. Is there any resource for restoring or replacing the lenses?

 

I don't really want to take a gamble on another set of headlights from overseas just to find out that they're optically subpar.

For all the diy people, if you don't follow this channel, you should. Here is something you can try

 

 

My JDM headlights developed a lot of internal crazing that can't be polished out. Is there any resource for restoring or replacing the lenses?

 

I don't really want to take a gamble on another set of headlights from overseas just to find out that they're optically subpar.

Woops. I saw that yours is internal. Sorry.

It’s not hard at all. When you get it all apart and reference all the info here you’ll be able to see what’s going on. Shameless plug I make plug and play harnesses that work with our cars. But I’m all for learning and doing it themselves

 

Thanks for the info ! I was lucky enough , when i bought my jdm front clip , the headlight wiring was still there so i made my own harness easy