Snowbound Customs Quad LED Projector Headlight Retrofit Build

[fourfive]

Project light upgrade is d u n.

I initially planned on doing the traditional projector retrofit (single projector in each housing) years ago but recently opted for quad projectors (2 projectors in each housing) for 3 reasons:

1. I didn't know a kit specifically for 3rd gen headlight housings existed until I saw Snowbound's video. The video shows the build with HID bulbs but LEDs are now available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=lf-K6iH8OR3LoDaJ&v=Unp3Lq6NS5g&feature=youtu.be

2. Other than factory fog lights, I don't have additional accessory lighting which was why I was ok with paying extra for quads & I wanted to maximize my light output without blinding other drivers. Kind of a 2 for 1 deal in my head.

3. Looks. I think the quads have a better look.

The trade offs for doing a quads over the traditional retrofit build are that it costs about twice as much, for obvious reasons since quads require 4 projectors instead of 2 & the build process is much more involved but Snowbound's kit makes this project very doable.

One thing I noticed after getting the new quad headlights installed & aimed properly was that the lenses were noticeably misaligned with the grill & corner lights. I was told by Snowbound that this was normal especially with retrofits because of how the headlights for 3rd gens are designed. I'm not sure if the misalignment was more due to the fact that I'm using an aftermarket headlight housing or if this was also an issue with oem housings. My guess is that it's likely more common with aftermarket because I didn't notice it with my oem headlights BUT I also never went through the full FSM guidelines for aiming them. So it's possible that if I went through the same procedure, my oem lenses could have been misaligned also. Either way it's not a big deal, just something I noticed.

Speaking of headlight housings, as of my recent email exchange with Snowbound, Casey confirmed that his kit worked with Depot & TYC housings but wasn't completely certain that it would work with oem. I do plan on buying his kit again for my other stock 01 4runner & will see how it works with factory housings.

Important to mention that [MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] did 90% of this build. Hombre's significantly more surgical than me when it comes to precision work & I very much appreciated him taking lead on this project. If you've seen his previous videos with [MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION] & [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION], you know what I'm talking about. My part consisted of popping off the lenses, painting them black, zip tying some stuff & drinking beer.


Parts & Tools:
1. Snowbound's quad projector kit:

Quad Projector Headlight Conversion DIY Kit (96-02 4Runner)
– Snowbound Customs


2. Depot headlights (or TYC & maybe oem)
3. 2-3/4 inch hole saw

4. JB quick &/or JB weld original (I used both)

5. Syringes (optional) for applying JB weld

6. Headlight butyl sealant (optional): Not needed if using new housings but would recommend if using old housings.

7. 3m scuffing paste & gray scuff pad (optional): 3m scuffing paste made the cleaning & sanding step (if stripping the chrome to paint) faster.

8. Paint (optional): Duplicolor adhesion promoter, black flexible primer & SEM Trim Black

9. Panel Clip pliers

 

[fourfive]

We broke things down into 2 nights to allow JB weld & paint to cure.

Night 1:
1. Disassemble headlight assembly.

2. Bake headlight at 250°F for 10 min to loosen up glue & remove glass lens.
3. Once butyl has cooled, tape & 3m scuffing paste + gray 3m scuff pad to prep for paint.

4. Attach drill alignment holder with clear tape to back of housing.

5. Use 2 3/4 inch hole saw to cut 2 holes.

6. Test fit projector holder to make sure it is centered & clicks in place (per video) but mine did not click in place. Another difference was the video said the flat back of the projector holder should fit flush with the back of TYC housings & should slightly protrude with Depot housings (housings I used) but mine were flush. I don't think it matters as long as it is even.

[MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] had a good idea of applying JB weld to the inner edges of the housing & outter edges of the projector holders before press fitting the projector holders into the housings to improve bonding strength. JB kwik was used for that part.

Once projector holders are tacked in place (JB kwik), test fit projectors in projector holder for clearance on housing.

Once test fit is confirmed, JB weld projector holder into housing.

His brother in law, Matt, also had a good idea of drilling a small 1/8 hole on back of the projector holder to screw on a flat piece of stock that would keep the flat back of the projector holder flush against the back of the headlight housing during the JB welding/curing process. Worked great to reduce the risk of things getting misaligned while it cured & the hole was filled with JB kwik after.

Cleaned with isopropyl alcohol & applied 2 coats of adhesion promoter & 3 coats of black flexible primer. Black primer isn't necessary with the adhesion promoter but I try to use the same color primer as the topcoat in case the topcoat starts to delaminate. An easy thing for me because almost everything I paint is black.

Topcoat with 4 coats of SEM Trim Black.

Used a heat gun & low temp oven (150°F) to speed things up.

Night 2:
1. Test fit shrouds & trim.
2. Finish installing guts.
3. Confirm rotational alignment for cutoff.
3. Run wires.

 

[fourfive]

Coming from stock headlights, the light output has been amazing after getting everything aimed properly. No joke, I honestly thought my eyes/night vision was going downhill, which they probably still are but not as bad as I thought after getting these lights installed. What a difference.

Very happy with the outcome. Side by side shot with [MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] 4runner with traditional projectors. My lights, left side, haven't been fully aimed yet.

FSM page with headlight aiming procedure.

 

[2TH4IST]

Nice write up! I was eyeing the quads, they look great! Yes light output is amazing making the step up from stock to these. We can finally see at night! If you want DOT approved fog lights that work, look at rigid industries dot fogs and baja designs sae squadrons. They are amazing.

 

[Ed_C]

Finally, someone here did that quad retro. And your cutoffs are straighter than Ziggys LOL Pretty smart idea, looks stealthier than the "Ruminsport" projector + reflector headlights from years ago. Simpler to wire too I bet, there's really no need for a relay harness since those LED drivers don't draw much current and all you need are diodes to keep the LEDs on during highbeams.

One thing I noticed after getting the new quad headlights installed & aimed properly was that the lenses were noticeably misaligned with the grill & corner lights. I was told by Snowbound that this was normal especially with retrofits because of how the headlights for 3rd gens are designed. I'm not sure if the misalignment was more due to the fact that I'm using an aftermarket headlight housing or if this was also an issue with oem housings. My guess is that it's likely more common with aftermarket because I didn't notice it with my oem headlights BUT I also never went through the full FSM guidelines for aiming them. So it's possible that if I went through the same procedure, my oem lenses could have been misaligned also.

That's the nature of aftermarket headlights, especially ones that shift the whole housing when aiming, and even with OEMs they really won't sit flush when aiming them on a lifted application. Hilux Surf 180 headlights have "fixed" housings while the actual reflector moves inside it, so they sit flush no matter what.

When I did my traditional single-projector retro I mounted the headlights on without the external lenses, trying my best to ensure they're flush while I adjusted the projectors' position. While they didn't sit flush like stock they weren't as off as yours.

What Casey should do is mount an OEM headlight on a jig and mark the beam cutoffs against a wall about 25 feet away as a baseline (because the aftermarkets' cutoffs are generally lousy), then mount a aftermarket housing in that jig and fine-tune his projector holder design until the projectors line up like the OEM's cutoff. Custom Automotive Lighting Product & Service Specialists – Lightwerkz Global Inc did this method on my Tundra's retro: mounted my new OEM headlights on a jig, marked the cutoffs against a wall, then adjusted the projectors until the cutoffs were the same as the OEM halogen pattern before finally mounting them for good. Like the 3rd-gen 4Runners the 00-04 Tundras moved the whole headlight when aiming, when I got the retrofitted headlights back they sat pretty much just as flush as my original halogens.

Does he offer the kit minus projectors? Sanvi (Also sold in the US under the Auxbeam brand) has a version of those S8 projectors that have an additional high-powered LED emitter for the highbeam Sanvi Auto Lighting Factory 2.5 Inch S8L Direct Led Projector Lens Headlight 35w 45w 6000k Plug Play Nondestructive Automotive Lamp Retrofit Kits Sanvi Hot Sale High Quality Super Bright LED Headlight 2.5 Inch 3 Inch Projector Lens Headlight, Laser Headlight Automotive Lighting System. I personally prefer warmer OEM HID kind of color and would get the 4300K version 818 Retrofits sells

 

[phattyduck]

Nice write up! I was eyeing the quads, they look great! Yes light output is amazing making the step up from stock to these. We can finally see at night! If you want DOT approved fog lights that work, look at rigid industries dot fogs and baja designs sae squadrons. They are amazing.

I used to have Rigid DOT LED fogs (~5+ years old now) - the lenses had a delamination (likely the UV coating coming off) and they interfered with my ham radio VHF band even with RF filtering (chokes). The current gen Baja Designs DOT fogs are great, with a really nice cutoff, but I can't comment on longevity. They have only been on 4Runner for <1 year.

I also wired my OEM fog light wiring to turn on with parking lights instead of low beams, so they can stay on with high beams too or be run alone without the headlights.

My headlights are still stock (well, Depo replacements) with a harness... I have been wanting to do a retrofit.

-Charlie

 

[Twisted Sid]

I did a retrofit and ran into the similar aiming issue you have. I have my headlights aimed pretty well but the hood lip actually touches the headlight glass when closed and the grill is way off. The only solution I can come up with is to slot the headlight brackets to move the whole light assembly down a few mm. And since my grill is held in by zip ties, i am going to use spacers to shim it out to matxh the headlights. I haven't done it yet because I'm being lazy and the 4runner is a secondary vehicle now.

 

[fourfive]

Finally, someone here did that quad retro. And your cutoffs are straighter than Ziggys LOL Pretty smart idea, looks stealthier than the "Ruminsport" projector + reflector headlights from years ago. Simpler to wire too I bet, there's really no need for a relay harness since those LED drivers don't draw much current and all you need are diodes to keep the LEDs on during highbeams.

That's the nature of aftermarket headlights, especially ones that shift the whole housing when aiming, and even with OEMs they really won't sit flush when aiming them on a lifted application. Hilux Surf 180 headlights have "fixed" housings while the actual reflector moves inside it, so they sit flush no matter what.

When I did my traditional single-projector retro I mounted the headlights on without the external lenses, trying my best to ensure they're flush while I adjusted the projectors' position. While they didn't sit flush like stock they weren't as off as yours.

What Casey should do is mount an OEM headlight on a jig and mark the beam cutoffs against a wall about 25 feet away as a baseline (because the aftermarkets' cutoffs are generally lousy), then mount a aftermarket housing in that jig and fine-tune his projector holder design until the projectors line up like the OEM's cutoff. Custom Automotive Lighting Product & Service Specialists – Lightwerkz Global Inc did this method on my Tundra's retro: mounted my new OEM headlights on a jig, marked the cutoffs against a wall, then adjusted the projectors until the cutoffs were the same as the OEM halogen pattern before finally mounting them for good. Like the 3rd-gen 4Runners the 00-04 Tundras moved the whole headlight when aiming, when I got the retrofitted headlights back they sat pretty much just as flush as my original halogens.

Does he offer the kit minus projectors? Sanvi (Also sold in the US under the Auxbeam brand) has a version of those S8 projectors that have an additional high-powered LED emitter for the highbeam Sanvi Auto Lighting Factory 2.5 Inch S8L Direct Led Projector Lens Headlight 35w 45w 6000k Plug Play Nondestructive Automotive Lamp Retrofit Kits Sanvi Hot Sale High Quality Super Bright LED Headlight 2.5 Inch 3 Inch Projector Lens Headlight, Laser Headlight Automotive Lighting System. I personally prefer warmer OEM HID kind of color and would get the 4300K version 818 Retrofits sells

Interesting point about using a jig to mount the oem headlights & using it to fine tune the aftermarket lights. I assumed the aftermarket housings likely played a role in the misalignment & the fact that the projector holder has to be glued in place also probably introduced some variability in how things aligned.

You're right, wiring seemed much simpler than his HID kit & was pretty straightforward with his new LED kit since everything was pretty much plug & play.

I asked Casey if he offered his kit without the projectors. The short answer was yes but he said he would have to be contacted for pricing & would need the specific dimensions of the 2.5 inch projectors that are going to be used so he can input it into his CAD model to see if it'll work because of the already tight tolerances. He said the base of some 2.5 inch projectors might be too large or the projector itself might be too long. It sounded like he did a good bit of testing with different LED projectors to see what could be squeezed into our housings & I think what he is currently offering checks the boxes for what will work with his kit.

What took me so long to finally do a projector retrofit was that I wasn't sure how the reliability would be because if 1 or more projectors failed, I knew it wouldn't be as easy as changing out a bulb but the need for better lighting won. Time will tell & hopefully these will last because I'd hate for [MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] to have to do 90% of the work all over again if these were to fail ;P

 

[fourfive]

My headlights are still stock (well, Depo replacements) with a harness... I have been wanting to do a retrofit.

Your eyes will thank you once you do.

 

[Ed_C]

I asked Casey if he offered his kit without the projectors. The short answer was yes but he said he would have to be contacted for pricing & would need the specific dimensions of the 2.5 inch projectors that are going to be used so he can input it into his CAD model to see if it'll work because of the already tight tolerances. He said the base of some 2.5 inch projectors might be too large or the projector itself might be too long. It sounded like he did a good bit of testing with different LED projectors to see what could be squeezed into our housings & I think what he is currently offering checks the boxes for what will work with his kit.

I just realized the "L" versions of the S8s he uses do have an extra heatsink above the projector bowl for the additional highbeam emitter, but otherwise the same projectors dimensionally. So he'd definitely have to modify the existing design to clear the heatsinks, or the end user doing something drastic like cutting notches in the holder to clear the heatsinks :wow:

 

[Twisted Sid]

Does your high beam indicator work? If so, what was used for that?
Mine has been inop since the retrofit and because of that my fog lights are kinda screwy too

 

[Ed_C]

Does your high beam indicator work? If so, what was used for that?
Mine has been inop since the retrofit and because of that my fog lights are kinda screwy too

How did you wire them harness-wise? If I recall my highbeam indicator worked with my retro. I plugged the highbeam solenoids directly to the OEM wiring so there was a true resistive load in the circuit. I didn't have fogs, rewired the OEM circuit to turn on only with highs to power a hidden LED light bar for extra highbeams

 

[fourfive]

Does your high beam indicator work? If so, what was used for that?
Mine has been inop since the retrofit and because of that my fog lights are kinda screwy too

Yes the high beam indicator on the dash works, lights up as it should. I thought it wasn't going to work also but for whatever reason it has been working.

 

[fourfive]

Kinda curious why it works with his kit.

 

[JZiggy]

This was an awesome project! Too bad Timmy wasn't here to make a video out of it

I think my projectors may have "settled" a bit in the housings, rotating the cutoff out of horizontal. It has been like 4 years!

 

[phattyduck]

Does your high beam indicator work? If so, what was used for that?
Mine has been inop since the retrofit and because of that my fog lights are kinda screwy too

I'm not who you are talking too... but you can fix this one fairly easily - especially if you have a leftover stock H4 connector (with relay harness). You can get a set of H4 "CANBUS" load resistors that plug into a stock connector. The stock high beam indicator runs through the low beam filament and will not light up unless there is a fairly low resistance there. A relay coil won't cut it... I run the resistors on just the low beam connection and removed the high-beam load resistors, riveted them to an aluminum bar and bolted down near the headlight to keep it from bouncing around in the the engine bay.

-Charlie

 

[Ed_C]

Yes the high beam indicator on the dash works, lights up as it should. I thought it wasn't going to work also but for whatever reason it has been working.

Kinda curious why it works with his kit.

The harness he included probably does connect the highbeam solenoids directly to the OEM highbeam circuit so there's an actual load. The solenoids don't draw as much current (even two solenoids per headlight) as halogen highbeams so there's no need to use relays. A small 9-volt battery can even power them, even TRS (parent company of Morimoto and several other automotive lighting brands) suggested cycling their cheaper H1 projector solenoids before installation.

 

[phattyduck]

The harness he included probably does connect the highbeam solenoids directly to the OEM highbeam circuit so there's an actual load.

High beam indicator works through the LOW BEAM filament/load, not the high beam filament/load. What matters is what you have loading the low-beam part of the circuit.

-Charlie

 

[Ed_C]

Odd, could've sworn my indicator worked...no longer have the 4Runner so I can't verify. I also did some (reversible) rewiring of the DRL circuit to keep the lowbeams on with the highbeams so that may have had something to do with it

 

[that3rdgen]

Where does the large 2-pin connector connect to? it doesn't look like it would connect to the harness. I watched the video, but im still semi confused. do you not use all the connectors on the harness?