Gmt 900 Projector Headlight Project Writeup

[herkdriver007]

First, if you are not comfortable with cutting open your headlights and getting dirty, running the risk of losing fingers, etc, then please do not attempt this mod. I accept no responsibility for damage you may incur… and as always, wear the appropriate protective equipment!

 

 

That being said, this is a relatively easy retro-fit of a projector, as far as retro-ing goes. These little projectors are really nice and since the ends are threaded, make it simple to install and adjust as necessary.

 

 

 

Remove the factory headlamp assembly. To do this on a SILVERADO, remove the plastic radiator cover popping out the plastic rivets, then the grille assembly which has 4 10mm bolts, and 4 metal clips on the backside (I used pliers to compress the clips on the backside, then pop the assembly out).

 

 

There are a total of 4 bolts, again all 10mm. Two on top you can see, below is a pic of the 3^rd, and the 4^th is just above the bumper on the underside of the light assembly, on the side. To get to that one you need to remove the wheel well liner (or at least pull it back a bit). Again a 10mm bolt on the forward side inside the wheel well, pull back the plastic and you'll see the underside of the headlight with the aforementioned 10mm bolt. Here is a pic of the "inboard side" retainer on the headlight; driver side shown.

 

 

 

Pic of the lower tab on the "outside"…and the little ears you don't want to break!

 

 

 

I needed to put some pressure on the upper part of the assembly and push downward to pop out the light, they should not bind, but take your time so you don't break any of the plastic.

 

 

Next you'll want to open up the lights; I didn't take any pics of this really, but I did watch this video a few times. It does work, just take your time with the dremel and be gentle! Mistakes will happen, but try to minimize the damage and allot plenty of time to do this…

 

 

Part 1 of video on how to open up the headlights:

 

http://www.streetfire.net/video/clearing-a-new-body-style-silverado-headlight_731685.htm

[herkdriver007]

Okay, having opened up the lights, go ahead and use some compressed air to clean them out, and make sure to wear some CLEAN gloves, so you don't smudge the chrome pieces too much.

 

 

Next you'll want to take your dremel, with the sanding wheel on it, and open up the hole in the rear of the OEM reflector enough to fit the projector housing into it. Doesn't take much really, so do a little at a time, test fit, then trim a bit more

 

 

 

 

 

Next you'll need to remove the first lip on the backside of the reflector so the new projector housing will sit correctly with the washer and nut fastened. Be careful, you don't want to cut into the mounting surface and cause it to no longer be "square" to the light (just use the cutoff wheel at an angle, you'll be fine…)

 

 

 

 

 

As long as you can see the chrome around the hole, you're good

 

 

 

Remove this thing, either using the dremel or bend it back and forth til it breaks

 

 

 

And if you want the bi-xenon capability you'll need to drill a small hole around this area (will be hidden by the shroud) so you can run the wires out. You can also see you'll need to sand down just a bit where that metal piece just came from:

 

 

 

As you can see, I masked off the area and painted the housing, to me there was WAY too much chrome… but you can do as you wish

 

 

 

Once you mount the projector, it will look like its not "centered" because the housing itself isn't square. SO, you can either leave it as is, or dremel out to move the projector towards the center of the reflector bowl. I don't know how much you'd need to move it, but I like the off center look personally.

 

 

 

Next, thread the two washers onto the projector then put the nut on and install the bulb…

 

 

 

 

Now put the housings (without the lens installed yet) back onto the truck for testing (hookup your respective ballast/relay assemblies as necessary)

 

 

 

 

The next step is to check how level the lights are; you'll need to mark a line on the wall and then you can roll the projectors left to right to balance them, then once you're happy with where they're at, just tighten down the retaining nut on the back side. You may want to wait a bit, the housings can get a little warm! Since we're still using the stock adjustments for the up and down part, you can adjust those when you're ready. At 25' there should be a 1-2" drop in the beam height.

 

 

 

 

 

Run your bi-xenon wires thru the hole in the reflector housing, then put on your projector shroud, and remount the lights to double check how level they are (trust me, it never hurts to check then re-check).

 

 

After you've assembled the projector, you're ready to put the headlights back together with some silicone glue…

 

Here's a vid that shows how to seal them up:

 

http://www.streetfire.net/video/part-ii-clearing-nnbs-headlights_731857.htm

 

 

Here's a pic of the back of mine; I ran the bi-xenon wires thru the rubber grommet (with some silicone to seal them back up). I also mounted the ballast to the side of the headlight (again, I sealed up the two pieces with silicone, and the same for the mounting screws I used). The blue wire you see is for the bi-xenon control and is connected to the red wire, and the two black wires are the ground. I set it up this way so in the future when I'm ready to connect the bi-xenon feature it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

 

 

When they're dry, you're in the final stages; if you haven't done so, mount your ballasts and run the wires, and then you can reinstall the headlights. They go back the same way they came out, so again take your time and don't rush.

 

 

Once you're all set and lights are back in, put the grille back on, then the plastic radiator cover…

 

 

 

If you're running a relay off the battery, you can keep the DRL feature; I chose to pull the DRL fuses (32 and 34 on the box). The auto headlights still work, and you can disable the approach and exit lighting via the DIC if you like.

 

 

For those that are curious, the setup is the Morimoto Mini-Bi-Xenon setup from TheRetrofitSource.com, with H1 4300K HIDs, and Morimoto ballasts.

[elcompalaline]

Sweet write-up sir!

 

One quick question, the bi-xenon capability gives you what? Sorry, I don't know the difference from projectors so any help would be nice. Thanks.

[herkdriver007]

no prob...Bi-Xenon would be both low and high beams. there is a cutoff shield infront of the beam while no power is applied to a small solenoid, when power is applied the shield moves down and gives the "full high beam effect". So in essence, the shield is kinda like a shutter... Thats also how projectors are known for their sharp "cutoff" lines.

 

In case you're curious why the shield is on the bottom part, the lens is what inverts the image and gives that sharp appearance of the cutoff shield (the part you can see on the wall)

 

If you chose not to wire them up, they still work as low beams.

[woodruff112]

sickkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

[lsuguy]

man I reallllllllly wanna do this... but im scared

[Pumper]

Do you know if those projectors would fit in a Sierra housing?

[herkdriver007]

I dont know for sure if they would fit, however they are the smallest projectors out there...

 

LSU_Dark_Knight....just pick up some extra lights (on ebay or craigslist, etc) and try. That way you dont have to worry about messing up the ones already on your truck, and if worst case it doesnt turn out good, you can ditch the headlights and probably be able to sell the projectors.... Just a thought.

 

No pressure though ;)

[Tklei14]

Looks amazing! I would love to do this, but I kow I do not have the skill to get this done right. The car should have come with these stock.

 

Post up some more pics at night with the lights on I would love to see the cut-off line.

[jrrod2004]

Stupid question, any chance the Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit would work on a GMT800 series light or is the housing too small for this compact unit?

 

 

Side Note: I love how work computers are far behind:

 

Time to upgrade your browser

If you're reading this, you're surfing using Internet Explorer 6, an eight-year-old browser that cannot cope with the demands of the modern internet. For the best web experience, we strongly recommend upgrading to Firefox, Opera, Safari, Google Chrome, or a more recent version of Internet Explorer.

 

haha

[herkdriver007]

From what info I have concerning the Morimoto mini-xenon assemblies:

Length 136MM

Width 80MM

Lens to mounting flange 64MM

Flange to socket 72MM

 

Hope that helps you out some...IMO, they are rather small, the largest part is the lens itself at 2.5"... so I dont see why they couldnt fit into the housings

[jrrod2004]

From what info I have concerning the Morimoto mini-xenon assemblies:

Length 136MM

Width 80MM

Lens to mounting flange 64MM

Flange to socket 72MM

 

Hope that helps you out some...IMO, they are rather small, the largest part is the lens itself at 2.5"... so I dont see why they couldnt fit into the housings

 

I hate you...now I have a very good excuse to start retrofitting.

[herkdriver007]

My bad! You know you wanted some projectors anyway!!!!

 

BTW, the "stage III" only denotes the extras that come with the Mini's... the mini projectors are all the same size. So if you already have an HID setup, you probably just need the projectors and shrouds

[maxco]

Great write up! The lights look GREAT!

[jrrod2004]

My bad! You know you wanted some projectors anyway!!!!

 

BTW, the "stage III" only denotes the extras that come with the Mini's... the mini projectors are all the same size. So if you already have an HID setup, you probably just need the projectors and shrouds

 

 

I do have a setup installed already but as it says on TRS's website, this setup (mine) may not last. Can we say new project???

 

I always wanted projectors on the truck (yes even the front end of the GMT800 Silverado and how ugly it might look) for better lighting. your "crappy" (dont mean to offend) pictures prove beyond a doubt that I should have gone this route to begin with. Time to start planning for the upgrade...the search begins for a second set of OEM headlight housings that I can tear open and verify measurements but these minis should fit without a doubt.