D2S's in eBay headlights

[makenzie71]

I ordered a set of headlights off eBay thinking that while they wouldn't be great, they would work until I get around to getting a real set. Well, the lights were garbage...or, they looked great but the scatter was atrocious. They weren't safe to use as headlights and the turn/running lights weren't compatible (single filament, no running light). I don't do eBay's return policy (seller had 100% of the funds before he shipped, reverse should apply) and the seller refused to settle otherwise, so I was stuck with them.

Here's the important part...I stumbled across a thread about retrofitting a set of bi-xenon's into an ebay headlight and I though "might as well try". The D2S headlights were $64 at wrench-a-part (plus another $30 for a ballast because I burned up one of them). I was excited and thought I would make a "how to" type thread but, instead, to make a long story short, holy crap Batman do not do this on purpose. While the job was not hard and could be done with moderate skill, basic tools, and patience, the material is in no way forgiving.



The lenses are clipped onto the housings like the factory lights. The plastic is crappy and brittle. Half of them broke. The lenses are not sealed in with a gasket. They're sealed in with a soft silicone compound which complicated reassembly.



And also that. The reflector assembly is also thin, brittle, weak plastic. And the "ball retainers" for the adjusters and pivot are also made out of cheap, brittle plastic. And they glued the retainers closed so the balls don't slip out without breaking the retainers. All the retainers broke and required some kind of similar ghetto repair. These lights are half held together with superglue and epoxy now. I'm pretty sure they'll hold, but not what I had in mind.

In the end, though, I got great lights and I think they look good.



The rings are actually white, not blue. I got good distance and a nice pattern now. I like them. But I'll still be looking for a real pair. Basically now I have nicely upgraded $100 headlights that I've invested nearly $250 in.

Seriously, not worth doing on purpose.

[geargrinder]

Good info, I hate projects that go like that, but you sacrificed your time so others won't make the mistake hopefully!

[nikh23]

Any reason you didn’t just rebuild the headlights you picked up from the yard? Or were they just too far gone?


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[makenzie71]

The set I got the d2s’s from were 7 series lights.