Hella HID DOT compliant

[bigB]

SO...:explode: my local authorities insist that all my lights meet North American compliance. Unfortunately JIS and E-code fail. They must all meet DOT/SAE North American Standard.

[bigB]

a cardboard template, scrap aluminum sheet, acrylic surplus+yellow vinyl, DOT compliant 90mm 55watt 4300k Hella projector HIDs, LED daytime running lights, etc. =



ps.I had to add DOT tails/reverse/and plate lights too!

Rear is not to lovely, but I'm happy with the upgrades to the front.
Still a forced issue.

[TADO]

great solution! :D
have you not been able to have it on the road before changing the lights? or were you advised about them while it was on the road?

[bigB]

Thanks Tado. :)
I've been driving it for 3 years, but lately the authorities here are really cracking down on us (RHD in a LHD country). Luckily no copper has stopped me to check my lights.

I've also had to change my seat-belts and tires!

Authorities here hate RHD and are trying to stop the importation because North American auto makers are lobbying the government and saying that they are loosing sales.

[Obsessive]

Good work.
That looks like quite a major undertaking. I thought I was going hard by fitting LED daylight running lights inside my headlamps but you've just taken it to a whole new level!

[bigB]

Nothing major, just lots of tinkering. I had to switch, so I figured I should upgrade.
I like your Daytime Running Lamps. They help a lot to be seen for safety and are mandatory here.
I used those leds to light up under the hood.
ps... the Hellas are a decent projector. Bright with crisp cut-offs.

[Obsessive]

Nothing major, just lots of tinkering. I had to switch, so I figured I should upgrade.
I like your Daytime Running Lamps. They help a lot to be seen for safety and are mandatory here.
I used those leds to light up under the hood.
ps... the Hellas are a decent projector. Bright with crisp cut-offs.

Very cool hood lamp... you're me more silly ideas now :D

The Daylight running lights have now been modified to dim by about 50% when the dipped beam is on and to go back to full brightness with the main beam. Just a relay and resistor used.

I've also put two 10mm white LED's in to light up the glove box, switched with a magnetic reed switch, I'll find the time to take some photos. Works a treat

[bigB]

LEDs are nice. 6x8=48 led panels x2 mounted for floor/entrance lighting

[TADO]

very nice! your dash LED's look better than mine too! i just switched the bulbs over, have you done something else to spread the light around better?

[bigB]

No Tado, I just replace the bulbs with leds. Red does seem much brighter than blue though.

[Obsessive]

No Tado, I just replace the bulbs with leds. Red does seem much brighter than blue though.

So have you mixed the LED colours to get that effect? The red certainly looks very effective.

[TADO]

ive got white in mine and yeah, the red does seem brighter! :cool:

[Obsessive]

It's on the to do list. Just got to decide what'll look best. I've already put an LED in with the park brake bulb so it flashes red when the immobiliser is armed (Stole that idea from a Lotus!)

Here's a really poor photo of my glove box lit up! Looks much better in the flesh and I've simply used a magnetic switch to turn it on/off.

[steveinjapan]

LEDs are nice. 6x8=48 led panels x2 mounted for floor/entrance lighting

I can generally find where to put my feet, but a light on the ignition switch for the key would be very sweet. But where to mount it?

[Obsessive]

I can generally find where to put my feet, but a light on the ignition switch for the key would be very sweet. But where to mount it?

That could be possible. The Ignition has a rubber ring between the barrel and the trim. Maybe some other Honda's have an Illuminated ring that could be taxed?

[TADO]

is the inside of your box......... FURRY?! :p
very good. :D

[Obsessive]

is the inside of your box......... FURRY?! :p
very good. :D
Well spotted!

I took it apart to fit a magnet inside the catch area an thought "Why not?" I had material left over from the dash/door re-trim.
Should help dead'n the sound of anything rattling around inside it.

[Obsessive]

No Tado, I just replace the bulbs with leds. Red does seem much brighter than blue though.

Agreed, red does work much better than blue for the instrument cluster.

I put in a white LED for the fuel/temp gauge. The heater controls only take two bulbs so now have blue and white. They look much sharper then they used to.

I've also changed the stop/tail,park lights and number plate bulbs to LED's. I no longer notice my tacho dip when I turn the lights on :)

[steveinjapan]

Do you happen to have the numbers handy for the stop, tail, park and number plate lights?

[bigB]

I've also changed the stop/tail,park lights and number plate bulbs to LED's. I no longer notice my tacho dip when I turn the lights on :)

Maybe try the 35watt HIDs also to help with that. 3 times as bright as the 55w incandescent h4h.

http://page15.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t202316704

[Obsessive]

Do you happen to have the numbers handy for the stop, tail, park and number plate lights?

Stop/Tail Lights are the standard 1157 Bayonet Type. I ended up going for 20 Super Bright Flux LED's which do the job fantastically.

The Park Lights are T10 Bulbs as is the number plate.

I went for 13 LED T10 bulbs for the park lights. Note: There is a grommet you can remove in the wheel arch to get easy access. (It took me a while to figure that one out!!!!)

For the Number plate bulb I used a 9 LED T10 (but you could probably get away with less).

[Obsessive]

Maybe try the 35watt HIDs also to help with that. 3 times as bright as the 55w incandescent h4h.

http://page15.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t202316704

Fantastic, The elusive H4h HID bulb. About as easy to find as rocking horse poo!

[steveinjapan]

Stop/Tail Lights are the standard 1157 Bayonet Type. I ended up going for 20 Super Bright Flux LED's which do the job fantastically.

The Park Lights are T10 Bulbs as is the number plate.

I went for 13 LED T10 bulbs for the park lights. Note: There is a grommet you can remove in the wheel arch to get easy access. (It took me a while to figure that one out!!!!)

For the Number plate bulb I used a 9 LED T10 (but you could probably get away with less).

Thanks! I was looking at various assortments sold on Yahoo.jp -- most include backup lights but not stop/tail lights. I think bright backups are a good idea too but wasn't sure if they make the LED replacement for the 1157. Now I'll go look around in the shops.

Steve

[steveinjapan]

Question: the regular 1157 bulb has a 5-watt and a 27-watt filament, so the brake light flashes much brighter than the running light. Do the 1157-replacement LEDs also do this?

(Coincidentally on a nice ride back from the beach today I had to jam on the brakes hard to avoid hitting a car in front of me with only one dim brake light.)

[Obsessive]

Question: the regular 1157 bulb has a 5-watt and a 27-watt filament, so the brake light flashes much brighter than the running light. Do the 1157-replacement LEDs also do this?

Fair question, I had the same concerns before I changed the bulbs. Yes they do shine brighter with the brake applied.

My tail/brake lights are about the same brightness as the original bulbs. They are certainly more red. The spoiler brake light is still the factory set up so should give you a good comparison. Number plate is now much brighter as you can see.

[Obsessive]

Just went outside to swap one over. Left is factory bulb. right is LED bulb.

[steveinjapan]

Thanks for the info and photos. Now, one important question (which I would not have thought of until one EBay ad mentioned it) --- are you using red or white LED bulbs for the brake/stop? The ad said you should use red behind a red lens. That makes sense, but so does white.....

[Obsessive]

Thanks for the info and photos. Now, one important question (which I would not have thought of until one EBay ad mentioned it) --- are you using red or white LED bulbs for the brake/stop? The ad said you should use red behind a red lens. That makes sense, but so does white.....

I went with the red ones and am very happy with them. I see no reason why the white ones wouldn't work, but felt the red ones would be a safer bet.

[steveinjapan]

Great - I just sent a mail to an online shop that has all of the LEDs instead of shopping around, and am waiting for a price.

Next - headlamps.

[Obsessive]

Cool, I think I'll have to add some H4h HID bulbs to my shopping list soon.

Remember that the LED bulbs are directional when you come to fit them. I found it rather amusing when all 4 of my dash ones were the wrong way on my 1st attempt! What are the bloody odds on that :rolleyes:

[bigB]

Just a note... If you go with the LED signal lights you will need an "electronic flasher" or some resistor loads as they will flash too fast.

[steveinjapan]

Just a note... If you go with the LED signal lights you will need an "electronic flasher" or some resistor loads as they will flash too fast.

I was planning to not do the flashers for that reason.

Re: headlamps - I don't especially want to go with HIDs, so is there some source for the 702K halogen bulbs? Are they the same as H4H??? I could use a bit more light.

[maiku]

according to bulbs I bought in japan from autobacs, 702k are the same as H4H

[steveinjapan]

Thanks - I will grab some bright white H4H bulbs today. Is there any trick to replacing them? I assume the alignment remains as-is.

[maiku]

No trick. Basically, there's a metal hinge that goes behind the bulb. You push inward, then downward and the hinge comes out. Then replace the bulb. There's only one way it will fit.

[steveinjapan]

No trick. Basically, there's a metal hinge that goes behind the bulb. You push inward, then downward and the hinge comes out. Then replace the bulb. There's only one way it will fit.

Easy - once you know how. Thanks. I got some PIAA Xtreme White bulbs, and I'm eager to see how they go tonite in the rain. At double the price of H4's I hope they will be good!). LEDs are ordered for tail/stop and front marker. I'll forgo the license light, just cleaned the soot out of the lens.

Steve

[steveinjapan]

New bulbs make the difference between my lenses stick out like a sore thumb.

There was a thread about using Pikal metal polish on the rear top window. Has anyone ever tried it as a plastic lens polishing compound? I know there are loads of special ones on the market but since I have some Pikal I thought I'd give it a try.

[TADO]

i had the PIAA's in my old lights before they got trashed - they were great! ive not got round to replacing them yet but i've been meaning to get round to it.
i used meguirs plastic-X polish on my old lights and it brought them up a treat!

[steveinjapan]

I think Pikal/Brasso is the same as Meguiars and other polishing compounds, plus some oxide-reducing chemical that makes the rags stink, but it works just fine on plastic. Brilliant! Will do my other car tomorrow.

Steve

[steveinjapan]

I installed T10 LED front parking lamps and red 24-LED 1157 replacements for the stop/tail. Granted my old bulbs looked pretty used up, but the difference is amazing.

I can provide the contact for an excellent LED supplier in Taiwan if anyone desires it.

[Obsessive]

Sweet, I assume you found the grommet in the front wheel arch to access the park light bulbs then! I've been really happy with my ones, which look much better than the photos really suggest.

[steveinjapan]

Yep, piece of cake. Even had the weird plastic toolkit tool that I couldn't figure out until I looked in the owners book, to twist the socket.

The LEDs actually cast a usable white forward beam about 6 feet. Thanks for the hints. Total cost of the 4 LED bulbs was US$33 by the way.

[steveinjapan]

No Tado, I just replace the bulbs with leds. Red does seem much brighter than blue though.

a few questions:
1. How do I open the instrument cluster to get at the bulbs?
2. What is the spec for the LED replacements... are they standard T10 or something else?
3. How many bulbs does the speedo take? I think one of mine is burned out, but in the picture it looks like you only have one, on the left side.

Thanks,
Steve

[Obsessive]

a few questions:
1. How do I open the instrument cluster to get at the bulbs?
2. What is the spec for the LED replacements... are they standard T10 or something else?
3. How many bulbs does the speedo take? I think one of mine is burned out, but in the picture it looks like you only have one, on the left side.

Thanks,
Steve

Hi Steve,

To open the cluster you'll need to remove it.

1st off you'll need to remove the steering column trim, then you'll be able to access 2 or 3 screws that hold the cluster to it, there is also one on the top under the shroud.

If you follow the loom down then it will unplug just right of the steering column.

Now you have the cluster out you'll find 4 hexagonal bolts on the back which will allow you to open it up.

Bulbs are T5 type. I've forgotten how many there are! Maybe 5 or 6?

Remember to plug it in and test before putting it back together as LED bulbs will need to be the right way round.

I also changed the bulbs in my heater display (also T5 bulbs) I went with one white and one blue. :D

[steveinjapan]

Hi again,

I only found one T5 bulb for dial illumination, fortunately it was the one that was burned out and I replaced it with a red LED T5. Works fine, but that's as far as I got.

Most of the other bulbs for general instrument illumination say 'toshiba V2" on the gray bayonet part, and the actual glass bulbs don't seem to come out of the bayonet easily. Were you able to get them out and actually replace them with the T5 LEDs? I've got 4 more red T5 LEDs and I'd love to use them.....

[Obsessive]

Hi Steve,

They were rather tight from memory, but they still come out.

Just to confirm we're on the same page I've attached a page from the electric PDF.

There should be 5 bulbs for the illumination. (I think!) The others are simply the warning lights. Ignore these and the Hazard bulbs.

Think the ones marked 1.4 are the babies. Four in a row middle height and one centre top :D (Other 1.4 will be high beam)

[steveinjapan]

Same page, all right.

The ones in the pic that say 1.4W long (in katakana), are the T5. The ones that say just 1.4W are the Toshiba V-2. I don't want to change out the other 4 T5s because they are the turn indicators, the high beam,and one of the warning lights.

Anyone remember how or if those little V-2s are made?

[steveinjapan]

Apparently there is a separate twist-lock base that will accommodate the T5 (#74) LED bulbs. I found a source in the US for them, very cheap. In theory the combination will replace the Toshiba V-2 original bulbs.

Is that what you used, by chance? :help:

[Obsessive]

Apparently there is a separate twist-lock base that will accommodate the T5 (#74) LED bulbs. I found a source in the US for them, very cheap. In theory the combination will replace the Toshiba V-2 original bulbs.

Is that what you used, by chance? :help:

From memory the T5 LED simply fitted in to the twist lock base the bulb pulled out from. I'll see if I can take it apart in the morning and confirm (Maybe take a photo).

[steveinjapan]

From memory the T5 LED simply fitted in to the twist lock base the bulb pulled out from. I'll see if I can take it apart in the morning and confirm (Maybe take a photo).

Thanks, but don't bother if it's any trouble (I had some cursey-time getting the bottom column trim piece back in place, but that's irrelevant). I've ordered the little sockets and will just wait until they come before opening it again.