INSTALL GUIDE: European headlight installation with LED headlight bulbs and LED running light wiring

[LilPartyBox]

Oh yeah, definitely. I'm not the slightest bit worried. But they have to be technically illegal if the NA headlights have the amber reflector in the corners and the Euros don't. I can't imagine Ford just put it there to be extra safe.

I have an SVT Focus that I've owned for 12 years. I swapped the top grill out for the Euro grill which got rid of the ugly turn signals at each end of the grill. I've never been worried about it. Turn signals are in the headlights anyway if you have the HID headlight option. Cops would probably never notice.

The amber reflectors on the sides are a DOT requirement. Notice how all newer cars on the road have some form of amber visible from the side. same for the red reflector in the rear of all cars...."safety"

Back in my VW days, I ran a euro bumper once which didn't have the amber on the side and was pulled over and cited for it. There was another occasion where I ran the NA bumper with a hyper white LED and got cited for it again.

I would imagine some states are stricter than others. This was in NYC and NJ. I'm getting these lights anyway. I drove around for years in both those VWs. Just happened to be unlucky those 2 times.

 

[Chris G]

Well, gents, I'll let you know how it goes in California. [emoji6]

 

[SFP]

LED bulbs don't distribute light well in these housings. I returned mine and went for HID.

 

[CanadianGuy]

LED bulbs don't distribute light well in these housings. I returned mine and went for HID.

Thanks. So starting to look at HID options.

 

[SFP]

The retrofit source has some great stuff, for harness you can do a few different things to mitigate the DRL issue. I'd remove the DRL relay and use the LED strips for your DRL

 

[Chris G]

Thanks. So starting to look at HID options.

Take note of [MENTION=4498]OffTheWall503[/MENTION] comment a few pages back about H7 HIDs and ground shadows.

 

[OffTheWall503]

I will update the first post also, since it's hard to track posts in 30 pages!

These are the HID bulbs you need. For the rest, use the HID kit of your choice. Be sure to install with the ground wire at the 6 o'clock position.

https://www.xenonsupply.com/products/h7-standard-hid-bulbs?variant=20312787521

 

[CanadianGuy]

The retrofit source has some great stuff, for harness you can do a few different things to mitigate the DRL issue. I'd remove the DRL relay and use the LED strips for your DRL

Without splicing wires and relays this is not possible. The low beam as DRL are not a simple fuse but a bcm programming. I know it would look good with just the led strip and maybe I will consider it something to be done but for now if I get these I would not make such a major wiring modification.

 

[nemesisfool]

Seriously want to thank everyone in this thread. I order my headlights last week Monday and received them the following monday. Everything was packaged nicely with nothing broken. Install was a breeze too. Just waiting on my HID kit to arrive [emoji1]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[OffTheWall503]

Those look great! I'm glad yours arrived safely and install was easy. It's awesome to see how many people are getting these now.

 

[SFP]

I'm about to order another set just to cut open and mod lol

 

[OffTheWall503]

I just purchased a set of sockets for the star bit to (hopefully) adjust the horizontal aim. Will post updates soon.

 

[fST]

I'm about to order another set just to cut open and mod lol

I still have the set where the one lamp's housing is out of whack. I was wondering if someone on here wanted to buy them and mod them and/or try to fix them. I'm sure they can be fixed. FordPartsUK never said they wanted them back. I assume they don't want to pay to ship them back.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Okay headlight swap check list
1- Order Euro headlights
2- Order H7 bulbs (HID preferred with top ground, LED adequate, halogen must not apply)
3- Get protective film for light assemblies (maybe a slight tint)
4- Have adequate hydration (aka beer)
5- Locate tools (picks, hex driver and wiring harness extractors)

Seems to me one of the easiest upgrade I have done. Well except for the shift knob.

 

[fST]

The protective film is something I still haven't done yet. What did you get?

 

[SFP]

I still have the set where the one lamp's housing is out of whack. I was wondering if someone on here wanted to buy them and mod them and/or try to fix them. I'm sure they can be fixed. FordPartsUK never said they wanted them back. I assume they don't want to pay to ship them back.

Hmmm send me a DM! If it's just the projector inside the housing out of whack that's one thing if it's broken plastic it's another.

 

[fST]

Hmmm send me a DM! If it's just the projector inside the housing out of whack that's one thing if it's broken plastic it's another.

The only broken plastic is the tab broke off in shipping. As far as the housing, it's just out of place. I wasn't able to get it back where it should be. If you're taking them apart, it shouldn't be a problem. You can see pics of the headlights earlier in this thread or in the other one. I'll send you a PM later on tonight about them though.

 

[CanadianGuy]

The protective film is something I still haven't done yet. What did you get?

I currently got Xpel. Either the same or something different. Anything is better than nothing.

 

[CanadianGuy]

The only broken plastic is the tab broke off in shipping. As far as the housing, it's just out of place. I wasn't able to get it back where it should be. If you're taking them apart, it shouldn't be a problem. You can see pics of the headlights earlier in this thread or in the other one. I'll send you a PM later on tonight about them though.

Send me the picture as well. I don't mind tinkering to fix it.

 

[OffTheWall503]

Modified my boots today to allow a clean feed through, though my execution wasn't perfect.

We will be using the boot from the HID bulb as a sleeve for the main boot.

The idea is to cut a hole in the main boot and to slide the HID bulb boot through. Notice how there is a larger and smaller opening.

Seems simple, right? We want the larger back portion of the boot to feed through to the backside of the main boot, so that it seals and keeps out moisture/water/air. I failed and cut a hole too large. Start with a hole the size of a quarter and work your way up if it's too small. I started with almost a 50 cent piece cut.

Learn from my mistakes please! I will be ordering new boots soon to re-do it, but I hope it gives you guys an idea of what to aim for.

Some of you had asked how my wiring is done. I have everything tucked away as much as possible, for the cleanest look. The relay harness starts near the battery, then I ran it through the opening between the radiator support and front bumper for the wiring on the passenger side. It's very simple to do with the RetrofitSource harness and most of the wires are underneath the lights for a clean look. Here is what you see behind the headlights:

Passenger side

Drivers side

Now for aiming. The horizontal aiming screw is in the outside corner of the headlights. As seen here:

The bolt requires a female torx socket. This is a cheap set I picked up from Harbor Freight for less than $10. We need an E5 socket.

This is where knowing how it works is important. Good thing I'm playing guinea pig for everyone. Put the socket on a 1/4 socket wrench, 3" extension helps. Loosen (lefty) is to bring the bulb outward and tighten (righty) is to bring it inward. Keep in mind this was for the drivers side, the directions may be reversed for the passenger side.

My drivers side was the main issue, the passenger light was dead on. I aimed it using my garage door as an indicator. The green tape X marks where the cutoff step originally started. I brought it out roughly 4-5". I will play with it more after driving and see how it is, but should be a lot better. Take note that a few inches on a wall means a few feet on the road so go a little bit at a time.

As always, I hope this information helps. Please learn from my mistakes and use this information wisely.

-Matt