HID retofit melting problems

[Accord281]

Hey guys! I haven't been active in a while but I figured I would pop on and ask for a little advice. I did some thorough searching and didn't find what I needed...

So I did a retrofit last fall. I had to cut a notch out of the black housing to get them to fit, but they were good after that. The shroud actually rubs against the lens but it isn't a big deal.

Now my problem is that while doing the first fitting I cracked one of my black housings. I still used them until garaging it for the winter, but everything was fine. Then this past spring I bought a new set of housings and swapped out the black housings and lenses. And now this is happening:

As you can see, it is melting the black housing. My last set was also from eBay (but turned out to be Depo brand). They didn't melt like this.

Has anyone else done a retro with eBay headlights and not have them melt? What seller did you buy from? Thanks for any help. I will be driving to Florida in August and I can't risk having any issues.

 

[Chris Vu]

It's not really an issue, it just looks unappealing. What you could always do is sand down the bubbling area and re-paint it with high temp paint or get some of that reflective tape that people put on their intakes, then tape it up and paint over that .. OR you can get an OEM housing and paint that black .. That's actually what I did, and it's holding up quite well against 55w retrofits. The OEM ones seem to hold up much better than the ebay ones when it comes to heat.

 

[Bax]

I'm not sure if I fully understand what you're saying about the housings you bought, but the black plastic housings from ebay headlights will melt. My first set did this same thing. You'll have to just sand it down (I'd suggest some high heat primer in that area and then sand again, to smooth it out) and repaint it with high heat paint. I know when parking in the sun my old set the lens would focus some light towards that spot, and also when the headlights are on, it would shine right there a little. It's just a spot that needs higher heat resistance than the crappy plastic from ebay headlights.

 

[RedRyder]

I hate to say it, but the solution here is probably just to use a set of OEM Stanley housings. This is the first instance I've seen of a projector melting a housing. I don't think it's all that common, but I could be wrong.

Btw, good to see ya man. Not sure if southwestern Ohio is in your path for this trip, but if so we should meet up.

 

[Chris Vu]

It's actually a pretty common problem that I've seen when you mix retros and ebay blackhousing headlights.

 

[lashlee]

What wattage ballasts are you using? I know that Matt at TRS has made the comment that the Mini's won't tolerate heat as a DS2 or a FXR etc.. if you are using 55w ballasts. When I did my retro using Depo's and didn't have any issue and it's been in 100's for the last two weeks here in TN. It could be the cheap lenses but I would also make sure you aren't heating them up too much.

 

[Accord281]

It's not really an issue, it just looks unappealing. What you could always do is sand down the bubbling area and re-paint it with high temp paint or get some of that reflective tape that people put on their intakes, then tape it up and paint over that .. OR you can get an OEM housing and paint that black .. That's actually what I did, and it's holding up quite well against 55w retrofits. The OEM ones seem to hold up much better than the ebay ones when it comes to heat.

So you think it should be OK for long distances in hot weather?

I'm not sure if I fully understand what you're saying about the housings you bought, but the black plastic housings from ebay headlights will melt. My first set did this same thing. You'll have to just sand it down (I'd suggest some high heat primer in that area and then sand again, to smooth it out) and repaint it with high heat paint. I know when parking in the sun my old set the lens would focus some light towards that spot, and also when the headlights are on, it would shine right there a little. It's just a spot that needs higher heat resistance than the crappy plastic from ebay headlights.

Yeah my first eBay set didn't melt but the second one did. I was hoping someone else had retrofits with eBay headlights without melting and could remember the seller they bought from.

Btw, good to see ya man. Not sure if southwestern Ohio is in your path for this trip, but if so we should meet up.

lol thanks man. Yeah I went near there on my first Florida trip but have decided for a more Southerly route this time around. But I should still have you on XBox. Hit me up sometime if you see me online. Viper881.

What wattage ballasts are you using? I know that Matt at TRS has made the comment that the Mini's won't tolerate heat as a DS2 or a FXR etc.. if you are using 55w ballasts. When I did my retro using Depo's and didn't have any issue and it's been in 100's for the last two weeks here in TN. It could be the cheap lenses but I would also make sure you aren't heating them up too much.

35 watt. Yeah I got lucky with my first set of blackhousings off eBay in that they turned out to be Depo (weren't advertised as such). Where did you get your Depos from?

 

[dharding413]

Hmm this is making me want to keep my Stanleys in case I decide to do a retro in the future...

 

[Bax]

Stanley or Depo are the only brands I'd spend money on, just my two cents.

 

[dharding413]

Cant remember what my new ones are... I just know they're a lot shinier than the old ones