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Chevy Cruze Mini D2S 3.0 Retrofit
Hello this is a DIY retrofit for my 2013 Chevrolet Cruze but should be the same for any first generation North American Cruze. This was my first retrofit and This DIY should be followed with a grain of salt because of this. I am not an expert. Also comments on what I could do better are appreciated.
Also a lot of the information for this retrofit was found online so the parts that I vaguely talked about can be found on Google or YouTube.
Things you will need:
-A set of Aftermarket Headlights [TYC used in mine]
-A set of Morimoto Mini D2S Projectors[orbit shrouds shown, 4300k morimoto D2S bulbs]
I used: Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S) From The Retrofit Source[TRS]
This will need an h13 bixenon harness
-An oven or heat gun
-New butyl rubber is suggested
-RTV or silicon sealant
-epoxy
-assortment of tools [screw driver Philips and flat, t20 driver, dremel , belt sander, 6mm allen wrench]
First start by removing all the pieces screwed onto housing and bulbs.
Then bake the headlights at 250F for 8 minutes and start separating. There are various videos online you can find of this.
Now it is beneficial to remove the reflector bowl from the headlight housing. This can easily be achieved by turning the adjuster screw all the way out which I think is an 6mm Allen. Then you can pop the bowl out using a screw driver and prying behind sockets.
Now that the bowl is separated you will need to remove a bit of material from the back of the reflector bowl. I used a belt sander at this point but there is probably other ways too. You can also take more material If you like I removed enough to get everything to fit and still have a steady mounting place.
Next you will need to round out the hole in the bowl where the projector will go through. I used a dremel tool with a type of sanding drum to hollow out the opening.
I then had to sand down the bottom of the projector shield which is the orbit shield from TRS.
Now you can place the projector through the bowl and thread the nut on the rear. I chose not to use the metal plate as there wasn’t enough room for it.
[Optional] Now at this point I used epoxy to secure the projector in place with the nut that is quite tight. I can still rotate the projector slightly so that when they’re installed I can adjust the rotation of the projector. This is not a needed step but I found it to make adjustment easier later on.
[Optional] Now the worst part which is scraping the old rubber butyl from the headlights. I had to place each headlight in the oven at 250 in 5 minute increments. It took me about 2 hours.
Now you will need to reinstall the reflector bowls back in the housings. I installed a few threads of the adjuster screws until the bowls could be pushed back into place and the sockets secured on the posts.
Now you can place the new rubber along the black part of the headlight assembly if you removed it previously.
Now clean any dust or smudges off lens, housing, projector then its back in the oven at 250 for ten minutes with the lens and housing placed back together. When taken out they will need to be held together tight until they cool.
Now it’s time to remove your bumper cover. I just removed the 4 push pins on top and two 10 mm bolts on top and 8 t20 screws on both side in the fender wells. Then let the cover hang as the headlights can easily come out and saves a lot of work. If you don’t understand how the bumper cover comes off from my crap description look it up on Google I’m sure someone has a better description.
Next I mounted the Ballasts under the fender. On the passenger side I had to secure the ground under the ballast as there were no good grounds I could find. On the driver’s side the ground I used is under the plastic cover on the lf strut tower. I just ran the wires from side to side across the front just over the radiator and secured with zip ties.I found power under the first cover on top of the battery. First pic is ballast, second is power.
Install the headlights align them and seal the gap between the projector and the stock seal. I used RTV but There is probably a better solution. Enjoy
I know that the lights look like they are aimed high but My drive way is the steepest I have ever seen that is also why the picture is so close to the door.
Also I have had these installed for a week and half of that has been rainy. I have had no condensation yet or visable leaks. The cut off is very sharp with these projectors and the visability is increased almost twice as far. Also They look great! I think so at least:grin:
Hello this is a DIY retrofit for my 2013 Chevrolet Cruze but should be the same for any first generation North American Cruze. This was my first retrofit and This DIY should be followed with a grain of salt because of this. I am not an expert. Also comments on what I could do better are appreciated.
Also a lot of the information for this retrofit was found online so the parts that I vaguely talked about can be found on Google or YouTube.
Things you will need:
-A set of Aftermarket Headlights [TYC used in mine]
-A set of Morimoto Mini D2S Projectors[orbit shrouds shown, 4300k morimoto D2S bulbs]
I used: Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S) From The Retrofit Source[TRS]
This will need an h13 bixenon harness
-An oven or heat gun
-New butyl rubber is suggested
-RTV or silicon sealant
-epoxy
-assortment of tools [screw driver Philips and flat, t20 driver, dremel , belt sander, 6mm allen wrench]
First start by removing all the pieces screwed onto housing and bulbs.
Now it is beneficial to remove the reflector bowl from the headlight housing. This can easily be achieved by turning the adjuster screw all the way out which I think is an 6mm Allen. Then you can pop the bowl out using a screw driver and prying behind sockets.
Now that the bowl is separated you will need to remove a bit of material from the back of the reflector bowl. I used a belt sander at this point but there is probably other ways too. You can also take more material If you like I removed enough to get everything to fit and still have a steady mounting place.
Next you will need to round out the hole in the bowl where the projector will go through. I used a dremel tool with a type of sanding drum to hollow out the opening.
I then had to sand down the bottom of the projector shield which is the orbit shield from TRS.
Now you can place the projector through the bowl and thread the nut on the rear. I chose not to use the metal plate as there wasn’t enough room for it.
[Optional] Now at this point I used epoxy to secure the projector in place with the nut that is quite tight. I can still rotate the projector slightly so that when they’re installed I can adjust the rotation of the projector. This is not a needed step but I found it to make adjustment easier later on.
[Optional] Now the worst part which is scraping the old rubber butyl from the headlights. I had to place each headlight in the oven at 250 in 5 minute increments. It took me about 2 hours.
Now you will need to reinstall the reflector bowls back in the housings. I installed a few threads of the adjuster screws until the bowls could be pushed back into place and the sockets secured on the posts.
Now you can place the new rubber along the black part of the headlight assembly if you removed it previously.
Now clean any dust or smudges off lens, housing, projector then its back in the oven at 250 for ten minutes with the lens and housing placed back together. When taken out they will need to be held together tight until they cool.
Now it’s time to remove your bumper cover. I just removed the 4 push pins on top and two 10 mm bolts on top and 8 t20 screws on both side in the fender wells. Then let the cover hang as the headlights can easily come out and saves a lot of work. If you don’t understand how the bumper cover comes off from my crap description look it up on Google I’m sure someone has a better description.
Next I mounted the Ballasts under the fender. On the passenger side I had to secure the ground under the ballast as there were no good grounds I could find. On the driver’s side the ground I used is under the plastic cover on the lf strut tower. I just ran the wires from side to side across the front just over the radiator and secured with zip ties.I found power under the first cover on top of the battery. First pic is ballast, second is power.
Install the headlights align them and seal the gap between the projector and the stock seal. I used RTV but There is probably a better solution. Enjoy
Also I have had these installed for a week and half of that has been rainy. I have had no condensation yet or visable leaks. The cut off is very sharp with these projectors and the visability is increased almost twice as far. Also They look great! I think so at least:grin:
