2013 HIDs: Bouncy??
#21
Senior Member
I have a few pairs of brand new F150 OEM projectors in my shop....when the bulbs are seated, they are very snug; no wiggle. I agree with HAK with the cut-off shield being the culprit. The only way to fix this is to open the heads, and if your going that far, you might as well throw some EVOX-R projectors in there, get some Osram CBI 5k bulbs and ballasts and you will outperform almost every vehicle on the road in terms of lighting.
Yup I agree if you're going to go as far to open the headlights up you might as well swap in the better projector. That's what I intend to do at some point down the road.
Thanks for verifying the bulb is seated snug. Now we know its the shield. It's definitely not the overall projector sturdiness in the housing because the entire beam does not shake, at least not on mine. It's mainly the foreground and close side areas which makes me think the shield is moving or vibrating from side to side and not front to back. Do you have a projector you can fire up out of the headlight and check to see which direction(s) the shield is moving if you tap the projector to induce vibes?
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nix150 (03-05-2013)
#22
F150 Forum
I just bench tested an OEM projector with OEM bulbs and ballast for you. If I "bang" on the projector with my hand, the cut-off shield rattles a bit. The shield has both side to side and forward slop.
I never fired up one of these before, I just remove 'em and put them on a shelf. I directed the light to my wall I use for testing all my projectors....I have to say, the output, cut-off and lack of color flicker is pretty weak in comparison to any other projector I deal with....nonetheless, it's better than the candles that Ford uses for halogen heads!!!!
I never fired up one of these before, I just remove 'em and put them on a shelf. I directed the light to my wall I use for testing all my projectors....I have to say, the output, cut-off and lack of color flicker is pretty weak in comparison to any other projector I deal with....nonetheless, it's better than the candles that Ford uses for halogen heads!!!!
#23
I just bench tested an OEM projector with OEM bulbs and ballast for you. If I "bang" on the projector with my hand, the cut-off shield rattles a bit. The shield has both side to side and forward slop.
I never fired up one of these before, I just remove 'em and put them on a shelf. I directed the light to my wall I use for testing all my projectors....I have to say, the output, cut-off and lack of color flicker is pretty weak in comparison to any other projector I deal with....nonetheless, it's better than the candles that Ford uses for halogen heads!!!!
I never fired up one of these before, I just remove 'em and put them on a shelf. I directed the light to my wall I use for testing all my projectors....I have to say, the output, cut-off and lack of color flicker is pretty weak in comparison to any other projector I deal with....nonetheless, it's better than the candles that Ford uses for halogen heads!!!!
#24
Senior Member
Thread Starter
HAHA! [MENTION=129356]larryt1026[/MENTION]...I was thinking the same thing! I'm afraid to take the lights apart...wouldn't even know where to begin other than to stick them in the oven! ...I also worry about them getting progressively worse...
#25
F150 Forum
Even for me it's stressful throwing VERY expensive OEM heads in the oven! The lens is a little tougher to remove than a halogen lens.
#26
Senior Member
There probably isn't much you can do to fix it Larry. Even if a fix is possible it would definitely involve opening the headlight and removing the projector to work on it.
The shield is not going to fall off. It's not going to affect any durability or develop any long term issues. It's just going to move and by move I mean very little. THEY ALL DO IT with this type of bi-xenon setup, some more than others. It doesn't take a lot of movement to 'see' the beam shake on a projector. It is a magnifier. The slop is minimal like Bilinivic said. I'm not sure what I can suggest to take up some of the slop or create more resistance on the low beam shield so it rests against the high beam more firmly. If you go trying to add spacers or pads to 'cushion' or isolate the shield from vibes then you're going to adversely affect the focal point and possibly start screwing up the beam pattern. If you try to go ghetto crazy and say add a rubber band to help create more force on the shield then you're going to possibly damage the solenoid from the added stress in high beam mode.
BTW, thanks Bilinvic for testing!
The shield is not going to fall off. It's not going to affect any durability or develop any long term issues. It's just going to move and by move I mean very little. THEY ALL DO IT with this type of bi-xenon setup, some more than others. It doesn't take a lot of movement to 'see' the beam shake on a projector. It is a magnifier. The slop is minimal like Bilinivic said. I'm not sure what I can suggest to take up some of the slop or create more resistance on the low beam shield so it rests against the high beam more firmly. If you go trying to add spacers or pads to 'cushion' or isolate the shield from vibes then you're going to adversely affect the focal point and possibly start screwing up the beam pattern. If you try to go ghetto crazy and say add a rubber band to help create more force on the shield then you're going to possibly damage the solenoid from the added stress in high beam mode.
BTW, thanks Bilinvic for testing!
Last edited by HAK; 03-05-2013 at 03:58 PM.
#29
One Clean Machine
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tuxedoblack11 (03-27-2013)