# Helix HID Retro for an MKIV Jetta DIY - the four hour project



## Guude (Aug 12, 2006)

Here is a write up of my most recent project – Halogen to Retro HIDs:
I needed:
a) Helix “OEM” HID Replicas (bought from a fellow Vortexer in pristine shape, including brights and city light high intensity yellow LEDs)
b) two 4300K Phillips D2S bulbs, ballasts and wiring
c) one OEM VW Euro Headlight Switch
d) one tube of GE Silicone Type II
e) one Husky mini wrench
f) a strip of Velcro tape
g) blue painter’s tape
Well first off, many describe the entire HID up-conversion as a plug and play – which is only true to a point. Before you plug and play, a lot of labor goes into preparing the headlamp assemblies for street usage. You will need to open the headlamp assembly and install the bulbs, no biggie. Then you will need to drill a hole in the back of each headlamp (yeah, plug and play, more like pluck and play) to provide a path for the D2S cables to and from the HID bulbs. Depending on the wiring kit you have, ½ inch is good enough. I would recommend to drill the hole in right behind the brights, as that will give you more room to work with cable routing after mounting the lights. The driver side will be especially tight, due to the battery which is located right behind the headlamp. Once you have the cables carefully pulled through the hole, it is time to caulk. Many posts report problems with condensation inside the light. You will want to positively keep out water and dust. I have considered many options, from hot glue over automotive caulking strips from 3M to Silicone. A master technician (30 years with VW) recommended to go with Silicone, as it will withstand high temperatures and remains somewhat flexible (you will bend the cables when installing the lights – I was afraid of breaking the seal by doing so, but the Silicone did just fine). Caulk the holes generously before the lamps are installed. Time to cure is 24hrs, consider that when planning the project. While you have the Silicone out, you should also caulk the seam/gap between the clear plastic lens and the black headlamp housing. The next picture shows the gap and shotty seal before caulking:








If you really want to create a perfect bead when caulking, use the blue painter’s tape to mask the sides of the gap:








Caulk the gap! The entire gap, all four sides of the lamp.








Smooth and compress the Silicone by running a wet finger along the bead with very gentle pressure. Yes you will take off quite some Silicone, but that’s ok.








Remove the masking tape immediately and let cure for 24 hours:








The time has come to remove the bumper and Halogen headlamps. I was scared sh%tless, because I had never done that before. I found many write-ups of how to remove a Jetta MKIV bumper and my personal favorite including step by step pictures is:
http://www.montreal-vdubbing.c...?t=48 
Thanks and props to Flanders!
You will then need to figure out what to do with the ballasts. Some may have better ideas, but this is what I did: The ballast for the passenger side lamp was taped to the inside of the passenger side fender. Select the spot, clean it from grease and dust, use the Velcro tape and stick it (see the red loops in the following picture for approximate locations). On the driver’s side, I slipped the ballast in between two pieces of the vehicle’s frame – it fit right in. Once you remove the Halogen headlight on the driver’s side you will see which location I am talking about. 
When mounting the ballasts you will need to consider the relative shortness and flexibility of the provided wiring harness. The cables and plugs of my passenger side ballast face rearward, toward the back of the car. The cables and plugs of my driver’s side ballast are facing inward/toward the center of the engine.








Then you mount the lights (my mounting tabs did not fit perfectly, but with patience and channeled force you’ll get the suckers in). By the way you may want to plug in the ballast connections before you mount the lamps – I did not and had some fiddling to do (could have taken them back out but did not want to). Plug in the headlamp harness from VW (the same that went into your Halogens) and give I a try. The prerequisite for this step is to disable the DRL. The Euro Headlight Switch is not required, but nice to have if you want to control the city lights and the HIDs independently. Here are some shots of the completed project:
























I used the Headlight Aiming FAQ to get the HIDs in line today. It worked ok laterally, but I have used up all longitude and the cutoff still is about three inches under the recommended line. I’ll have to resort to some washers or to opening the HID housing and adjusting from inside. I’ll drive it in darkness for a while to see if I really miss out on anything, at least I am not blinding anybody. I tried to adjust the Helixs the same way you adjust the Halogens – you know: Phillips from the top – don’t do it, almost broke the mechanism. Use a mini wrench or anything that does a 90 degree angle to access the adjuster screws with a size 55 Torx bit from behind, much more solid. I bought a Husky for $15 at the local DIY chain:








I am not a pro by any means, but I have lost some fears in the process of completing this project. You won’t need a second person to do it – all can be done by one man/woman. Let me know what you think.


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## Guude (Aug 12, 2006)

*Re: Helix HID Retro for an MKIV Jetta DIY - the four hour project (Guude)*

I will not be spared the pain of having to take the bumper off again in order to push some washers under the lower screws of the headlamp assembly. Tonight I was driving back from work in darkness and I am happy with the lateral alignment that I fixed last weekend - however on the longitude I am still too low. Need to see some more. This will be my Wednesday morning before work project - nah probably more like Saturday, we'll see.


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## QuikDBPR32 (Sep 12, 2005)

*Re: Helix HID Retro for an MKIV Jetta DIY - the four hour project (Guude)*

Looks great man. Glad to see you got them in so quickly. Enjoy!


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## creanium (Feb 16, 2003)

*FV-QR*

Looks good! Now that you've had them in for about a month, how do you like them? Did you get the beam aligned to your liking? Is it a good e-code beam pattern?
I'm shopping around for some new headlights and these are at the top of my list. Would you recommend them?


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## Guude (Aug 12, 2006)

*Re: Helix HID Retro for an MKIV Jetta DIY - the four hour project (Guude)*

Final Aiming of Helix HID Retros:
A couple weekends ago I dropped the bumper one more time to shimmy the headlamp assemblies up using washers. I am sure it will be different for everybody, but just FYI: with the stock suspension of the Jetta GLS and after having exhausted the lateral aiming screws for the lamps, I used six washers per mounting tab on the underside of the headlamp assemblies – and it just so happened that I ended up using the entire bag of 24 pieces. In doing so I lost approximately ½ of the screws’ thread, but it still has enough grip for mounting.
About a month later my left front turn signal quit working. I was horrified - having to open the entire deal up after all that work including the caulking of the lamp assembly..., then look for loose contacts, or similar. So I decided to do nothing about it for a while. The thing "fixed itself" and is working fine since two months now. All we need is a clean safety inspection, haha.


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