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I just completed my Morimoto D2S HID Projector Retrofit in my 2012 JK. There are a few threads here from members that used similar components and installation techniques, but I felt a complete write-up could help some people out there.

The components used:
1 x Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S)
Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S) - Complete Retrofit Kits from The Retrofit Source Inc
Ballasts: Morimoto 5Five 50w
Shrouds: Orbit
Wire Harness: Relay: H13/9008
Re-sealing Glue: Yes please
Bulbs: New Philips 85122+ D2S
Projectors: LHD (North American Standard)
PROJECTOR KIT COST
$355.00

Pair of new reflector housings
Replacement OEM #55078149AC & 55078148AC
2007-2008 Jeep Wrangler Headlight Assembly - Pair (Both Driver and Passenger Sides) - AutoLightsBulbs.com
HEADLAMP COST $95.95

TOTAL PROJECT COST $450.95

I decided to go with the D2S kit for a number of reasons. First, I feel D2S bulbs are superior to any rebased bulb. Rebased bulbs are designed for retrofitting in reflector housings. I saw no point in using a rebased bulb in a new projector setup. I also wanted to use genuine Philips 85122+ D2S bulbs because they are the brightest 4300K bulb you can buy and can be safely run at 50W for the highest light output available. Which also leads me to the Morimoto 5Five 50w ballasts which can only be used in D2S applications.

Now it was a little unclear on here whether or no the D2S kit would fit in the 2012 JK without some work. But let me say, it fits. But it is ridiculously tight. It's not so tight that it makes the install difficult, just that there literally isn't an inch of room behind the bulb and other components in the engine bay. The drivers side is particularly tight up against the horn. This can obviously be relocated if needed, but it wasn't necessary.

I would also definitely suggest getting a second pair of reflector housings for this project. Having done this already I probably could do it in a day, but it would be impossible if you haven't done this exact retrofit using the same components… especially if you are thinking of painting the housings.

Now onto the build.

You need to remove the clear lens. There are a couple of ways to do this. The easiest was in an oven. I tried a variable temp heat gun and it was too much of a pain. So just stick it in the oven at 275 for 8-10 mins and the lens will peel off once the glue is soft. Once the lens is off, I suggest removing the old glue. I did so for two reasons. One the factory glue is white and my retrofit was going to be completely painted black and two, it will seal better.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2em057k.jpg

Now the reflector housings need to be cut to fit the D2S projectors. This was easily accomplished using a dremel. If you don't have a dremel, your will need to get one. I can't imagine completing this project without one. The most difficult part of this project is planning. You need to make sure you only cut a big enough hole that the projector fits while making sure the housing lens that you baked off will have enough room to re-attach to the housing. You don't want to make the hole too big because that will cause the projector to move around as well as leaving you with a gaping hole you need to seal off later.

http://i39.tinypic.com/r2t8ud.jpg

Now once the reflector housing is cut open, use the dremel to sand down any pointed edges on the back of the housing to create a smooth surface for the projector to lay on.

You can now test fit the projector in the housing with your shroud. With the orbit shroud I used, it needed to be cut down quite a bit. Again, you will need a dremel here. With the shroud attached to the projector, measure on the shroud how much needs to be cut for the lens to fit back on the housing. Once you have that measurement you can cut and sand the shroud. Then test fit again. As you will see, with all the test fitting you will have to do, it really makes a lot of sense to remove the factory glue and then seal it back up later.

http://i41.tinypic.com/14tnb77.jpg

Once you have everything fitted, you can paint the shroud and housing if you choose. Just wet sand and paint. I used a textured black with silver specks and it looks great. I used a primer, 3 coats of black with 2 clear coats and let it dry for 7 days. That's probably overkill on the drying time but I was in no rush and that's what Rustoleum suggests for plastic.

http://i44.tinypic.com/hrdao4.jpg

Ok, so now you have to seal the back side of the housing where the back of the projector sticks out. I saw on here a couple of ways of doing this and probably spent about 2 weeks coming up with the simplest and yet smallest solution as I wanted to keep the back side as small as possible to avoid problems in the tight engine bay. So here is what I did. I took a 2 x 1.5" coupling and cut it down with a dremel just enough (5mm) so that it slipped over the rear of the projector and covered the hole in the back of the housing while leaving enough threads on the projector base to screw on the lock nuts and the bulb.

http://i41.tinypic.com/o56s6w.jpg

After it was all in place time to perform another test fit.

http://i43.tinypic.com/v2tyxe.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/1i1xt3.jpg

Now it's time to permanently attached the coupling to the back of the housing. I used a putty compound that dries to the strength of steel in 30 mins. I used this compound since I wanted it to cure quickly while I had the projector properly aligned. It will dry in about 2-3 mins so you need to work quick. I tacked two sides first, aligned and let it cure. Then I applied the putty around the entire base of the coupling sealing it to the housing. It's watertight, and will never move.

http://i40.tinypic.com/10s6cdc.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/ameclv.jpg

After that all you need to do is apply new glue in the channel of the housing, push on your shroud and replace the lens cover. Push the lens cover on as tight as possible, then either stick it back in the oven for a few minutes or use a heat gun to soften the glue enough so that you can get the lens on tight so the clips click and you don't have any gaps between the lens and the housing. I chose to use a heat gun this time since I didn't want to stick the projector in the oven. TRS says it's ok to do, but it was easy enough to use the heat gun. As a warning, be careful not to use too much glue as it can spread out when you press on the lens. That's the only mistake I made, so watch out for it.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2dwd9hj.jpg

Now it's ready for install.

I won't go too into much about installing the kit since there are plenty of threads and information about how to wire up HID kits. I will say the kit is top notch. All wiring is shielded and the perfect length. To make things easier you might want to remove the horn on the drivers side, but that's the only thing you need to move to get them installed. As for the ballast location, I found a perfect spot on both sides in a space near the front body mounts. I secured the ballasts with heavy duty double sided tape and tapped a screw using the included bracket.

Here is a shot of the difference between the depth of the stock headlamp and the new projector retrofit headlamp. Not too bad!
http://i44.tinypic.com/2941jbt.jpg

That's pretty much it.

Here is the final install shot.
http://i44.tinypic.com/zuigyh.jpg

Night time close up
http://i40.tinypic.com/2ewekuv.jpg

The cutoff is ridiculous and the color is perfect (I still need to properly align them, although they're not too far off)
http://i42.tinypic.com/28v845e.jpg

I have installed lighting upgrades in every single vehicle I have ever owned. This is by far the best light output I have ever seen. It even blows away my wife's Audi A6.
http://i42.tinypic.com/34sflo8.jpg

I highly recommend this kit to anyone looking for a little challenge because there is absolutely nothing on the market that can even come close. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ominx

I just completed my Morimoto D2S HID Projector Retrofit in my 2012 JK. There are a few threads here from members that used similar components and installation techniques, but I felt a complete write-up could help some people out there.

The components used:
1 x Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S)
Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S) - Complete Retrofit Kits from The Retrofit Source Inc
Ballasts: Morimoto 5Five 50w
Shrouds: Orbit
Wire Harness: Relay: H13/9008
Re-sealing Glue: Yes please
Bulbs: New Philips 85122+ D2S
Projectors: LHD (North American Standard)
PROJECTOR KIT COST
$355.00

Pair of new reflector housings
Replacement OEM #55078149AC & 55078148AC
2007-2008 Jeep Wrangler Headlight Assembly - Pair (Both Driver and Passenger Sides) - AutoLightsBulbs.com
HEADLAMP COST $95.95

TOTAL PROJECT COST $450.95

I decided to go with the D2S kit for a number of reasons. First, I feel D2S bulbs are superior to any rebased bulb. Rebased bulbs are designed for retrofitting in reflector housings. I saw no point in using a rebased bulb in a new projector setup. I also wanted to use genuine Philips 85122+ D2S bulbs because they are the brightest 4300K bulb you can buy and can be safely run at 50W for the highest light output available. Which also leads me to the Morimoto 5Five 50w ballasts which can only be used in D2S applications.

Now it was a little unclear on here whether or no the D2S kit would fit in the 2012 JK without some work. But let me say, it fits. But it is ridiculously tight. It's not so tight that it makes the install difficult, just that there literally isn't an inch of room behind the bulb and other components in the engine bay. The drivers side is particularly tight up against the horn. This can obviously be relocated if needed, but it wasn't necessary.

I would also definitely suggest getting a second pair of reflector housings for this project. Having done this already I probably could do it in a day, but it would be impossible if you haven't done this exact retrofit using the same components… especially if you are thinking of painting the housings.

Now onto the build.

You need to remove the clear lens. There are a couple of ways to do this. The easiest was in an oven. I tried a variable temp heat gun and it was too much of a pain. So just stick it in the oven at 275 for 8-10 mins and the lens will peel off once the glue is soft. Once the lens is off, I suggest removing the old glue. I did so for two reasons. One the factory glue is white and my retrofit was going to be completely painted black and two, it will seal better.

Now the reflector housings need to be cut to fit the D2S projectors. This was easily accomplished using a dremel. If you don't have a dremel, your will need to get one. I can't imagine completing this project without one. The most difficult part of this project is planning. You need to make sure you only cut a big enough hole that the projector fits while making sure the housing lens that you baked off will have enough room to re-attach to the housing. You don't want to make the hole too big because that will cause the projector to move around as well as leaving you with a gaping hole you need to seal off later.

Now once the reflector housing is cut open, use the dremel to sand down any pointed edges on the back of the housing to create a smooth surface for the projector to lay on.

You can now test fit the projector in the housing with your shroud. With the orbit shroud I used, it needed to be cut down quite a bit. Again, you will need a dremel here. With the shroud attached to the projector, measure on the shroud how much needs to be cut for the lens to fit back on the housing. Once you have that measurement you can cut and sand the shroud. Then test fit again. As you will see, with all the test fitting you will have to do, it really makes a lot of sense to remove the factory glue and then seal it back up later.

Once you have everything fitted, you can paint the shroud and housing if you choose. Just wet sand and paint. I used a textured black with silver specks and it looks great. I used a primer, 3 coats of black with 2 clear coats and let it dry for 7 days. That's probably overkill on the drying time but I was in no rush and that's what Rustoleum suggests for plastic.

Ok, so now you have to seal the back side of the housing where the back of the projector sticks out. I saw on here a couple of ways of doing this and probably spent about 2 weeks coming up with the simplest and yet smallest solution as I wanted to keep the back side as small as possible to avoid problems in the tight engine bay. So here is what I did. I took a 2 x 1.5" coupling and cut it down with a dremel just enough (5mm) so that it slipped over the rear of the projector and covered the hole in the back of the housing while leaving enough threads on the projector base to screw on the lock nuts and the bulb.

After it was all in place time to perform another test fit.

Now it's time to permanently attached the coupling to the back of the housing. I used a putty compound that dries to the strength of steel in 30 mins. I used this compound since I wanted it to cure quickly while I had the projector properly aligned. It will dry in about 2-3 mins so you need to work quick. I tacked two sides first, aligned and let it cure. Then I applied the putty around the entire base of the coupling sealing it to the housing. It's watertight, and will never move.

After that all you need to do is apply new glue in the channel of the housing, push on your shroud and replace the lens cover. Push the lens cover on as tight as possible, then either stick it back in the oven for a few minutes or use a heat gun to soften the glue enough so that you can get the lens on tight so the clips click and you don't have any gaps between the lens and the housing. I chose to use a heat gun this time since I didn't want to stick the projector in the oven. TRS says it's ok to do, but it was easy enough to use the heat gun. As a warning, be careful not to use too much glue as it can spread out when you press on the lens. That's the only mistake I made, so watch out for it.

Now it's ready for install.

I won't go too into much about installing the kit since there are plenty of threads and information about how to wire up HID kits. I will say the kit is top notch. All wiring is shielded and the perfect length. To make things easier you might want to remove the horn on the drivers side, but that's the only thing you need to move to get them installed. As for the ballast location, I found a perfect spot on both sides in a space near the front body mounts. I secured the ballasts with heavy duty double sided tape and tapped a screw using the included bracket.

Here is a shot of the difference between the depth of the stock headlamp and the new projector retrofit headlamp. Not too bad!

That's pretty much it.

Here is the final install shot.

Night time close up

The cutoff is ridiculous and the color is perfect (I still need to properly align them, although they're not too far off)

I have installed lighting upgrades in every single vehicle I have ever owned. This is by far the best light output I have ever seen. It even blows away my wife's Audi A6.

I highly recommend this kit to anyone looking for a little challenge because there is absolutely nothing on the market that can even come close. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to help.

That's a nice install right there!

Got any more night shots?