Mann the stress...I just ordered the JDM Headlights because I still am affraid of condensation in the lamps. I want to put hyper white (blue) in the parking lights and turn signals, are those bulbs easy to come by? I do have the clear diffusers on the way from Rick's too...my back up. Thanks, CFL

 

The bulbs are rather easy to find. They are 7440(turn signals) and 168/194(parking lights). They are everywhere online and at your local auto parts store. I'd stick to the JDM's, I have had them for 6 months and have no complaints.

 

Actually, JDM headlights (EDM and USDM too) can have condensation inside. There are posts on this.

They don't need to be opened to have this happen. If you think about it, the perimeter is not the only way water can enter the headlights.

There are 5 other holes in the headlights you need to worry about. You have 4 rubber seals, one for each bulb location, and another rubber seal between the HID Ballast and the headlight housing. Honda assemblies the car and greased these seal 4 bulb seals.

Since the projectors are made of metal (think cold beer), when they get cold , they get colder then the rest of the housing. If air can get into the headlight from anywhere, it will. Then the projectors heat the air up and the water is released as steam. When that happens, the extra hot air gets out through the leak while thing are heating up. When the car sits, the air colds and more air is pulled inside the headlight through the leak, to .Please the volume of air that was lost.

As you can see this cycles a number of times and the water builds. To prove this point, follow this....

A new set of headlights is installed at a dealership in FL. with in an hour of installation, condensation was seen inside the headlights. It was not raining, no water on the road and the car was not washed. How can this happen? Well the shop was air conditioned and remember the Beer can? That is what happend.

In a US car, you should replace the turn signal sockets when you install JDM headlights. The US socket is smaller then the JDM hole, so if you don't replace them, you will have glue them to get them to stay in place. And if you replace them you also get to us a differant bulb (1157 or 1156 I can't remember), but this bulb is very easy to find, infact it is easier to find the 7440.

 

Stratocaster what proceedure did you do on you're S2K?

 

I could not justify the cost of the JDM or EDM Headlights (I am married, need I say more?) So after about 6 months of ownership, I got the clear diffusers that Rick's sells made. I also used to be the person doing the Clear Conversion Service for Rick's, and as part of that service, I have cleanup two sets of leaky lights. One set was JDM (never opened) and the other had been cleared.

Rick Hesel and James (ReedZ) bought the EDM headlight and the sockets. A local member had JDMs and used the glue method, but this was the set I repaired so he installed sockets after I have cleaned up the lights. Rick also had a problem with water in his set, but he caught it, dried them out and sealed them back up (The socket I was talking about above). His had never been opened, so like I say it happens.

Over all of the headlight sets we have done as part of our service, and the other that our "Headlight Clearing Artist " has done, we have never had a set leak.

Heck, if I could have justified the JDM purchase, we may not have ever had clear diffuser to even consider, but that is all history.