DIY 2002+ Headlight Fix (Bouncing)

Guy's this is how i fixed the bouncing problem with my 2002 headlights. I don't know that all the years (2002-2005) had the the same plastic clips but other years including the 2005 have owners with bouncing headlights so it's a good bet that they do. With the design of the clips it is almost certain that everyone will have this problem eventually or have it and can't tell.



First thing you have to do is remove the headlights and to do that requires you to remove the front bumper cover. I am not going into that here as i am sure there are a bunch of posts on removing the bumper cover.





Next you have to take apart the headlight assembly. This will be in another how to on (Painted Headlights) that i will post as soon as i am able to and i will link it here.




OK, now we assume that the headlights are disassembled and here is what you are looking at. The bulbs including the HID are not in the housing.





There are two problems with the clips. They have to much play front to back and to much play side to side. The front to rear play is the one that is causing the bouncing. The side to side would not be as noticeable while driving but it would still probably be happening.

Here are some pic's of the clips of which there are three. I have marked the space between the clip and the bracket with a red arrow to show how much play there is. The clip is smaller then the hole in the bracket of the light assembly. You will notice a little white dust, that is where the movement has started to wear away the plastic.








The light assembly only connects with the three headlight adjusters to the rear and sits on a piece of spring steel toward the front.




There are three adjusters and they are marked in red. There is also a water/dust boot marked in blue.

On the inside of the housing make a mark where the adjusters are now so you can get the headlight close to the correct position when you put the bulb assembly back in. That way they won't be too far out of adjustment. You can also do this by marking the adjuster threads.

Now you have to remove the bulb assembly from the housing.



The adjuster on the bottom right that looks like a screw and the one on the top right are no problem. The one on the left apparently takes a special tool but i was able to take off the white plastic cover and then it was OK.

You need to unscrew the adjusters a little at a time moving from one to the next until they are almost out. Don't try to unscrew one all the way or the light assembly will just jam against the side or you will strip the plastic clip. Once you have them all out of the clips you can pull the dust cover (marked in blue) just a little away from the back and once it unseals you can push it through the hole. It stays on the bulb assembly. Now it is apart.






I used a piece of dense (semi-hard) rubber and cut a square hole the size of the bottom of the clip with the tip of a razor knife. Then i pushed the clip into the hole and trimmed it to the same size as the top of the clip. The rubber is .050" or a little less than two credit cards thickness (.066") if you don't have a micrometer. If you use a softer rubber it will need to be thicker. You can try different thicknesses but it needs to be rubber to stop the side to side sliding. You just don't want the clip to be able to lock in easily, it needs to be hard to get in because that means that it is really tight. The rubber that i used is adhesive backed and that will help even more. I suggest you add a little adhesive to the side of the rubber facing the assembly but it probably wouldn't be required if it is really tight.











Once you have all three made you are ready to push them back in to the square holes on the bulb assembly. Mine were the absolute maximum thickness. Any thicker and i don't believe the clips would have locked in.

You are ready to reinstall the bulb assembly in to the housing. Push the rain/dust cap back through the hole. The same as removal, take it slow with each adjuster and make sure it goes in even all the way to the marks you made before.

There should now be no movement up and down or side to side of the bulb assembly (tight).

Here is a pic of the installed clip with the rubber spacer.





Your done, well with one side. Now you have to do the other :biggrin: .



Good luck, i hope this helps someone out.

Thanks for the writeup. I'll be doing this plus painting inside the housing. Waiting for the DIY for the opening of the headlights.. :wink:

demigod said:

Thanks for the writeup.

I'll be doing this plus painting inside the housing. Waiting for the DIY for the opening of the headlights.. :wink:

Click to expand...

You are welcome :smile: . I will post the DIY for the disassembly of the lights as soon as i receive the reflectors back from the shop. I need a few more pics while putting them back together. I thought they would have the reflectors painted by now, they had all week.

on the bright side. this it the best time to do a Headlight color match if u were interested :biggrin:

Here is the information on taking the lights apart.





First you strip the light of all the bulbs and holders. Remove the ballast for the HID from the bottom of the assembly, unclip the ground wire from the top of the HID bulb and unclip the bulb shown below (red arrows) to remove the HID bulb.




Take all the racks out of the oven except for one at the very bottom. Place the light assembly with the clear lens down on top of some corrugated cardboard about 3/4"-1" thick and larger then the assembly.

Turn the oven on to 250 degrees (not preheat) and wait until it reaches temp. Turn the oven off and wait 2-3 minutes before putting in the assembly. Leave the assembly in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes and you are ready to start. As the assembly starts cooling the glue starts getting harder. You can put it back in the oven for a little longer (without turning the oven back on) and it will help if it seems too hard. The assembly is going to be hot and i don't think this can be done with gloves. My finger tips were sore for a day.


Important Note:
The reflector is attached to the housing and to the clear outer cover. To the outside of the assembly close to the signal light bulb you will see the screw that attaches to the reflector, it's the gold one (orange arrow in above picture). This screw needs to be removed.
Think of the reflector and the clear cover as one piece when you are removing the clear cover because they will have to be removed together because they are screwed together at the front. The screw can only be removed after the light is apart.




Look at the light and you will see the point where the clear cover meets the black part of the housing. There is a small raised lip on the clear cover at this point. What you will be doing is to take a small screwdriver and insert it between that raised lip on the clear cover and the black part of the housing. With light steady pressure twist the screwdriver. Do this very slowly don't just twist hard or you will deform the black plastic. You will get these little dents in it but that will be covered when you reseal them. A slight pressure is all it takes. the sealer that they used is very good so when it starts moving it will go slow. Once it gets wide enough to insert a large flat screwdriver do that and move about 2" over and do the same thing. You need to be trying to pull the clear cover away from the assembly the whole time, the screwdriver is just helping to separate them.






Don't forget about the keepers on the black plastic housing that clip on to the clear plastic cover. As they start separating you will have to help it over the tab to keep it from breaking (red arrow below).



Once you get a gap between the cover and assembly you will see the glue (sort of like putty) that they used stretching. You can run a razor knife through the gap and cut it. You will be reusing the old putty (and new sealer) so don't let it get dirty.




Start from the bottom front of the assembly work your way around both sides doing the top back last.


To reassemble

Heat the oven to 200 degrees, turn it off and as before wait 2-3 minutes before putting the light in. Place the clear plastic cover on top of the assembly. It will just be laying on top of the assembly but lined up like it goes. Place the assembly on the same cardboard as before but this time the clear plastic will face up instead of down. Leave the assembly in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove it and start pushing the clear plastic back in to the assembly starting at the top rear. Work your way around the light until you get all the black plastic keepers snapped back on to the clear cover.

Now for a little extra protection from leaks, use sealer around the entire assembly. I used the silicone below and it worked great.



Fill in the gap between the black plastic and the raised lip on the clear cover. I even filled the area inside the black plastic keepers like below.








Read this over and check out the light before you start. If you have any questions just ask.


Good Luck.

Thanks for the write up.

This will be a truly helpful DIY

Now lets see some pictures of your new headlights...

comtec said:

Here is the information on taking the lights apart.





First you strip the light of all the bulbs and holders. Remove the ballast for the HID from the bottom of the assembly, unclip the ground wire from the top of the HID bulb and unclip the bulb shown below (red arrows) to remove the HID bulb.

Take all the racks out of the oven except for one at the very bottom. Place the light assembly with the clear lens down on top of some corrugated cardboard about 3/4"-1" thick and larger then the assembly.

Turn the oven on to 250 degrees (not preheat) and wait until it reaches temp. Turn the oven off and wait 2-3 minutes before putting in the assembly. Leave the assembly in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes and you are ready to start. As the assembly starts cooling the glue starts getting harder. You can put it back in the oven for a little longer (without turning the oven back on) and it will help if it seems too hard. The assembly is going to be hot and i don't think this can be done with gloves. My finger tips were sore for a day.


Important Note:
The reflector is attached to the housing and to the clear outer cover. To the outside of the assembly close to the signal light bulb you will see the screw that attaches to the reflector, it's the gold one (orange arrow in above picture). This screw needs to be removed.
Think of the reflector and the clear cover as one piece when you are removing the clear cover because they will have to be removed together because they are screwed together at the front. The screw can only be removed after the light is apart.

Look at the light and you will see the point where the clear cover meets the black part of the housing. There is a small raised lip on the clear cover at this point. What you will be doing is to take a small screwdriver and insert it between that raised lip on the clear cover and the black part of the housing. With light steady pressure twist the screwdriver. Do this very slowly don't just twist hard or you will deform the black plastic. You will get these little dents in it but that will be covered when you reseal them. A slight pressure is all it takes. the sealer that they used is very good so when it starts moving it will go slow. Once it gets wide enough to insert a large flat screwdriver do that and move about 2" over and do the same thing. You need to be trying to pull the clear cover away from the assembly the whole time, the screwdriver is just helping to separate them.

Don't forget about the keepers on the black plastic housing that clip on to the clear plastic cover. As they start separating you will have to help it over the tab to keep it from breaking (red arrow below).

Once you get a gap between the cover and assembly you will see the glue (sort of like putty) that they used stretching. You can run a razor knife through the gap and cut it. You will be reusing the old putty (and new sealer) so don't let it get dirty.

Start from the bottom front of the assembly work your way around both sides doing the top back last.


To reassemble

Heat the oven to 200 degrees, turn it off and as before wait 2-3 minutes before putting the light in. Place the clear plastic cover on top of the assembly. It will just be laying on top of the assembly but lined up like it goes. Place the assembly on the same cardboard as before but this time the clear plastic will face up instead of down. Leave the assembly in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove it and start pushing the clear plastic back in to the assembly starting at the top rear. Work your way around the light until you get all the black plastic keepers snapped back on to the clear cover.

Now for a little extra protection from leaks, use sealer around the entire assembly. I used the silicone below and it worked great.

Fill in the gap between the black plastic and the raised lip on the clear cover. I even filled the area inside the black plastic keepers like below.

Read this over and check out the light before you start. If you have any questions just ask.


Good Luck.

Click to expand...

NA1/2-R said:

Now lets see some pictures of your new headlights...

Click to expand...

Here's a few. There are lots of pics in this thread.

Awesome post - I'm going to do this mod even though I don't have the problem "yet" since I desperately want to remove the amber pieces in there! I can't believe you left yours intact!


thanks again, best post!


rick

s4play said:

Awesome post - I'm going to do this mod even though I don't have the problem "yet" since I desperately want to remove the amber pieces in there! I can't believe you left yours intact!


thanks again, best post!


rick

Click to expand...

You are very welcome Rick. Just take your time and don't force anything and you will be fine. They really don't bother me, i kind of like the clash of color to my LBBP.

Mike,
You got too much time on your hands.:biggrin: Your headlights looks great. Thanks for the write-up.

Dam...I cant bring myself to do this to my car even tho I need it!!!!!

I remember doing this to Civic's in 1998 and I hated ripping them apart and they never looked OEM after that!!! :redface:

I just completed my first set of nsx headlights with the upgraded washers. Now I totally understand the concept after seeing the flimsy stock plastic inserts. It's just a bad design by Honda/Acura for sure but an easy fix.

I found some rubber washers that worked perfectly once trimmed with my "bonzai tree" clipping scissors...hehe (think Mr. Miyagi on Karate kid) :biggrin:

I snapped some good pictures so if anyone wants to see I can post some later.


thanks again for this DIY

rick

Erik,
Most people wouldn't be able to tell that they were ever taken apart, once the lights are mounted back in the car.





Rick,
That's great. Glad i could be of help :smile:. Once you get them apart it is pretty obvious why they bounce.

Yes please do post some pictures and info on the washers you used. It may help out some of the others.

I know this topic was started a whiiile ago...so anyone do enough that they feel good doing them now for a small fee? :redface:

The hardest part about doing this modification besides taking the time to remove them from your car is baking them apart. I’ve been baking headlights apart for Audi, BMW, Honda, and many other cars for years now doing other custom LED mods so if you want this done, PM me to work something out!

I have all my documented pictures of this mod in my computer so just gotta find some time to upload them. There are tricks to everything and this is no exception.


Rick

Sorry, i just don't have the time. I am too busy trying to get a new product to you guys :wink:.


Rick would probably be your best option.

comtec said:

Sorry, i just don't have the time. I am too busy trying to get a new product to you guys :wink:.


Rick would probably be your best option.

Click to expand...

thanks!

but what new product? :biggrin:

s4play said:

thanks!

but what new product? :biggrin:

Click to expand...

All i can say right now is that it's very cool and your gonna want one :biggrin:.

comtec said:

All i can say right now is that it's very cool and your gonna want one :biggrin:.

Click to expand...

Rick's going to be doing my headlights in the near future...something I should wait for? :biggrin:

It doesn't have anything to do with the lights.

Thanks Comtec for this thread - you inspired me to finally try this!

Baking headlights open is nothing new to me as I've done this for countless BMW's, Audi's and every other brand you can name. Just haven't opened up a set of NSX lights till now. Recently I've worked on a total of 3 pairs of these lights so I'm pretty confident to do the modification now.

Once you have them open, it's readily apparent why the headlights bounce. The flimsy plastic clips (3 per headlight) are loosely fit in their opening relying on pressure to hold them in place. As the plastic gets older, the tension is not as great so it has a lot of "play". I would say all 2002+ headlights would exhibit this at some point ~ simple physics!

There's a couple ways to fix this and my first thought was why not just glue them in place. Don't glue them since you might risk getting the adjustment screws glued to the plastic and you are screwed. I used thick rubber washers trimmed to fit as you can see in the pictures but anything would work in principle.

PM me if you want it done as I can offer this as a service but here's a few shots. My pictures are not as detailed since you already know how to take apart the headlight.


The headlight is carefully baked apart in this photo:



Problematic clip that causes the bounce along with my rubber washers ready to re-install. I would say the hardest part is taking the headlights apart.



here's one of the clips INSTALLED:



And a final picture of them assembled along with LED's, no more bounce baby!

HI Comtec, The photos do not work anymore. Please reactivate your account with photo bucket. TIA

I tried to get the account reactivated but they want $24 a month for the "pro" version to reactivate the account. So i uploaded them again :wink:

Your Welcome.

Mike







=REPOST=

DIY 2002+ Headlight Fix (Bouncing)

Guy's this is how i fixed the bouncing problem with my 2002 headlights. I don't know that all the years (2002-2005) had the the same plastic clips but other years including the 2005 have owners with bouncing headlights so it's a good bet that they do. With the design of the clips it is almost certain that everyone will have this problem eventually or have it and can't tell.



First thing you have to do is remove the headlights and to do that requires you to remove the front bumper cover. I am not going into that here as i am sure there are a bunch of posts on removing the bumper cover.





Next you have to take apart the headlight assembly. Instructions in next post.





OK, now we assume that the headlights are disassembled and here is what you are looking at. The bulbs including the HID are not in the housing.





There are two problems with the clips. They have to much play front to back and to much play side to side. The front to rear play is the one that is causing the bouncing. The side to side would not be as noticeable while driving but it would still probably be happening.

Here are some pic's of the clips of which there are three. I have marked the space between the clip and the bracket with a red arrow to show how much play there is. The clip is smaller then the hole in the bracket of the light assembly. You will notice a little white dust, that is where the movement has started to wear away the plastic.








The light assembly only connects with the three headlight adjusters to the rear and sits on a piece of spring steel toward the front.




There are three adjusters and they are marked in red. There is also a water/dust boot marked in blue.

On the inside of the housing make a mark where the adjusters are now so you can get the headlight close to the correct position when you put the bulb assembly back in. That way they won't be too far out of adjustment. You can also do this by marking the adjuster threads.

Now you have to remove the bulb assembly from the housing.



The adjuster on the bottom right that looks like a screw and the one on the top right are no problem. The one on the left apparently takes a special tool but i was able to take off the white plastic cover and then it was OK.

You need to unscrew the adjusters a little at a time moving from one to the next until they are almost out. Don't try to unscrew one all the way or the light assembly will just jam against the side or you will strip the plastic clip. Once you have them all out of the clips you can pull the dust cover (marked in blue) just a little away from the back and once it unseals you can push it through the hole. It stays on the bulb assembly. Now it is apart.






I used a piece of dense (semi-hard) rubber and cut a square hole the size of the bottom of the clip with the tip of a razor knife. Then i pushed the clip into the hole and trimmed it to the same size as the top of the clip. The rubber is .050" or a little less than two credit cards thickness (.066") if you don't have a micrometer. If you use a softer rubber it will need to be thicker. You can try different thicknesses but it needs to be rubber to stop the side to side sliding. You just don't want the clip to be able to lock in easily, it needs to be hard to get in because that means that it is really tight. The rubber that i used is adhesive backed and that will help even more. I suggest you add a little adhesive to the side of the rubber facing the assembly but it probably wouldn't be required if it is really tight.











Once you have all three made you are ready to push them back in to the square holes on the bulb assembly. Mine were the absolute maximum thickness. Any thicker and i don't believe the clips would have locked in.

You are ready to reinstall the bulb assembly in to the housing. Push the rain/dust cap back through the hole. The same as removal, take it slow with each adjuster and make sure it goes in even all the way to the marks you made before.

There should now be no movement up and down or side to side of the bulb assembly (tight).

Here is a pic of the installed clip with the rubber spacer.





Your done, well with one side. Now you have to do the other :biggrin: .



Good luck, i hope this helps someone out.

Here is the information on taking the lights apart.





First you strip the light of all the bulbs and holders. Remove the ballast for the HID from the bottom of the assembly, unclip the ground wire from the top of the HID bulb and unclip the bulb shown below (red arrows) to remove the HID bulb.




Take all the racks out of the oven except for one at the very bottom. Place the light assembly with the clear lens down on top of some corrugated cardboard about 3/4"-1" thick and larger then the assembly.

Turn the oven on to 250 degrees (not preheat) and wait until it reaches temp. Turn the oven off and wait 2-3 minutes before putting in the assembly. Leave the assembly in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes and you are ready to start. As the assembly starts cooling the glue starts getting harder. You can put it back in the oven for a little longer (without turning the oven back on) and it will help if it seems too hard. The assembly is going to be hot and i don't think this can be done with gloves. My finger tips were sore for a day.


Important Note:
The reflector is attached to the housing and to the clear outer cover. To the outside of the assembly close to the signal light bulb you will see the screw that attaches to the reflector, it's the gold one (orange arrow in above picture). This screw needs to be removed.
Think of the reflector and the clear cover as one piece when you are removing the clear cover because they will have to be removed together because they are screwed together at the front. The screw can only be removed after the light is apart.




Look at the light and you will see the point where the clear cover meets the black part of the housing. There is a small raised lip on the clear cover at this point. What you will be doing is to take a small screwdriver and insert it between that raised lip on the clear cover and the black part of the housing. With light steady pressure twist the screwdriver. Do this very slowly don't just twist hard or you will deform the black plastic. You will get these little dents in it but that will be covered when you reseal them. A slight pressure is all it takes. the sealer that they used is very good so when it starts moving it will go slow. Once it gets wide enough to insert a large flat screwdriver do that and move about 2" over and do the same thing. You need to be trying to pull the clear cover away from the assembly the whole time, the screwdriver is just helping to separate them.






Don't forget about the keepers on the black plastic housing that clip on to the clear plastic cover. As they start separating you will have to help it over the tab to keep it from breaking (red arrow below).



Once you get a gap between the cover and assembly you will see the glue (sort of like putty) that they used stretching. You can run a razor knife through the gap and cut it. You will be reusing the old putty (and new sealer) so don't let it get dirty.




Start from the bottom front of the assembly work your way around both sides doing the top back last.


To reassemble

Heat the oven to 200 degrees, turn it off and as before wait 2-3 minutes before putting the light in. Place the clear plastic cover on top of the assembly. It will just be laying on top of the assembly but lined up like it goes. Place the assembly on the same cardboard as before but this time the clear plastic will face up instead of down. Leave the assembly in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove it and start pushing the clear plastic back in to the assembly starting at the top rear. Work your way around the light until you get all the black plastic keepers snapped back on to the clear cover.

Now for a little extra protection from leaks, use sealer around the entire assembly. I used the silicone below and it worked great.



Fill in the gap between the black plastic and the raised lip on the clear cover. I even filled the area inside the black plastic keepers like below.








Read this over and check out the light before you start. If you have any questions just ask.


Good Luck.