XTec Help

[Ex-Rolla]

Hey guys, hope someone can help me out here. I recently had my Xtec kit installed at Lockdown... Everything went great in terms of installation, but that evening I noticed some problems. The adaptors that came with the kit was used to secure the bulbs in the housing, but I noticed that night the bulbs were shaking when I went over bumps... no problem, I called Lockdown, made an appointment to take the car in... Jeff added some kind of tar substance around the base of the bulb so it will stay more firmly in place but unfortunately same thing was happening.

I know a number of you have used the rubber grommets from home depot, so I figured I’d give it a try. This time I mustered up some courage and tried it out myself. I replaced the plastic spacers with the rubber grommets, but again it did not work. I triple check my work to make sure it felt secure and it did.

So I gave it some more thought, and tried to combine the rubber grommet and the spacer that came with the kit. The reason I did this is because I felt the space between the bulb and spacer was insufficient to put enough pressure on the bulb to hold it in place when the clip was attached.

this is what i came up with.

Here is a pic of the spacer that came with the kit

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/1.jpg

Here is a pic of the modified grommet. I cut 4 little triangles in the rubber so it will sit on the spacer. (corresponds to the points on the spacer... kind of hard to explain)

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/2.jpg

Once pic 2 was complete, I placed the rubber grommet on the spacer and came up with the below pic(s)

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/3.jpg
http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/4.jpg

This gave the spacer an additional 2 mm of well... space, allowing the clip to put more force on the bulb/spacer and i assumed the rubber may act as a spring to absorb little shakes.


After all this, it still didn\'t work. ARGHHHHHH


I\'m all out of freakin ideas, my hair is turning grey and i\'m ready to take this cr*p out and put the halogens back in. Before i go to that extreme, I made another appointment with lockdown so they can take another look at it (they\'ve been great by the way). MORE IMPORTANTLY, i wanted to ask you guys for any suggestions as to what i can do. I\'m thinking it\'s something simple like the spacers that came with the kit are faulty, but i don\'t have any extra ones to try replacing them with.

Really appreciate any help you guys can provide!

Ex


Edit: just re-read my post and notinced a lot of gramatical errors... as you can tell I\'m a little stressed... let me know if yo need a better explanation.

[majic]

here xtecusa talks about some spacers missing (http://www.mazda3forums.com/viewtopic.php?p=232654#232654)

i wonder if they are different spacers from the one seen in pic #1 but they probably are the same. sorry can\'t add much more since my kit is in shipment as i type.

Also i think autoexe had a problem with his bulbs vibrating, check what he did...

EDIT: i just noticed you\'ve already seen that other thread.. hopefully lockdown can fix it next time around

[///M]

No problems with mine vibrating, though I did have problems getting the spacers on.

Maybe the spacers were drilled a little too much, causing them to be loose?

[chaser]

I didn\'t use the provided spacers. I used 1 and a half grommets bought from HomeDepot. No vibrating at all. You may send Xtec email and ask them to send you extra spacers. Good luck :)

[Ex-Rolla]

Autoexe: you know I thought that might be it... I had to put 2 layers of electric tape around the base of the bulb so they would fit nice and snug in the spacer.

I\'ll sent them an email or call them and see if they can privide me with a couple more spacers.

Thanks guys

[Ex-Rolla]

I called Xtec USA @ 1-760-798-1863 (1-866-XTECUSA did not work) and mentioned my situation... They will send me a couple of new ones.

I\'ll keep you all updated

Ex

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by chaser


I didn\'t use the provided spacers. I used 1 and a half grommets bought from HomeDepot. No vibrating at all. You may send Xtec email and ask them to send you extra spacers. Good luck :)

i used one grommet and things are ok so far (since october/november and 20,000kms later). <knock on wood>

this may sound dumb, but make sure the tab on the bulb goes into the notch in the headlight socket ... and make sure that the clip goes over the top and bottom of the grommet and/or spacer (which i\'m guessing was already attempted :) )

[Ex-Rolla]

Originally posted by MajesticBlueN



Originally posted by chaser


I didn\'t use the provided spacers. I used 1 and a half grommets bought from HomeDepot. No vibrating at all. You may send Xtec email and ask them to send you extra spacers. Good luck :)

i used one grommet and things are ok so far (since october/november and 20,000kms later). <knock on wood>

this may sound dumb, but make sure the tab on the bulb goes into the notch in the headlight socket ... and make sure that the clip goes over the top and bottom of the grommet and/or spacer (which i\'m guessing was already attempted :) )


Doesn\'t sound dumb, I thought that may have been the problem... I removed the bulb then put it back in place ensuring that the bulb doesn\'t turn and the clip attached securely... no luck

[Ex-Rolla]

Just an update.... got the new spacers today. I hope to install them either tonight or tomorrow.

I\'ll let you all know how it went!

[Ex-Rolla]

Alright guys... I\'m really starting to get pissed off... I installed the new spacers today after i modified them carefully and the same thing is happening.

I give up! I don\'t know what else to do and I\'m ready to rip this *stupid* thing out of my car and throw it against a wall

Do you guys have any other suggestions? I\'m all out of ideas!! Iwas thinking of using a glue gun to secure the back of the housing, but the bulb generates so much heat, I\'m worried that it\'s just going to oooz off.


Edit: Had some bad words :sarc in there... was pretty frustrated when i initially posted the uodate

[Ex-Rolla]

Hey guys, believe it or not I\'m still trying to fix these things.... I wanted to get your thoughts on something that I think may be causing the problem

The picture below illustrates why i think the bulbs are still bouncing around. The metal part of the bulb (where the arrows point to\" are moving around... I personally think they should not be moving, so I\'ve come to the conclusion that the bulbs themselves are to blame....

What do you guys think? If any of you can confirm that this is not normal, I\'m going to write an email to Xtec to see if they can help me out.

Here\'s the pic
http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/bulbs1.jpg

Also, here is the \"new\" modified clip

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/clip.jpg


Thanks guys

Ex

[chaser]

Originally posted by Ex-Rolla
The metal part of the bulb (where the arrows point to\" are moving around...

The last time I saw/touched the bulbs was December thus I don\'t remember how exactly they were. But, I don\'t think there was any lose or moving part on the bulbs.
Anyone who has a set handy please confirm w/ Ex-Rolla. Feel sorry for the frustration you\'ve.

[majic]

shiat.. i don\'t have metal \'thingies\' there.. mine are plastic.. and they aren\'t moving *dun dun dun*

[Ex-Rolla]

k Thanks guys.... I\'ll send an email to Xtec... I\'ll see if they can help me out.

Ex

[Ex-Rolla]

Good News everyone :)

I sent an emial to xtec, and they gave me a couple of options because the metal part should not be moving around.

1- I can use 100% silicon (handles heat extremely well) to secure the metal part on the bulb to the spacer.

2- I can return the bulbs and they\'ll send me replacements.


I must say I was quite surprised with his email. He replied extremely fast and I\'m happy that he mentioned they can replace the bulb. I am probably going to go with option 2 but i would need to re-install my halogen bulbs before i send them out.

I\'ll let you know how they turn out.

Ex

[wtom]

Good luck, Ex-Rolla! Here\'s hoping things go smooth from here on!

[Ex-Rolla]

Alright guys... I just sent the bulbs back to Xtec. Hope i won\'t be without them for too long...


Ex

[MAZDA3_MIKE]

dam my balest blew and x tec\'s warrenty set up is just b.s . hope you have better luck

[S.F.W.]

what si the story with the warranty? I read on another forum that if you secure with a credit card they will do an advacne exchange. This makes me nervous, as I am looking ot get HID\'s soon..

[MAZDA3_MIKE]

thats it they want 75 bucks to do the switch then they say they will send your 75 bucks back when your old balest shows up to x tec .sounds odd to me

[majic]

Originally posted by MAZDA3_MIKE


thats it they want 75 bucks to do the switch then they say they will send your 75 bucks back when your old balest shows up to x tec .sounds odd to me

it sounds normal as they need to ensure you will return the ballasts. they\'ve probably been hit a few times when the customers did not return the \'defective\' ballast/bulb and had two sets on hand. when they get your package, you\'ll get your $ back.

[Ex-Rolla]

Just an update.


As per the tracking info, Xtec received the bulbs on the 18th of April. I confirmed with Xtec through email on the 25th that they did in fact get them. Going to wait until May 2 (monday) before i email them for an update....

I can\'t stand being without the HID\'s... difference is day and night.

[Ex-Rolla]

Well, after a couple of weeks of waiting I finally got by bulbs yesterday...

1st thing i noticed is that the bulbs were the same (not new ones). It seems that all they did was re-secure (if that\'s a word) the metal part in my previous pic to the bulb so it doesn\'t move. I was under the assumption that I was going to get new ones, but I assumed wrong.

now for the bad news. They still jump around like crazy... I don\'t know what else to do, I really don\'t... I\'m going to try and make it to the next meet, not only to meet all you guys, but to also see how how another Xtec kits bulbs have been secured. Other than that, this time around, I\'m all out of ideas.

I think I\'m just going to remove the kit and save up for something else if there is nothing else that can be done... if i even decide to get HID\'s again.

Anybody have any other suggestions?


Ex

[Ex-Rolla]

yes, yes... I\'m very persistent...

After speking to majic, he recommended for me to try and bend the clips to hold the bulbs more securely in place. Bending the clips proved to be a little difficult if you don\'t have the proper tools, so I compared the stock bulb and the HID bulb with spacer to see the height difference.

Here\'s a pic of the two bulbs

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/bulbheight.jpg

If you look at the 2 arrows, you\'ll notice the HID bulb is not as high as the stock one, so instead of bending the spacers (for now) I put a bit of electric tape as a temporary basis to increase the height of the bulb by about 2-3 mm. This of course is just a temporary solution until I figure out a way to increase the height permanently... I\'m not bringing my hopes up, but hope this will at least reduce the bouncing.

Ex

[majic]

Originally posted by Ex-Rolla


yes, yes... I\'m very persistent...

After speking to majic, he recommended for me to try and bend the clips to hold the bulbs more securely in place. Bending the clips proved to be a little difficult if you don\'t have the proper tools, so I compared the stock bulb and the HID bulb with spacer to see the height difference.

Ex

i used my hand and pliers.. it was quite hard and i\'m not sure if it helped at all.. maybe just a little, it\'s better now.

when i have a minute i\'ll take out my ProLumen bulb and compare it to the stock one and you can see if you would have a problem with ProLumen bulbs.

btw, have you tried putting a rubber grommet (or the foam thing that came with my bulbs, not sure if it came with yours) between the spacer and the rest of the bulb?

[Ex-Rolla]

Actually I have tried using the rubber grommet between the bulb and the spacer...

here\'s a pic (I used my camera phone which sucks)

http://ca.geocities.com/mp3master@rogers.com/4.jpg

It still didn\'t do the job. I think it didn\'t work because the bulbs generates so much heat, the rubber becomes too soft. I need to find something much harder... possibly some PVC tubing... I\'m still going to play around with them, but if you can take a pic of your bulb compared to the stock that would be great.... whenever you get the chance of course.

Ex

[majic]

Originally posted by Ex-Rolla

It still didn\'t do the job. I think it didn\'t work because the bulbs generates so much heat, the rubber becomes too soft. I need to find something much harder... possibly some PVC tubing... I\'m still going to play around with them, but if you can take a pic of your bulb compared to the stock that would be great.... whenever you get the chance of course.

Ex


yeah i forgot about the pic on the first page of the thread..

my base is plastic so it\'s not THAT hot. have you tried some electrical tape on top of the grommet? maybe you can use metal washers instead? (stack a few up)

MBNs got xtec bulbs and his grommets didn\'t get mushy.. *hmm*

[Ex-Rolla]

The spacer is too big for these bulb. I had to put exactly 3 layers of electric tape around the base of the bulbs so the spacer would fit nice and snug, or else the bulb would have A LOT of play. (I know it\'s kind of difficult to visualize).

With the three layers in place, I put an additional 1 thinner layer to prevent the spacer from moving all the way up to the bottom of the bulb... (with me? lol) so basically the the space between the base of the bulb and the spacer has increased by about 2 mm. Because the electric tape is \"soft\" is still think it\'s going to vibrate. (still haven\'t driven the car at night)


I did give the metal spacers some thought, so I\'m going to see if i can get a 3/4 inch metal washers to see if those would work

[Ex-Rolla]

Hi guys, still no luck... still bouncing around like a mofo...

I\'ll give you guys an update with what i thought may have worked.

I bought some more 3/4 inch spacers and modified them, and came up with this.

http://ca.geocities.com/mark.karabulut@rogers.com/adaptor1.jpg

http://ca.geocities.com/mark.karabulut@rogers.com/adaptor2.jpg

http://ca.geocities.com/mark.karabulut@rogers.com/adaptor3.jpg

I thought that this may have helped but i was wrong.... Back to the drawing board!

Do you guys know if the actual projector can be tightened? I took a look at the workshop manual (downloaded from the net, but for a euro spec 3) and I couldn\'t find anything that would indicate that can/can\'t be tightened.

Thanks

Ex

[Ex-Rolla]

almost forgot... I also Sacrificed one oem adaptor. the material that it\'s made of is perfect, hard plastic. I thought that another reason the bulbs may have been bouncing, is because the rubber spacers were too soft so it was acting like some sort of spring.

So, I took the original oem spacer pictured here

http://ca.geocities.com/mark.karabulut@rogers.com/oemadaptor1.jpg

and cut the bottom portion out, rounded the edges so the bulb would fit through and came up with something like this

http://ca.geocities.com/mark.karabulut@rogers.com/oemadaptor2.jpg

then tried using that as a spacer... NOPE.. still no good.

[TheProfessor]

Just a thought, but have you tried going back to the stock lighting to see if that bounces around? If not, then you know it has nothing to do with the projectors/housing. I feel for you though man, after all that, I think I would\'ve thrown the kit in the trash:(

[Ex-Rolla]

Originally posted by PSIVIC


Just a thought, but have you tried going back to the stock lighting to see if that bounces around? If not, then you know it has nothing to do with the projectors/housing. I feel for you though man, after all that, I think I would\'ve thrown the kit in the trash:(

Hey P,

I tried it last night.


I played around with them a little more last night. I completely took out both clips and bent them quite a bit to exert a lot of force on the spacer so in turn it will hold the bulbs in place. I found it a lot easier to bend them by physically taking the clips out by loosening the screw that holds them in place and use a couple of needle nose pliers to shape them. For comparison sake, I left one of the HID’s in and replaced the other one with the halogen bulb. Right off the bat I noticed when I put the halogen bulb in, there was absolutely no play, not even the slightest bit. The bulbs sat against the housing extremely firm. With the HID/spacer combo, I can still move the back of the bulb. Not by much, but it was noticeably loose compared the halogen.

I drove around for a bit like this on some of the darker roads around here (Leslie north of Elgin Mills to be exact) and I did not notice the halogen moving. Mind you the beam pattern is not as clear compared to the HID, but I drove on roads where I know the bulbs shake (I drive through regularly). The HID’s on the other hand were still moving.

It was mentioned that the housing can be the problem, but I’m not prepared to spend hundreds of additional dollars and hope it fixes the problem. After yesterday (replacing one HID with the halogen bulb), I’m convinced it’s not the housing.

So that\'s the update... I\'m still at it though! :)

[Ex-Rolla]

After a number of additional emails were sent to Xtec, they recommended me try different bulbs... more specifically HIDS4U bulbs, because the base of the bulbs are plastic vs. metal.

I got them today and installed them.

One thing i should mention. The Xtec bulbs i had were 5000k. The ones that were sent to me were also 5000k (as per the label). Once installed, the colour temp of the bulbs seemed extremely different. The HIDS4U had more of a stock colour, vs the Xtec having a bluish colour. It seems that the colour temps vary from manufacturer to manufacturer quite drastically.

Okay, now for the end result.... They seem to vibrate even more. After removing and reinstalling the bulbs (old and new) a million times, I\'m 100% sure they have been installed correctly. PSIVIC and a few others mentioned that it could be the housing that was shaking and not the bulbs, I\'m going to have to say that i agree with them (changed my mind). If i put my hand on the headlight housing and moved it up an down with very little force, the beam pattern against the wall seems to move up and down. Previously when i put the factory bulbs in and drove around at night i did not notice the beam shaking, but that may be due to the fact the cut-off is not that well defined as it is with the HID bulbs.

So here i am... 5 months later, and still have no soultion. I\'m sure if i mention this to the dealer, they will not even look at it considering they are aftermarket bulbs... What do you guys think? Do you think the dealer would give me a hard time if i asked them to look at it, to make sure there are no abnormalities with the housing?

I\'m open to any suggestions at this point.

Thanks guys...

Ohh... I\'ll take some pics of the HIDS4U bulbs installed and the Xtecs installed just for the sake of comparison, I\'ll also try and make a short vid clip to show you the beam pattern going up/down when I touch the headlight housing.

Ex

[Optimzer]

I think it depends on the dealer and/or your relationship with them.

[TheProfessor]

Personally I think I would put the stock bulbs in one last time, go to the dealer, and just tell them that people have told you the lights seem to flicker. Hopefully that will be enough for them to take a look.

[Ex-Rolla]

It\'s the projector that\'s moving. I held the back of the bulb while it was on, and moved it up and down. I can\'t beleive i never noticed that before!! Going to take the bumper off tomorrow and see if i can tighten them up. Also bought some rubber washers to use along the way.

Have any of you know if the projector can be tightened? I\'m going to go ahead and try anyway, but if any of you have had any experience doing this, please let me know.

Thanks!

[el squid]

Originally posted by Ex-Rolla


It\'s the projector that\'s moving. I held the back of the bulb while it was on, and moved it up and down. I can\'t beleive i never noticed that before!! Going to take the bumper off tomorrow and see if i can tighten them up. Also bought some rubber washers to use along the way.

Have any of you know if the projector can be tightened? I\'m going to go ahead and try anyway, but if any of you have had any experience doing this, please let me know.

Thanks!

the projector can be tightened. i work in the automotive lighting business. inside there will be some sort of bracket holding the projector to the housing. there should be at least 3 attachments, horiz adjuster, vert adjuster and a fixed post. i know in the lights i build, there are screws that secure the ball socket to the prjector reflector and there are screws that secure the adjusters/post to the housing. you may have to take it completely apart, or perhaps put the stockers back in and have the lamp replaced under warranty if possible

sounds like a screw loose/missing or broken adjuster posts

[Ex-Rolla]

Hey El squid.

I had the passenger side hosung replaced last thursday and the problem is still there. (MOT was kind enough to replace one) Do you have any other suggestions? I don\'t feel comfortable baking my headlight to take it apart only to find out there is nothing inside that i can tighten. If i had an extra one, no problem, but for now, I\'m just going to leave it as is.

Ex

[TheProfessor]

Ex, so it\'s the entire housing that\'s bouncing around and not the bulb/socket? And this is happening on both sides?

[Ex-Rolla]

Originally posted by PSIVIC


Ex, so it\'s the entire housing that\'s bouncing around and not the bulb/socket? And this is happening on both sides?


I\'m assuming so, although the passenger side housing was replaced and the problem is still there.

Last week I took the bumper off, and removed the housing. When I moved the projector from the back (where the bulb mounts) up/down, everything inside the housing, including the high beams were moving real easily. I took a short vid of the problem and sent it to Flip so the service manager can take a look. That\'s the reason why i thought it was the housing. Now that it\'s replaced and the problem still there, I don\'t know what else it can be.


I\'ll see if i can upload the video later tonight.

[b]

Ex-Rolla... Did you have any luck fixing this? I have the same problem. Drives me nuts! Thanks for your help.

[Operator]

You ever take those comparison pics of the HIDS4U bulbs installed and the Xtecs?

[derrick]

Are you sure you are securing the clip properly? I have seen it before where the clip gets stuck in the housing, but isn't actually secured properly.

Also, I have used bath drain plugs cut to fit snugly and I have had no problems at all. Try to find some that are a similar diameter to the base of the bulb and cut a hole out of the middle.

If you have adjusted the aim of your headlights before, did you loosen the bolts and then tighten them? Final adjustment should always be a tightening movement or the adjustment bolts could shake loose.

Looking back at the first post, the spacer the kit came with should work fine. I have used them many times before, and actually find they are often too long and it makes it extremely difficult to get the bulb clipped in properly.