Mitch P

Has anyone got/had any experience of the above lights on a 2002 wrx? I've only seen pictures etc.. and don't fancy shelling out £4-600 on lights that just look good, without knowing about the light output/quality/fit etc..

Apple

Mitch,

I looked at a set of these before I got my Prodrives and they fit the same was as the bugeyes/uk300 etc i.e. bolt holes in same place (obviously)

What put me off them at the time was that they were originally replacements for STi7 lights and hence had the STi levelling system which is different to WRXs (number of wires etc) . Unless somebody's sorted out the wiring probs (somebody was checking it in lighting/electrical forum a while back) you'll have to install them minus electrical levelling.

AFAIR dealers have fitted one or two pairs but it's a megabuck labour charge . Seem to remember that people have had them wired by autoelectricians but don't know how much of a job it is...

Dunno about the light output - sorry

Have a search through lighting / electrical for more info

Apple

Mitch P

Yeah thanks for the info. How do you find uk300 lights ? If I can't find any info. on the others I might go for them or maybe morrettes.
Mitch

DR Motorsport

Apple, your quite correct about the problems with the wiring, and the differences between the STi and WRX looms.
Orciari now list 2 sets of lights. One for each type of loom.

David

DrEvil

Damn - wish I'd known earlier, recently got UK300 lights for mine.. blast.

jah

I installed STi7 lights on my WRX and made a converter circuit for the leveling. The schematic and parts list is in this thread http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...hreadID=154631.

Making STI to WRX converter is easier as it does not require that much electronics.

Mitch P

Thanks for the replies,but I've finally gone for the UK300's.Now the fun will begin with the fitting.

Apple

Alex - say an extra DAMN for me

jah - I knew you were working on it but I went for the UK300s as well and now wish I hadn't in certain respects

Any STi7 lights going cheap now the 03 is almost out and do Autolamps swap H7 for H1 fittings?

Apple

jah

Apple,

The STi lights really are the best. They look good and the light output is excellent. Well worth the high price and the rather big effort in fitting them.

On the downside they are slightly deeper than the standard bugs, meaning there is even less space between the battery and the headlight. So come bulb changing time I bet there will be some cursing going on...

Apple

jah,

thanks for the info - I'm considering a set but as I've recently spend a load on the prodrives and HID - it might get a bit expensive and then I've to swap the HID components from H7 to H1 and get rid of the prodrives...

From the circuit diagram on the other thread, once you've found the +12V and 0V wires on the WRX, the third wire goes on the other terminal? Similarly, connect up 0V and +12V and spread the remaining 4 wires out amongst the free terminals? (I'm a mechanical engineer - not electrical and there aren't any bolts on the pcb )

I've had a call from a dealer tonight before I got in from work and that's something to do with the STi lights - maybe they want to give me a set for nothing I'd asked about the price and was told approx 260 gbp + VAT which, although isn't cheap, is better than I expected (might be able to get SIDC discount on top as well ) (I'm interested but will the bank account stand it?)

Thanks for the bit on the depth of the lights - one of my HID ballasts is mounted on the battery so that would probably have to be moved... - presumably the bolt / clip holes are the same?

Apple

jah

The circuit diagram is just like you thought. The 3 wires coming in from the left are the WRX 3 wires and the 6 going out on the right are the STi 6 wires.

Don't remember wire colors but the middle wire in WRX is the adjuster wire. With a multimeter it's pretty easy to figure out the remaining two (One has +12V when lights are on, the other is connected to ground).

On the STi lights the 4 adjuster wires (middle ones in the schematic) are the first 4 in the 6-pin connector. +12V and ground are last two pins. If I remember right the +12V wire on the lights is solid red and ground is solid black.

There is still some space between the battery and the light, just not as much as with the standard lights. So depending on the size your HID ballast it might still fit. And yes, mechanically the headlight mounting points are the same.

Apple

Thanks for the info - I've been offered a set of STi lights for about half price off a 4 month old car and hopefully I can get the pcbs made up by someone I know who's into electronics I've also found that I might be able to sort out the HID option rather than having to start again.

Are there any specifications as to what voltages to expect at the various terminals or is it a case of connect them up and see if it works?

Apple

jah

You only need one of the circuits as you can just wire up both of the headlights in parallel from the outputs.

There seemingly isn't any voltage level logic that would allow you to figure out which pin on STi lights is which (makes sense as the pins are likely a voltage comparator input). I ended up getting the STi schematic diagram from a dealer. You can test the adjuster in the lights with a simple +12V power supply, just connect the power and ground pins, then apply +12V to the 4 remaining pins one at a time and watch the reflector move. It's fairly easy to see the adjustment positions from high to low as the high beam bulb holder movement is clearly visible.

The circuit output is +12V on one of the adjuster pins at a time. But if you have a very high-impedance multimeter you may see some voltage on all the pins as they are not pulled to ground with resistors and the switching transistors can leak a bit of current.

Note also that the circuit only works if it's the only thing connected to the WRX adjuster wiring. So disconnect both of the stock headlights from the car before trying if it works.