DIY 2012+ Civic OEM Halogen Projector Headlights

jasonandre

jasonandre

mlem
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Alexandria, VA
Vehicle Model
Civic Touring
Body Style
Sedan
DIY 2012+ Civic OEM Halogen Projector Headlights


civic_headlighton.sized.jpg


Important Notes:

  • This article covers the installation of a set of Honda factory projectors (OEM) that come standard on Australian- and Asian-market Civics.
  • These OEM projectors come with two unique harnesses: one for the parking lights and one for the turn signals. Honda's US headlights only have turn signals.
  • If your headlights did not come with a plug-and-play harness, there are steps included here that show you how to create one. Creating this harness will avoid having to tamper with your vehicle's existing harness.
  • Click on any of the pictures to see them in a higher resolution.
What you need for installation:

  • Honda OEM halogen projector headlights
  • Ratchet with 10mm socket and 10-inch or longer socket extender
  • 5mm Allen (Hex) wrench
  • Phillips screwdriver
  • Clip puller
  • Shop towels
What you need for plug-n-play harness creation:

Let's begin:

--Bumper Removal--

  1. Remove the screws (A), the bolts (B), and the clips (C, D) securing the front bumper (E).
    Screws at (A) require a Phillips screwdriver.
    Bolts at (B) require a 5mm Allen wrench.
    Clips at (C, D) can be removed with a clip remover.

    NOTE: If you have a Coupe, one of the screws at (A) does not exist (see graphic below).


    headlight_graphs_01.jpg
  2. Pull out the front bumper from the side spacer.Repeat this step on the opposite side.

    026_G_002.sized.jpg


  3. Pull out both sides of the front bumper (A) from the upper beam (B).

    headlight_graphs_05.jpg

    027_G_002.sized.jpg


  4. Remove the front bumper.
    Place the bumper on top of shop towels to reduce any chance of scratching the underside.

    headlight_graphs_03.jpg
 
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--Headlight Removal--

  1. Use a ratchet wrench with a 10mm socket to remove three bolts shown below, then remove the headlight (A) with the corner upper beam (B) as an assembly.

    headlight_graphs_04.jpg



    NOTE: The third bolt is difficult to reach (see photos below). Use your socket extender to reach it.

    037a.sized.jpg


    If you do not have an extender that long, then you are going to have to remove the aluminum bumper beam first using a ratchet wrench with a 12 mm socket.

    Place a microfiber shop towel on top of the support beam directly below the headlight to avoid scratching the paint, which will happen if you don't use a towel.

    Once the bolts are removed, remove the harness clips (C) from the headlight housing.

  2. Remove the corner upper beam (A) from the headlight (B) using a ratchet wrench with 10mm socket.

    headlight_graphs_06.jpg

    047_G_001.sized.jpg


  3. Install the corner upper beam (A) onto your new halogen projector headlights and reinstall the headlights in the reverse order of these instructions.
 
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--Plug-n-play Harness Creation--

NOTE: If your projector headlights already came with a plug-n-play harness, you may skip this section entirely and continue with installing them.

The method shown here requires soldering and assumes you already know how.



  1. Place four 12-inch wires into the 12V 28/8W socket.
    Make sure to leave a little bit of wire exposed so that you can place the soldering iron onto the wire and heat up the solder.

    Use the socket layout above as your guide. You can use any color wire you wish, but if possible I recommend using:
    Ground - Black Wire
    Parking - Red Wire
    Turn Signal - Yellow Wire





  2. Apply a liberal amount of dielectric grease inside the socket to protect the contacts and to prevent any possibility of arching.



  3. Solder the two harnesses to the wires from your 12V 28/8W socket.

    You want the red-wired harness to be approximately 11 inches in total length.
    You want the yellow-wired harness to be approximately 26 inches in total length.

    http://9thcivic.com/gallery/albums/JA/003b.jpg
  4. Wrap each harness separately with 3/8-inch loom, then use electrical tape to wrap the both together.

    You want loom for the red-wired harness to be approximately 11 inches in total length.
    You want the loom for the yellow-wired harness to be approximately 26 inches in total length.



  5. Attach your new harness to the headlights.

    005_G_004.sized.jpg
 
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--Wire Splicing--

If you do not have a plug-n-play harness/adapter, then you can splice/solder the wires from your existing OEM turn-signal harness to the two new harnesses that come with the projectors. Here's how to do it:
  1. You need to open the loom behind the stock turn signal socket to expose the 3 wires:
    (1x black=ground, 1x blue=turn signals and 1x red=parking lights)
  2. Use either splice connectors or simple soldering to connect the two red wires (parking light) from the new headlights to the black wire and red wire from the stock harness.
  3. Use either splice connectors or simple soldering to connect the two yellow wires (turn signal) from the new headlights to black wire and blue wire. If the yellow wires are too short, you will need to buy 20-gauge wires to extend them.


--Results--

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that's where he got them. They were imported from the middle east.
 
Update

I've discovered an alternate way to install these projectors without the need to cut or splice the factory harness at all. It costs a few bucks more for genuine Honda parts, but it's worth the expense.
I'll be updating the DIY with those instructions in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you're looking to install these headlights sooner than that, PM me and I can provide you the instructions in lieu of the DIY.
 
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