Ok guys as promised heres the write up for the E39 DIY HID retrofit...

You will need these following equipment:
Dremel, with sanding head, grinding, and cutting
JB Weld
3M double sided tape
Drill with a big drill bit
2 - OEM H7 Bulb holders
2 - 3/4 inch Elbow plumbing pipes
A friend

most of these can be found at your local automotive store, the elbow plumbing pipes can be bought at home depot for 39 cents each. OEM H7 bulb holders can be purchased at your local stealership for 13 bucks each if in case you mess up on the ones you have now.

Ok step one...unplug your lowbeam adapter from your OEM H7 bulb holders.

2)Then remove your H7 bulb and keep in a safe place...never know when you might need them.

3)Bring out the dremel and attack the cutting tip to it.

4)Cut the H7 bulb holder in half, right above the metal prongs that accept your H7 bulbs. Have a friend hold the H7 base for you while you dremel around it, this is much easier than doing it yourself and safer.

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/3676/dscn02105rm.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7200/dscn02119np.jpg

5) when done cutting make sure to sand down the top part to remove the parts that are bulging out, also sanding helps the JB weld hold the bond ALOT better. Sand both top and bottom parts to achieve smoothness.

6) After sanding put it aside and take out your 3/4 elbow plumbing tube, this tube is basically used as a makeshift lever to apply torque to lock your H7 base holder into the teeths of the housing. Without this it is nearly impossible to lock it in place.

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/5866/dscn02120ya.jpg

7) Take your drill with a big drill tip and drill a hole through the back of it, (have your friend drill, while you step on it to make sure it stays in place) to allow your HID wires and plugs through, Use grinder from the Dremel to widen the hole to accomodate the wires and plugs.

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/167/dscn02163bk.jpg

Me grinding to widen the hole

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/3933/dscn02142pb.jpg

Continue to part two (Cant post all those images up at same time :stickoutt )

8) put this aside for now and get mix the JB weld, apply JB weld to the bottom of the HID bulb holder and to the top of the H7 Base.
**Make sure all surfaces are sanded before applying JB Weld, otherwise bond will not be strong enuff.**

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/2762/dscn02194yr.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/2985/dscn02206rh.jpg

9) Wait 5-6 minutes to allow bond to become strong

10) Take the 3/4 elbow pipe now and put your wires and plugs through first, use JB weld again on the bottom of the H7 base and the rim of the 3/4 elbow pipe. Again MAKE sure both areas are properlly sanded.

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/963/dscn02213ex.jpg

11) Allow 10 minutes this time to dry, extra time is need to make sure bond is strong enuff to handle the torque applied to it when locking the base into the projector housing.

12) Twist it in just like your regular H7 bulbs! Make sure the teeth is aligned so the elbow part comes up on top...
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4320/dscn02222ek.jpg

Do the same for the other side.
This mod took me and my friend 1 1/2 hours for first headlight, planning and doing everything along the way, 2nd headlight took only 30minutes.

Before and after shots:

LEFT: HIDS RIGHT: STOCK
http://img254.echo.cx/img254/8601/dscn02236ks.jpg

BOth HIDS installed
http://img254.echo.cx/img254/2426/dscn02271mc.jpg

Night shot
http://img254.echo.cx/img254/6826/dscn02280se.jpg

Perfect HID projection, very fine cut lines and great color
http://img254.echo.cx/img254/3420/dscn02303go.jpg


Much thanks to Grimpy, Dan, Habbie, EthiRtyNiN3, my friend Lon and all others who have contributed to this. I hope this guide will help you guys in the future if anyone decides to go the HID way. Thanks again!

o BTW here is where i mounted my ballast and igniter..i used the unused air intake filter cover on my passengerside, and on top of my air intake on my driver side.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/811/dscn02255pg.jpg

Nice!! Maybe I will do the same.. :D

haha you def. should! realllll easy...just takes some time and patience...

Dude, you got some girly hands. :D

lol your not the first to tell me that...i can be a hand model ^^

bright as heylll

:buttrock

glad you finally went ahead and did it bro... told you it was easy... :)

I didn't think about the leverage thing... looks like it made it alot easier to twist on though.

where did you get the HID stuff for this? what all HID parts would i need? that looks awesome. im thinking of getting some new headlights, but dont wanna spend the dough on HID ones.

where did you get the HID stuff for this? what all HID parts would i need? that looks awesome. im thinking of getting some new headlights, but dont wanna spend the dough on HID ones.

Umnitza.

Talk to Habbie from Umnitza, he will hook you up, currently they sell Prolumens, they look great, i compared it to Xtec and dont see any difference at all..the only annoying thing with Prolumens i have is that it has a seperate igniter that you have to mount somewhere...as for equipment you can find the elbow tube at any Home Depot, make sure its 3/4 inch, Dremel at any hardware store (buy the multiple heads), and JB weld at any automotive store...

You won't be annoyed in 10 months when they are still working as well as ever:D

Nice!!! just found this thread and you just saved me a bunch of dough - I'm gonna retrofit my OEM xenon bulbs and ballasts onto a set of P39s. Thanks for putting this together!

the cutoff looks good.

Why not get the H7 based HID bulbs / Kit?

Why not get the H7 based HID bulbs / Kit?

That's what I was wondering.

Why not get the H7 based HID bulbs / Kit?

Good point...but good work nonetheless. One of your lights looks like it needs to be adjusted up or the other down though...from the garage door shot.

Great DIY. Thanks a lot.

Something is wroing with before-after pictures. Can you repost them? I'm really interested in light pattern of xenon bulbs in halogen headligts.

By the way, xenon bulbs you have used are usual D2S?

Gents, be ware of the "Check Low Beam" though. I did this on my E34, and I got the low beam error still... gotta find a EE friend and work up a relay to fix this problem - doable, just hassle.

On my E39, I got a kit that was slightly more $$, but direct plug and play, no modification to bulb holders, etc, and no error codes. I have '01 525iT with stock halogen lights and with AE. Not sure if normal kit will throw a code, but this kit has a built in resistor. I saved some $$ on my E34, but now I have to figure out how to get rid of the message soon - it's annoying.

yeah, that annoying LBF error...

i get that daily with the lights on and off (after a few minutes i suppose the diagnostics throw up that code if they don't sense bulbs installed)

CWY M5> what kind of kit are you using? how did the kit fit in the weird H7 (with bulb holder) housings?

Good Job! I've looked into doing the same thing, but havent because I havent worked through a couple of issues yet. Here's the guestion: I see you've got projectors, so its less of an issue than it is with reflectors, but did you measure the distance of the filament (or light source on D2S) to the lens when you did the mod? I saw some idiot who did it with a honda lens, and he didnt take into account the filament distance, and the light was way up in everyones eyes. Bad mod!

CWY M5> Did you tap into 12V wire or just used the existing connector to power the new HID lights? According to visionbulbs installation guide, they recommend tapping into 12V but I don't know which wire to use. Unlike my E46, there is no 12V HOT wire source in the engine compartment in my E39.

CWY M5> Did you tap into 12V wire or just used the existing connector to power the new HID lights? According to visionbulbs installation guide, they recommend tapping into 12V but I don't know which wire to use. Unlike my E46, there is no 12V HOT wire source in the engine compartment in my E39.

i just used the stock connect that was used for the stock halogen lights..plug and play baby!

Good Job! I've looked into doing the same thing, but havent because I havent worked through a couple of issues yet. Here's the guestion: I see you've got projectors, so its less of an issue than it is with reflectors, but did you measure the distance of the filament (or light source on D2S) to the lens when you did the mod? I saw some idiot who did it with a honda lens, and he didnt take into account the filament distance, and the light was way up in everyones eyes. Bad mod!

sorry for late reply...glad the thread is helping people. I didnt measure anything, i just stuck the HIDs in, like i said before it was purely plug and play. They are still running strong~

About the H7 kit, i dont think Umnitza had any in stock at the time or they just didnt have them.

that is an h7 kit, notice the tab i circled in red. i have the same kit in my depos. difference is the hellas use that brown adapter that the bulb plugs into and then twists into the socket on the projector.

Are you also getting an LBF message with this mod?

I'm having trouble locating this "H7 adapter kit" that sounds like a plug and play retrofit utilizing the stock H7 sockets. Could someone please post a link to this product. I'd rather buy a kit like this than do the cutting/modifications. Thanks!!!

Are you also getting an LBF message with this mod?
yes, only when the lights are off though. if you need an h7 application just ask whatever manufacturer you're ordering from to send you that type of kit, got mine from umnitza. fyi- for anyone who has depo headlights you have to dremel a small "notch" into the bottom part of the bulb holder to allow space for the extra wire the hid bulb has attached to it. if you don't you may break it trying to push the bulb into the holder.

Umnitza, do you sell an adapter for adding HID's to the 01+ Hellas without modifying the stock bulb holder?

we are just about to start bringing those in and can order you a special order unit.

how much? and how soon will they be available?

I did the same exact thing except I used more of the original housing so that I could grab it with my fingers. Once the HID bulb is in front of it, you just push it in and twist to lock it in place. You have to basically gut the original holder and hollow it out. No need for the pvc elbow.

As for the cold LBF, I'm telling you guys...cheap $14 city light kit tapped into the wiring will solve the problem AND give you city lights you can install anywhere.