[MithunSathianat]

This is my first DIY post in this forum. Please excuse for any misses.
I always wanted more visibility in all my vehicles I used. I used to do some or the other light modifications to improve the lighting.
I am not sure if this was due to my short sight and astigmatism
More over, I don't allow any one else other than me and authorized Service Center to play with electricals of my vehicles.

Past lighting mods I have done:

100/130W Philips rally upgrade in my Royal Enfield Electra UCE with imported original Hella Reflector.
90/100W Osram upgrade in my Alto K10 VXI AMT in stock reflector.
Both of these were installed using Philips Relay Kit
Before installing this, I had tried Philips Xtreme Vision +130% and Philips GT Racing Vision +200% (purchased from Germany) in both cases. But found out that its lesser effective than higher wattage bulbs.

Coming to present:

I have recently purchased new Thar and was disappointed with the stock lights and fog lights. I have already upgraded the headlights to 90/100W with relay.
But wanted to upgrade the fog lamps too.
I was planning to drive to Bangalore to get the FE Retrofit fog lamps fitted. But due to current Covid situations the plan was in vain.
As I have to order the foglamps and get it installed myself, I searched for other options too like IPH projector, Xenon Planet, Morimoto etc. and read few DIY in team bhp.
This forum is dictionary of all DIY's

Finally decided on the FE Retrofit ones and started enquiries with directly with FE Retrofit and Bangalore Team, they told me that universal 3 inch fog lamps will be a direct fit in new Thar.
But that was not the case. I will explain it at later stage.
I went ahead and placed an order from their website. The package arrived in 5 days.

Package came with below items:

Two 3-inch bi-xenon projectors
Two Z Series 55 Watt Ballast
Two Lux-Pro 35W D2H Bulbs 5500K

FE Retrofit Kit


The quality of projectors is very good.

3 Inch Projector




The sore part was that mounting brackets are not provided. I was of the impression that the projectors can be installed in stock brackets.

Ballast and Bulb








As the lights arrived, I went ahead and removed the two back panels of bumper.
There are three screws holding the stock fog lamp.
Took out the stock fog lamp and brackets only to realize that stock brackets cannot be used for new projectors. I contacted FE Retrofit on their FB page for sending me required brackets.
There was no response from them.

Please note that the stock brackets have a peculiar design and most of the readily available brackets may not fit here.
The next option was to fabricate custom brackets for which I went ahead and fabricated stainless steel brackets from a local fabricator.
He did a good job and the projector was mounted on to custom bracket with 4 screws.
The brackets were fitting perfectly on the bumper too.
Post that installed the bulbs on projector and completed the wiring. Fitted the ballast on to bumper with nuts and bolts so that it does not move.
Small Power adapters were glued using 3M tape.

Custom SS Brackets


Projector Mounted on Bracket


Then came the next blockers.
The projector foglamp connector (2-pin) is not compatible with stock connector (H16).
The stock foglamp is 19 Watts and HID is 55 Watts

Stock Fog Lamp Connector


Stock H16 Bulb


So I was thinking that direct connection without a relay may cause issues. I started searching for a single beam relay.
Due to Covid situations and reduced import from China/ Taiwan, it was not available in any shops or online.
The available one's had H4 connector and not the universal one (9005).
After going through Thar Manual, I understood that Thar comes with a separate relay for foglamp.
The fuse for fog lamp is rated for 10A. So I am assuming fog lamp wiring can handle load up to 120 Watt (Ohm's law P = W X I, 10A X 12V = 120W). Experts can correct me if I am wrong.

Manual


Hence purchased purchased the sockets needed to connect Ballast to Stock foglamp and plugged it and there was light

Projector Installed






As this is a bi-xenon projector, solenoid wires were available to activate high beam. This needs to be connected to high beam of headlights so that fog lamp high works in sync with headlight high.
There is already a relay for headlights with ceramic holders. As it may cause excessive heat, I have connected it to high beam of spare stock H4 holder which is unused after installing relay.

Light Output


The entire process took 2-3 hours on average for 3 days. But I am very much happy with this upgrade. Final fine tuning of alignment is yet to be done.
Sorry that I could not capture pics of each and every step.

[batish]

Looks nice and Congratulations for your Thar! If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for this including fabrication?

Also please share some images of this on an empty stretch of a road.

[MithunSathianat]

Originally Posted by batish

Looks nice and Congratulations for your Thar! If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for this including fabrication?

Also please share some images of this on an empty stretch of a road.

Thank you!
Costed me 17k for the Kit + 1k for brackets + my efforts (priceless )
I shall share the pics once the travel restrictions are lifted and alignment is done correctly.

[Reinhard]

Lovely! A brilliant and very useful mod for a butch car you got there. Nothing more important than immaculate lighting for what is a vehicle that can go anywhere. Congratulations on the Thar & on the DIY mod. Thanks for sharing.

Especially loved your precise approach with a custom made SS bracket rather than some local "jugad". This should last very long without any troubles. Wish you enjoyable moments with the Thar too. Take care & stay safe.

Originally Posted by MithunSathianat

Two 3-inch bi-xenon projectors
Two Z Series 55 Watt Ballast
Two Lux-Pro 35W D2H Bulbs 5500K

If I may ask - you opted for a 55W ballast but 35W bulbs if I read it right. Any specific reason? (Pardon my ignorance in case you explained and I missed it in OP.)

[MithunSathianat]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Lovely! A brilliant and very useful mod for a butch car you got there. Nothing more important than immaculate lighting for what is a vehicle that can go anywhere. Congratulations on the Thar & on the DIY mod. Thanks for sharing.

Especially loved your precise approach with a custom made SS bracket rather than some local "jugad". This should last very long without any troubles. Wish you enjoyable moments with the Thar too. Take care & stay safe.

If I may ask - you opted for a 55W ballast but 35W bulbs if I read it right. Any specific reason? (Pardon my ignorance in case you explained and I missed it in OP.)

Thanks a lot Reinhard.

The kit came with 35W bulbs. More over the FE Retrofit website does not list 55W D2H Bulbs.
I have read in candlepowerforums that, 55W bulbs has generally lesser life span as they generate more heat than 35W.

[braveheart_77]

Hi Mithun

Your efforts and upgrade are well worth it.
I also bought thar but I’m not happy with the stock headlights, kindly guide me how have you upgraded it.Also any option that we can just fit white led with just plug and play with the present reflector system.


Regards
Braveheart

[MithunSathianat]

Originally Posted by braveheart_77

Hi Mithun

Your efforts and upgrade are well worth it.
I also bought thar but I’m not happy with the stock headlights, kindly guide me how have you upgraded it.Also any option that we can just fit white led with just plug and play with the present reflector system.


Regards
Braveheart

Hi Braveheart,

True that stock headlights are poor. But please do not put LED bulbs or HID's in stock reflector. You will not see any improvement. Moreover, it may blind oncoming traffic.
The easiest way is to try with Philips Extreme Vision as its just a swap of bulbs with same wattage (55/60W)
The next option is to upgrade to 90/100 W Philips Rally bulbs after installing a relay kit. I did this.

Also there are wrangler type LED headlamps available in market. It may give you a bright light, but the range of throw is poor from these lights.

Regarding fog lamps, there is no other choice other than to upgrade with a good bi xenon projector set up.

[vigsom]

Ingenious mod there, @MithunSathianat.

I was looking at the foglamps you got vs the stock ones and realized that fabricating those brackets would have required a lot of thought; perfectly done.

Created a collage of both in one frame - and I don't think there was any way that the new ones could have been fitted on even two of those "ears" .

Would you have a picture of how the stock fogs' fitment was when you removed the bumper?

[MithunSathianat]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Ingenious mod there, @MithunSathianat.

I was looking at the foglamps you got vs the stock ones and realized that fabricating those brackets would have required a lot of thought; perfectly done.

Created a collage of both in one frame - and I don't think there was any way that the new ones could have been fitted on even two of those "ears" .

Would you have a picture of how the stock fogs' fitment was when you removed the bumper?

Thank you Vigsom.
Please find the pics of stock brackets and stock fog lamps.
I have removed the adjuster clip.

[Rālugāyi]

Originally Posted by MithunSathianat

As this is a bi-xenon projector, solenoid wires were available to activate high beam. This needs to be connected to high beam of headlights so that fog lamp high works in sync with headlight high.
There is already a relay for headlights with ceramic holders. As it may cause excessive heat, I have connected it to high beam of spare stock H4 holder which is unused after installing relay.

Nice job!
D2H selection is excellent for the best output. I also liked the way you planned and did the custom SS bracket fabrication works. They will be durable in rough conditions as well.

If possible, could you please share more detailed information about the relay, high beam wiring, and connectors with a rough network diagram.

[vpvijay]

Hi Mithun
I too replaced the stock fog lamps with the FE Retrofit Projectors.
Let me know ho you went about getting the focus right.
Thanks, Vijay

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by MithunSathianat

I have read in candlepowerforums that, 55W bulbs has generally lesser life span as they generate more heat than 35W.

I have Morimoto HID's in my Creta with the following setup:

Ballasts: XB50 D2S
Bulbs: XB35 (D Series) D2S @ 5500K (35W)

Now, this setup has been running on my car since November 2018 and have done 65,000 kms so far. The issue is the bulb and ballast wattage mismatch which is killing those bulbs slowly. In these years I have got 2 warranty replacements of the bulbs as they die within approximately 8-9 months of usage. Hence to counter this issue of bulbs wattage mismatch for those customers who are choosing the 50W ballast, Morimoto has developed a D2S bulb that is compatible with the 50W ballast and has a longer life. The XB50 bulbs intensity (Lux) and startup time are the same as the XB35 bulbs but the life is longer since the bulb's construction etc is designed keeping in mind the 50W ballast.

But yes, as per legal documents HID's above 35W are illegal so finding a 50W compatible bulb will be difficult from reputed manufacturers (i.e. Philips or Osram). If possible do change and see if you can get a D2H bulb that is 50W compatible.

[sridhar-v]

Excellent job of creating an adaptor. Do share the dimensional drawings for the benefit of all Thar owners who will be wanting to upgrade to projectors in their fogs.

[g_shyam]

Originally Posted by MithunSathianat

Please note that the stock brackets have a peculiar design and most of the readily available brackets may not fit here.
The next option was to fabricate custom brackets for which I went ahead and fabricated stainless steel brackets from a local fabricator.
He did a good job and the projector was mounted on to custom bracket with 4 screws.
The brackets were fitting perfectly on the bumper too.

A Very detailed DIY!. I am replacing my fog lamps with LED ones and am facing the same problem with the brackets. can you please share the contact details of the fabricator. I am in Thrissur right now and the people I have contacted nearby don't seem to be very confident the job properly.

[MithunSathianat]

Originally Posted by g_shyam

A Very detailed DIY!. I am replacing my fog lamps with LED ones and am facing the same problem with the brackets. can you please share the contact details of the fabricator. I am in Thrissur right now and the people I have contacted nearby don't seem to be very confident the job properly.

I got it done from a small fabrication shop near by my place (Kakkanad).
I have taken the stock brackets and projectors to the person and explained my requirements.
Even though he did not have any previous experience, he did what was instructed.
Any good fabricator near your place should be able to do the job easily after seeing your lights and stock brackets.