DIY: Angel Eye Repair
11-17-2003
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DIY: Angel Eye Repair
Ok I finally got around to it.
Tools Required:
-heat gun.
-4 LEDs (color is up to you, as well as type of LED ie. 300, 1000, 2600cdm, etc. Just be sure you match the type of LED with the right type of resistor).
-pack of resistors.
-spool of 18 Gauge wire.
-pack of crimps or clip connectors.
-wire crimper.
-phillips head scewdriver.
-flathead screwdriver.
-soldering iron.
-solder.
-silicone.
-heat shrink tubing.
-9 volt battery (for testing).
-razor knife.
How-To:
Front Bumper and Headlight Removal DIY
Following the DIY on how to remove your bumper can be found in the beginning of this link on how-to clear out your stock headlamps. I cleared mine out for fun when I was done with this project. Follow it up to the point where the headlamp is separated into pieces so that you can understand how your headlamps can come off as well. You should already have an idea though if you installed the projectors yourself.
Your first step is to pull apart the headlamps. This is made much easier with the use of the flathead screwdriver and heat gun. Putting the gun on high and wanding it over the sealed area doing short sections at a time so the heated glue will be easy to pull apart. Start at a round corner and once the glue has been melted partially, place the screwdriver between the black backing and clear covering and wedge it in till the head is no longer visible then pry apart. As you pry you will have to pull with your hands as well and take the razor to cut the glue still holding the light together. You will bend some of the black plastic which is fine because later on you will be fixing all the bends and disformities along the backing.
Next you will take the chrome piece off of the clear plastic. In the first picture you can see the only screw that holds this in place. So using the phillips head, remove that screw and carefully work the chrome out of place. When you are done you will be left with three pieces of the headlight shown in picture 2. Note: It is imperative that you do not touch the chrome too much during this DIY or else wiping or cleaning it will cause it to turn black!
Picture 1
Picture 2
Now you can pull out the halo ring, it's a simple two screw job as show in picture 3, and picture 4.
Picture 3
Picture 4
In picture 5 there is the backing of the headlight, removing the glue is easy but a pain. Using the heat gun again on high, melt down sections at a time of the glue, until it looks and feels loose. Then with the flathead driver, scrape out the glue from the lip. I also used a smaller phillips driver to get the glue as well. Picture 6 is of the glue stuck on the headlight and picture 7 shows the after of the glue removal and what it should look like. When removing the glue by heating it up, be sure you dont heat it up too much. If the black starts to deform or bubble, then you have done too much. After one or two times you should be able to get a good feel on how much to heat up.
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
Time to work on the LEDs. Just like the ones you pulled out you are going to solder a resistor to the positive side and heat shrink it all together. The problem with the LEDs used by the company in the stock lights, the resistors were too small for a 12V and could not hold up to the power. The positive side of the LEDs is most easily noted by the piece of metal in the LED. In picture 8 I drew a rough picture of an LED and point out the side that is positive and negative.
Picture 8
Note:During this step, be sure to test your connections with the 9-volt battery to make sure everything is operational before using heat shrink.
Taking two LEDs (I use 2600cdm LEDs with a 5%, 220ohm, 1/2W resistor) and making sure that all the correct pos. and neg.'s are on the right side, wrap the two positive wires together and move the negative ones out of the way for the moment. Now using the soldering iron with a bit of solder, wrap the resistor around the twisted positive leads and solder it in place. Once this is completed you can wrap the negative wires together and solder them so they do not slip or become loose. You can now take a long piece of the 18 gauge wire and strip off a piece to wrap around the other end of the resistor. Solder the wire to the resistor to keep it from loosening. Now repeat soldering another piece of 18G wire to the negative leads in order to keep the connection good and tight. Once everything has been soldered, take a piece of heat shrink tubing and cut it to size and push it up as far as it can go along the soldered and exposed LED wires near the actual bulb. Using the heat gun on low, in a waving fashion until the heat shrink is tight and sealed up. Picture 9 shows the comparison of what yours and theirs will look like when done. The ones I did are on the left, and a bit bulkier due to the bigger resistor, better soldering job and thicker gauge wire used. In picture ten the LEDs are remounted into the halo ring and tested on the 9-volt battery.
Picture 9
Picture 10
Now you can set the LEDs down for a little while and go back to the black headlight housing. The ridges of the lip where you parted the ligth earlier most likely will be bent and deformed in some way. Find a small flat piece (I used the side of the 9-volt battery) and using the heat gun on high again, warm up the bent piece of plastic. Place the object you choose (battery) against the plastic and push back until the proper original shape is achieved and hold it there for approximately ten seconds. Lift off the object (battery) and the shape should hold once cooled and it will appear as if it was never bent. In picture 11 you can see the before of the deformation and in picture 12 is the afterwards of using the battery and the heat gun. Those pictures are of the same spot on a lamp to show the comparison.
Picture 11
Picture 12
As for the chrome housing on the headlight, I had to use my soldering iron to make the new LED connections fit through the hole. Since my combination of thicker wire, bigger resistor, and thicker heat shrink made the hole to small to accomodate the connection, I used the soldering iron to gently melt back a bigger hole for it to fit through. I used the iron from the back so I did not touch any of the chrome on the light. If you have a black housing this will be much easier. Once the area was big enough I scraped off the melted plastic that was still stuck to the lamp casing and slide the wires through and rescrewed the halo ring in place. I placed a small bead of silicone on the back of where the hole that I enlarged was so that it would seal the LEDs better. Now you can place the chrome housing back inside the clear plastic casing and screw the one phillips screw back into place.
Sealing the headlamp is the most crucial part of the DIY or else you will get fogged headlamps. You must run the wires through the back and out of the rubber seal before the headlamp can be closed up. I had to cut a small slit in the holes so that the thicker wire would fit through. I then once again tested the LEDs on the 9-volt battery to make sure they still worked properly, because once sealed they are a pain to get open again. I bought a full caulk gun sized tube of clear RTV silicone. Using the caulki gun I put a thick bead inside the lip edge of the black housing all the way around filling the lip to the top and a bit over. Once this was completed I placed the other half of the headlight against the lip edge and pressit in along al the sides tightly. I then placed the lamp with the clear covering side down on paper towel to prevent scratching and pressed my knee in the middle of the lamp gently and both of my hands on the ends for approximately 5-7 minutes to ensure a good tight seal. Once you feel that it is tight and proper, do not touch it, walk away and find something else to keep yourself occupied for a FULL DAY. Do not wait 10 or 12 hours, because for the silicone to cure properly an ENTIRE DAY is needed. When it is all done you should have the final product ready to install like picture 13.
Picture 13
Extra Notes (personal touches to ensure a good seal and proper installation)
During the course of the install I made it a very big point to not touch the chrome, I did in once spot and tried to rub and clean it off but it turned black on me. It is imperative that you do not get fingerprints or any silicone or such on the chrome or else it will be hard to get off right.
I used the 9-volt battery periodically while connecting the LEDs together, and also each time I moved the LED ring around whether it was to the housing or just before and after I did the heat shrinking. Do not place the LED directly onto the battery without a resistor connected or else you will blow the LED and have to go to Radio Shack to buy another $3 one.
When sealing the headlamp, I also took the time to place a bunch of silicone around the back where I had open holes. Since I was not using the small parking lamp, I left the sticker over the hole and put a good amount of silicone to seal it up tightly shown in picture 14 below. I also disconnected the turn signal bulb holder from its connector on the car and placed it in the back of the housing. Since it was not a very tight seal, I put a bead of silicone around it as well to seal it off from the elements, again shown in picture 14.
Picture 14
I made the connectors for the LED halo ring quick clip ins so there would not have to be a need for permanent crimps in case they needed to be removed again. Picture 15 shows the connectors used.
Picture 15
Keeping up with my sealing I also put a small bit of silicone around the inside edge of the rubber seals to keep moisture out. The good thing about silicone is it is not hard to removed. I also put a small bit where the wires come from the small holes in the back of the rubber seals. You can never go too far to prevent fogging and moisture build up.
Here are some final pics of what the end product looks like;
Tools Required:
-heat gun.
-4 LEDs (color is up to you, as well as type of LED ie. 300, 1000, 2600cdm, etc. Just be sure you match the type of LED with the right type of resistor).
-pack of resistors.
-spool of 18 Gauge wire.
-pack of crimps or clip connectors.
-wire crimper.
-phillips head scewdriver.
-flathead screwdriver.
-soldering iron.
-solder.
-silicone.
-heat shrink tubing.
-9 volt battery (for testing).
-razor knife.
How-To:
Front Bumper and Headlight Removal DIY
Following the DIY on how to remove your bumper can be found in the beginning of this link on how-to clear out your stock headlamps. I cleared mine out for fun when I was done with this project. Follow it up to the point where the headlamp is separated into pieces so that you can understand how your headlamps can come off as well. You should already have an idea though if you installed the projectors yourself.
Your first step is to pull apart the headlamps. This is made much easier with the use of the flathead screwdriver and heat gun. Putting the gun on high and wanding it over the sealed area doing short sections at a time so the heated glue will be easy to pull apart. Start at a round corner and once the glue has been melted partially, place the screwdriver between the black backing and clear covering and wedge it in till the head is no longer visible then pry apart. As you pry you will have to pull with your hands as well and take the razor to cut the glue still holding the light together. You will bend some of the black plastic which is fine because later on you will be fixing all the bends and disformities along the backing.
Next you will take the chrome piece off of the clear plastic. In the first picture you can see the only screw that holds this in place. So using the phillips head, remove that screw and carefully work the chrome out of place. When you are done you will be left with three pieces of the headlight shown in picture 2. Note: It is imperative that you do not touch the chrome too much during this DIY or else wiping or cleaning it will cause it to turn black!
Picture 1
Picture 2
Now you can pull out the halo ring, it's a simple two screw job as show in picture 3, and picture 4.
Picture 3
Picture 4
In picture 5 there is the backing of the headlight, removing the glue is easy but a pain. Using the heat gun again on high, melt down sections at a time of the glue, until it looks and feels loose. Then with the flathead driver, scrape out the glue from the lip. I also used a smaller phillips driver to get the glue as well. Picture 6 is of the glue stuck on the headlight and picture 7 shows the after of the glue removal and what it should look like. When removing the glue by heating it up, be sure you dont heat it up too much. If the black starts to deform or bubble, then you have done too much. After one or two times you should be able to get a good feel on how much to heat up.
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
Time to work on the LEDs. Just like the ones you pulled out you are going to solder a resistor to the positive side and heat shrink it all together. The problem with the LEDs used by the company in the stock lights, the resistors were too small for a 12V and could not hold up to the power. The positive side of the LEDs is most easily noted by the piece of metal in the LED. In picture 8 I drew a rough picture of an LED and point out the side that is positive and negative.
Picture 8
Note:During this step, be sure to test your connections with the 9-volt battery to make sure everything is operational before using heat shrink.
Taking two LEDs (I use 2600cdm LEDs with a 5%, 220ohm, 1/2W resistor) and making sure that all the correct pos. and neg.'s are on the right side, wrap the two positive wires together and move the negative ones out of the way for the moment. Now using the soldering iron with a bit of solder, wrap the resistor around the twisted positive leads and solder it in place. Once this is completed you can wrap the negative wires together and solder them so they do not slip or become loose. You can now take a long piece of the 18 gauge wire and strip off a piece to wrap around the other end of the resistor. Solder the wire to the resistor to keep it from loosening. Now repeat soldering another piece of 18G wire to the negative leads in order to keep the connection good and tight. Once everything has been soldered, take a piece of heat shrink tubing and cut it to size and push it up as far as it can go along the soldered and exposed LED wires near the actual bulb. Using the heat gun on low, in a waving fashion until the heat shrink is tight and sealed up. Picture 9 shows the comparison of what yours and theirs will look like when done. The ones I did are on the left, and a bit bulkier due to the bigger resistor, better soldering job and thicker gauge wire used. In picture ten the LEDs are remounted into the halo ring and tested on the 9-volt battery.
Picture 9
Picture 10
Now you can set the LEDs down for a little while and go back to the black headlight housing. The ridges of the lip where you parted the ligth earlier most likely will be bent and deformed in some way. Find a small flat piece (I used the side of the 9-volt battery) and using the heat gun on high again, warm up the bent piece of plastic. Place the object you choose (battery) against the plastic and push back until the proper original shape is achieved and hold it there for approximately ten seconds. Lift off the object (battery) and the shape should hold once cooled and it will appear as if it was never bent. In picture 11 you can see the before of the deformation and in picture 12 is the afterwards of using the battery and the heat gun. Those pictures are of the same spot on a lamp to show the comparison.
Picture 11
Picture 12
As for the chrome housing on the headlight, I had to use my soldering iron to make the new LED connections fit through the hole. Since my combination of thicker wire, bigger resistor, and thicker heat shrink made the hole to small to accomodate the connection, I used the soldering iron to gently melt back a bigger hole for it to fit through. I used the iron from the back so I did not touch any of the chrome on the light. If you have a black housing this will be much easier. Once the area was big enough I scraped off the melted plastic that was still stuck to the lamp casing and slide the wires through and rescrewed the halo ring in place. I placed a small bead of silicone on the back of where the hole that I enlarged was so that it would seal the LEDs better. Now you can place the chrome housing back inside the clear plastic casing and screw the one phillips screw back into place.
Sealing the headlamp is the most crucial part of the DIY or else you will get fogged headlamps. You must run the wires through the back and out of the rubber seal before the headlamp can be closed up. I had to cut a small slit in the holes so that the thicker wire would fit through. I then once again tested the LEDs on the 9-volt battery to make sure they still worked properly, because once sealed they are a pain to get open again. I bought a full caulk gun sized tube of clear RTV silicone. Using the caulki gun I put a thick bead inside the lip edge of the black housing all the way around filling the lip to the top and a bit over. Once this was completed I placed the other half of the headlight against the lip edge and pressit in along al the sides tightly. I then placed the lamp with the clear covering side down on paper towel to prevent scratching and pressed my knee in the middle of the lamp gently and both of my hands on the ends for approximately 5-7 minutes to ensure a good tight seal. Once you feel that it is tight and proper, do not touch it, walk away and find something else to keep yourself occupied for a FULL DAY. Do not wait 10 or 12 hours, because for the silicone to cure properly an ENTIRE DAY is needed. When it is all done you should have the final product ready to install like picture 13.
Picture 13
Extra Notes (personal touches to ensure a good seal and proper installation)
During the course of the install I made it a very big point to not touch the chrome, I did in once spot and tried to rub and clean it off but it turned black on me. It is imperative that you do not get fingerprints or any silicone or such on the chrome or else it will be hard to get off right.
I used the 9-volt battery periodically while connecting the LEDs together, and also each time I moved the LED ring around whether it was to the housing or just before and after I did the heat shrinking. Do not place the LED directly onto the battery without a resistor connected or else you will blow the LED and have to go to Radio Shack to buy another $3 one.
When sealing the headlamp, I also took the time to place a bunch of silicone around the back where I had open holes. Since I was not using the small parking lamp, I left the sticker over the hole and put a good amount of silicone to seal it up tightly shown in picture 14 below. I also disconnected the turn signal bulb holder from its connector on the car and placed it in the back of the housing. Since it was not a very tight seal, I put a bead of silicone around it as well to seal it off from the elements, again shown in picture 14.
Picture 14
I made the connectors for the LED halo ring quick clip ins so there would not have to be a need for permanent crimps in case they needed to be removed again. Picture 15 shows the connectors used.
Picture 15
Keeping up with my sealing I also put a small bit of silicone around the inside edge of the rubber seals to keep moisture out. The good thing about silicone is it is not hard to removed. I also put a small bit where the wires come from the small holes in the back of the rubber seals. You can never go too far to prevent fogging and moisture build up.
Here are some final pics of what the end product looks like;
11-17-2003
#2
I need TP for my bunghole
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I sent this to the webmaster so they could add to the DIY section.
Good job!
Good job!
Last edited by PunkingCivic; 11-17-2003 at 12:48 PM.
11-17-2003
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Rep Power: 0 sweet thanks guys. It came out better than I thought I was workin on it last night but got tired so I saved it and finished this morning. Hope to see some people working this one out.
As an update, the LEDs I did over a week ago are still working perfectly with no flaw.
As an update, the LEDs I did over a week ago are still working perfectly with no flaw.
01-20-2004
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Rep Power: 0 Nice! looks good!.. Question..were those the 5 mm or 10 mm size? I'm repairing mine in the next week. also on the connection part for the resistor - 2 pos together add the resistor and 18ga wire to the other side of resistor? ...-then do the 2 neg. together & add wire? (is there a resistor on neg's too?) could let me know thanks! they look hot tho
02-12-2004
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i have the same problem with my angel eye headlights.
I recently purchased a new case fan for my computer that has a cold cathode light on the outside of it. I saw this post a while back and then thought, well if i could find the right diameter cathode ring, theoretically it would work.
Granted it will cost a bit more than a few leds, but it may be a better way to go considering how bright this cathode light is...
i have the same problem with my angel eye headlights.
I recently purchased a new case fan for my computer that has a cold cathode light on the outside of it. I saw this post a while back and then thought, well if i could find the right diameter cathode ring, theoretically it would work.
Granted it will cost a bit more than a few leds, but it may be a better way to go considering how bright this cathode light is...
Last edited by stellardude; 02-12-2004 at 03:45 AM.
02-12-2004
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Rep Power: 0 i think approximately 3 3/16 inches
just think, the rings wouldn't fade away considering how bright they are. I was thinking of white or a yellow or something as far as color goes.
just think, the rings wouldn't fade away considering how bright they are. I was thinking of white or a yellow or something as far as color goes.
Last edited by stellardude; 02-12-2004 at 10:23 PM.
02-18-2004
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Rep Power: 310 i bought a few fans and am in the process of putting them in my headlights. i had neon street glow wires before but they burned out after about a year and they werent too bright.
these cold cathode rings are brighter then the sun... !!! i cant wait to get them in and working.
these cold cathode rings are brighter then the sun... !!! i cant wait to get them in and working.
02-19-2004
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Rep Power: 310 thats a nice DIY you got there. i however still recommend the Cold Cathode RINgs. THey are brrighter then the rays of GOD.. and they are evently light throughout the entire ring. here are some pictures
Last edited by AzNmiKex215; 10-10-2005 at 04:39 PM.
03-05-2004
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i still have stock headlights and would love to put a halo inside that middle circle... any ideas of what might fit in there in terms of having a glowing halo?
i still have stock headlights and would love to put a halo inside that middle circle... any ideas of what might fit in there in terms of having a glowing halo?
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