Troy came in with his 97 BMW 540i and some aftermarket DJ Auto headlights.
These have a better projector and CCFL Halo lighting than the stock headlights...even in this case where the car didn't come with HIDs....but he already had a set of cheap aftermarket headlights installed.
All I was simply doing was re-wiring everything and putting the new lights in.
Re-wiring things (solder, tape, zip ties) was easy and difinitely helped the clutted behind the lights.
The tricky part was that the new headlights have CCFL lights, which can sense and turn on with very low voltage; the old lights had halogen halo lights (which is why they were so dim). But Halogen will not turn on with such low voltage, so you couldn't tell that the computer in the BMW is constantly checking to see if the lights are still working. Once the CCFLs were installed, they flickered....randomly....like strobe lights. I rewired them differently 4-5 times until we settled on having them wired into the fog lights for now.
I say for now, as the passenger side headlight came with a bad CCFL halo...so we will be warranty swapping that for a new one. Then the company might have an answer for the CCFL issues. Oh well...I can already tell the output is much better with these lights.....kind of wierd going from an American Cutoff to a European cutoff.....muuuuuch different.
Ed swung by the shop early this spring, as he was in town visiting family. We discussed some options for his Solstice and come up with a pretty good plan. Once he got back to Texas, he sent me the lights and I've just begun to work on them.
So far, all I've done is prep everything for paint. These badboys will be getting a complete washout of Wicked paint. Wicked is GM's Ruby Red Metallic color. Ed liked the way the Corvette's headlights look, so we are going to see how they turn out on a solstice. If he changes his mind, it'll be easier to paint certain parts black, than viceversa.
Biggest thing was taking apart the new Version 3 FX-R hybrid projectors....these are a bit different than the Version 1 or 2's that I'm use to....but they are ready and good to go. Also, on these newer projectors, they are wider in the lens holder area, so significant mods were made to the Gatlin shroud in order for it to fit.......lots of dust flyin' around after this one.
Paint on Monday, Retro on Tuesday, mod the lights and should have these ready to go soon.
Got the lights assemblied, aligned and mounted.
They are going to keep curing overnight and I'll get back on these.
Next is paint (two different colors), CCFL lighting, then permanent mounting.
Should have these done by weeks end no problem.
Oh...and in case you're wondering...yes, the driver side light needs adjustment....the bulb is off a bit....but this was just to set them in the housing.....testing phase
Been working on this one on-and-off where I have time.
Local client wanted a bunch of lighting put into his stock headlights while his car was down for service.
Thought we'd do as much as we've ever done.
Single Bi-Xenon Projector Retrofitted into the Stock Halogen Low Beam Reflector Area.
Fake Projector Lens and Shroud Retrofitted into Stock High Beam Reflector Area.
Both Backing Shields were painted Red to give off a Demon Eye look when lights are off.
Both Projectors have 6 Red LEDs to give off a BRIGHT Demon Eye look when turned on.
Main Gatlin Shroud has the Iron-Man halo mod behind it....white.
Everything was painted Matte Black, while the stock reflector shroud got a coat of white to match the car.
I'll have more pics of these when we get them installed and wired up.
Had a customer with an 07 Tacoma want to add some pretty cool auxillary lighting to the exterior of his truck.
Got everything pre-wired and sat for 4 hours waiting for USPS to show up...when they did...they didn't have what was supposed to be there....so the truck will be getting it's lights soon....not soon enough though....so until next time
Got the LEDs installed, blacked out the reflector piece, cleaned and sealed the lights back up last night.
Now, just need to waterproof them and we'll be good to go.
Cheers
Had a buddy come install some overhead warehouse lights in the shop tonight.....2 out of three lights replaced with (4) four stick commerical warehouse lights with motion sensors.....should do the trick! Need to pick up bulbs today, but I have a feeling these will blind me! That's a good thing.
Also, ordered all the products for a buddy of mine. Retrofitting his 92 Accord with newer headlight housings and better lights via Morimoto Mini H1 Projector kit.....so look out for that one.
Also, still have Project Colorado on the books, as well as Brew Haul, and Evo X.....too much...NAH!!!
Been busy over the weekend. Finished up some stuff around the shop, started construction on the guard dog's palace, and finished up Project 350z's new headlight setup. Go check it out on the 2010 Projects Page; Larger Halos and R8 inspired LEDs