850 Angel Eye One Piece Projector Headlights Build

[Bah]

It's been a while, but I figured it's time to make a post

So on my 96 850R I have the stock headlights - honestly they aren't that bad. However - the passenger side looks like at one point the wiring in the headlight housing burnt up. The PO rigged it up to work, and when I finally had to replace the bulb imagine my surprise to an awful mix of burnt harness and only half of a connector.

So - I decided it's time for an upgrade - I ordered the One Piece Angel Eyes Projectors for 850's (http://www.ebay.com/itm/380835487619?item=380835487619&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME:L:OC:US:3160&vxp=mtr)

I grabbed them on sale for 217$ - but 228$ for a set of headlights is pretty decent in my book.

I also went ahead and ordered a 35W 4500k HID kit from Sharp HID - chose them over DDMTuning since they are a good communitiy supporter, and when we are dealing with cheap ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD HID kits, I want to have someone who can help me if they are DOA.

The point of this thread is to explore how we can improve the One Piece Angel Eyes.

Things I know alreay:

1. These headlights are known to fog up and need to be resealed

2. These headlights are made of cheap plastic and have chipped/cracked in the past

3. There are other options such as Rz's setup which allow for a stock setup. I did not want them at this point and time.

4. HIDs in anything other than a cars stock headlamps is illegal. Despite the fact these are projector headlamps and I will be using 4500k bulbs - it is still illegal. I am aware of this risk, but, I have taken every effort to achieve a stock, non-blinding appearance with 4500k bulbs and projectors imho.

5. These headlights have cheap ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD wiring

6. The City bulb sucks and looks dumb - I am not planning to wire it up since I do not live in an area which requires DRL

7. I know the Angel Eyes aren't the brightest - I will likely only be using them by themselves in rare situations (Corners on only method)

At the end of the day, I am looking to have a nice one piece projector with HIDs and angel eyes which turn on with the corners/turn signals.

I would like to discuss and fix:

1. How to seal the projector headlights 'extra' before installation

2. Any protective coating which could be applied to the plastic without affecting visibility (Not a big deal but would be cool if there was something like rain-x to make a protective coat.

3. Weak points on these headlights - including experience with rust/cracking areas, and your solutions.

4. For wiring - did you do anything special? Or just use the IPD wiring guide on these: http://www.ipdusa.com/files/product/322/PI-370%20ANGEL%20EYES%20HEADLIGHT%20INSTALL%20GUIDE.PDF

5. Best way to install HIDs for longevity to these headlights - I remember you need to cut the rubber grommet for the headlights, but I've read of ppl using super glue for the HID grommet to fit in?...Also, any recommendations where to mount the ballasts with these headlights?

My plans currently are:

1. Any place which has what looks like 'bare metal' I will be painting with a brush with some Testors black acrylic enamel. I don't like rust and the back of the headlights look to have some places prone to it.

2. For the Wiring, I want to make this look clean and stock. I'm going to use some non-adhesive silicone tape to 'wrap' the wires in ( something like this http://www.homedepot.com/p/Nashua-Tape-Stretch-and-Seal-1-in-x-3-33-yds-Silicone-Sealing-Tape-684201/100206050). I will put some electrical tape at the ends for extra, but this should look stock and do better that heat shrink/loom imo. The Wires on the headlights are unprotected and looks very cheap, so This should help make it atleast appear to be a quality product.

I'm very long winded so this is going to be a long thread - But I hope to post up some pictures for my progress on the small improvements and make this a one-stop for anyone interested in these headlights.

Appreciate anyones experience with them and all the guidance/advice/pictures you can offer. The Headlights get here tuesday, dunno when the HIDs arrive yet tho.

Thanks

BTW meant illegal in any car that did not come from the factory equipped with HIDs*

[andyb5]

Sounds like a good plan so far, I'm interested to see where you end up. Check out lengendsecko87's retrofit for some inspiration, he did a very nice job:

For the wiring, use some quality loom instead of silicone tape - easier to work with and will look more OEM than silicone tape.

[Bah]

So I got the headlights on tuesday - just busy with work, but I went ahead and snapped a few pics.

As for the wire loom - i thought about it- some 1/4 inch wire loom would be pretty nice. Unfortunately the store only had some 3/8inch - so i took it. But...i think im still going to silicone tape, and then probably put the loom over it for double protection? After looking at the connectors, it definitely needs alot of work on the wiring.

Anyways, Pics below(All i have is cell phone so sorry if not HQ enough):

Here's a pic of just the front of the new headlights. They look good imo - I really like the look.

So, after getting the headlights, i finally realized the whole DRL deal. There is an extra LED in the top of the headlights, then there is what looks like a 194 Bulb in the High Beams which looks to be PREWIRED to the turn signals. With that in mind, it seems to be the stock 'DRL/Parking Light'. Check out pics below

Bad picture is bad, but thats a pic of the LED in the top middle of the headlight. It has a seperate wire. I have no plans of wiring that up unless someone can honestly say they think it looks good lol...

Here's the bottom of the headlights. You'll see there is THREE (3) sets of wires. Red/Black. However - they do not label them. I can assume which one is which, but, My plan is to grab a 9v Battery and test each wire (Should be enough to get the Diode on). If you dgaf about that LED Running light, then don't worry about this.

Here's the back of the headlight. You will see 3 holes. One is clearly for mounting as it has a metal clip over it. The 2 others have TAPE over a styrofoam soft looking washer. I'm not sure if those are suppose to be used when I do the installation as protection from the headlight screws? The packaging was pretty good on these so I don't think it was needed for packaging? Also, i plan to paint all that exposed metal. I know it will still rust on the spots i dont get, but, I think it will prevent it from rusting out to the point I cant adjust the headlights.

Take a look at the wiring and harnesses too - this is my biggest thing tbh, as I am not a fan of rats nest looking cars.

The rest of the pictures show the seams of the plastic lense. This is where I'm going to need to put some extra seal on. Not sure the best glue/sealer to use yet. I would think some clear cauk is best, but I have some weatherstripping Glue I might use instead. Both should do a decent job of sealing I imagine...but Im open to suggestions. They don't appear to be sealed very well at all, and I can see why people take the time to reseal these....

HID Kit from SharpHID is not here yet - Not even sure if it shipped yet(Haven't received a shipping conf), but its been over a week since I placed the order. Not sure why I pay 16-17$ in shipping on something that small and its not here the next day, but whatever. I have other stuff to do so not a big deal, but, I would hope it arives next week.....not SharpHIDs fault, probably just the fact they are coming from china to georgia.

[volvosaabtech1983]

i just got some of those as well with hid and plan on using clear silicone to seal better and im going to clean up the wirirng also. just want it to look as clean as i can.

[Bah]

yea exactly.

FWIW im not gonna use clear silicone - i actually think a rubber glue or butyl rubber seal if you can find it. Im just gonna use weatherstripping glue to go over the existing seal.

So i haven't really done much and this honestly isn't necessary - but - i painted the back where i saw exposed metal. Idk what material it is, and i doubt it would ever rust, and i didn't do the clips on the headlight itself, but this should protect some of the places i imagine will rust eventually. I used some black testors enamel with a paint brush...i use this stuff on bolts and acorn nuts and gives a nice gloss finish that sticks excellently.

I also just checked real quick with a 9v which of the 3 red/blacks is that center 2 led one...easiest method, just don't do the polarity backwards to be safe

Pics below:

[Bah]

so worked on one of the headlights last night getting the wiring done.

1. The middle red/black wires on this headlight were the LED DRL. I did not wire those up. Pictures below - You'll see I used electrical tape to essentially 'hide' them.

Use electrical tape for that seems the best solution short of chopping the wires off.

2. Using some quick splices, I tapped into the white wire and black wire for the running light. Again - You can use a 9v to confirm you are doing the wiring right or how you want. Take the 2 wires, twist them together (Twisted Pair for all that high frequency bleed through lulz). You'll also see i started to use some silicone tape.

3.So here's me using the silicone tape. Honestly, this stuff is awesome and I wish I used it on more stuff. Electrical tape is fine, and this is overkill, but, it really gives a nice slick look. FWIW as warned above, it is a pain in the ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD to work with.

4. Here's the final after taping. Its a mixture of silicone and electrical tape. Simply put, you want the stickiness of electrical tape on some sections, and the sheeth of silicone in other sections. It works very well, and I used way too much tape on this, but, i'm fine with it. I dont know if it will still fit in the 3/8 loom I bought, so that'll be the next 'cleanup'

5. Here's the end of the harness. Much better than the stock with exposed wires imho. I feel much more comfortable with this.

That's all I have for now. I still gotta do the exact same on the other headlight. After thats done, I'll put some loom on it if it'll fit over the tape in some sections. Still need to glue the seal in more too.

Still waiting on the HIDs to arrive so I can begin working on that...but I still have plenty to do.

[lengendsecko87]

Crack these puppies open and put new projectors in them!!!

[VolvoCrashTester]

Really glad to see a serious thread started on these lights, I just installed mine last week to notice the 'bad seal' issue 30mins later. I wasn't surprised, since I had the same issue when I bought the aftermarket clear lens style 'euro tails' for my 240. I took those apart and re-sealed them entirely with Automotive Goop. The stuff works amazing and I also used it when I put new TV screen plastic lenses on my headlights in the same car, although it is kind of messy (it's GOOP) so I am considering something else for these new 850 lights.

A note for headlight protection, it may not prevent against large stones and such, but I always Turtle Wax plastic lenses after I noticed the rotating shades in my dad's Ford truck, everytime it gets a headlight replaced from an accident the 2 year old opposite headlight suddenly looks terrible next to the freshly installed one. Turtle Wax has done a great job keeping my plastic lenses UV protected.

I just received my HID H1 size bulbs in the mail to match up with the AC ballasts from my other car, when I get them installed I'll share how I did it as well.

You're just putting HIDs in the low beams, correct? (OP)

[Bah]

Really glad to see a serious thread started on these lights, I just installed mine last week to notice the 'bad seal' issue 30mins later. I wasn't surprised, since I had the same issue when I bought the aftermarket clear lens style 'euro tails' for my 240. I took those apart and re-sealed them entirely with Automotive Goop. The stuff works amazing and I also used it when I put new TV screen plastic lenses on my headlights in the same car, although it is kind of messy (it's GOOP) so I am considering something else for these new 850 lights.

A note for headlight protection, it may not prevent against large stones and such, but I always Turtle Wax plastic lenses after I noticed the rotating shades in my dad's Ford truck, everytime it gets a headlight replaced from an accident the 2 year old opposite headlight suddenly looks terrible next to the freshly installed one. Turtle Wax has done a great job keeping my plastic lenses UV protected.

I just received my HID H1 size bulbs in the mail to match up with the AC ballasts from my other car, when I get them installed I'll share how I did it as well.

You're just putting HIDs in the low beams, correct? (OP)

I think i'm gonna try to get my hands on some of that turtle wax stuff or maybe some meguiars...i think its a necessary on these since the plastic seems to need be protected very badly.

I didn't truly reseal mine - simple because I didn't want to take them apart any more than I had to. Instead, I essentially 'beaded' with weatherstripping glue. I think it will be fine since this stuff is designed to make waterproof seals, but, If someone wanted to do a really good job, going the route you did with taking them apart is best. Time will only tell if what I did worked or not...I don't see why it wouldn't help. The way you receive it, the seal is so damn bad..

I am putting the HIDs in the low beams yes - 4500k, 35W. I don't ever use Highs on this car...and with HIDs i doubt I ever will.

So just an update from last time...I spent some time installing the HIDs in this, doing my 'reseal', and finishing all the wiring.

Pictures below:

So let's start with how i did my 'seal'. I recommend u do a better job then i did. I think this will hold up with the weatherstripping glue i used,but if u take them apart and reseal properly you would be doing it right.

So i did do more than the picture show but the pictures are worthless on this...reseal as you want. Mine is a lazy mans cheap method im not entirely proud of. Again, I think it will do MUCH MUCH more than the stock setup, but its not the best.

So...let's move on to finally putting HIDs in. Look whats underneath the gaskets on the low beam...

So that's the stock H1 bulbs and the stock wiring...let's try to put the H1 HID bulb in from SHARPHID.

One thing to note...the H1 HID bulb does not fit 100% perfect. the clip actually rubs on the wiring. Either i'm dumb and missed something, or its not a 100% perfect fit like everyone always claims. I just grabbed the clamp and closed it shut, but it does need some persuasion to close the clip. Now..how are we going to wire this..

That's the stock gasket, with the stock wire's coming through it. But uhm...I need my cheapo HIDs to go through there, and I don't feel like soldering...

I cut a hole....small enough so that the gasket provided with the HIDs will fit in perfect. I used an exacto knife to accomplish this. Be safe when using one, don't cut yourself, more importantly don't cut any wires.

Look at that fit. LIKE A GLOVE lol.

What about this?

So...what i did was CUT the old grommet completely off of the stock wires. Then, in the brand new HID grommet, i used the exact to slice a 'slot' to shove these wires through. Remember, I want the best seal possible. A slit through the middle (again be very careful not to knick any wires) worked great to push them through with a little persuasion. It was like ace ventura 2 coming out of the rhino...Yea i think ace ventura is on hence all these weird refrences.

Now..because the grommet fits good some people wont do this. Using the same weather stripping glue, I went around the gasket and glued it shut. Some people have used super glue, gorilla glue, etc...

I have this glue, it's rubber, it sticks to rubber, it does a good job of water sealing, and its pretty stretchy and durable. You can change it to whatever you want, but this stuff should work just fine. I use it very liberally and get it all over my fingers, just wash it off and wait for it to dry.

So the HIDs are installed at this point...You just need the ballasts mounted in the car.

Let's finish up the wiring shall we?

So above is me finishing this headlight up with the remaining silicone tape, electrical tape, and the finishing touch of some wire loom. I really have to admit - i love the wire loom look. If u dont want to go as extreme as I have with protecting the wiring, buy some 3/8inch or 1/4 inch loom and make it look really good. I have silicone tape underneath the loom, so its pretty stupid...im not gaining anything. But you have to admit its a clean look with the loom in place.

Not sure if i took pictures, but, I also glued in the part of the grommet where i made the slit. again, I am going for weather proof.

NOW - remember if u do the glueing, if the HIDs don't work because they are cheap POS from china, you will have to cut the glue and pull it all out. I am really hoping these HIDs work....the ignitor or whatever it's called in the bulb looked knicked up and missing some of its insulation...so if that doesn't work im going to to pissed :/

So thats one side done...I've gotta do the same to the other side.

Let me know what you guys think - and feel free to addon. This is the first time i've seen really anything into these headlights, but for the most part they are easy to work with. Everyone women of questionable morals. about them sucking and I can see why...hopefully I can put some of that protector stuff on and make a thick enough layer that rocks etc don't mess it up.

[nicomambo]

Great thread! I ordered them too but i haven't installed them.

Have you thought of putting "headlight film" to protect the lens?

[CLobsinger]

I have had mine for four years and never experienced fogging lenses. I guess I got lucky! I did notice the lenses actually do have a very fine protective film which began to wear and yellow after about 3 years. I ended up sanding the lenses with 400 grit sand paper and then polished them with plastic polish. Then I took them to a friend and had the thick 3M protective film put on them. They look fantastic and are much more protected from all the rocks and crap that get flung at them on crappy California roads.

Chris