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Eagle Eye LED Tail Lights problem

39K views 32 replies 15 participants last post by  mr_y82 
#1 ·
Hey guys!
So I have a set of LED tail lights for my FL Sedan. I believe the manufacturer is Eagle Eye. For some reason the right side amber signal leds has been going out. At first, the bottom row of LEDs stopped lighting, but then soon after the row above it went out. I'm now down to 4 LEDs.
I opened up my trunk and tried to check out the PCB, but from what I see the connections are still okay. Have you guys have any similar problems? Any ideas on how to fix this?
Thanks for your help guys!
 
#2 ·
I want to know too...I have had mine for about 2 years now and I am having 4 led's clustered in the turn signal corner that do not light up. Want to know if I can fix it myself but would need to know the exact brand and part number of led to replace with so they are still the same.
 
#4 ·
I have the same problem - 4 LED blinkers went out. After inspecting them, I discovered that only 1 LED is actually dead, but they are wired in series sets; therfore, 1 bad LED prevents the other 3 from lighting up.

I placed an order today for an LED which I'm 99% sure is identical. As soon as it arrives, I'll be able to confirm whether the color and output match the other LED's and will post a very informative DIY on how to repair the Eagle Eye LED taillights. FYI, the LED costs $0.25 each FTW. :thumbup:

Stay tuned.......:thumbsup:
 
#6 ·
:banghead:I have the same problem. Only 1 row of LED's works on either side now. This is actually really dangerous in my opinion. If I had known this would happen, I would have never bought these fixtures. They're now out of warranty and I'm SOL. Who would've known LEDs burned out so quickly? I thought these things last forever....
 
#7 ·
so I'm attempting to fix mine but iv got all the screws out and clips but have no idea how to get the PCB out to get going il just jeep searching if any one knows how maybe I can help with tge electronic side of DIY
 
#8 ·
Hi guys, not to threadjack, I just bought a used e46 coupe. And it came with(lets say, I inherited) the burnt LED's on rear turn signals and rear tail along with the purchase of the coupe. By reading the posts here, I am pretty much sure the tails I have are EEs. I am posting the pictures to get the forum's opinion.
I have searched up and down the forum, found some posts where people are successful in just swapping the LED's.
I am not much of a pro in soldering, but I can give it a shot. I just wanted to know, what LED's are these and where to get them.
I see a few posts above about a DIY coming soon, I am ready to give it a shot but only if I knew what and where to find the LED's.

The driver side, the blinker LEDs are out, only 4 of them work.
The passenger side, two column's of LED do not work.

Anyone know any info about these lights and what LED they take?
 

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#9 ·
My tails are EE too. Took a few pictures when I converted my turns to sequential. Ignore the cut trace on the lower left and my black markings. They were guides for me for my project. You can see that they are wired in series of 4. Five sets of smd resistors, and you have 20 total leds, plus a diode at D1. If 1 led goes out, it breaks the circuit in the series and the 3 other leds in the series will not light up. From looking at the pictures they appear to be superflux lumileds. Hope that these pictures are helpful.



 
#16 ·
Received the order, 20 red and 20 amber. tested them with multimeter, all works. :craig:
Removed the tails from the car, but couldn't open it. :banghead:
Removed the 3 philips screws on the back of the tail and tried to pull, no go.
I saw a post in which someone used razor blade to open the lights, but I am not good with blades. :tsk:
Is there any other way to dismantle these eagle eye tails? some trick tab or hidden screw?
getting impatient now, with 40 LEDs in front of me.
Any DIY's that I missed where it gives steps to open these suckers?
Trust me I searched.
:eek:
 
#17 ·
I first approached this problem first by trying to bake my tail lights in the oven. This method was not new to me, since I've baked headlights and tails from other cars before with success. However, my eagle eyes tails and my oven didn't want to cooperate. And I feared that I was going to melt the plastic if I upped the temp.

I whipped out the dremel and opened it from the back. Used a shop vac to pick up the plastic shavings. I only needed to cut out the turn signal portion for my project. I cant speak for the brake light portion because I did not remove it.

Either bake it or cut it open from the back. I'm sure there are other ways to do it, but that's the two I can think of. Your approach may differ. Maybe other members can offer an insight into this predicament. :hmm:

 
#18 ·
Hmmm. will search more and wait till next weekend to tackle this.
I am against baking as well. I don't have access to dremel, live in an apartment so don't have a place to store tools.
But will try to hacksaw it or use blade, which I don't want to.
Thanks.
can't wait to experiment, but just want to make sure I am doing it the right way (if there is any)
 
#19 ·
Got it done on the driver's side tail lamps yesterday.
Went the dremel tool way, borrowed one from a friend.
I cut the lights inside my room in the apartment, now the carpet is full of plastic dust :banghead:
Checked LEDs with multimeter.
5 LEDs were burnt out :facepalm:
Desoldered and replaced all 5.
Works great.
Although the leds I ordered appeared different physically, when I installed it the light output is the same.

Will do the passenger side next time, because it involves the Red LEDs and will have to cut out the bottom portion.

I do have a question to intelone( or anyone who knows) though, what did you use to attach the cut piece to the light assembly? right now I just used electrical tape to get it to stick :shhh:

Will post a DIY after I am done with passenger side and figure out what to use to attach the cut plastic piece.

Special thanks to intelone for posting the pictures, and giving answers to my questions.
 
#20 ·
Looking at the data sheet of your LEDs, it looks like they are an inverse cone shape with a viewing angle of 120°. Superflux lumileds which looks like the ones that EE tails uses are dome shaped with more of an acute viewing angle. Those looks like the only specs that are different. But what matters is that you got them running again, and that you are confident that they look the same as the originals on the board.

As for securing the plastic backing, I think it was held by a screw or two, no? That turn signal plastic backing has 1 of 3 threads that secures to the car, which is secured by the aforementioned 1 or 2 screws. Its very rigid once that's screws are back on. If it helps, you can always use black silicone to seal it back up. I didn't use silicone, since I was in my testing phase of my sequential turn signals, and wanted easy access to the leds.

As for the brake portion I can only speculate how that tear down will go. Since I've never went in there myself. However there are no secure threads attach to it, so rigidity shouldn't be compromised when installing it back on the car. Good luck with the other side, and I hope this thread can help others with their tail light problems.
 
#21 ·
Thanks for the black silicon tip.
Will head out to the hardware store in the evening and see if I can get the other light by tomorrow.

The board is secured for sure, with two screws.
But I am more concerned about the water leaks getting inside the lights because I cut on the outer perimeter of the edge(your picture shows the cut inside the inner perimeter).
May be the black silicon will help, I will put one layer of electrical tape over it anyway to prevent any leaks.

I am sure it will help people.
But one must have patience for this though.
cutting the lights, testing the LEDs one by one, and de-soldering the bad ones, resoldering and sealing takes takes steady hands and a lot of patience.
 
#22 ·
The passenger side is also done today.
sealed with Black silicon, will write a DIY soon.
But what a pain to cut those lights.
Well, saved some bucks, so no complains.
Just hoping that the LEDs don't burn out again.
I don't want to cut them again, although I have so many LEDs for spare now.

Special Thanks to Intelone for the guidance.
 
#24 ·
I'm having a similar problem except mine are not burnt out, they just function intermittently. The driver's side turn signal works for a while then may not for several days. Brake lights are not affected. I've checked the connections as best I can and everything seems fine. Any idea what the problem could be? What options do I have? I hate to buy a new pair but don't know where I can buy just the driver's side. I originally bought them from Unique Euro Design but have not been able to contact them.
 
#26 ·
@kyparamedic: may be an issue with the connection. There are a coupe of cables going from the top board to the bottom board. I would check those. Also E46 is infamous for tail light ground issue, so check the ground if its applicable with EE. I am not sure. I just bought this car so a lot to learn yet. But I would check the ground and the connections first.

@pinoybmr3: I was going that route too. I was talking to a fellow fanatic who was selling his R-C-Rs, but just thought to give this a try. Lets see how long it holds and if it does again, I have a ton of LEDs left over. :rolleyes:
 
#27 · (Edited)
@kyparamedic: may be an issue with the connection. There are a coupe of cables going from the top board to the bottom board. I would check those. Also E46 is infamous for tail light ground issue, so check the ground if its applicable with EE. I am not sure. I just bought this car so a lot to learn yet. But I would check the ground and the connections first.

I just went over everything again. I can't find any connection issues/loose wires. The brake light on that side works fine, it's just the taillight, which hasn't worked in a week. Could it be the resister box? There appear to be 2 for each side. I wonder where I could find a replacement to see if that's the cause?

Thanks.
 
#31 ·
Hello!

I have a problem with my tail lights. My left tail light has an error. I can see the normal light, but when I braking I can not see the braking lamp. Its working when the normal light is off, but it's very slightly! The right side is perfect! What can I do? Can you send me an othet motherboard, or what can be the problem?

Thank You,

Happy New Year!

George
 
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