DIY Facelift Coupe Angel Eyes

LeontiyZHP's DIY For Facelift Angel Eyes

I'm not a professional installer and I'm not going to be held liable for anything that may go wrong with the install. I'm simply stating the instruction I followed when installing my CCFL Angel Eyes. Anything you do wrong is your own fault. I've never done anything like that before, but still was able to accomplish this on my own. So do this at your own risk! Some of these steps might sound just like the ones that are listed in the sources I've used, which are very helpful BTW.
MAKE SURE TO TEST THE ANGEL EYES PRIOR TO GOING THROUGH ALL THE TROUBLE OF INSTALLING THEM. MAKE SURE THEY WORK!



I would recommend to start with the wiring in order to make sure that you have proper connections and that angel eyes are in working condition.



I followed the instructions of "FastM," which are found in the e46fanatics DIY forum. http://www.fastm.com/m3/angeleyes.html

Begin with taking off the headlight.
• Remove trim, under the headlight.
• Remove 4 screws, 2 on top, and 2 on the bottom, can be seen between the headlight and the bumper. (I used an 8mm driver)
• Unplug all of the headlight connectors, should be 5.
• Take out the headlight, have to wiggle it around some and get the right angle for it. (My left came out a lot easier than the right, not sure why.)
• You can also use "Sillieidiot's" instructions on removing the headlight. http://www.socale46.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1541#1541

Disassembling the Headlight.
• Torque wrench/screw driver needed
• Remove the connectors on the bottom of the headlight, 2 silver blocks with connectors, 3 screws each.
• Take off, 2 rubber tubes on each side of the headlight
• Remove the rubber trim on the side of the headlight
• Remove the turn signal bulb
• Remove 2 screws on the back
• REMEMBER WHERE EVERYTHING NEEDS TO GO BECAUSE YOU WILL NEED TO PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER



Heating and Taking apart the Headlight (Followed instructions from http://www.jlevisw.com/Bake.pdf)
• Preheat the oven: 250' F
• Make sure to have: a flathead screwdriver, Mittens, and Heat Protective gloves.
• Place the headlight onto an aluminum sheet
• Set timer to 15 minutes
• Place the headlight into the oven
• Watch the progress, make sure the headlight doesn't start to melt for some reason, 250' is not hot enough to melt the headlight, and did nothing to mine.
• Once the timer runs out, take out the headlight with the mittens or something to protect you from the heat, IT WILL BE HOT!!
• Start to wiggle the screwdriver in between the clear and black parts of the headlight. Make sure to unclip the clips between the pieces. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BREAK THEM!
• Pull the headlight lens apart from the base
• There will be a couple of screws that you will need to unscrew to take the interior pieces of the headlight apart.




Installing the Angel Eyes• Once the headlight is apart, place the angel eyes in the desired location and make sure to use double sided take to secure them in place.
• Run the wire to the back. Once the headlight was assembled back, I ran mine through the cap of the xenon headlamp.



Assembling everything back together
• Assemble the interior of the headlight back.
• Assemble the headlight together. Basically undo everything that you needed to do to take it apart.

I decided to smoke my corners at the same time.




• DO NOT SCREW ANYTHING BACK YET.
• Once everything is placed together, place the Headlight back in the oven just like you did the first time. This will allow the glue to heat up again, and will enable you to ensure that the headlight is glued back together. Once you take out the headlight, IT WILL BE HOT!!! Make sure to push everything back into place, and make sure that the clips are in the desired position. Make sure not to break anything.
• After the headlight is together in one piece, you can safely screw everything back into place, and place the rubbers back on it.
• You can now place the headlight back in place and test it out.

Complete setup Pictures




Sources:
1. Wiring - http://www.fastm.com/m3/angeleyes.html
a. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...=570822&page=2
This contains a video of the second trigger wire that I had to connect
2. Baking the Headlight - http://www.jlevisw.com/Bake.pdf
3. Sillieidiot's Guide to taking the Headlights off http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showpost.php?p=9217044
4. There's might have been other sources that I've looked through, but cannot remember which ones, so I apologize for not quoting.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=551767 - Another thread I used.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=576910 - Questions I had.

very nice, everything looks good. finally someone did a DIY lol, i was going to do one if you didn't.

one thing, i thought you should add is: when you start prying the headlight apart, start from the corner/side of your highbeams and work your way to the corner lights. then as you're getting them farther apart, start to pull the lense (headlight cover) up and diagonally away from the housing. you will see why when you do it.

also, if you don't mind. i'm going to put your DIY in my sig under the facelift coupe DIYs. i'll put your name next to it as well.

Good write up man! I am sure a lot of facelift coupe owners will appreciate this.

smoke look is sick

i think i'll do that when i do the LED angel eyes

So should the oven be set to Convection? or Bake?

Originally Posted by Steve@ASPTuning

So should the oven be set to Convection? or Bake?

I set it to Bake.. I think the most important part of it was that the oven is preheated to that degree and the glue will soften up which allows the headlight to be pulled apart. But I honestly, would have no idea if or what difference it would make..

Originally Posted by Naruto19

Good write up man! I am sure a lot of facelift coupe owners will appreciate this.

Thanks.. I hope so.. I mean I had difficulty searching on it when I decided to go through with it.

Originally Posted by JJR4884

smoke look is sick

i think i'll do that when i do the LED angel eyes

I really like the look as well.. It looks really nice during the day/early evening since the corners aren't clear.. It would def look nice with your color

Nice write up!!!

Where did you get your LED angel eyes from? I am planning on doing this soon.

Thanks

Originally Posted by 06330CIM

Where did you get your LED angel eyes from? I am planning on doing this soon.

Thanks

Modbargains .. I dont know if anyone has come out with the LED for facelift coupes yet..

EDIT: But i know there are a lot of manufacturers that carry them, honestly don't know the difference in quality as I got mine as a gift and didn't do much research on my own..

They are the 6000K

great DIY. tyvm - motivation to purchase angel eyes

nice diy man!!
i was there through most of this set-up and lemme just say the final product looks sickk!! smoked corners put the cherry on top, definitly a great setup!!
good job leo!

Originally Posted by LeontiyZHP

Modbargains .. I dont know if anyone has come out with the LED for facelift coupes yet..

EDIT: But i know there are a lot of manufacturers that carry them, honestly don't know the difference in quality as I got mine as a gift and didn't do much research on my own..

They are the 6000K

Thanks man... Your car looks sweet.

Originally Posted by Xinterp

great DIY. tyvm - motivation to purchase angel eyes

They really make the facelifts stand out, and def there arent as many facelifts w/ them.. I've been extremely happy with them since I got them installed

Originally Posted by LeontiyZHP

I set it to Bake.. I think the most important part of it was that the oven is preheated to that degree and the glue will soften up which allows the headlight to be pulled apart. But I honestly, would have no idea if or what difference it would make..

bake applies even heat all the way around. while convection is more concentrated

i still haven't installed mines. too damn lazy lol

Originally Posted by sillieidiot

bake applies even heat all the way around. while convection is more concentrated

O! ic..
so does it have any effect when the headlight is in the oven? Prob not so much right?

Originally Posted by sillieidiot

i still haven't installed mines. too damn lazy lol

You should.. Prob with the way you do things and as much as you know it will take you a couple of hours if that lol

Originally Posted by LeontiyZHP

O! ic..
so does it have any effect when the headlight is in the oven? Prob not so much right?



You should.. Prob with the way you do things and as much as you know it will take you a couple of hours if that lol

it concentrates all the heat in the middle, so some parts of your headlights will be hotter than other parts, so uneven baking i guess. iono what that will do, maybe melt parts while the others seem fine.

yea, i'll get to that when my projectors come in. i'm doing quads on our cars lol. it's going to be tight in there. a useless mod IMO, but no one has done it. might as well be me.

Originally Posted by sillieidiot

it concentrates all the heat in the middle, so some parts of your headlights will be hotter than other parts, so uneven baking i guess. iono what that will do, maybe melt parts while the others seem fine.

yea, i'll get to that when my projectors come in. i'm doing quads on our cars lol. it's going to be tight in there. a useless mod IMO, but no one has done it. might as well be me.

Ya i guess so.. I'm glad I used the Bake then lol

Quads in out headlights? I Gotta see this.. might as well throw the angels in there while you're at it.. won't hurt IMO, you'll get the whole set up in the headlight and just run the switch to them.. It sounds like a nice project though GL!

Originally Posted by LeontiyZHP

Ya i guess so.. I'm glad I used the Bake then lol

Quads in out headlights? I Gotta see this.. might as well throw the angels in there while you're at it.. won't hurt IMO, you'll get the whole set up in the headlight and just run the switch to them.. It sounds like a nice project though GL!

yea. i'm hoping for the LED angels to come out so i don't have to bake twice. i at least need an ETA on them or something.