Full Halo/Angel Eyes without cutting the headlight
Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2022 8:40 pm
I was inspired to try this double halo conversion by another "how to" post. I will refer to it during this article as it contains important information on how to access the insides of the headlights.
My headlights are halogen. A little preview o how this will look when done: Let's get started.
1. Remove the front bumper
viewtopic.php?t=1071&hilit=remove+front+bumper
2. Remove the headlights
Access the headlight hatch from the wheel arch, disconnect the two cables connected to the headlight (forgot to take pictures).
Remove the 4 screws that hold the headlight in place. 3. Clear the outside plastic lens (optional)
I decided to freshen up my headlights following this guide:
https://youtu.be/Xubwpeuqm-E
4. Remove the inside of the headlight
viewtopic.php?t=82010
Cleaning the projector is a must. 5. Fitting the halos
This is where the fun starts.
The hole for the parking and full beam, inside the headlight is about 81mm. I bought some generic 80mm halo LED, but the total diameter of the halo is actually 83mm and the thickness is about 7.3mm.
For the dipped beam halo
I've trimmed the halo right next to the cables and then at the opposite end until I could slide it through the 81mm hole so I could glue it on the chrome ring on the that sits before the projector. A quick test fit and I realised that the halo will rub against the headlight housing at the bottom and with the plastic cover at the side. I trimmed the plastic halo cover in those places until it fitted. With hindsight, I should have filed down the whole plastic halo, like I did with the one for the full beam.
For the full beam halo
The halo will sit between the headlight housing and the main beam carrier.
I was concerned that due to the thickness of the halo, the main beam carrier won't have enough space to move around, if adjustment is needed once the headlights are installed on the Z.
I've pulled the LED out and filled the plastic housing down to 6.1mm. You can file it down more if you wish, but at this time my palm muscles were aching like they were on fire and I had enough of it. Quick test fit and all good. Final fitment of the halos
At this point, I've touched the inside of the headlight plastic cover to make it smudgy so I gave it a good clean.
The dipped beam halo goes in first and I used the double sided tape that came with the halo to stick it to the chrome ring. The halo cables are on the top side, barely visible. If you ever want to remove the halo, you can pull it out with the chrome ring and then remove the halo, the double sided table is not very strong. I've routed the cables tight over the chrome ring and once passed it, I used strong tape to glue them to the inside of the headlight (sorry, forgot to take pictures).
The full beam halo goes in next. I used medium strength glue like in the picture below, just in case I ever want to remove them, and glued it to the headlight inside housing. After half letting the glue cure for half an hour, I reassembled the headlight and spliced into the side lights to connect the halos.
Black LED cable goes to Brown side light cable and Red LED goes to White side light cable. I've linked the two LED back cables together and the two white cables together to save space with the connectors.
My halos are just white but if you were to get the white/amber ones, you would have an extra yellow cable coming from the LED. This would go into the indicator connection. Once this is done, close the headlight and reconnected to the car plugs for a test fit. Give yourself a pat on the back for the done job!
I've ran out of picture upload allowance. Will post the final result in the comments.
My headlights are halogen. A little preview o how this will look when done: Let's get started.
1. Remove the front bumper
viewtopic.php?t=1071&hilit=remove+front+bumper
2. Remove the headlights
Access the headlight hatch from the wheel arch, disconnect the two cables connected to the headlight (forgot to take pictures).
Remove the 4 screws that hold the headlight in place. 3. Clear the outside plastic lens (optional)
I decided to freshen up my headlights following this guide:
https://youtu.be/Xubwpeuqm-E
4. Remove the inside of the headlight
viewtopic.php?t=82010
Cleaning the projector is a must. 5. Fitting the halos
This is where the fun starts.
The hole for the parking and full beam, inside the headlight is about 81mm. I bought some generic 80mm halo LED, but the total diameter of the halo is actually 83mm and the thickness is about 7.3mm.
For the dipped beam halo
I've trimmed the halo right next to the cables and then at the opposite end until I could slide it through the 81mm hole so I could glue it on the chrome ring on the that sits before the projector. A quick test fit and I realised that the halo will rub against the headlight housing at the bottom and with the plastic cover at the side. I trimmed the plastic halo cover in those places until it fitted. With hindsight, I should have filed down the whole plastic halo, like I did with the one for the full beam.
For the full beam halo
The halo will sit between the headlight housing and the main beam carrier.
I was concerned that due to the thickness of the halo, the main beam carrier won't have enough space to move around, if adjustment is needed once the headlights are installed on the Z.
I've pulled the LED out and filled the plastic housing down to 6.1mm. You can file it down more if you wish, but at this time my palm muscles were aching like they were on fire and I had enough of it. Quick test fit and all good. Final fitment of the halos
At this point, I've touched the inside of the headlight plastic cover to make it smudgy so I gave it a good clean.
The dipped beam halo goes in first and I used the double sided tape that came with the halo to stick it to the chrome ring. The halo cables are on the top side, barely visible. If you ever want to remove the halo, you can pull it out with the chrome ring and then remove the halo, the double sided table is not very strong. I've routed the cables tight over the chrome ring and once passed it, I used strong tape to glue them to the inside of the headlight (sorry, forgot to take pictures).
The full beam halo goes in next. I used medium strength glue like in the picture below, just in case I ever want to remove them, and glued it to the headlight inside housing. After half letting the glue cure for half an hour, I reassembled the headlight and spliced into the side lights to connect the halos.
Black LED cable goes to Brown side light cable and Red LED goes to White side light cable. I've linked the two LED back cables together and the two white cables together to save space with the connectors.
My halos are just white but if you were to get the white/amber ones, you would have an extra yellow cable coming from the LED. This would go into the indicator connection. Once this is done, close the headlight and reconnected to the car plugs for a test fit. Give yourself a pat on the back for the done job!
I've ran out of picture upload allowance. Will post the final result in the comments.