Angel Eyes

[Dan_G]

Hi guys,

Well, I've been working on an angel eye install onto my VR4 for a little while now (you know the acrylic rod and LED's method).

over the weekend got them mostly finished..

heres the results:-

[pezza]

Hi guys,

Well, I've been working on an angel eye install onto my VR4 for a little while now (you know the acrylic rod and LED's method).

over the weekend got them mostly finished..

heres the results:-

Luvvit luvvit.... How evil is that? :evil1:

How long did they take you to make? Fiddly job ?

Hmm :-b

[colVR4]

I sooooooooo want some of those

[Nick VR4]

I like too :-b

Although I'm not sure if the :lolice: will and may :stop: you

Are these replacing your normal lights or are these added and you can turn on your normal side/head lights ????????

[Dan_G]

I like too :-b

Although I'm not sure if the :lolice: will and may :stop: you

Are these replacing your normal lights or are these added and you can turn on your normal side/head lights ????????

Spoil sport... :P

no but seriously..... I did a bit of investigation into that before commiting to a colour (i.e. blue) I dont want to be on the wrong side of the law....

my defence lies in the following link (hopefully)....

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/faq/default.asp?Action=Q&ID=477

I figured it is'nt a blue beacon coz it does'nt flash.. and the big no no seems to be showing red at the front or anything but red at the back...

although it does seem from the general way in which the police behave that they can chop and change there minds as they see fit, but I suppose its the nature of all protection rackets to move the goal posts to keep us afraid....

anyway, we shall see.......

[Big Ian]

:-b nice job Dan_G,how did you find it,opening up your light's?

my eye's

[colVR4]

Thats ruined my plans to have red 'devil' eyes on the front of the car :(

I shall have to pick another colour now...how about yellow? Is red and flashing blue the only colours that are not allowed or are there others?

Quite like the idea of the LEDs in the fog light housing as well. :-b

[simpsonm]

Yellow shouldn't be a problem, most private hire cars round us have yellow front beams.

[Dan_G]

:-b nice job Dan_G,how did you find it,opening up your light's?

my eye's

Ian, your lights look good, the different sizes adds a different feel to them.... are they blue or white? I can qute tell with my monitor... Plus have you had any trouble with the police?

......opening the lights was'nt to bad, a black and decker heat gun seamed to do the trick ;) plus a bit of brute force..... (note to self, dont use a screwdriver on soft plastic again :lipsrseal )

heating the acrlic rod in the oven and bending was also surprisingly easy.. just had to find something just the right diameter to wrap it round to be just the right size for the light cluster......

Findng the best way to refract/transmit light out the front took a while... I tried small cuts, and sanding, sticking white electricans tape to the backside(oh err) and painting in various colours. In the end the best way I found was to sand one side roughly with my dremel ........ and putting the untouched side to the front........ 2 LED's and a resistor and there you go........ a perfectly working angel eye.. :D

then to fit........slight mutalation of the light cluster with a hacksaw and and dremel... then add some epoxy and there you have it........

Dan

[Big Ian]

hi Dan,mine are bright white (hyper white) but they do give a blue tinge.
ive only ever been stopped once,but it was for drivin with fog light's on :rolleyes: the copper was quite taken by my Angel eye's :lipsrseal ...also that happend when i had my first set fitted (before i made my own) which where more blue than white.
also the picture i added earlier has 2 different set's,the one's on the right side as you look at the picture are the one's i made,and on the left are the one's you can buy (they like to burn out)
Also i used clear tie-wire to hold mine in place.

[Slimshady]

Hi guys,

Well, I've been working on an angel eye install onto my VR4 for a little while now (you know the acrylic rod and LED's method).

over the weekend got them mostly finished..

heres the results:-



Hi gang – I was totally taken back with the angel eyes – loved them to bits (thanks you are a total inspiration) :-D

So much so I just had to have them and found this site - http://www.auto-cruise.net/ :rolleyes5 (go to most viewed item – 1. Universal LED Angel Eyes at the bottom left) I am not plugging this site at all – just won them on ebay from these people (please shop around you may get a better deal – just don’t tell me if you do) – I am still unsure if they will fit my Galant – but time will tell.

If anyone has brought these Angel eyes please please could I have some advice before I totally fudge up my head lights – I can see some clips on the top of the units and I am also assuming the units are sealed to the max :(

1. how do I remove them?
2. how do I get the wires out?
3. how do I re-seal them?

Also if you have brought these eyes they have a plastic flange round them with holes – presumably to fix them with screws – Q how – if I drill the plastic will it crack?

P.S. the box says: not for street use – or words to that effect (left them at work today) :sad3:

Therefore I am currently designing a small circuit using an NE555 timing chip – the theory is – 3 state switch turns them:

Always ON – (when you know the old bill is not about) :bobby:
Always OFF – (when the old bill catches you and you deny even fitting them :lolice: ) &
Auto mode – when the ignition switches off, the NE555 timer turns them on for a pre set time – I think about 3 to 5 mins – just so she looks a bit meaner for a bit longer. :evil2:

Anyway better go and blast some more cars before bed time :gun2: if anyone is willing to help please do.

Regards

Slim

[Big Ian]

slimshady,they are the one's i bought twice!! and both set's blew out? i ended up making my own.

[Pete M]

I'm interested in how the sets you bought blew out. Did the led fail? If so, that's very unusual for a LED, normally they go for ever. The only thing is if they were being driven outside their specs. Normally you have a resistor in series which limits the current. To little resistance = too much current, maybe shorter life.
Not good for a commercial product, and the ones you made yourself have lasted fine... Any chance of knowing what LED, series resistor you used, I'd love to do this. They look super evil..... :-D

[Big Ian]

your probably right about adding resistors to the first set's i fitted,but it does say 12V power supply needed on the packet.
as for the one's i made my self i used 5 watt-5.5v LED bulb's X2 in each ring and added resistor's to each live side of each LED to drop the battery power from 13.5V down to 4.5 volt's so as not to blow them under heavy rev's (alternator working to hard!)
if you use the item's above (the one's i blew) it might be a good idea to fit resistor's that will drop the voltage feed by a few volt's,an maybe they'll last?
also if you use the above one's,you have to remove the black plastic bit within the head light's,and do a fair bit of fileing to make the larger ring's fit in side the light caseing,i used a hairdryer to soften the bond "DO NOT USE A SCREW DRIVER" to try and prise the glass off!!

[Slimshady]

your probably right about adding resistors to the first set's i fitted,but it does say 12V power supply needed on the packet.
as for the one's i made my self i used 5 watt-5.5v LED bulb's X2 in each ring and added resistor's to each live side of each LED to drop the battery power from 13.5V down to 4.5 volt's so as not to blow them under heavy rev's (alternator working to hard!)
if you use the item's above (the one's i blew) it might be a good idea to fit resistor's that will drop the voltage feed by a few volt's,an maybe they'll last?
also if you use the above one's,you have to remove the black plastic bit within the head light's,and do a fair bit of fileing to make the larger ring's fit in side the light caseing,i used a hairdryer to soften the bond "DO NOT USE A SCREW DRIVER" to try and prise the glass off!!




Thanks for the advice guys much appreciated – I had a word with the sparky at work who is helping to design the circuit – he tested them and found they draw 16mA at 10V – we are therefore going to use an opto to switch them and also reduce the voltage to 10V (to be on the safe side) using a resistor a pot and a diode to clamp the volts. I will also fit an inline fuse both ends of the circuit (not sure what size yet).

Apparently some alternators can kick out up to 14.5V but generally operate at 13.8V – not sure if this is the problem but thanks for alerting me to it.

After your post I am now concerned about the working temperature of the LED cluster – by that I mean the heat generated by the main head lamps (especially in full beam) not 100% sure what temperature they will reach but I bet it’s high.

How did you fit the cluster to the inside lamp? And how did you manage to get the leads back out before finally sealing them?

Thanks again

Slim

[Kenneth]

I reckon it would be cool if you designed them so the could blink

You would need the light to progressivly dim towards the bottom of the rings, then progressivly back up. Add a slight random speed to the blink and a larger random interval between blinks and off you go!

I also thought of hooking up an LED rear stop light ( a bar type, say 20 LEDs wide by 2-5 LEDs high) that responds dynamically to how far depressed the brake pedal is. A light touch will fill say 3-5 center led columns, fully depressed lights the whole lot.
with a nice controller, you could have a few different sequences and also illumination levels.

dunno if you could get away with it legally though... being a stop light and all...

[Dan_G]

Here was my Selection process for my resistor (important coz LED's go pop very easily... as I founf out with my test circuit :p ):-

My LED’s are super bright blue 4400mcd light output.From Maplin… max current of 30mA. But did’nt give max Fwd voltage? But gave power consumption as 120mW… so from P=IV worked out max forward Voltage at 4V…

But the light output was rated at 4.4cd @ 20mA!! So because I did’nt want to fry my LED’s I decided it was probably best to design assuming LEDs operating at 20mA @ 4V..

For each angel eye there are I soldered 2 LED’s together in parallel which means ( by kirchoffs current law) that you will have a voltage drop of 4v in total and a current draw of 40mA.

I then figured my voltage would be 12 to 14V. So using good old ohms law (V=IR) you can work out your resistor value…… giving 200 and 250 Ohms…..

So I chose I think 220 or 230 (cant remember just now) as my resistor as I had already assumed it operating at 20mA and not 30mA which would give a resistor value of 133 to 166 ohms….

So I figure 220 ohm resistor should be suitable for each LED pair.

I ended up with 3 wires from each light cluster 2 +ve’s and 1 earth/negative…… this allowed me to run the cables through the vent at the back and then I could connect my resistors externally (in case they fail or I want to change them to maybe make them brighter)…….

And as for connection at the mo I’ve just got them connected in parallel with my sidelights, with my side lights unplugged, but I’ll be adding a switching circuit soon enough…

[Slimshady]

Ok done it –

The circuit is now complete and working

3 position switch (missile arm style) always on – always off – and auto (when ignition is turned off 5 min’s timer activates, turning the Angel eyes on)

Only problem - haven’t had a chance to fit them and now too busy until the new year.

Also not 100% sure how to do it – told to place the headlamps in the oven @ 250degs C for 10 min’s – also not sure how to secure them – I am thinking about using Araldite, purely due to thermal properties – on top of this still not sure how to get the wires out, might use some glands – and worst nightmare how to seal the units after - not sure yet but I will certainty let you know the out come when it happens (also pictures and circuit diagrams) if I can figure out how to post them (assume I have to be a full member – but not sure how to do that).

Slim

[Antony_Baker]

Can I buy these from anywhere/anyone and pay to have them fitted ?

I have to have some !

[Dan_G]

Also not 100% sure how to do it – told to place the headlamps in the oven @ 250degs C for 10 min’s – also not sure how to secure them – I am thinking about using Araldite, purely due to thermal properties – on top of this still not sure how to get the wires out, might use some glands – and worst nightmare how to seal the units after - not sure yet but I will certainty let you know the out come when it happens (also pictures and circuit diagrams) if I can figure out how to post them (assume I have to be a full member – but not sure how to do that).

Slim

To seperate my cluster I used a hot air heat gun, just keep running it around the edge until it is farly warm and then the black adhesive gets quite soft as do the black clips. Move the clips clear of the lens and then have a good old rive at the lens and plastic case they should seperate.

Bear in mind it can be quite though seperating especailly as the adhesive cools down so keep applying heat from time to time. and also its good isea to have a pair of scissors to cut the adhesive away as it does'nt separate totally evenly.

I had hoped that I could just reseal the units with the existing adhesive to make water tight... Heavy rain over the weekend says otherwise... But to be honest the one which is leaking leaked before and I had to seal with silicon.. So I would recommend resealing the units by heating the existing adhesive and clamping together (i used small mo grips) and if they leak(or just incase) use high modulus clear silicon sealant around the outer edge.

for routing of wires, I managed to fit 3 wires through the existing vent . This has a rubber vent pipe on it and is located on the back of the light cluster.

In terms of fitting the actuall angel eyes... I'm unsure what is best for yours, I made my angel eyes to suit the headlights and modified the cluster internals slightly and used epoxy glue to set them in place.

good luck,

Dan

[Big Ian]

i did mine in a similar fashion as Dan,except i used a hair dryer and a stanley Knife..ive opened mine's 3 or 4 times??...maybe 5!! and ive no leak's and ive never added any new sealant.
as for holding them in place,i used clear coated wire,i drilled 2 small hole's for each ring in to the silver reflector and fed the wire through the rubber vent on the rear of the each headlight,ive also wired them so as i can have my side light on or off with the angel eye's always on..

[Slimshady]

Thanks for that M8 – good advice – I intend on photographing the operation and posting them in the members section along with the wiring schematic (as soon as Spirit realises I have paid him and finally makes me a member)

P.S. has anyone had to hack and carve the original eyes before fitting? (same eyes as mine)

Thanks again

Slim

[Big Ian]

if you have the one's of ebay........YIP! you have to file away part of the larger ring :D ..ive got photo's some-where?

[Slimshady]

Bugger – I had hoped it would be quick and simple – better get the jigsaw and Dremmel on standby

Slim

[Big Ian]

if you have the one's of ebay........YIP! you have to file away part of the larger ring :D ..ive got photo's some-where?
here's a couple i found..ive got another but i need to change the size?

one pic show's them in place with the glass of (1 year ago!! so must have been a set that blew out?)
the other is one of my own modded eye's..i did it like this to all 4.

[Big Ian]

best way to show you..click each link for some pic's of my light's

look close at this one,you can see i shaved some of the edge's on one to make it fit.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_img_a/500686_13_full.jpg

my modded one's

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_img_a/500686_45_full.jpg

note..no black insert.....they wont fit in anyother way?

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_img_a/500686_96_full.jpg

the end result :D

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_img_a/500686_82_full.jpg

as far as i know i was the first person ever in the "whole wide world" to do this mod to a 8G Galant......so wait for it...once you have done your's and you post pic's the E-Mail's come flooding in from all round the world all saying the same thing..."WOW Please can you make them for me?"
have a look at my guest book on my car domain page's and you'll see what i mean!
Have Fun fitting them......and Good Luck ;)

[Big Ian]

i may have more pic's? i'll see if any look off-use to you.

found this one...led's and resisters i used for 1 side

[Slimshady]

Thanks for that – yes same as mine – looks as though you have carved the top off – possibly the bottom as well – the smaller ones look ok but looks as though I am in for a good time. Nothing a bastard file won’t cure.

Thanks again M8

Slim