Audi like LED lighting Mod

[MADDMOE]

Well this is the type of work i do on the weekends ( cars & motorcycles ) all year long but when it comes to cracking the headlights open i can tell you now that you will be without you car for about 5 days , i crack open headlights for motorcycles also. I do work for alot of people in the tri-state area & even have some of my work posted on youtube

 

[RLREILLY81]

So MOE what would it run me for you to do two headlamps with white leds? You may have a business starting here

 

[DubaiRich]

^ +1

 

[MADDMOE]

This is already my side buisness on the weekends, all i do is work on cars and motorcycles ( customizing ), if your interested just INBOX me the year, make & model of the car the headlights come from and i'll let you know what my fee will be for the total job ( parts & labor ) 2 of my customers are on this forum who've had work done by me on their Genesis's so let me know if you would also like some referrences.

 

[maxmar04]

Ok so here are some pics of my 2009 4.6 Genesis, as some of you might know i had Blue LED rings in my headlights & fog lights for about 2 years now but decided to remove them after some of the LED diodes went out, so now I installed LED strips that are weather proof and gave me a different look . The job took about 4-5 days , that included cracking my lights open installing the LED's then sealing my lights back air tight and letting them dry completely. I also installed a blue LED strip (thats hidden) inside my headlight that gives it a hint of blue light. The interior was something i was just experimenting with, i decided to install a single LED diode ( Blue ) on the inside of my cup holders that gives my water that blueish color, i would post some pics of a 2010 camero i did with red light on the interior and exterior but this is a Genesis forum so i wont lol

Really liking those interior lights. Could you please post a tutorial on how you did that or just tell me the steps?

 

[headturner]

I had a string of led lights mounted in the space between the headlights and the bumper. It was a perfect fit and fills it in quite nicely. The lights blink on and off with the activation/deactivation of the viper smart start. It looks really good at night especially with the 8000k headlights and fog lights.

 

[Muggzi]

new bulbs coming .....

Just an FYI for you lighting guys.....

PIAA is launching an "Xtreme White Plus" bulb that is a snap in replacement for the factory H11B bulb. Supposed to launch in Septemeber 2011.

Less expensive than HID, DOT approved and legal everywhere.
Will be at SEMA in the fall also.

 

[pusaterkm]

I used the Plasmaglow strips that I purchased from AutoAnything. I put them between the headlight and the grille and ran them up over the top of the headlight. You have to peel back the rubber stripping that is on top of the headlights from the factory, but the rubber will just lay back down on top of the plasmaglows. The wiring goes under the rubber and tie wraps to the frame of the fenders then routes to the fuse box at the firewall on the passenger side. Tapped them into the wiper fuse and they go on and off with the ignition. Looks great day or night, with the headlights off or on. Not quite as bright as the Audi, Benz, 300c factory LEDs, but it is pretty close.

 

[warsilver]

THAT is nice!!!

 

[mdeanster]

I used the Plasmaglow strips that I purchased from AutoAnything. I put them between the headlight and the grille and ran them up over the top of the headlight. You have to peel back the rubber stripping that is on top of the headlights from the factory, but the rubber will just lay back down on top of the plasmaglows. The wiring goes under the rubber and tie wraps to the frame of the fenders then routes to the fuse box at the firewall on the passenger side. Tapped them into the wiper fuse and they go on and off with the ignition. Looks great day or night, with the headlights off or on. Not quite as bright as the Audi, Benz, 300c factory LEDs, but it is pretty close.

I too installed the Plasmaglow strips (about 19 inches long) from AutoAnything on the outside of the headlight assembly, but along the bottom. They worked great for about six months, until a few diodes began to quit working occasionaly. Then a couple quit for good. The failing diodes were in about the middle of the string, and mostly on one side of the car. I contacted Plasmaglow and AutoAnything about the failure and they told me they would replace the strips, provided they were installed correctly. I asked them what "correctly" meant when all they are is a strip of very low amp adhesive backed flexible LED light strips. How "wrong" could they be installed? That is when I found out if the "adhesive back" of the strip is not perfectly and fully adhered to the surface to which it is attached, and any moisture can possibly get behind the adhesive strip, the warranty is void and the diodes in that location might fail. Nothing was mentioned about that in the brief and simple installation instructions that came with the lights.

Since my installation was curved to follow the contour of the light assembly as it sort of sweeps down the side, and the strips are made perfectly straight and flat, by simple geometry the backing was unavoidably forced to have a slight and minor ripple to make the bend with the headlight assembly. Warranty voided. Further, to collect on the warranty would have required removing the adhesive backed light strip, which must be thoroughly stuck to the application to perform per warranty. The removal alone would destroy any evidence of whether the installation was "correct" or not.

All that said, since the failure was at midpoint of the string where it bent to follow the assembly around the side, and the strips are designed to be cut to length, I just cut them shorter (just before the failing diodes). The remainder have continued to work flawless since. They are just shorter.

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[pusaterkm]

Thanks for the info Mdeanster. I will take a closer look at my installation and make sure that moisture can't get under the lights. I hope mine don't fail, but if they do, I'll just pull them off and put new ones on. I am starting to see these lights for sale (other brands than Plasma Glow)at Pep Boys and Auto Zone for less than I paid.

 

[jastylr]

I went on Auto Anything's website and they have a couple of different Plasmaglow LED products. They have the "Lighting Eyes" headlight strips which I'm assuming what people here are using and they also have one called "Lumaflex" which is waterproof. The "Lumaflex" version can be cut down to size or expanded by connecting multiple strands. Anyone use these? I'm looking to do something with some strips.

Here's the Lumaflex:

 

[jastylr]

I was looking for DRL's. I bought the Plasmaglow strips and installed them. They look great at night, but are not bright enough for DRL's. I simply attached them to the bottom of the headlight assembly. Since they are side emitting strips and once attached (self adhesive backing) to the bottom of the assembly they shine to the front, there didn't seem a need to install them inside. I hoped they would suffice as DRL's, but since they are really only night lights (and very bright at night), I just wired them to the parking/running lights circuit. It looks awsome in parking light mode at night.

So I just picked up a set of Plasmaglow "Lighting Eyes" strips today while at a local shop and brought them home and wanted to install them like this, on the bottom of the headlight assembly but...

Did you have to remove the headlight assembly to do so? If so, what are the steps to remove it?

I did a test fitting and placed the strips in the space between the headlight and the bumper and they fit snug there which leads me to wonder how to get them in there and position them once you remove the backing from the adhesive? I'm sure that 3M stuff is pretty secure so trying to remove the strip if you mess up will likely damage it. There's definitely not a lot of room to get fingers in there and position them.

In addition, where do the wires go? I may not have looked real well but there didn't seem anyplace to get them through from the front of the headlight assembly into the engine compartment. Also the leads are too short to run from the strip that would be on the driver side headlight to the fuse box on the passenger side firewall where I would attach it to the wiper fuse. I'm assuming that people had to run additional wiring.

If anyone has any step by step on what they did to install these it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[gadgetboyatl]

I really like these LED mods, they are hot! It just sounds like a lot of work to get to the housing and on top of that worrying about doing it all over again when one of your LED bulbs fails. It is hard to judge with the photos here how well the outside application of the LED strips looks. I don't want a bootleg type look if I try it.

 

[pusaterkm]

I really like these LED mods, they are hot! It just sounds like a lot of work to get to the housing and on top of that worrying about doing it all over again when one of your LED bulbs fails. It is hard to judge with the photos here how well the outside application of the LED strips looks. I don't want a bootleg type look if I try it.

Do you want me to post of photo of the car with the lights off so that you can see how "invisible" they are? I've done the hard work and figured out how to route the wires and mount the lights and I can give you the steps if you want to give it a try.

 

[gadgetboyatl]

Yes, some photos would be great! Simple steps would also help. Thanks.

 

[pusaterkm]

Yes, some photos would be great! Simple steps would also help. Thanks.

Sorry, I just saw your post. I will take pictures of the strips with the lights off and also some of how I ran the wires along with some instructions. It does look really nice and I get comments about them every day. Called to the valet for may car at the Marriott this past weekend. Watch them bring it around from the room on 23rd floor with just the plasma glows on and it looked awesome. Could see them in the day time from 23 floors up.

 

[JckOfSpds]

I'll trade cars with you

What he said! That look with the LEDs is hot! I think I'd prefer the white on my ride, but its a good look just the same!

 

[|2idicu|ous]

bump.

wanted to see if anyone else had more photos of their own installation or word of better LEDs to use.

 

[motorsportsauthority]

I took my headlights apart. - Something I don't recommend due to the amount of time it took me, and especially someone who isn't mechanically inclined. That said, our cars (in my opinion) are really cool. There are absolutely no wires coming off our "city" or "parking" lights. When the bulbs go in, the housing makes contact with the circuit board, and it then has a power and ground contact. That said, it'll be difficult to tap into that wire, which is what I typically do. Since I did mine on the inside, I was able to tap the wires and everything inside the headlight and hide all my wiring. NOW...there's probably a location outside of the car in the main harness going to the headlight that will be our switched power source. I haven't done the research or verifications to which that is.