Angel eyes died

Swerve · 02-07-2008, 09:47 PM

So today I noticed that my driver side Angel eyes stopped working. It's wired to the corner, and the corner works fine. I checked the connection and it was still solid, and blinking, etc. so it's not a power or fuse problem. My passenger side one is still on with no issues.

This is probably coincidental, but I installed HIDs yesterday. The lights looked too good to be true last night with the HIDs and AEs running. It was sick, and didn't even last 24hrs.

What's the lifespan on Angel Eyes? I wish I knew what kind I have, but they were preinstalled in a set of DJ Auto's I bought on bf.c
here's what they look like on the previous owners car if that helps any:

Do angels die on a regular basis?

Dr. Flyview · 02-07-2008, 10:36 PM

They are probably cheap ebay run of the mill CCFLs. If you want them to last, you need to get brand name like Predator Chromiums. Also, it may just be the cold. My right passenger side AE regularly dies when it's too cold out until it warms up.

BmW1819 · 02-07-2008, 11:14 PM

u can't change the bulbs?????

Swerve · 02-08-2008, 12:02 AM

are there bulbs in there? I don't think it's bulbs because both rings in the driver side are off, so I'm thinking maybe it's something between the corner light and the rings themselves. Are there ballasts or something in between?

vadim321go · 02-08-2008, 12:57 AM

first u have to see if there is a ballast or not, look at the angel eye itself and see if there are any slots for a bulb in there. basically do u have CCFL AE's or the crappy dde kind (bulb) then u can go from there.

UltimateDriv · 02-08-2008, 09:14 AM

mine have blown also....but mine was a cheapie ebay kit...so kinda expected

BmW1819 · 02-08-2008, 10:36 AM

what ebay ones did u buy??

Karim@Corner73 · 02-08-2008, 01:23 PM

Hello Paulo,

From the picture it looks like you have real CCFL rings.

The first thing I would do would be to check your wiring. Make sure all the connections are secure.

If it's all good, second step is to swap the igniter on the passenger side with the one on the driver side. If this makes the driver's side light up, then you know the igniter is defective. You'll need a new one.

Otherwise, your rings might be blown. Angel eyes do die sometimes but it would be surprising to have both die at the same time.

The rings can be replaced.

Let me know the results of your tests

UltimateDriv · 02-08-2008, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BmW1819

what ebay ones did u buy??

off redcometm3 or something like that...

he's a dirtbag seller anyways, and i wouldn't recommend him to my worst enemy...(well maybe an enemy)

propr'one · 02-08-2008, 04:22 PM

Its definatly the ballast, the chances of both rings burning out at once is almost zero.

i'm sure karim can get you a new ballast, if not, bimmian can. (but i'm not a fan of bimmian, so give karim the biz

)

Swerve · 02-08-2008, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vadim321go

first u have to see if there is a ballast or not, look at the angel eye itself and see if there are any slots for a bulb in there. basically do u have CCFL AE's or the crappy dde kind (bulb) then u can go from there.

ok, so I took a closer look. they have 2 wires (1 white, 1 brown) coming out of each end of the ring. so 2 LEDs in the ring. 4 per light, 8 on both lights. Since I shouldn't have a ballast there in this case (LED angels don't need ballasts right?), it must be a wiring issue between the corner lamp and the LEDs. I think it's safe to assume that all 4 wouldn't have blown at once, so it must be some wiring thats come undone somewhere in there.

question- 35W HIDs run cooler than Halogens, correct? I would think that they didn't melt my wiring inside.

Swerve · 02-12-2008, 06:32 PM

Okay, so I took out the headlight on the weekend and checked it out. The wiring was not very well done, as whomever did the installation just stripped some insulation off the existing wiring inside, wrapped the angeleyes' wiring around it, and taped it. It would have been fine if it had been soldered. Anyways, it seems that the wires heated up near this tap quite a bit since the outer insulation blackened a bit. I tested just the angeleyes to 12V, but they didn't light up.

There's this board, of which I cut off the heat shrink that was wrapped around it, where power and ground connect to, and from where 4 wires feed the angels. What the heck is it and what does it do? Where can I get a new one?

Some have said that LEDs don't have 'ballasts/inverters/etc", but these have something!

Swerve · 02-13-2008, 07:20 PM

so after some googling, this board has got to be a resistor for the LEDs. I checked ebay, since this must be a cheapo kit, and found a seller who I think pretty much has what I've got; as the color of the wiring is the same, 1 brown and 1 grey into one LED on one end of the ring, and 2 greys into the other. This pic is of a kit for an e46 as it includes the mounting tabs, but the e36 version should be similar. the e36's pics weren't as good.

so now I'm wondering what the resistance of this board is. I've contacted the seller, but anyone here know?

Swerve · 02-18-2008, 03:25 AM

anyone venture a guess?

Bimmer4ever · 02-18-2008, 07:52 AM

well...I've had umnitza predator's before and yes angel eyes do die on regular basis, what you need I think is a new pair of angel eyes and have them reinstalled. Don't buy cheap ebay ones, go to www.umnitza.com. Angel eyes are usually connected with your corner lights' wire.