BAD Experience with BFC (Black Flame Customs)

Chris knows all about needing a warranty, he drives a JK Wrangler! The key in chime is actually the term "Aloha Snackbar" before he starts it...

 

Dont know if it means anything from me, but I am not deterred by your craftsmanship after this thread @BFC.

Coot

 

If I didn't already know how to do retrofits, BFC would be at the top of the list for getting work done, if that means anything to anyone.

 

That's because they know they screwed up by putting it next to the drive shaft on the driver side instead of above the rear diff housing like all the relocation kits do.

 

Update:

I was able to use a heat gun to make the moisture evaporate; however, the moisture would come right back after 1 cold night. So, even though it would appear that the lens was completely clear, the water was still inside the housing somewhere ready to form condensation once more.

Also, the condensation left water marks:






So, the only real solution was going to be to re-open the headlight housing. Not a problem -- opened very easy. I only heated it to around 170 degrees in the oven for maybe 30 minutes. That softened the butyl enough to make separation of the 2 halves pretty easy. Recommend removal of all bulbs, rubber U-joints and rubber back seal prior to heating in oven.






Once separated you can get access to the inside of the clear lens and go to work with glass cleaner and lint-free cloth.

Recommend re-seal with butyl rubber, as available here from TRS here: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/accessories/build-materials.html

Also, I found the source of that rattle from day 1:

 

The problem is why someone would pay $900 for lights!!! No disrespect to op but that's crazy. Jmo!

 

When I started this years ago, Tacomas didn't come with projectors, and I was burning out my halogen silverstar ultras left and right. I was looking for a brighter light that would last longer than halogen bulbs. And at the time, HID retrofit was the only real solution.

And honestly, that's about what you can expect to pay for a retro-fit. If you want projectors with HID or LED that's what it will cost. Aligning the projectors is really what you're paying for. Otherwise, you could do it yourself for just parts, but then again, projectors, etc aren't really cheap.

But more to the point, if I had it to do over again, I would not. Not just because of this seal issue, but because there are better alternatives today. I would look at an LED solution, nothing will outlast a well built LED light -- not even HID bulbs.

 

OEM housings are about $150+ a pair. Proper HID projector kits are $250+. A good pair of LED halos is $40+, depending on size. That is a cost of $450+. Add in shipping costs, and you're already at $500+. That leaves less than $400 for skilled labor. A pair of projectors can be a full day project, and a maximum of $50 an hour for skilled labor isn't unreasonable, especially for custom, highly niche work.

In regards to alternatives, the only "decent" alternative is the Philips H4 LED bulb, which costs about $250 a pair. There are no other LED bulbs suitable for replacement of halogen headlight bulbs, and using LED bulbs in halogen projectors might make a clean cutoff but light output pattern is not optimal. LED projectors are extremely expensive. 90mm Hella bi-LED projectors are $550 per projector. JW Speaker 90mm LED projectors are $216 per projector (25% less during the TRS black friday sale), and there are no bi-LED modules, requiring 4 projectors for low and high beam functionality. Unless your car came with H4 headlights or came from the factory with LED headlights, HID retrofits still make a lot more sense.

 

Hopefully your reseal lasts for the expected 30 years - good luck.

Everyone has their own thing - we know shops that charge 5x time much for some headlight builds - and even more!

We definitely agree here. In the world of aftermarket - HID still wins hands down vs LED almost every time. Why? Because the aftermarket LED technology hasn't caught up to the ruggedness, reliability & performance of HID yet. The aftermarket LED bulbs and their chips are SO over-driven they are basically just heat sinks waiting to fail. Add in driving vibrations and other issues and it's just not there for long term use.

OEM LED options like on some Audi & Toyota models are coming along nicely - but when the lights cost upwards of $2500 each - it makes for expensive options in a package and as replacements should something fail.

 

LMAO. No son . . . . I'm in my 40's, paid for the truck cash - no loan. All I can say is, if I did my job the way BFC does his, then I guess my patients would be dying left and right at about the 3 year mark . . . . because I didn't do it right the first time. Little room for error in my line of work . . . Bottom line is that it was just easier for me to knock it out myself. Plus, why would I trust a company to seal the headlight housing a 2nd time, when they clearly failed to do it right the 1st time.

JUST DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME

 

You're entitled to your opinion.

Please keep us updated on here over the next 1-30 years on the lights so we know if the new seal lasts or not.

 

Of course he will.

 

Look BFC. I took the housing apart, and when I did it was CLEAR to me how the seal failed. The "bead" of butyl was inadequate at the seal line at the top. Most of it rolled toward the inside and didn't fall into the valley where the 2 halves meet. No wonder it failed.

 

Nothing in the picture shows what you're describing though. Seems as if the entire channel has an even additional layer of black butyl - like it did when we originally built the light - nothing rolled over toward the inside.

You're entitled to your opinion though - we'll never deny that.

 

Not implying this happened here, more of an FYI for future people thinking of adding extra sealant to head lights. I was told by a high end window/door manufacturer that some silicones contain a chemical that causes the butyl to fail on insulated glass units, resulting in moisture in between the panes. Unfortunately I don't remember what the chemical was called

 

After reading this and seeing that BFC genuinely offered to fix the lights even after such a long period of time and out of warranty. You choose to break them open and screw with them yourself, admittedly not being skilled in the area of retrofits? No sympathy from me or probably most people. You were clearly capable of living without those lights when you did the original retro because it was cool and exciting, now you can't be bothered with maintenance or warranty repair. So, did you expect BFC to send you a whole new light for your pain and suffering? Just not sure what you expected from this utterly pointless, backfired thread?

 

Bottom line . . . the RTV silicone did nothing to hurt the BFC butyl seal. Also, the BFC butyl seal failed. Granted, BFC offered to fix it. Great on them, as their website clearly indicates that the seal is only good for a 1 year warranty, and these headlights are 3 years out. So, YES, I agree, BFC is offering to fix something outside of their warranty. But that doesn't change the fact that the BFC seal FAILED, epically, I might add, at 3 years. No way anyone paying for a HID retrofit expects that kind of moisture at 3 years. No one would pay for a retrofit if this is the expected life of the seal.

All of you can think what you want, but the truth is that the butyl seal, if done properly, should not have failed a 3 years. Also, fact: the RTV silicone smeared on top did nothing to hurt the butyl that should have been sealed inside.

If anything, I hope this thread steers people away from HID retro-fits, if this is the "normal" expected result of a butyl seal.