3rd Gen BHLM + Retrofit Projector

God damn, 400+ sets?! When you bake at 300 and then crack them open, where is most of the Permaseal left, in the channel or on the lens? Any suggestions for removing it? I can imagine in 400 sets you’ve learned a lot of short cuts!

 

I’ll admit, I pulled apart a set just now with no tools for the first time. Pretty easy.

 

what kind of projectors do y'all think you could fit in here? 2 rx350?

 

It’s different everytime you do it. It’s all about timing. It comes off best when warm but not hot. It’s a fine balance. Too hot and it’s brittle. Too cold and it’s stubborn to get off. When you split them you should start almost immediately on the channels. Pry up with a very small screwdriver where the screw holes are. That’s where it’s weakest. It should peel up pretty easy. Just start working your way around. If it gets too cold put it back in for only 1-2 minutes. No more. The lense that has sealant on it peels off pretty easy just because of the angle and the material. It’s sounds strange but it’s how the sealant feels based on heat. It’s something you get comfortable with over time. That’s why so many people think it’s hell. They only do it once and there’s so few people that have so many and can offer advice.

 

Noticed the white halo on my right headlight started to go out. They are switchbacks and the amber still functions perfectly. Initially, I thought the wire I used to adhere them was pinching the halo somehow, but the wires aren't touching the affected side. I wouldn't be so annoyed if the inside 1/3rd gave out to give off the angry halo look, but it just looks like my truck has a bad lazy eye. I checked the wiring and everything seems to be in order, but what do I know. I'm definitely not ripping these things apart again so any advice would be much appreciated!

 

Damn that sucks. I assume they’re sealed with retro rubber now? It can’t be as big of a deal as the Permaseal to pull apart, right?

This is exactly why I steer well away from those halos. Personally I don’t like the look but I’ve also never seen any that look high enough quality to withstand the test of time.

 

Lazy eye
It’s the new demon eye!!!
Sorry, laughing with you no at.

the halo is shot. Not a wiring issue. LEDS are wired in groups, so that section either has a bad led or the traces are bunk. Sorry but the only way is pulling them apart and replacing

 

yupp, sealed with retro rubber then I went overboard and covered everything in JB weld. It'd probably be tougher to take them apart than before

I wasn't fully set on the halos but I got a really good deal on them so figured why not. They were supposed to be good for 50,000 hours but I've only had them for ~8 months

I'm glad you got a kick out of it haha. It's actually my taco pointing fun at me because I was born with a bad lazy eye on my right side so now we're twins.

But sheeeeittt, that's exactly what I was hoping not to hear. Since the amber isn't affected should I switch them up to run amber full time? or would I be better off unplugging the white LEDs and getting to most life out of the halos until I can snag a set of 2020s to retrofit

 

Can’t run amber all the time(pretty sure)
Unplug white, use it as a turn until you upgrade or have a weekend to split them apart

 

It's almost time to button this all back together and put em back on the truck. Where are folks mounting the ballasts & LED drivers? Browsing through this thread or another, I think I've only seen one setup, with a custom bracket coming off of the battery area, and then maybe self-tapping screws near the washer fluid reservoir. I don't have much at my disposal to fab anything together, so I'm open to suggestions of best practice

 

well I bought the Morimoto butyl seal and ill be doing the BHLM next weekend. been working on other projects this weekend.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks! It went pretty well. Didn’t leave the first one in long enough but I put it back in and was able to get them apart. Probably put too much night shade on the reflectors but I’ll just have to deal with it for now. The butyl seal was super easy to use. I tried something different and used some furniture rubber bands from when i moved the last time. I think they worked great. Even pressure and able to go around the whole headlight nicely. Now I just need to start saving for the aftermarket headlights and all the projector retrofit parts.

 

I like the rubber band idea, I may steal that.

Do you not plan on using the high beams? Are you planning on only using the Bi-xenon projectors?

 

Go for it. I was surprised how well the worked. Not easy to put on though. yeah pretty much set myself up to only use the bi xenons and no high beams. Wasn’t my intention but hey my mistake and therefor my problem.

 

Obviously the stock high beams won’t work as well being as they’re black, but since night shades is a translucent paint, I wonder how well they would work. You should try them out anyways and report back what you found.

 

yeah I've noticed it a small amount yesterday evening but it was hard to tell bc I was driving at dusk. ill know for sure in the morning.

 

I have XSB halos as well and had the same issue. I spliced the white wire into the orange wire and vice versa and it runs amber as well as maintaining the turn signal.

 

Never thought about that. I appreciate the info and pics for confirmation. I'm just not a fan of running the amber halo with the white DRL, I like your setup with full amber on the 2nd gen

 

No worries! Halos seem cool, but if I were to do it again, I'd leave them out. Had too many failures for what they're worth