[RichDeezy]

:dunno:
I have been reading and reading trying to figure out what type of headlights i have, if they are OEM HELLA, or aftermarket, and i am just not sure. It seems i do have the angel eyes yet they are pracitcally non existent, could this be wiring or worng power source? I beleive they are aftermarket headlights they are one full clear piece, it is set up with XENON beams, well the driving lights are at least, the high beams are yellow (halogen?).
End of story id like to know what ive got to do in order to get my angel eyes more visible or higher powered, i see that i do have them as the rings do illuminate just VERY DIMLY.


here are some pix: (sorry if i have missed a search that already brought this up, all i do is read these forums while i sit here working front desk at my hotel)

the last picture is of the DRL, you can see the rings are illuminated yet not very visable.

 

[the540wgn]

If they are OEM Hella lights you should have one of these on each.

Yours definitely look aftermarket

 

[Solo12]

They are absolutely not OEM I am 100% certain those are aftermarket. The fronts, tops and especially the backs are dead giveaways.

Here are some pics for comparison. Notice how the angel eye rings and the shrouds (sliver part that goes between the angel eye and projector) look very different on the OEM and your lights. Also see how the plastic on the back of the lights is shaped completely differently. And also how on the top of the lights there is what looks kinda like a clear circle on the OEM lights, but on your lights that is not there.

Hella Euro clear corner (not a great shot and can't really see the clear corner), but you can kinda see the hella stamp between the high beam and low beam.

Back of OEM xenon light with ballast connected

Back of OEm halogen with no bulbs in it

Aftermarket Lights
DJ auto closest in resemblance to OEM hellas

Depo the area inbetween the angel eye and proector is kind of scalloped which looks totally different from OEM. Also the high beam reflector looks different.

Options

• New oem lights-expensive
• Used OEM lights- cheaper, but may have broken adjusters and only 2001 and some 2002s can be baked open
• New DJ Auto-looks closest to OEM, best quality out of aftermarket ligths
• New DJ Auto modified (by Umnitza) with FX-R projectors and angel eye of your choice- will be expensive, but one of the better light output options out there
• New Depo- One of the cheaper options out there, but people say they usually start falling apart after a year or two
• New Ebay specials- cheap, but quality will be hit and miss (probably mostly miss)

Unless you really love the lights you have for some reason. I say get something else, to me they are really really terrible looking. But it is your car and only you have to like it. You could try and open the lights and swap out the current angel eye ring for quality and bright LED based angel eye ring. I just don't think those lights are worth it.

With the OEM options you will still need to add an LED angel eye bulb to get the bright white angel eyes you are after, which will cost more money so be aware of that. If you go that route Angel iBright (sold variosu places) and Umnitza Ice V5 and Vxx are the three angel eye bulbs I would look at. With the custom DJ autos you can get a very bright halo ring swapped into the housing. Umnitza offer this service, but I suppose if you are handy you may be able to swap in a different ring yourself. Personally I don't think Depos are worth it plus I don't care for the looks.

 

[RichDeezy]

They are absolutely not OEM I am 100% certain those are aftermarket. The fronts, tops and especially the backs are dead giveaways.

thats what i was thinking also...:thumbdwn: with that said though, any idea on how i can get the halo's brighter, are my hid ballasts not producing enough power, maybe bad wiring (doesnt appear to be) or bulbs..... im just not sure :dunno:

ive attatched some photos now that its dark outside and u can see the rings a bit better, but once i turn on the driving lights there are non existent once again smh and you can see the yellow tinted high beam...

 

[RichDeezy]

@SOLO12 the OEM XENON one you posted look very similar to mine, i also have the ballast just in a diff spot on my car, but as you said the whole look of the headlight doesnt match up, and no where do i see "HELLA"...

 

[vengeanceis]

your halo rings don't look bad at all. what's wrong with it? that's probably the way these aftermarket headlamp assemblies are.

why do you care about the look of the halos when your low/high beams are on??
believe me, no one is gonna stare at your headlights when you have high beams on. so no one would care about whether you have the rings on or not.

i think your rings are only on when you have daylight/parking lights on? is that right?
if yes, then they are more than visible.


this has nothing to do with the ballasts or their output. if you don't like the looks just buy whole new different headlight assemblies.. but honestly, I'm not getting what exactly you're complaining about...

 

[RichDeezy]

the complaint with my high beams is simply the yellow tint (fix with diff bulbs i know)
the complaint with the rings being too dim while my driving lights are on is that its not visible around the high beam as others are its too dim to be seen, i dont drive with my high beams on anyway.
yes im aware that they are on only when my parking/daylights are on, yet as i stated it seems much dimmer then others ive seen.
As you stated, how they are assembled may be a good reason...
more of wondering than complaints, i would like it to be brighter and more visible but if they arent its not the biggest deal.

 

[vengeanceis]

ok, understood
possibly your rings are wearing out.. becoming dimmer over time..


i'm just going through same kind of research now: i am looking to replace my old (original stock xenon) headlights ($1.1k OEM RRSP each ouch!!) - one of the lenses got a crack in it somewhere and the light is fogged from the inside.


what i'm finding is there are two options:
a) there are halo rings kits available (fairly cheap), lots of websites sell them, but to install them you have to get inside the headlight assembly (which is a real PITA, and requires "baking the headlight" in the oven among other things, I don't have courage to do this);
OR
b) you buy whole new headlight assembly.. cost ranges from $200 for the pair (cheap DEPO or SPEC-D with halogen) to... i don't know, ~$650 each for a HELA OEM.. I think)
although most offer HID bulbs option now (which is, again, ~$100 more per side, including the ballasts/ignitors)...

since i don't want to mess with a) i'll probably continue explore b) options...

 

[RichDeezy]

ok, understood
possibly your rings are wearing out.. becoming dimmer over time..

i'm just going through same kind of research now: i am looking to replace my old (original stock xenon) headlights ($1.1k OEM RRSP each ouch!!) - one of the lenses got a crack in it somewhere and the light is fogged from the inside.

what i'm finding is there are two options:
a) there are halo rings kits available (fairly cheap), lots of websites sell them, but to install them you have to get inside the headlight assembly (which is a real PITA, and requires "baking the headlight" in the oven among other things, I don't have courage to do this);
OR
b) you buy whole new headlight assembly.. cost ranges from $200 for the pair (cheap DEPO or SPEC-D with halogen) to... i don't know, ~$650 each for a HELA OEM.. I think)
although most offer HID bulbs option now (which is, again, ~$100 more per side, including the ballasts/ignitors)...

since i don't want to mess with a) i'll probably continue explore b) options...

I see I see, i have seen those CCFL and other options for the rings, but as you've said I dont know how comfortable I am with doing that, I also at the moment have more important areas to spend $200 - $700 on this car.

I wonder if the rings are just dying out, or if there is a bulb/wire that is a simple/quick fix to restore the illumination, I wish I had the money for either OEM headlight or one of the new LED similar headlights.

 

[Fudman]

the complaint with my high beams is simply the yellow tint (fix with diff bulbs i know)
the complaint with the rings being too dim while my driving lights are on is that its not visible around the high beam as others are its too dim to be seen, i dont drive with my high beams on anyway.
yes im aware that they are on only when my parking/daylights are on, yet as i stated it seems much dimmer then others ive seen.
As you stated, how they are assembled may be a good reason...
more of wondering than complaints, i would like it to be brighter and more visible but if they arent its not the biggest deal.

The yellow tint of high beams is a characteristic of their location on the light spectrum. High beams must be halogen to allow instant-on full brightness. HIDs require a warm up period. If you want a whiter high beam, you must get a blue-tinted halogen bulb (Sylvania and Phillips make good ones). About 4300 would match most HID bulbs. Too high and the beam will appear blue. However, you will lose lumens (light output) as the blue tint absorbs some light output. That is the tradeoff.

The AE rings can be brightened by replacing the AE bulb with a higher output (wattage) AE bulb. Since yours are aftermarket, I cannot say what bulb they take. There are LED AE bulbs replacement available which are whiter (to match the HID) and brighter. However, the bright ones are not cheap ($100+). I find the cheaper $50 LED AE bulb (M-Tech) to be more than adequate to match my OEM HID bulbs.

 

[tmvE39/E53/Z32]

You got ugly eBay headlights! I would blame the PO for that. Maybe the car was in front end collision that made him/her replaced the headlights. :dunno:

the complaint with my high beams is simply the yellow tint (fix with diff bulbs i know)You got it. I'd leave it alone. How often can you show them off?
the complaint with the rings being too dim while my driving lights are on is that its not visible around the high beam as others are its too dim to be seen, i dont drive with my high beams on anyway.They wont be visible when the low/high beams are on regarless of what type of AEs/bulbs you put in there.
yes im aware that they are on only when my parking/daylights are on, yet as i stated it seems much dimmer then others ive seen.Some Cree LED bulbs help increase the brightness of AEs, but none available bulb can make them as bright as modern BMWs
As you stated, how they are assembled may be a good reason...
more of wondering than complaints, i would like it to be brighter and more visible but if they arent its not the biggest deal.

 

[umnitza]

You got ugly eBay headlights! I would blame the PO for that. Maybe the car was in front end collision that made him/her replaced the headlights. :dunno:

:thumbup::thumbup:

With those lights you have several problems:
Quality of seals will deteriorate over time and leave you with less and less light
You already have a very limited amount of light on the road because the optics on those headlights are horrible.
Your angel eyes are dim blue, you're asking for a ticket from a cop.

If you have the ability sell them or keep them as an emergency set and buy a decent set (*cough*cough* ours) that will be as little as $450 for a really solid set with Orion V2 and Xenons that will be at least 3X better than you have now.

 

[Quest_908]

solo, my headlights look exactly like yours do, do you have hid and is hid the same as xenon please respond i need help

 

[tmvE39/E53/Z32]

solo, my headlights look exactly like yours do, do you have hid and is hid the same as xenon please respond i need help

Yes.