Halo replacement

[pyreguy]

So last Thursday I started my car and my angel eyes didn't come on. I was devastated. My car looks naked without them. I had to start driving without pants so I could empathize. Went to my guy at Autobahn South and they traced the problem to one of my ballasts. I need a new one.

I called the PO cause this is the only mod he did before I bought the car (he did it almost immediately so the halos are about 6 years old) and found out they are Weisslicht angel eyes from jlevisw. The old non LED version.

I called them and they suggested I check ebay for a new ballast cause they have since started carrying the LED version of the Weisslicht Angel Eyes exclusively. So I just ordered the LED version (on sale for $99.00) and will be able to get rid of the ugly ballasts once and for all. But I LOVED the way my current ones looked cause they weren't LEDs. Oh well... the ballasts will continue to need replacing every so often and will get harder and harder to source and I refuse to keep an inventory of them.

Anyway, thought I would share. I will post pictures and a review once they are installed... Figured there are tons of Orion V2 posts around. Will have something to compare.

[kayger12]

Glad you're getting it worked out, Lance.

The LEDs will look great on your car.

[az3579]

Lance,
I believe you can buy angel eyes that don't have the LED look.
David, any input? I believe yours are non-LED...

I could have sworn I saw some non-LED ones for sale somewhere. I would assume they don't require ballasts, but you can never be sure.
I've actually never heard of a ballast being required for AE's.

[pyreguy]

If they are non-LED then they require a ballast and that is the part that goes out regularly. I like the look, but in the long run the LEDs will be better I believe. I appreciate it though.

[Mtnman]

I thought you could do ccfl without ballasts...i dont have ballasts. as far as i know, i just have 2 wires that come from the AE's, and i wired them directly into the car. I havent researched this tremendously though. i found what I wanted then stopped looking...

For what its worth, the new BMWs have bright AE's, (i think they are led) so it doesnt look out of place anymore, IMO.

D

[pyreguy]

I could be wrong. It doesn't matter really The new ones are ordered. I really don't mind going to LEDs. I don't think the difference will be all that drastic. My old ones were 6000k just like these and he said these would be a little brighter, which is great during the day. Plus, now I can say all the mods on the car are mine

[az3579]

If they are non-LED then they require a ballast and that is the part that goes out regularly. I like the look, but in the long run the LEDs will be better I believe. I appreciate it though.

It's unusual that you say that because I had AE's for my E30 once-upon-a-time (when I thought they looked good on it - then I grew up) and those didn't require a ballast at all. Look exactly the same as the ones for the E46 (along with the four cheesy illumination points that is as clear as day during the daytime). I love the color a lot more than the LEDs, but those four illumination points just looked goofy after a while because it made it seem as though it was a very low quality setup. I'm not sure why they can't just make the illumination points not obvious...

[Mtnman]

It's unusual that you say that because I had AE's for my E30 once-upon-a-time (when I thought they looked good on it - then I grew up) and those didn't require a ballast at all. Look exactly the same as the ones for the E46 (along with the four cheesy illumination points that is as clear as day during the daytime). I love the color a lot more than the LEDs, but those four illumination points just looked goofy after a while because it made it seem as though it was a very low quality setup. I'm not sure why they can't just make the illumination points not obvious...

Yup, mine look like that (four brighter points) in the daytime if you get really close to them. But its hard to see.... and at night they glow perfectly.

[iZHP]

6 years for CCFL's is a pretty good lifespan actually lol...I've gone through a few sets, but I don't like LED. Those are actually less reliable in my experience; and CCFL's look better IMO. Have you tried just checking the wiring to the AE's? The connection could have come loose.

[pyreguy]

Yeah the wiring has been checked and we verified that the ballast is bad. I can't complain about their lifespan either I suppose.
I will hang on to these and maybe do something else if I hate the LEDs.


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