daniel123588

iTrader: (1)

Hey everybody hope your all doing well. Anyway I had a few questions regarding for those with Umniza Angel Eyes that have it wired to the PARKING lights, meaning the "first click" when you turn the headlights on. I intend to tap and splice the 7443 bulb (Front headlight turn signal bulb) in order to get the parking lights, meaning that the Angel eyes will be on on the first click and while the HID's are on as well. Heres my question and concern..

1. When you unlock and lock the car with the remote you know that the parking lights flash. It flashes once for lock and twice for unlock. my concern is that do these angel eyes ballast and CCFL light work similiar like headlight Ballast and bulbs? For example, its bad for HID systems to turn it off and on quickly, cranking the car to start WHILE HID's are on first (voltage spike i think). If I wire the angel eyes to the parking lights than it would get power every time I lock and unlock my car with the remote, would this be bad and shorten the life? Will the Angel Eyes even have enough time to light up with that quick 12v during locking and unlocking?

Hope that made sense. Ive also read many threads as well by Kennedy, Bforbrian, JNC and others and read all the pages so ive done my search. Also PLEASE dont tell me to either run a switch to the interior or splice to a source that is running power constantly when car is on, that is not how i want to do it. Hopefully someone can help me out

gerzand

iTrader: (3)

Hey man I know where you are coming from with your concerns over this. Let me explain why.

First of all, in good practice, all 3G TL owners should especially use their switch to turn off their HID's AND parking lights whenever turning the car off...even if our cars do have an auto-off feature after 20 seconds. Because in addition rapid fluctuations in heat being bad for UHP (ultra high pressure) gas filled HID bulbs, the life of the ballast can also be cut with voltage drops/spikes while cranking the engine. Just a bad idea all-around.

But having said that, in the case that the car is off (not cranking) , a low heat producing CCFL tube can be turned on/off rapidly without blowing. I have had my Umnitza angel eyes wired up to my parking lights for about 9 months now and while they do flash when locking the vehicle, I have not seen problems with shortened life. Even going through near zero degree temperatures with the flashing that occurs when locking the doors, I haven't had any issues. I would say a MUCH LARGER concern would be the ABSOLUTE NEED for higher quality ballasts which have better PCB quality which are also waterproof. The cheap plastic Umnitza supplied inverters (ballasts) blew out on my first test drive. This is why I purchased a pair of Aluminum housed, waterproof ones from vibelights.com which have been proven by many members to be far superior.

Hope this helps with most of your questions.

Buda

iTrader: (1)

Some more comments on the ballast.

1. Just talked to Umnitza as I had to get my angel eyes replaces. They now have in upgraded ballasts which send even more power to the rings. They light up much brighter according to the guy at Umnitza. I'm not sure if lightwurkz is selling the set with the new ballasts or not. However the bad news is that you still have to seal the ballasts to protect against water. Remember to also waterproof the connections to the angel eyes. The current can arc there with water present and blow out the angel eye.

2. This part I'm not sure on as I'm more used to dealing with CCFLs in computers. I've always though of the ballast for CCFLs as more of an inverter. If I remember right for CCFLs all it basically does is convert the DC current to AC (of course there are more specifics but that is the high level). Again I'm not 100% sure on this part.

I have the vibe lights ballasts and have liked them. I'm getting the upgraded ballasts from Umnitza and will post up about them when I get a chance to test them out.

daniel123588

iTrader: (1)

thanks gerzand and buda. I love how people reply so fast and it's so helpful too. I have read about the vibelight invertors which are five bucks so I'll probably order that soon.still finishing up some other stuff. I just got my angel eyes last week from eBay(lightwerks),I wonder if it's the newer one,prob not though. My housing for the invertor is black,wonder what everyone elses is. Thanks again

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

The headlights have ballasts that have igniters in them. There is a process that takes some time for the gas and energy to produce the light and then warm up. That's why you don't want to flash HID lights. For the angel-eyes, there's none of that. It uses an inverter which steps up the voltage, that's all. There is no harm in turning them on/off within 1 sec. Think of them like a fluorescent bulb. Just don't keep them on a blinking cycle for a LONG time, no bulb likes that. Only LEDs can withstand a lot of that.

bforbrian

iTrader: (11)

umnitza inverters SUCK

mine just blew a couple of days ago and my car looked retarded

switched inverters and now my eyes are glaring with intense brightness

tylerc56

Can i see pics of your lights ?

gerzand

iTrader: (3)

Heres some older pics of my '05 with with single angel eyes. bforbrian has purchased some '07 headlights and done duals.








and with low beams on:

binhsterbinh

I replaced one of my Umniza ballast with one from vibelights because one of my halo rings was taking 20 minutes to turn on. It would glow at the ends but not start up for a long while until it warmed up. My replacement from vibelights yielded the same result. My driver halo still won't light up all the way for awhile. Could this be the Halo ring itself or not enough voltage coming in? Also, I think my battery is on its way out. I left it for a week alarm armed and it's too dead to even start the car....

Anyone have any ideas on this and what the case would be if the ring only glows at the ends for a period of time?

Nyght Rhyder 786

I have the same type of Angel eyes im getting put in tomorrow i hope they arent gonna go out on me how long have you(gerzand) had your Angel eyes for i have the same kind of Angel eyes kit with only one ring?

gerzand

iTrader: (3)

I have had them for 9 months as i posted earlier



binhsterbinh, I think your problem is a lack of power to the CCFL tube. The reason for this is too much resistance in the wire or a bad inverter not putting out enough power.

And since you have purchased vibelights inverters and are still having thae same issue, it would be my guess is that you you have probably extended the length of the wires leading to the tubes which cannot effectively be done because there is too much a loss of voltage.

To fix the power issues, keep the wires the stock length as they come from umnitza/vibelights. I've treid extending the wires in the past using anything from twisted strand wire to solid core wire, to steel, copper... you name it. ...20 up to 28 gauge. None worked. When dealing with the limited options to mount the inverters with short length wiring a good place to mount the inverter is on the back of the circular cover for the HID bulb using some double sided tape.

daniel123588

iTrader: (1)

my vibelight inverters are taking forever to get here (honolulu). Wonder if your guys order took longer than usual. I know its Holiday season but its been about 10 days. Perhaps i am just impatient, and it is Hawaii as well.

Buda

iTrader: (1)

My last order took about 3 weeks from them. I had to email them and leave a voice mail asking about the order and then the next day I got a shipping notification and had them 3 days later. If you haven't gotten a shipping confirmation from them I'd try to contact them.

I just got my replacement Angel Eyes and the Ugraded ballasts from Umnitza... finally. The upgraded ballast are different from the old ones. From what I remember here are the differences:
Old Ballasts/Inverters
- Power wires are Red and black
- Case is black and possible metal.
- The bottom plastic piece with circuit board easily falls out.
- The case is at least an inch tall

New Ballasts/Inverters
- Power wires are White and Black
- Case is black and plastic (sturdy)
- Bottom piece with circuit board is securely attacted
- The case is noticeably slimmer (under 1" tall)

However even with the upgraded inverter you still need to seal (waterproof) it.

daniel123588

iTrader: (1)

Could anyone with the Vibelight inverter please give me the dimensions of it. Its been 11 days or so and the inverters still havnt come in. Sadly, vibelights are not replying to my email nor are they returning my calls (i left a message, twice).im thinking of just currently to just run the inverters that came with the angel eyes for now but im going to drill holes to mount it so im hoping that the vibelight inverters are the exact same size so i can just easily switch them when it comes in, i doubt it though. I prefer to mount it down rather than use double stick tape thats on it, as heat from the engine makes the double stick tape get looooooose. I know they have stronger 3m tape like the ones they use for body kits (which are extremely strong) but i rather bolt it down.The inverters that came with the umniza angel eyes are...
Length: 70mm (just the box itself, not including the two ends to mount the inverter.
Width: 28mm
Height: 20mm

I know some of you mounted the inverters where its probably very hard to see or not visible at all but if anybody can help me out with the dimensions it would be greatly appreciated. laterz, thanks in advance.

binhsterbinh

I don't have easy access right now to the inverters but will tell you that it took forever to get the Vibelight package. He didn't send it until a month aftre I ordered it. I just got it a week ago. He doesn't answer or respond to emails. The ballast is slightly longer then the old one but sealed.

binhsterbinh

Wow, I think you may be right about not having enough power to the CCFL tube. I extended it because I couldn't reach it after the headlight was installed into the car with the battery installed. Secondly, that stupid black female clip that is supposed to click and hold the end of the white CCFL ring wires wouldn't snap so I had no secure connection.

So I took the CCFL metal leads and plugged it directly into the inverter male end in both orientations and still only got it to partially light up. Reversing the leads partially lit up the other side of the ring. I have no idea which side is supposed to light up first. Only problem is that during this testing, I was still using my 11.5V battery. I will need to test this theory again using the charged battery now at 14.8V.

daniel123588

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm thanks for the reply binhsterbinh. In my opinion, thats not so great service from vibelight. I guess i will probably wait because i dont want to cut the wires and solder it again along with drilling new holes to remount the inverter. Hey now that you mention those little prongs on the end of the CCFL ring, mines wouldnt clip into the black connector(female? male?) either, im going to just solder it anyway so not to much of a big deal but definately not much space to work with either by the headlight area. I didnt think it was going to be the same size. oh well, i shoulda ordered it when i ordered all my ZKW rep, 85122+ bulbs and so forth.

Like Gerzand mentioned, your not suppose to extend the wires from the inverter to the CCFL but you already know that. THanks again, binhsterbinh

daniel123588

iTrader: (1)

A MONTH! I live in Oahu, its probably going to take like 2 months than hahaha actually its not that funny for me ....

daniel123588

iTrader: (1)

Umniza inverters are soo crappy. I just installed mine like 7 hours ago because i was tired of waiting for the vibelight inverters, which should arrive soon i hope. Anyway, my inverters crapped out after just couple of hours. I soldered everything than heat shrink tubing to make sure all my connections are perfect. anyone both were working now its only one side. What a waste of time.

gerzand

iTrader: (3)

Shit! After 9 months with these Vibelights inverters, my drivers side angel eye is failing to light up. Not even the slightest bit. I hope its just the inverter and not the CCFL tube. I have a spare CCFL tube that I can test the inverter with. If its the tube I'm just going to disconnect both angel eyes for now cuz i dont have the time to bake my headlight again. This is a pain in the ass!

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Hey so parked my car in the garage this morning and saw that my drivers side halo is out. I have been rocking the stock umnitza ballast for 2 months now. The bulb I would assume is fine.

My question is...is vibelights.com still the preferred alternative inverter?

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

^Bumping my own question.

gerzand

iTrader: (3)

are u scared to PM me or what? hehe

Yes, this is still the only place I knwo of to offer a waterproof inverter that will work.... Though their service has supposedly gotten bad over recent months.

Whats $12 to try? :P

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Here, you can thank me later

http://elwirepros.com/halo-inverter.html

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Lol, thanks JNC. Can you confirm that those are 100% weatherproof?

JnC

iTrader: (12)

^^ I havent tested them myself by submerging them under water but they do come sealed with thermally conductive epoxy so it should fend good against moisture and the elements.

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Lol, bumping an old one. I still haven't fixed my halo. And now that it's not really cold and I want too, vibelights.com is gone.

Any other suggestions? Anyone used the aluminum ones elwirepros.com has?

http://www.elwirepros.com/halo-inverter.html

Buda

iTrader: (1)

^-- Those look to be the same ones that were at vibelights when I got mine. I used them and they did just fine. In fact may have gotten the halos a little brighter.

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Well, I just placed my order. $16.50 shipped for 2. I'll report back if it fixes my problem and of the quality of the elwirepros inverters.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Just wanted to mention that you can add a delay circuit to the wiring to make the angel eyes come on 3-4 seconds after power is applied to them. This way they won't flash with the keyless entry.

As for the vibelights ballasts, I was the first to have them on my car and it has been about 3 yrs/50,000 miles now running strong, no problems with my original set of angel-eyes/inverters. The times I did have problems here and there it was always attributed to a loose wire somewhere with an easy fix.

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

^ Cool rocky I'm hoping these elwirepros will be of the same quality.

BTW, I ran wire and setup my halos to be on their own switch.

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Well, I just wanted to comment that I got my order already. Extremely fast shipping. I think it shipped from them the same day I ordered.

As far as the units, I must say they are extremely small compared to the stock ones I used before. I'm talking like a third the size. However, they feel dense and they are also sealed in everyplace that can be sealed.

I'll let everyone know when I got it working!

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Well, I replaced my stocks with the elwirepros inverters last night. There is no difference in brightness imho, but the switch was very easy. It was also plug and play. I didn't have to do any splicing or soldering.

So, I would def recommend the elwirepros to anyone who searches this thread for umnitza inverter replacements.