Ok all I am planning on clearing the headlights on my berlina this coming Sunday. I'm a bit nervous about doing this - not because I don't think I can, but just because I don't wanna screw it up. That being said does anyone have any tips to offer from their experiance? The Installation guide on Ricks is pretty good but a few questions I have are:

How do I remove the HID Ballast from the Headlight Casing (pics anyone?)? I definately want to do this to minimize the chance of screwing it up.

When I put them in the oven someone putting the light on a damp towel. Does this really work? Anyone ever had one of these catch fire? How damp should the towel be? Should it be re-wetted?

Where should I be trying to open the casing at? Is it obvious? Anyone have a pic showing where the best place to make the first opening at?

Thanks in advance! I'll post pics when I have completed this mod!

 

It was a PITA.

I say just take your time. It took me a long time to get the headlight assembly apart and make sure that when you put it back together, that you totally seal it. Don't hurry it.

I did mine back in December, but had some bad condensation this past weekend (badly enough, on an S2000 drive where everyone could see)

So I'll have to do it all over again to make sure it's properly sealed.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by AustinS2k2003
[B]Ok all I am planning on clearing the headlights on my berlina this coming Sunday.

 

just had mine done (by spugen), and while mine was there another came in with a fogged headlamp from someone doing it themselves...
i know many have done it themselves, but it was worth it to me to have it done by someone who had done it many times.
so if you still want to do it yourself, i agree with the above comments- take your time, make sure to put it back together with plenty of sealant.
good luck!

 

One more tip:

Follow the suggestion for time on Rick's instructions. The first one I did, I was too cautious and only baked for 7 min, instead of 10. I had a HELL of a time getting it apart, I ended up rebaking for about 4 mins, and still couldn't do it. I decided to let everything cool off for a couple of hours (myself included.) When I went back, I baked for the full 10 mins. It was not easy, but it was MUCH easier to get them apart with the 10 min bake cycle.

 

Thanks for the replies to all already!! Wow...anyway Wingman your advice is good - hell I've seen your quality work on this board and I'd let u do it if you were not like 1500 miles away

Anyway I wanna understand one thing that wasn't answered yet. The sealant already on the headlight casing is reused correct? Phased another way i am not using sealant to reseal the headlight, rather I am using the purchased sealant to hold the diffuser in place?

I hope I am not coming across as a moron - I'd rather have too much information than get into it and not have enough right?

Thanks again for the help!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by AustinS2k2003
[B]Anyway I wanna understand one thing that wasn't answered yet.

 

Can't you tell us all, Wingman?

 

Sure......sorry . As I didn't want a "sales pitch" post to cause folks undue pain and need to bash me for suggesting that folks sometimes pay for this service, I'd decided to PM him .

But I'd also included an answer to his question and here it is for everyone else ...

Now to your sealant question... When you open these headlamps, you will find that the OEM amber diffuser is assembled inside the assembly via small phillips head screws. There is NO SEALANT to be applied in any way inside the headlamp assembly. Period. You *do* re-utilize the existing OEM sealant that remains on one side and the other of the two halves of the headlamp assembly when they are split apart/rejoined. But you will *additionally* apply a bead of sealant yourself all the way around the outside of the rejoined headlamp assembly once the two halves have completely been rejoined (after the reheating recommendation). Imagine the separate bead of sealant to be applied like you might seal the cracks in the corners of a bathtub/shower. Make sense?

No hard feelings...okay?

- Dave