Today I started in with the installation of the lights. There was some white or silver paint on one of the brackets so I cleaned that off, and put some shims under the two extra fasteners the LED lights use vice the stockers so that the lights were square to the brackets. After all the prep work I mounted the lights and ended up with this:
Next I cut back the stock wires to solder on the new connectors (H11) needed for the LED fogs. I double-checked the polarity just to back up what I had read online, the factory green wire was positive and the black wire was negative. Connectors had a red and a black wire so I connected the red to the green. Got that all done and plugged in, but when I powered up the lights I had nada. I thought maybe it was because I had the headlights removed so went ahead and installed the second connector. While doing that I noticed after plugging in the light that the red input wire was going to the black wire on the light. Either the wires on those connectors are standardized or the Chinese worker who made mine was having an off day. Considered undoing the wires and resoldering but that would have made the wires incorrect. Looking at the connectors I figured I could get the individual wires out of the connector and swap them. I did this by inserting a small jeweler’s screwdriver to release the tab like so:
The tab holding things in place was weak so I had to bend it up a little so it would hold once I inserted it back into the connector. It’s kind of hard to see but it’s the little piece sticking up by itself from the top:
Put everything together, powered the lights up and voila! All was good. I zip-tied the wires to the factory bracket to keep things from flopping around:
For the NB1 at least, you don’t have to cut anything for these to fit the bumper cutouts. The stock lights are somewhat deep and slide into the openings. These are much slimmer and end up just behind the back of the openings. The 90mm size is perfect to fill the hole in the bumper.
While I had the front bumper off I decided I would finally install the X-Pel film I’ve had sitting around for the headlights. Had to sand/polish them to get a smooth surface because they looked like this:
Pulled them off the car first because I have a film on the inside of the lens from gassing of the paint I used on the inner bezels. Swished some alcohol around to take care of that (didn’t quite do it all), while doing that noticed the driver’s side projector was moving around. Found the nut holding it in place had loosened so tightened that up and put some high temp silicone on top of the nut to act as a keeper of sorts. Did the polishing then installed the film it was only slightly a PITA. Passenger side was done second and ended up a a little better than the driver’s side but overall good:
I should note this job is very difficult due to the compound curves of the lens. I took my time and worked around the film using my heat gun on the low setting. The slight cloudiness is normal and should work itself out over the next two weeks.
I was hearing a chirping from the clutch slave so knew it was time for some lube. I have been thinking about a better mousetrap for this and decided to try a plastic washer to see how that worked out. I have some leftover material from a cone of shame so cut a piece out from that. Punched a hole in the middle using the arch punch set I got from Harbor Freight (hey, didn’t have a set before but I do now), shaped it with a little heat as much as I could and then installed it. Here is how it looked before installation:
Ain’t the prettiest but should do the job. I am going to keep my eye out for some kind of cup that I can use, Teflon would be nice and I might be able to make one when I get back to work. I’ll keep everyone updated on how this works out.
To end up I adjusted the rear brake calipers. Nice day’s work.