How To: Install Angel Eyes (TM3 edition)

[bubba1983]

here goes nothin, makin my final attempt at puttin these in, finally managed some spare time to get the passenger side in!!!

kinda sad tho after 2 years to see the old thinlines go, but as they say, time to move on to bigger and better!!

[Gizzmo_jr]

So I drive through the rain yesterday on my way to Wonderland and pull into parking lot and notice one of my rings (drivers low beam) isn't on. I figured it out from the reflection off the trunk of the car parked in front of me. Quickly pop open the hood and hear a sizzling noise. Upon closer inspection the noise is coming from the ballast to ring connection. Sure enough water had gotten itself in there and making an ark due to the high high voltage.

So I blow off the water after I unplugged the connections and turned the ballasts off. Looked alright (no burning or melting from anything), plugged it back in and turned them on for 30sec. Okay everything checks out and works fine. Some residual moisture causes the sizzling noise to happen again. Turn them off and leave it until home.

This afternoon I took apart all 4 connections and put dielectric grease to all of them and redid the heat shrink. Now I ask myself why didn't I do this before? I'm lazy and the heat shrink wasn't fully shrunk all the way around. Now I won't be scared to use the angel eyes in wet conditions again. Let this be a warning.

FYI, dielectric grease will prevent moisture to enter the area where it is (repels water), as well it isn't conductive thus water tight bond at the connection.

[WeatherB]

I actually siliconed the connections after putting on the shrink tubing for that very reason.

Make sure you also get the small openings on the ballast around the wire outlets.

[Gizzmo_jr]

Well aren't you smart! ha
Yeah we both had that 1mm gap in the wires at the ballasts problem, like you put silicone on that ASAP.

[WeatherB]

Hehe. I heard a lot of horror stories on M3F about fried ballasts due to exposed connections.

Luckily nothing got permanently damaged for you.

[rsquared]

WeatherB mentioned siliconing the connections after I did my install but haven't gotten around to it as yet. Thanks for posting, it's a good wake up call!

[seelsy]

Reviving the Dead here, but is there any extra steps when taping into that fuse box slot? I cut the spade connector to get it to fit snuggly but it won't power up the angel eyes. Am i missing something or is there a step im missing when taping into that empty slot. The lights work properly when i run it right off the battery and put in a switch, and they work off other slots on the fuse block, however the slots that work have constant power even when the car is off so it kinda defeats the point of connecting to the fusebox.

[Gizzmo_jr]

Unless Mazda changed something in your 09 configuration, I'm not sure. That plug is only live when the car is in the run/on position.

[seelsy]

ya but on the other slots there is a metal piece where the base of the fuse touches, but in that open slot its just fully open, like no conductiev surface and when i put the connector in and turn the car on, the lights don't turn on

[Gizzmo_jr]

Then something has changed for your 09 for your fusebox

[seelsy]

well thats just brutal thanks for ur help

[kLuMzi]

maybe a picture will help?

[seelsy]

[seelsy]

the bottom two have constant power and the metal conductive surface which is circled, the one on the top and to the left has no metal surface, and its the one all the DIY's tell you to tap into

[seelsy]

no ideas?

[cwp_sedan]

Weird. Not sure why they would have changed that.

Edit: I would have suggested this also but other look like they have done an add a circuit to get around it.
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.ph...702#msg2433702

[seelsy]

im not sure if they have changed it, or if im just doing something incorrectly. Can someone with an 08 or earlier take a photo of the front section on their fusebox so i may compare. Maybe im just doing something wrong with the connection at the fuse box.

[seelsy]

ok ya something has changed, my buddies 03 has that little metal tab in that slot, but my 09 gs does not have that little metal tab, so i guess they have removed something from the box from that slot, so i gotta figure out a different way to wire them up.

[FoXy]

03??

[cwp_sedan]

ok ya something has changed, my buddies 03 has that little metal tab in that slot, but my 09 gs does not have that little metal tab, so i guess they have removed something from the box from that slot, so i gotta figure out a different way to wire them up.

Well how do you want them wired up? On their own switch, auto on auto off all of the time, etc? I'm sure we can come up with an alternative depending on what you want.

03??

I wasn't going to say anything but you had to go and do it! lol. I'm sure he meant 04 or 05 or 06 or 07 or 08

[seelsy]

yes my bad lol its an 04. And i have them wired to a switch under the hood currently, but i kinda wanna have them wired up so they come on and turn off with the key.

[FoXy]

I wasn't going to say anything but you had to go and do it! lol. I'm sure he meant 04 or 05 or 06 or 07 or 08

Come on Ryan.... you know me... I can't help myself lol

[cwp_sedan]

yes my bad lol its an 04. And i have them wired to a switch under the hood currently, but i kinda wanna have them wired up so they come on and turn off with the key.

I don't know what most people think of those mini add-a-circuits but I used one in my old car and it worked fine. Basically it expands 1 fuse slot into 2 and gives you a power connection. All you would have to do is tap it into something that would shut off with the car. Kind of like in the link I posted earlier.

[seelsy]

ya i had that idea, but there are only three empty slots on my underhood fuse box, the one is missing the tab, and the other two have constant power, no matter if the key is in or not, so adding the mini circuit to those gave me the same outcome i have now.