88' Zinno M3 (Progress Thread)

[Nats88M3]

I hadn't even notice that it was your car until today I noticed your name! Shit dude you've done a hell of a job!!

[jhaurimn]

Look what we got here


Everything was good with them, except for one clip to hold the bulb was missing. And I didnt have a spare.


So I made one from a paperclip.




The driver side lenses are in great shape, as with the pass low beam. The pass high beam has only a little pitting, but since the others are in such good shape, its noticeable. So ill either be cleaning that up or finding a new high beam. I made a wtb ad, so if anyone has a bosch high beam let me know.

[CorvallisBMW]

Je t'aime smileys :)

[M-technik-3]

Might have one. I'll look when I get home from work.

[jhaurimn]

Might have one. I'll look when I get home from work.

Appreciate it!

[SteadyAim.]

Car looks awesome! So minty fresh compared to mine :(

[jhaurimn]

Not much of an update, but it seems like I was able to fix the foggy high beam. Ive been messing around with ways to pour windex into the lense and getting it out without fogging up again. Seems like I got it to stay clear, at least for now. I also took apart the projectors for the low beams and cleaned them up. That alone increased light output significantly.


And I wasnt able to wire the city lights initially because of some crappy quick splices not working. So I got some t splices, and got them working.

[The Dark Side of Will]

t splices

Don't do a nice job on the rest of the car and then cheap out on wiring...

[jhaurimn]

Don't do a nice job on the rest of the car and then cheap out on wiring...

Dude, they are splices. Soldering wires together will involve more cutting, and is overkill. Not to mention going back to stock is harder that way.

:loco:

[rcsoundn1]

t-splices allow for a lot of moisture to enter the splice, and over time corrode the wire, which could eventually break. These splices as well often cut through some of the wire, causing them to fail prematurely. With that all said, I to have used them for things, for the reason, "well I may go back to stock," or because its less work than solder.

[jhaurimn]

t-splices allow for a lot of moisture to enter the splice, and over time corrode the wire, which could eventually break. These splices as well often cut through some of the wire, causing them to fail prematurely. With that all said, I to have used them for things, for the reason, "well I may go back to stock," or because its less work than solder.

Which is why I wrapped them in electrical tape ;)

Also worth mentioning, I do not have a soldering iron, nor the skills to solder.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Dude, they are splices. Soldering wires together will involve more cutting, and is overkill. Not to mention going back to stock is harder that way.

:loco:

Solder on a car is generally bad news because of the vibration.
Were these lights not installed in any cars at the factory, or just not wired that way from the factory?

Assuming they were tapped into the headlight wires, you could pull the pins on the headlight wires at either end, cut the old pins off and crimp on new pins with both wires in them. That way you end up with sealed connectors and the wiring looks stock.

Which is why I wrapped them in electrical tape ;)

Also worth mentioning, I do not have a soldering iron, nor the skills to solder.

So with everything you've done to this car, "I don't have the skills" is your fallback? You can do better than that. ;)

[bradnic]

Solder on a car is generally bad news because of the vibration.

That is complete BS. What are you basing this on? You can argue that a circuit board solder pad could separate from mechanical vibration. But not a soldered wire.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Here's what solder and electrical tape looks like in a couple of years:


The copper had basically corroded out from the solder splice.


I replaced with this:


Uninsulated butt crimp splices and shrink tube (not yet shrunk in the photo)... much neater, much longer lasting, much more professional and no chance of burning myself with solder.

[The Dark Side of Will]

That is complete BS. What are you basing this on? You can argue that a circuit board solder pad could separate from mechanical vibration. But not a soldered wire.

Solder wicks into the strands of a wire and makes it brittle, susceptible to cracking from fatigue related to vibration. This is a well-documented phenomenon, part of the reason why OEM's just don't use solder on their harnesses and why soldering for aviation and aerospace applications is very very tightly controlled.