E36 DJ Auto Glass Elipsoid Headlight Installation

Thanks to the guys over at Parts European, I was able to source some almost new glass headlights for a reasonable price. They looked almost new but, they had some grot on them. They also had some obviously aftermarket halos in them. The video below explains why they needed to come apart.

Time for some disassembly.

This is far from cool.

The front sections separates from the back. Remove the clips on top and bottom. Then gently separate the plastic tabs on the left and right.

 

The previous owner had taped these to the glass with scotch tape. What a great idea right?

I took out each glass piece, cleaned the inside of the front glass then, reassembled. Clear silicone is white at first. Harder to notice than the black that was gooped all over these.

Back together fresh and clean.

 

The chrome needed a little touch up. Nothing a silver sharpie can't fix.

You can hardly even tell there was chrome lifting now.

The wires that came with were just pushed on the terminals with no cover whatsoever. These DJ Auto's will except the Euro lighting plug. As it would turn out that plug is also the same the OBD2 mass airflow sensor plug. An OBD1 plug will not work. So if you happen to have access to 2 96+ MAF connectors you are in business. Otherwise Pelican Parts sells a Euro lighting harness kit for about $70.

 

Stock lights vs the DJ Autos.

 

I went with a set of Ebay special wiring adapters. This kit allow you to retain the stock lighting harnesses and has a rubber cover the grabs on to the housing. No more exposed wires.

 

This is the connect. The yellow wires is closest to the hood.

 

Prepped, cleaned, and ready for install. Remember these lights only require two adjusters on the top row, not three.

Installed top view.

 

Installed front view. These come with Euro city lights and allow use of the H1 style bulb across all the lights. So now the fogs and all headlights are H1.

All back together.

The city lights are my favorite part. I've never been a fan of the halos on the E36 since I saw the M3 European lights. They have similar city lights in those.

With these and the black kidneys, the whole car is freshened up. Now just to remove that license plate holder.