ClubCJ - The CJ Lancer Club

First up I will say, at this stage I have no pictures.... and in a lot of ways, I don't want to post any....

Second..... Whoever says "it's easy to get the front number and headlights off a CJ Lancer", is either kidding themselves or a panel beater by trade... I didn't even undo my skid plate under the front to save on some time and effort.... lol

Third.... For the love of God...!! Check your angel eyes before you start the bumper and light removal, and baking.... processes!!
- or just do one Headlight housing and then check your angel eyes for them being the correct size and actual work.... i.e hook them up somehow...

I say this, as I believe the ones I have been delivered are the incorrect size for the CJ lancer's headlights, and to add insult to my installation, one of my large rings (lowbeam) does not even power on at all!!!!

(Box has a sticker that says BMW 140mm / 114mm..... blanka or Matty - what did your's say?)

I assume it was either DOA, or has been damaged in delivery or in the process of installation, before I power tested them....
** I recall being extra careful with them, so don't think it was broken here....

- I had already removed the bumper and the lights.... Took a while....
- I Baked them, and cracked them both open...... A very messy job with lots of options to serious damage the plastic around the surrounds with the jabbing and prizing and sticking with screwdrivers....
- Took a lot longer too, as the wife had hijacked the oven, and cranked it up to 180c and starting some baking.... So, I had to wait for that.... Plus, they were then a bit too big for my oven too, and had the door open a bit !!! lol

- All this before I had even got the angel eyes out of their box......
- I placed the ring on the highbeam circle of the headlight, and it was too large...!!
- WTF !! Too large!!! - by about the width of the ring itself, which means that they do not follow the highbeam ring, at sit in it all flush - but, instead, they step out, off the ring to one side (like the lowbeam rins end up doing because of the shape...)

I had a crucial decision to make -

1) Stop.... Re-bake and glue together the HeadLights.... Re-assemble the front end of the car and then think about how I really don't want to have to do all that again when, and if, AutoMoGlow gets me any replacements.... OR....

2) Think - "I really don't want to have to do all that again when"

also if I get any replacements... and "I can live with that, and the end effect will be the same anyhow...." So I continued with the installation....

Other issues that happened...

- I threaded all the cables before I re-installed them into the front of the car and I used the existing hole and grommet on the Highbeam access port - but didn't realise until after I finished rebuilding the car, that my son had pulled the O-Rings out of them...!!! EDIT: Rubber seal o-rings
I will now have to either cut the rings to be able to put them around the seal again, or un-thread the cables out of it (not silconned yet anyhow), and then try to get them back - all while the headlights are installed on the car....

- Worked out a neat way to splice into the side lights wiring for power, and with the front of the car 90% re-built, and after about 5-6 hours of lateral thinking and design adjustments based on the available tools and equipment....

I turned on the sidelights - only to find the one lowbeam ring not working....

WTF - WHY ME !!! GGGAGGAGAHHAHAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

So..... Not left with too many options....

- I need to get into the back of the them to install these O-Rings, and I'll need to silcone this section up anyhow, so that should be fine to do on the car - as they are sort of accessible enough....

But,
- If I want to pursue the delivered rings size being wrong and DOA issues with AutoMoGlow....
I've installed them now..... so if I need to return them to him before I get replacements, that would mean another episode like today to get them out of the headlights and then another episode once the new ones return to get them all back in again..... For a third dis-assemble / re-assemble sequence!!

AND - Hope AutoMoGLow at least provides a replacement for wrong stock received

OR - Just disconnect the other lowbeam ring on the other side to match, and just run with the highbeam rings active - which are off-set from the housing rings, yes, but light up just fine, and still give some of the net effect of having the angel eyes.

Pretty disappointing day all round actually... and a notice for others considering the purchase and installation.

I doubt I'll be able to get replacements for the DOA ring or the others that are, imo, the wrong size... and then, do I really want to go through that bumper and baking process all over again...? Not so sure....

Maybe if I get 4x rings that are correct and working, and delivered to me, so I can do the job once to replace the broken and wrong for working and correct. I might be tempted if that happens....

Those of you are the cruise next weekend and check it out and form your own comments and take your own pictures of them...

Going to bed to try and work out what to do....

Sorry to hear about the mishap on the lights buggering up from delivery and even the one that was not working at all, Hopefully you get some helpful info/advice as to whether they are supposed to be that size or not (thinking not due to the BMW sticker, just seems strange).

I'll be sure to check them out at the next cruise as I was thinking of getting them, but seems like a lot of effort if something goes wrong. Glad you posted this up and best of luck with the fixing/ replacing process, Hope all goes well for you from here on out.

BMW 140mm / 114mm

this should have been a dead giveaway sign to stop and ask for clarification or at the very least open the box and check the goods.

i wouldn't 'rebake' headlights that have additional stuff in them such as angel eyes. theres no way to tell if the materials used can withstand what ever heat you used. even if the guide says to rebake to melt the sealant to make it stick back together... id rather buy new sealant.

judging from what you've said it looks like ur doing only real choice and that is contact the seller.

I turned on the sidelights - only to find the one lowbeam ring not working....

you said your son touched an O ring. even if every1 assumes you didn't break it... theres no guarantee that your son didn't do something to damage it (even if it wasnt the one he removed)

the way i see it is based on the entire post you could have technically gotten recourse(i say technically since i have no idea what automoglow is... for a no name international body that runs out of a garage theres like zero chance of recourse) before installing them (incorrect goods if it was really for a bmw and not a mitsu). but you/your son may have damaged the goods installing.

its all really up to automoglow. if they don't give you another/refund i wouldn't see anything wrong with it since you've taken the liberty to continue to install and possibly damage the goods in the process... its also technically used goods which cant really be sold as new (thus worthless to them). the story also hints some negligence... all these issues no matter how truthful isn't wise to post if you're looking for a refund/replacement ...

theres also the issue of if they come through for you then you may or may not have to return the goods... ship will take a month... air is expensive... for 'proper' companies the return fee is almost always paid by the customer. even by priority air both ways... you're looking at about 2 weeks for a fresh install.

Bugger Pete that sucks....

Oh maaan... sorry to hear abt what happened. Im not sure whether to install mine anymore =/

this type of thing is why I'm very reluctant to get them... no matter how awesome they look

I just went to check my box and it didnt have any sticker saying anything. Just a blank black box. I hope you are willing to post up some pics later, if u decide to take any, just to show us =/

Mattigins wrote:My highbeam ring did not fit either and i did warned you about this tarq.

Yes... but how much "did not fit"... can you PM me a close up shot head on... mine is significantly larger than the highbeam circle in the light - like 1.5cm radius larger....

Mattigins wrote:I just put mine to the side a bit and it still looks awesome..

What I ended up doing, and they look ok....

Mattigins wrote:I am very sorry yours didnt work, i am sure automoglow will replace your broken one

Who knows - I'm not expecting much tbh....

Let me please clarify some of grudman's comments too....

crudman wrote:

BMW 140mm / 114mm

this should have been a dead giveaway sign to stop and ask for clarification or at the very least open the box and check the goods.

I had opened the box and gone "ooooh & aaahhh" a few times, but the size to me looked about right...

The sticker on the side of the box has a selection of different models listed and BMW is the group name (one has X5 in brackets next to it).
There is a small white sticker is over one of them...
Dimensions are written in with pen.
Didn't think anything of it until when I went looking for a measurement.... and probably thought he's just used a different 'box' for transport (no 'product name or stuff on it at all - just a nice black fold-out box)
Instructions too where in a generic 'Engrish' sand the car looked like a Mazda 6 or a Camry, so I didn't think that anything was meant to be related.....

crudman wrote:

I turned on the sidelights - only to find the one lowbeam ring not working....

you said your son touched an O ring. even if every1 assumes you didn't break it... theres no guarantee that your son didn't do something to damage it (even if it wasnt the one he removed)

This 'O ring' is the rubber seal ring from the inside of the access port of the headlight itself - NOT the angel eye O Ring, at all... those things have been in their soft foam wrap since day 1.

crudman wrote:the way i see it is based on the entire post you could have technically gotten recourse(i say technically since i have no idea what automoglow is... for a no name international body that runs out of a garage theres like zero chance of recourse)

I'd like to hope I get some form of recourse..... As Ozie says, he is a supporter here and on other Mitsu forums around the web.

crudman wrote:...installing them (incorrect goods if it was really for a bmw and not a mitsu). but you/your son may have damaged the goods installing.

As far as I was concerned they were the correct ones delivered, until I had both headlights already baked and apart.... My bad, I suppose.... I could have held them up at the front of the car and eye'ed them for size - why should I have needed to..... measurements looked about right too...

crudman wrote:its all really up to automoglow. if they don't give you another/refund i wouldn't see anything wrong with it since you've taken the liberty to continue to install and possibly damage the goods in the process...

I know this is probably going to be true also....

crudman wrote:theres also the issue of if they come through for you then you may or may not have to return the goods... ship will take a month... air is expensive... for 'proper' companies the return fee is almost always paid by the customer. even by priority air both ways... you're looking at about 2 weeks for a fresh install.

This I know is also true, and one of the reasons why I have not even PM'ed him about it yet.... Realistically, I'm not going to get a refund, replacement or anything that I'm not going to have to pay more money out to get to me.... Add the fact, that I really don't want to do the re-fitting and re-baking any more times than I have too....

As he is a supplier, and linked to this forum, all I really want is clarification if I was sent a wrong box of lights or the wrong stock in a wrong box....
The fact that I've already installed them also means I'll probably never get a swap anyhow...

This was my story or some bad examples and was here to ensure others who have bought products ensure they take there time, plan for a day's worth of installation, and have it all planned and checked before you start...

P.S. - Lowbeam ring that does work, has started to come off the housing inside the light now - Like Mattings did....
So, I'm going to have to get into them some time soon anyhow.... Might just get them both of the large ones out and leave it with the remaining highbeam circles... Stick them in even more securely....

Unique, if nothing else......

Glad I didnt buy a set. Wouldn't want to go through this at all.

im sorry to hear this good luck with sorting it all out

yeah real bummer pete, hope you sort em out soon.

Tarquin sounds like u had a hard time im sorry to hear that, when u say your rings didnt fit, how much did they not fit by



this is the image of mine as u can see the low beam ring does not sit propaly due to the bumb of the high beam ring, but the high beam ring should fit perfectly

and hmmm i have to check my box to see wat it says on it, i didnt even notice any BMW or wat size it was

yeh if only u were in cairns i could help u with installations, well hope u get everything sorted out soon, and if u need any help just ask mate

Yeah - My Highbeam circles are definitely the wrong size... From that image, your rings sit inside the highbeam housing.... mine don't - thery sit like the outside ones do, but with no bumb to push it wide....

My highbeams overhang the housing about a ring width, outside the circle.... e.g. if your ring is 100mm in diameter, mine are 110mm...

Lowbeam rings seem to be the same as yours and I was expecting that overhang there..... Ah bugger....