This album covers the installation of EL wire into my 6 inch ProComp off-road lights. This reproduces the "angel eyes" effect that you see on many high end BMWs.

The EL wire was purchased from elwirecheap.com. I used two 24 inch white strands in the 3.2 mm size, each with it's own inverter. I opted for the EZ connect ends. Total cost was under $30.

 

First take off the rings that hold the light together. The blue rubber gasket holds the lens to the rest of the light, and has plenty of room for the EL wire to come through.	While I was at it, I decided this was a good time to service the lights. I polished off all the rust, and replaced the mounting bolts, nuts and rubber foot pads. The new black pads were ordered from KC (only $3)	I chose to ran just a single power wire for the inverter. For ground, I tapped into the existing ground for the light. This saved lots of time in pulling wire through the light's armored conduit.
There is plenty of room for the inverter at the back of the light assembly. This makes it easy to install in off-raod lights like ProComp or KC.	I added some sound deadening to seal the bottom of the light, and cushion the inverter.	Now connect the inverter to the power & ground wires, and then connect the EL wire to the inverter. If you have the EZ connectors, it just snaps together, and can easily be replaced.
Without the rubber gasket, you can see how the EL wire runs around the perimeter of the light.	The EL wire enters and exits from the bottom of the light assembly. The excess wire just goes back into the light housing.	With the gasket on, you can see how the EL wire is covered up. It shines into the light reflector and illuminates the rim area.
With the clamps on, you won't see the EL wire at all. You could glue the EL wire to the rim, but I thought it looked better under the gasket.	I ran the EL wire up from the bottom and gave it just enough length for it to stop at the entry point. The excess EL wire just stays behind the light. Done right, the effect is pretty nice.	Here's some different angle shots to show how the light is reflected differently by the lens of the off-road light.
Here's some different angle shots to show how the light is reflected differently by the lens of the off-road light.	Here's some different angle shots to show how the light is reflected differently by the lens of the off-road light.	I wired the EL lights into my parking lights for now, since I was too tired to run a switch wire into the cab. I may do that when I get some time. I'll also add a relay and fuses.
The lights show blue from my camera, but they are really a grey-white light. The light reflection off the chrome lens makes it appear slightly blue.	I like how the halo effect changes depending on the angle. The light is drowned out when I turn on the headlights, so it shouldn't annoy the police if they see them. It would just look like a light reflection.	From a straight-on angle, you get two nice concentric rings of light. It's an easy mod, so enjoy!

Update 5/20/06 ----

The halo lights were fun for a while, but I ran into some problems with the EL wire. The hard bend that was required to enter and exit the light assembly proved too much for the EL's thin interior wire. Eventually, it broke and caused the light to ground itself. This caused an overload in the inverter, which resulted in a melt down (literally). I could has redesigned the way I positioned the EL wires, but I decided to try another approach entirely. Using small high power LED's, I have accomplished the same effect with more light output and better reliability. Here's how I did it:

To start, I drilled a small hole and installed a clear LED into the hole.	I secured the LED and wires using real A/C duct tape. It's strong, thick and heat resistant.	When viewed from direct front, the light makes a nice halo on the reflector. I chose a clear LED that glows yellow.
	Viewed off angle, the LED gives the light a nice even glow of yellow. This light is completely obscured when the main light is illuminated.