For people that have installed the DDE's
 

i was contemplating after having trouble with umnitza's rings before i even installed them if i should install them or just use that money somehwere else. so i just made a poll of how many people had problems after they installed it i guess within the first month or so. and also if i should install them or not.

and i know this is totally up to me but i just wanted to see what the people on the org felt.

Installed right after Christmas '04. Worked well for about 1 day, then high-beam ring goes out in driver's headlight.

Several months later, I get around to checking for the problem...

Ring was bad (worst case scenario), I had to re-open the headlight. Ordered a new ring from Umnitza ($10 since I was out of warranty), installed it, and now everything works fine.

The ring going out may have been caused by a short. The method suggested by Umnitza for running the wires from the rings to the ballast is not the best, as the HID dust cap can cut the insulation on the wires causing them to short. So, when I installed the new ring, I modified the dust cap a bit and taped the wires up very well to be sure the insulation would not be cut.

Rings have been working fine for about a month now. I helped a fellow Max owner install his DDEs, made sure to not let the wires get cut this time, and he has had no problems.

Moral of the story:
Sure, there may be some cold start-up issues and some initial annoyances (if you botch the install), but when it's all said-and-done, the DDEs are a very, very nice aesthetic mod. There's nothing like pulling up to a store window or the back of a truck and seeing those rings reflecting back at you. It looks so aggressive and sweet....almost leaves you speechless. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but maybe not. This is what my lights look like now (HIDs off, of course):

http://www.students.bucknell.edu/bdua/ddenight.jpg

Worth the money/effort/hassle? I say yes.

And if you do decide to install them, make sure you do the switch with center off. It's nice to have them running as DRLs. Use housecor's instructions...they're spot-on.

-Brian

same story here. except add 2 bad ballasts, replaced free. i am still bitter about having to open the headlights again....but have had 1+ month truble free and loving the look:)

for me, having trouble with mods has been a normal occurence. for example, i switched to 19" rims and cannot seem to get them balanced correctly, will be in for 3rd balancing this week....the stock 17's had no vibration what so ever....thats what i get for changin it up...and i accept that.

I've had no trouble so far....I've had them some time now...I need to open the headlights again because the rings are unsticking from the circles.

My 2 drivers side rings stopped working like about 8 or so months after installing them. I just got my replacements going to install them sometime next week. Sucks I didnt want to reopen them ever again.

Had a ballast go bad shortly after initial install. There was a bad batch of initial ballasts. Since then, I've had over a year of trouble free operation. There are a number of install "tweaks" I recommend to keep the kit running smooth long term. See the how-to on my site for details.

Installed mine on February 2004. I have not had any problems so far.

Installed March 04, drivers side rings were dim, turned out to be the insulation for the wires was cut into by the dust cap and they were touching. A month or so later one of my drivers side rings popped off at the bottom, its still held on by the two spots I applied silicone at the top corners, been driving around with it like that for a while now and no problems, I will eventually open them back up and restick the ring with more silicone. I also want to pop holes in the back of the headlight to run the DDE wires out of instead of going through the dust cap. Other than those little things my DDEs have been awesome, get comments about them all the time.

When you re-open the lights to strengthen the bond holding the rings, use epoxy instead of silicone. The epoxy will never give.

Good heads up...I need to redo mine cause 1 ring is coming off. :doublethu

this thread just got me fully over the angel eyes

I had a burnt ring when I got the kit. Had to replace a burnt out ballast a month later. Got another burnt out ring now, but haven't had a chance to reopen them and put in the replacement yet...

No problems and easy to install.