BigJ

Wassup People?! This is my first post here on CL

I just received my LED DRLs from IJDMToy, the bulbs are the style with the magnified Cree LED on the end. I was curious to know if you can use the slim decoders with these bulbs? They sent me the decoders with huge square box and I dont really want to cut a hole through the moisture cover like I had to do for my HID's. I figured I would ask here first, I called iJDM but they are closed today.

Also, has anyone ever popped open that big decoder box? If the module inside is small enough then perhaps I can just remove the box and put some heat shrink tube over the components inside? That way everything will tuck neatly inside the housing?

jimjaix

iTrader: (1)

How's the CREE LED doing at night? I was planning to get a set myself but might get the 120 SDM LED instead since the CREE light shot straight rather than on the side (they have side SDM chip as well but just not as bright I heard.

iJDMtoy do not offer the slim decoders no more due to low popularity. You either have to cut a whole or leave the dust cover open. A friend of mine use aluminum foil tape to tape his headlight (not IS250) to reduce heat and prevent dust. I might try that...

BigJ

I installed the bulbs and tested them out with the covers off, but only during the day, and they seemed pretty damn bright. I will let you know how they do at night.

I should also mention that the way the the positive and negative were configured on the female connectors of the decoders I received required the connector to be inserted upside down. in order to achieve proper fitment I had to switch the positive and negative pins to take advantage of the latch on the OEM connector.

jimjaix

iTrader: (1)

Bright is good :-) yes I know most of the decoders end up that way, you need to flip it in order for them to work. I don't think the CREE led spread evenly because the projector is point at one direction. But let me know how they are at night. Really wish IS is plug and play without decoders.

my1s250

iTrader: (1)

I have the exact same setup love it....if you take the box apart it will fit inside the headlight just have to push it under there

BigJ

Nice! I'll try popping it open when I get home from work. Any recommendations on how to open the box? should I just get a flathead and pry it open at the seam?

my1s250

iTrader: (1)

Yeah there pretty easy to open with a flathead..... I'll take some night time picture for you later also if you want to see how they look like.

Zatrekaz

iTrader: (1)

I just got my decoders in the mail, and I am very interested to hear how this works. Having them inside the headlight housing would make things so much cleaner.

BigJ

Just got home and popped the decoder boxes open (see attached pics). First things first, the giant warning label on the back of the box hides a Phillips head screw which can be removed and the box opens right up. I'm glad I looked for the presence of a hidden screw before I tried to pry it open, makes things much easier. As you will see the circuit board and capacitors inside are considerably smaller than the box itself! In order to keep things protected from short circuiting I planned to get some heat shrink tubing from Lowes to slide over the electronics before putting it inside the light housing, however all they had was really small diameter stuff in stock, so I'll hit up Home Depot tomorrow, I know for a fact they have the big stuff there. Once I get the tubing on to protect the electronics I'll try stuffing it all inside the DRL side of the housing, and from the looks of it we should be in good shape.

I'll post up more pics tomorrow as I progress...

my1s250

iTrader: (1)

Here some daytime/night pic

BigJ

Looks good!

BigJ

Ok, so I found some 1.5" heat shrink tubing at an electronics supply store near by which is the perfect size. I cut the tube to size, slid it over the decoder, and shrunk it down with a lighter. Ideally you would want to use a heat gun for this to ensure uniformity of the shrinkage, but I don't have a heat gun. Once wrapped, I removed the stock bulb, and stuffed the decoder and wiring inside the light housing, which was VERY easy. There is plenty of room to accommodate the decoder inside the DRL housing when the wrap is on it. Attached are pics of the before and after heat shrink wrappage, the decoder in the housing, OEM High beams vs LED High beams, and some other random pics. I'll take some night time pics as well once the sun goes down.

BigJ

1) OEM High Beam
2) LED DRL only
3) LED High Beam

BigJ

Attached is a pic in lower light..

1Clean06IS

^ how's it holding up, any worries a out heat issues?