Depo Ellipsoid Install

[achtungE30]

So on impulse I picked up a set of these http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=8055588319&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT



and received them yesterday. I know I know...like I said, it was an impulse purchase.



Anyway, I had to install one of the adjuster screws into one side of the ellipsoid bucket, that took a lil bit. Now starting the wiring I noticed that the recepticles on the ellipsoid, high beam and city light for that matter do not match up to the harness they gave me. In fact, the recepticles on the lights themselves are male and look like 9006 (oval with 2 squared edges and 2 round pins) harnesses and the "plug-and-play" harnesses look to be a different type, oval shaped - 2 round pins (probably 9005).



I've already resolved to e-mailing the seller a wtf e-mail but would like to get these working soon. Browsed to rallylights.com and noticed they have quite the collection of 9005 and 9006 harnesses. Is this all that I need to get these to work. I've done searches on many e30 boards about people having these on there cars but no installation instructions came with these and I couldn't find any on the web.



My car came with sealed beam headlights and their respective 2 pronged rectangular harnesses.

[Febi Guibo]

wow... it looks like you got the worst of all worlds!

if the photos on the ebay auction are correct, the lights themselves have the BMW style plugs... I will get you part #'s for those in a minute.

The 'universal harness' isn't going to get you too far. Your sealed beams have a 'hella/H4' style 2/3 prong plug, and the depot lights have the OEM style connector in the caps and city light. So the harness isn't going to help you. There isn't much point to 'converting' to 9006/9005 plugs at this point.

So, I would try the following:

I think you might want to try to keep your existing wiring plugs, so get 4 male 3 prong 'hella/H4' style plugs with push-in spades. You will then need:

12  BMW# 61-13-0-007-445 plug wires
(2x lowbeam, high, citylight for each side)

2x BMW #61-13-1-378-417 white highbeam plugs
2x BMW #61-13-1-378-419  yellow lowbeam plugs
2x BMW # ?? blue city light plugs.

Wire the above into the male hella style plugs (on the lowbeam side you will need to test for which of the two hot wires is hot for the low beams), and then clip the bmw wires into their respective plastic plugs. You will probably need to tap into the sidemarker wires for the city lights... You should then be good to go.

I will try to find the part # for the lowbeam and city light plugs.

[achtungE30]

Thanks Febi Guibo...i'll be watching for your post!!

[Febi Guibo]

hey man, I'm not having a ton of luck finding the city light plug... although I added the P/N for the low beam plug.

it's not really that big a deal, you can push the wire ends into the city light pins, and splice the wires via a tap into the parking light wire.

I'll keep looking... lemme know if you need anything else.

[achtungE30]

Febi, I think the city light plugs you may be looking for are identical to the 89+ e30 fog light plugs (male), but I will be needing a female end like the high and low beams.

I'll probably order the parts from bimmerparts.com as no dealer in a 50mi radius of me has all 3 in stock in the qty i need.

[D. Clay]

This link is for "conversion" to replace 5001-5006 sealed beams. Does anyone know if they are "plug and play?" It looks like a PITA to wire the Depo's. Is there a plug-in kit that works with the Depo'??  I'm an E30 headlight noob.
http://www.rallylights.com/hella/5.75_lo.asp

[achtungE30]

So, I would try the following:

I think you might want to try to keep your existing wiring plugs, so get 4 male 3 prong 'hella/H4' style plugs with push-in spades. You will then need:

12  BMW# 61-13-0-007-445 plug wires
(2x lowbeam, high, citylight for each side)

Febi, so do I need qty 4 (2 low beams, 2 high beams) of these since I'm just tapping into the parking lights? Or do I need a total of qty 12 like you originally specified since 2 wires go into each connector? I'm a little confused here.

[Febi Guibo]

sorry man:

4x lowbeam (2x for each side)
4x high beam (2x for each side)
4x city light (2x for each side)

that's 12 total...  I guess because I would get them for the city light too: even without the snap on plug, you can still push the wire ends (they have these little terminals) onto the male leads inside the citylight connector.

The wire ends would then get crimped to your tap, which would connect to the parking lights.

[achtungE30]

OUCH!!! each wire is like $3.35/piece, the connectors are cheaper unless the part # is $3.35 for 4 wires -  61-13-0-007-445

[Febi Guibo]

Well, if you don't mind, maybe search around and try to find something generic that would work... even if its a crimp type terminal...

or, call vaheh at crevier bmw or patrick at BMA parts.

[achtungE30]

Thanks Febi!! I placed the order with bimmerparts, should have something next week. You've been a wealth of information, thanks for replying to many of my newbie threads