Has anyone used MTEC ?? I have one of their kits that just arrived but the locking spring they show in the instructions that holds the h3 bulb in the fog light assembly greatly differs from what is actually used on my 01 E38 and there is no way to use the one that comes stock on the lights. Can anyone assist with this ??

thanks
dave

my h3 clip http://genton.com/ebay/h3clip.JPG

This was my solution [see pic]. Some people just bend the metal tabs ''in'' to hold the bulb, but I found twisting the wire was just as easy, and IMO more stable:
http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/magnum/original/HID-Fog-Light-Install040.jpg

Very nice and good idea, so no stability issues ?? not bouncing around going down the road ?? Also did you have to add those 2 extra wires per the instructions or was you just able to use the harness wires ??

THANKS !! for the great idea

I see from your picture that you still quite using the factory connector to the back of the foglight housing and drilled the hole, maybe that's why mine didn't light when I just tested one, do you have other pic's you can share on how you hooked it up ??

Very nice and good idea, so no stability issues ?? not bouncing around going down the road ?? Also did you have to add those 2 extra wires per the instructions or was you just able to use the harness wires ??

THANKS !! for the great idea

The bulbs are in there as solid as the stock H3's with the clip. I feel confident with this setup, no movement!

Add 2 wires? Not sure what you mean, your kit should have 2 wires that go to the bulb and 2 wires that go to the fog light power. I'm a little confused by your question, so if my explanation didn't clarify please let me know.

I see from your picture that you still quite using the factory connector to the back of the foglight housing and drilled the hole, maybe that's why mine didn't light when I just tested one, do you have other pic's you can share on how you hooked it up ??

Maybe better:

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/491271

Also note, you can use the stock plugs inside the fog light, but I had an issue with that because you can't just unplug the fog light factory plug and put it on the work bench after you install the HID's. Instead I tapped the wires off the main plug so I can just unplug the main plug and the fog light is unhooked. You'll probably see what I'm talking about.

Also note, you MAY NOT need the resistors that I needed. I got some flicker shit going on / check fog light error on the MID so I wired the resistors in-line to correct that.

Looks promising I took some pictures for you but I will read thru this post first, same application it appears.

what scares me though is I wanted to test them before hacking into them, and when I hook it all up the halogen side stays on but the new HID never lights and the halogens light without the housing installed into the bumper, any ideas ?

what scares me though is I wanted to test them before hacking into them, and when I hook it all up the halogen side stays on but the new HID never lights and the halogens light without the housing installed into the bumper, any ideas ?

Try plugging the + and - directly into the main plug like I did here [see pic] and see if they light. Did the kit specify weather they were complete plug and play with no errors? I'm thinking **maybe** you need resistors, not sure yet. Try plugging them directly like this:
http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/magnum/original/HID-Fog-Light-Install013.jpg

WOW, ALL questions answered, that is a fantastic post !!! Thanks

Yes they have newer ballasts that have integrated ignitors and do not throw any codes. I still dont understand I guess why they will light directy from plugging the wires into the harness, but not thru the plug for the harness where the halogens do ??? must be more than just a passive conductor in there I assume ??

Did it work directly into the main plug?

I have not done that yet, don’t have an electrical post or a tap right now, I will try it tomorrow before moving forward with the installation.

Ok, let me know if you have any questions tomorrow.

If you've got time to dick around, measure power at the main plug and you'll probably find 12.??, then measure at the connections inside the fog light and you might see -12.??. Reverse polarity...... I'm no electrical guru though, so someone might have some better answers.


EDIT: If you want to test just to make sure they work, put on your sunglasses and touch the + and - to the battery posts' in the trunk :).