Weatherproof inverters for Halos? Maybe...

[CoolVanilla]

Its been well documented by me and others that the inverters shipped with the AAC Daemon Eyes are not all that robust. In fact, I've run thru at least three different versions of these inverters, and all have failed; totally unprotected, somewhat potted, and potted & wrapped in electrical tape. All these have failed, so I've been forced into to finding my own solution to the problem.

As part of the quest to fix this problem once and for all, I contacted Mike at FocuzTech (a supporting vendor). I explained the issue and he was adamant that any inverters ought to be mounted in locations guaranteed to stay dry. I agreed that ideally, that'd be the case. But unfortunately for those of us that cant pull that off (Magnum housings and/or fog light installs) we need another option. That is when he told me about an inverter they've been using for years without fail, on their Impala kits.

Mike didn't hesitate in sending me out two of these fully potted inverters for free. Here is the FocuzTech (top) compared to the latest inverter I received from AAC (bottom).









The quality of Mike's inverter seems to be superior. It comes with larger considerably more solid connectors; albiet those of us with existing installs wont be able to use them as our rings have the smaller female side. These connectors come preshrinkwrapped at their base, and then a larger shrinkwrap is provided for protect the final connection. The wires are larger, and seem to be connected to the inverter more solidly. Its clear to me these inverters are made for mobile applications, and most likely will sustain the abuse better. About the only negative I see is the size of the FocuzTech inverter is quite a bit bigger than the AAC, but given our mounting and situation I don't see this as any sort of problem.

My baby is on blocks for the next couple of weeks, but I'm still going to try to get these installed and verify they work; they are speced right so I don't expect a problem. Then the real test is to drive it. My AAC inverters were good for maybe one or two wash/rains even after mounting them in the driest locations I could find.

Thought you guys might want to keep an eye on this. If I was a betting man, I'd bet we've now found a solution to this nagging problem. Final judgement however, needs to be withheld. If anyone is curious and doesn't want to wait, I don't have any problem recommending you contact FocuzTech and order yourself a few of these.

More to come in the following weeks!

[36 chambers]

that looks awsome going to need those for my tail lights!!!!!!!

[KGBPro]

I hope these stand better for you than the last inverters
after seeing all this hoo haw of how the inverters are messing up i went ahead and made up a case for the aac inverters i have....

also, as a suggestion to make sure your inverters and plugs are in a safe dry place, place them in another case thats sealed up to ensure the sealed case is definitley sealed up LOL

for my inverters i took a small metal antenna box and drilled out the holes for the wires so that it rests flat in the case...i hot glued the holes where the wires came out of...reason i didnt use silicone for that is after a while silicone breaks away from edges...hot glues almost melts into the plastic or inthis case it melts around the metal.....Then i siliconed the inside and stuck one silica bead inside the cas before sealing up the lid......


yes this seems dramatic LOL but after reading all the problems everyone else had i wanted to make sure i did not have the same

also i have noticed due to experience that plastic is somewhat porous....enough to allow condensation in side the so called "Sealed Box" this is why i used metal.....metal "does not" allow condensation in when sealed up correctly.....


just Please make sure you seal up anything that looks like condensation could get into!

thats most likely the problem if not by direct contact with water


Good luck CV your rides too perty to be in such issues!

[Darthvader]

This is what I potted mine with.Taping it or sealing will not prevent condensation from getting inside Dudes.

[CoolVanilla]

This is what I potted mine with.Taping it or sealing will not prevent condensation from getting inside Dudes.

No doubt DV. I had to laugh a bit when I opened the box from AAC and saw that tape...

I have no idea why, but two of my AAC inverters are right on the hairy edge of peak demand voltage. In other words, it seems the CCFLs need a spike of voltage to fire the initial time, then less voltage to remain on once fired. In completely dry circumstances, I can turn on my lights 10 times and in 6 of those times two of my halos wont fire on; it just so happens these are two of my longer lasting inverters. Once they do fire, they run great. But getting them to fire is proving to be a real issue.

My point? I'm concerned these inverters are susceptible to other factors than just water. Heat? Vibration? I don't know... but there is something that prevents them from kicking on the halo's much of the time. Crossing my fingers these new inverters do not have this same degradation issue.

[FocuzTech]

A couple of items to comment on...

We have sold well over 150 cars worth of our own SStreetlights projector headlamps with virtually this same inverter. We mount these outside the housing in direct path of water and moisture. We have seen 1 failure and it was on my prototype that is over two years old.

These "systems" do require a startup voltage and it varies with the size of the ring as well as the quality of manufacturing (of the ring). Startup problems aren't necessarily native to the inverter but can depend greatly on the ring. Once fired, yes, they have a different operating voltage.

For the price (some of) these kits are selling for, there should be no further "weatherproofing" for them to operate in conditions for which they were designed.

I do recommend that when appropriate, the inverters should be mounted insde the lamp housing.....it only makes sense.

[lowriderman3]

How much for the focuz inverters? I will take a set to test out too. I have had no real problem with my inverters..I just turn them off when it rains, or make sure they are off after I have washed my car..I have had halos for over 3 years on two different cars. Not hard to do at all.

[sdcarguy]

wow those look alot beefier then the inverters I got with my kit from Focuztech...think you could send out the beefy pair
figured i would toss in a pic of mine to

[Lost815]

That sounds like a good idea, the only thing that I would be concerned with is hot glue (glue that melts when it is heated up) depending on the location the glue might melt if the temp gets hot enough. just my 2 cents.

Thanks

I hope these stand better for you than the last inverters
after seeing all this hoo haw of how the inverters are messing up i went ahead and made up a case for the aac inverters i have....

also, as a suggestion to make sure your inverters and plugs are in a safe dry place, place them in another case thats sealed up to ensure the sealed case is definitley sealed up LOL

for my inverters i took a small metal antenna box and drilled out the holes for the wires so that it rests flat in the case...i hot glued the holes where the wires came out of...reason i didnt use silicone for that is after a while silicone breaks away from edges...hot glues almost melts into the plastic or inthis case it melts around the metal.....Then i siliconed the inside and stuck one silica bead inside the cas before sealing up the lid......


yes this seems dramatic LOL but after reading all the problems everyone else had i wanted to make sure i did not have the same

also i have noticed due to experience that plastic is somewhat porous....enough to allow condensation in side the so called "Sealed Box" this is why i used metal.....metal "does not" allow condensation in when sealed up correctly.....


just Please make sure you seal up anything that looks like condensation could get into!

thats most likely the problem if not by direct contact with water


Good luck CV your rides too perty to be in such issues!

[FocuzTech]

For those that want to purchase our weatherproof inverters, they are 15.95 each. These carry a lifetime warranty.

[Darthvader]

For those that want to purchase our weatherproof inverters, they are 15.95 each. These carry a lifetime warranty.

Please tell us what makes them weather proof. We have been mislead enough by others. Thanks

[FocuzTech]

Please tell us what makes them weather proof. We have been mislead enough by others. Thanks

The electronic components are completely sealed.

[CoolVanilla]

Please tell us what makes them weather proof. We have been mislead enough by others. Thanks

Darth I've held these in my hand and seen exactly what makes them weatherproof; these units are put thru the extra process of resin filling, or "potting". All components susceptible to weather are isolated from that weather by the resin. Looks something like this:



The resin is non conductive and dries rock hard. There's no exposed stuff for the water or elements to damage anymore.

[BUTWEET]

When you get into your new place over by the TripleXXX, we'll have to talk about this inverter issue.

For those that want to purchase our weatherproof inverters, they are 15.95 each. These carry a lifetime warranty.

[lowriderman3]

Okay I am down for two of these to try out too..Never hurts to have a backup set.