Changing my headlight doors to electric. ::DONE::

[keith88]

HI guys ever since i got my Charger last year the headlight doors have not worked and most parts were missing and seeing the it didn't have a lot of vacuum to begin with i decided to make them electric by using actuators. I started by looking at what some other people have done (especially a member named Jammie) and used  the idea to do mine. I was able to get the pieces out with out pulling the grill with out to much trouble, as you can see in the pictures i used 90 degree brackets that i bought at my local hardware store, i pop riveted them in where they needed to be and made a piece on top to hold them where they needed to be hers so shots of what i have done so far.

[myk]

Good work man.  I'll be looking forward to your results...

[tan top]

Good work man.  I'll be looking forward to your results...

     what MyK said 

  good stuff 

[1974dodgecharger]

make a parts list so then I can do the conversion 

[comet_666]

Sweet!

[skip68]

Awesome.      

[mopar4don]

I'll be watching to! 

[keepat]

Has anyone used the light kit from Classic Industries? They look like it has adjustable electric stops, see link below.
Thanks
Pat

http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb1723.html

[keith88]

Has anyone used the light kit from Classic Industries? They look like it has adjustable electric stops, see link below.
Thanks
Pat

http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb1723.html

The reason why i didn't use that kit is that its very costly! And i will only have little over $100 bucks in mine when I'm done.

[keith88]

Ok 1st it nice being on vacation so i have time to work on this, I got the passenger side done painted and installed. Note: it is very close to the bumper brackets so one may have to play with that, I just missed it on this side but not by much!  Heres some shots of it painted and installed . You might also want to check out the short video was able to run wires to test it out .









CHECK OUT THE VIDEO HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ-8eF4n8TQ&feature=youtu.be

AND HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-IIesICQVg&feature=youtu.be

[myk]

Awesome!  How did you know where to mount everything?  Did you just eyeball it? 

[keith88]

I actually test fitted it a couple times and marked it where it needed to be on the actuator than the way i installed the brackets it had a little give to fine tune it. Ends up being so that the smaller canister is right under the stock piece it mounts to.

[70 sublime]

How do you get it to only move the right amount of distance ?

[1974dodgecharger]

PLEASE MORE DETAILS!!!!  PLEASE PLEASE....I WANT TO DO THIS CONVERSION I GET TIRED OF STOPPING TO FLIP OPEN MY HEADLIGHTS....

[skip68]

 
That's excellent doings.  Looks like it's very close and tight in there.  Very nice.   Are you going to have them on a separate switch or wired to the light switch?    You know everybody is going to want this setup.        I love it.   

[freddyd02]

Has anyone used the light kit from Classic Industries? They look like it has adjustable electric stops, see link below.
Thanks
Pat

http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb1723.html

I have, They work great and very easy to install. 

[keith88]

To answer some questions, To get the travel right you will need to Buy 2" actuators I bought mine from eBay about $65 for two. You will also need to buy wire a small piece of tin to make the top cap and two 5" brackets per side (bought mine at ace hardware) I did have to make a couple cuts in the stock piece to mounted them to if you look close you can see them in the back where it comes to a triangle. I had to test fit them to really make sure i got them where i needed them before  bolted them in place with a 1/4" bolt on the bottom. They do fit tight so you have to be careful when doing it.
I was working on the drivers side last night and i had to use my saws all and cut a small notch in the outer bumper support for it to fit but no big deal. There is a way to wire them up to your light switch but i want to be able to open mine with out turning them on so i am going to wire a reverse polity switch in it to operate the actuators. I will have more pictures of the drivers side and a vid of both doors working later today. Any other question please feel free to ask.

[keith88]

The drivers side is now done i had to take a notch out of the outer bumper bracket for it to fit ,but not the passenger side i believe that the drivers side was hit at some time and that might have been why there was a  difference. The passenger side was real close to haveing to notch but i didn't have to do it. See the pictures for reference. I was also able to shot a video of both doors working now so you will want to check that out to. The next step is to add a reverse polarity switch to operate them from inside. In my case i want to be able to open the doors with out the lights on to. I have a blank plate in the AC vent hole and will mount it there. If one would want to connect it to the light switch i believe that can be done as well  and i have seen it done somewhere but not sure  how to do that myself.






From underneath shots:









CHECK OUT VIDEO HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzun-zbENss&feature=youtu.be

[mopar4don]

Looks really good!
So what did you spend? And where did you get the motors?

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Has anyone used the light kit from Classic Industries? They look like it has adjustable electric stops, see link below.
Thanks
Pat

http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb1723.html

I have, They work great and very easy to install. 

Do you have any photos of the install? How is this kit wired up? 

[Troy]

Has anyone used the light kit from Classic Industries? They look like it has adjustable electric stops, see link below.
Thanks
Pat

http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb1723.html

I have, They work great and very easy to install. 

Those appear to be Charger Specialties units. If so, you can buy them direct for $70 less...

http://www.chargerspecialties.com/new_product.htm

Troy

[keith88]

Looks really good!
So what did you spend? And where did you get the motors?

The 2" actuators cost about $65 on eBay, and assorted other material ( including wire small piece of tin, switch, connectors) about $50 the whole project cost about $120 plus 2 days worth of time .

[XS29L9B2]

very good work 

[keith88]

Has anyone used the light kit from Classic Industries? They look like it has adjustable electric stops, see link below.
Thanks
Pat

http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb1723.html

I have, They work great and very easy to install. 

Those appear to be Charger Specialties units. If so, you can buy them direct for $70 less...

http://www.chargerspecialties.com/new_product.htm

Troy

You need to look at that price again..they are $460 not 70

[mopar4don]

Here they are

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Heavy-Duty-Linear-Actuator-2-inch-Stroke-225-Pound-Max-Lift-12-Volt-DC-12v-/141390526784?hash=item20eb883940

[Troy]

Has anyone used the light kit from Classic Industries? They look like it has adjustable electric stops, see link below.
Thanks
Pat

http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb1723.html

I have, They work great and very easy to install. 

Those appear to be Charger Specialties units. If so, you can buy them direct for $70 less...

http://www.chargerspecialties.com/new_product.htm

Troy

You need to look at that price again..they are $460 not 70

I looked at the prices:
Classic Industries is $529
Charger Specialties is $460
$529 - $460 = $69

Troy

[keith88]

Has anyone used the light kit from Classic Industries? They look like it has adjustable electric stops, see link below.
Thanks
Pat

http://www.classicindustries.com/product/mopar/parts/mb1723.html

I have, They work great and very easy to install.  

Those appear to be Charger Specialties units. If so, you can buy them direct for $70 less...

http://www.chargerspecialties.com/new_product.htm

Troy

You need to look at that price again..they are $460 not 70

I looked at the prices:
Classic Industries is $529
Charger Specialties is $460
$529 - $460 = $69

Troy

My bad $70 LESS than. Not $70 total, read it wrong... Still very costly compared to what i just did.

[Cncguy]

Wow kind of noisy. Reminded me of the Terminator.

[myk]

Eh, who can hear the actuators over that thumping big block anyway?

Very good work 'OP.  I'm not Tony Stark so I'll probably just buy the overpriced kit...

[keith88]

OK its all done, the switch was a little hard to find but i did find one locally.  I put it where i said earlier and it works great. Over all it was not that difficult to do. The switch i wire by a using a video off of you tube. Pulled power from the accessory's in the fuse block and grounded it to the dash.

Here's the last photos:


Where i put the switch:


THE FINISHED VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdBka_xkk3I&feature=youtu.be

[tan top]

 looks good  , in action !! very smooth door opperation    

[skip68]

Thanks for sharing.  Well done sir.   

[keith88]

Thanks guys , I did change the last video for this last night ..Its a better shot . If you haven't seen it check out the end of my last post.

[keith88]

Wow kind of noisy. Reminded me of the Terminator.

Funny cant hear them at all when your in the car much less when its running.

[1974dodgecharger]

I liked it.......


I googled electric vacuum pumps and found some for 16 bucks will this work for the headlights?

[dodgey68]

nice
I fitted the electric headlight door kit from charger specialtys,, been on for about 3 years,,
i reckon there cool, and I like them

[keith88]

I liked it.......


I googled electric vacuum pumps and found some for 16 bucks will this work for the headlights?

I'm not sure i used electric actuators.  But the 1st thing you would have to figure out how much vacuum it needs to open the doors and buy a pump that would produce it. I believe i saw some one who did that somewhere though.

[1974dodgecharger]

I liked it.......


I googled electric vacuum pumps and found some for 16 bucks will this work for the headlights?

I'm not sure i used electric actuators.  But the 1st thing you would have to figure out how much vacuum it needs to open the doors and buy a pump that would produce it. I believe i saw some one who did that somewhere though.

Im gonna go your route....if these so called electric pumps don't work, lol.
http://www.amazon.com/Karlsson-Robotics-Volt-Vacuum-Pump/dp/B00DYA21PU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1439693581&sr=8-8&keywords=electric+vacuum+pump

[JR]

Nice work man.

The only thing I wonder about is, (having never wired any of these actuators before), would it be possible to wire the 12v power to headlamps to activate the up position?

Then you would only have to touch one switch to work the headlights.

But nice work, very clever and ingenuitive.

[keith88]

I liked it.......


I googled electric vacuum pumps and found some for 16 bucks will this work for the headlights?

I'm not sure i used electric actuators.  But the 1st thing you would have to figure out how much vacuum it needs to open the doors and buy a pump that would produce it. I believe i saw some one who did that somewhere though.

Im gonna go your route....if these so called electric pumps don't work, lol.
http://www.amazon.com/Karlsson-Robotics-Volt-Vacuum-Pump/dp/B00DYA21PU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1439693581&sr=8-8&keywords=electric+vacuum+pump

Good luck, post it I would like to see how it goes ,i did think about doing mine that way before i did what i did . What i wasn't really sure about if i did it that way is i believe that the vacuum can work by it sucking from one side then the other to close it ..wasn't really sure how to achieve that myself.

[keith88]

Nice work man.

The only thing I wonder about is, (having never wired any of these actuators before), would it be possible to wire the 12v power to headlamps to activate the up position?

Then you would only have to touch one switch to work the headlights.

But nice work, very clever and ingenuitive.

Thanks, I dont know if the wiring into the light switch would work alone the actuators work on a reverse polarity basis so you have to switch the polarity to make the motor go the other direction so you would still need a switch to do that . You may be able to  wire a relay in there some where to do that but I'm not sure of that . I believe a member name "Jammie " did his that way but I'm not sure. As for me i I pulled my power from the accessory fuse from my fuse box and grounded it to the body under the dash.

[chryco_psycho]

the classic industries set is exactly 15% more than the charger specialties version.....so when you apply the recurring coupon they are the same price.

are they the same product?

[Lennard]

the classic industries set is exactly 15% more than the charger specialties version.....so when you apply the recurring coupon they are the same price.

are they the same product?

On some days (like black Friday)  C.I. has 30% off. So if you're not in a hurry...

[chryco_psycho]

i will probally wait cause the vacuum ones work fine for now and i want to gether more infor before i make a $500 decision

[keith88]

Why send $500 what i did cost me under $130.

[Troy]

FYI... way back in 1987 I had my first 68 Charger and the headlight doors had already been "modified" because the factory system broke. I believe it was just the switch as the vacuum still worked but I had a separate knob under the dash to work the doors independently. Either that or someone used it for running shine or something and wanted the doors to shut with the lights on. You'd think that in all that time someone would have come up with a decent solution.

I like this approach personally. The Charger Specialties system is cool but seems a bit complicated (2 limit switches per side, lots of linkages, etc.). At one point I knew the story on why they were made that way. I'm not sure if the type of actuator used here was available or maybe they just wanted a "drop in" solution. It is quiet (as far as I remember) and it does have the wiring to make the headlights work with a single switch.

Troy

[VegasCharger]

Why send $500 what i did cost me under $130.

What you did for $130.00 was a great accomplishment to have electric motors. 

But maybe it's not for everyone. Maybe they want a kit that has clear instructions w/o guess work, not having to cut their bumper bracket, not something as noisy etc. and thus spend the extra $$$ to have a clear conscience.

Just my 

Me: I prefer the OEM set-up as I like how the doors stagger when opening and closing, plus that distinctive vacuum sound it makes. I find myself never wanting to have the head lights on while the doors are shut. And if I want to have the doors open with lights off I just turn the light switch to on position then switch back to the park lights position. Then if you shut off the engine the doors stay in the open position. Sometimes I like the exposed light bulb(w/lights off) look during the daytime especially on 68s where you have the headlight bezels.



Pic below is random from the web and not mine.

[keith88]

It amazing how much darker it got in the morning in only 1 week. (was on vac last week) Took the car to work today and got to test the headlight doors and it was so much nicer to flip a switch from inside to open & close them to get them to work. Beats the hell out having to open and close them from the out side be for you leave and get to where your going.

[oldcarnut]

Cool   and I like to see stuff like this.  I only have one constructive observation that seems like it could have been done different and that would be how you mounted the actuator to the headlight door bar.  Maybe it's just my way of thinking but using that long wood screw and tape, although functional, sorta visually detracts from the rest of the work you put into it for me.  How long will it stay without working loose and seems there would be a better permanent way of fastening it.  Don't take it as criticism but just a detail observation to think about.

[keith88]

Actually already fixed that ,kept the screw but used a different type it has to remain on the lose side so that everything moves and doesn't bind when moving.I made it so that it cant come loose and the tape thing is now a rubber insert.  The pictures are just to show it working and i have made it a little more permanent since than.

[oldcarnut]

Actually already fixed that ,kept the screw but used a different type it has to remain on the lose side so that everything moves and doesn't bind when moving.I made it so that it cant come loose and the tape thing is now a rubber insert.  The pictures are just to show it working and i have made it a little more permanent since than.