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

[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.