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Raxiom Puddle lamps / install and review

4K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  au01st 
#1 · (Edited)
So i picked up a set of the Raxiom Puddle lamps for my mother's 5.0, and figured i'd do a little install / how to / and give my impressions of the product.

Raxiom Mustang Puddle Lamp Kit – Blue 3590-B-RAXIOM (13-14 All) - Free Shipping

So the raxiom instructions are, for the most part, pretty good. I really only struggled when it came to removing the glass from the mirror since i have never done this before. That particular task is the type where the first will take you an hour and the second will take you 5 minutes once you know what you are doing. So, my slight set back with not wanting to break the mirror included, this whole install took me just over an hour, and can be completed with really just some basic tools.

First step obviously is to remove the panel covering the bolts for the mirror. My dad got these nifty soft touch tools for christmas so i figured i'd give them a try. They're pretty nice and certainly worth having if you do interior work, but i've always just used the dull side of a butter knife if you dont have these.



So, basically a little pop pop and you're looking at this.



Raxiom will now tell you to use a socket wrench to remove these bolts, but i'll tell you now i really dont think thats an option...



Nothing a 7/16 or 11mm wrench cant fix though. Just make sure you're paying attention and dont drop the mirror ... that would be bad.

So once the mirror is removed from the car you move to really the only difficult part of the install: removing the glass. Raxiom's pictures are a blurry black and white and really dont give you much to go off of, so you're kind of just having to wing it. That, and i'm fairly certain the clips in the '13 5.0 were different than whatever they were using as an example... i could be completely wrong, but luckily the task is rather self explanatory so it can be figured out.

-- Raxiom advises you to start at the top, pushing the glass all the way down and removing the first clip, then carefully adjusting the glass to the top and removing the two lower. Every time i tried this, the clips would push back in when attempting to move to the lower clips. To get around this, i moved in a circle, and kept inserting small screwdrivers along the way to keep pressure off the tabs, and eventually it popped right off. Either that or it finally got tired of me cussing at it and gave up, either or.

Better pics of the clips for reference.





Next, they have you drill the hole for the light using an 11/16ths drill bit. Dont be an idiot like me and just assume your badass drill bit set comes with an 11/16ths bit ... it does not -_-. To avoid a trip to the auto parts store, i just used a 5/8" (10/16) speedbore bit and then dremeled out the rest and it was damn near perfect. Just plan ahead though ...

***EDIT: From the comment section, it appears a step bit is quite effective and can be had at a decent price.

The templates provided really do make this a brain dead task, there's no guess work involved. If you are capable of cutting out the template, you are capable of doing this.







So now comes the time to actually install the light. Basically there are 3 parts: An O-ring, the light itself, and a plastic collar / washer.

The light and o-ring obviously install on the outside, while the lock collar goes on the inside. Due to the limited space, i found it easier to hold the lock collar and spin the light during installation.



So that's that, now its just time to get it in the car.



Let it be known that i hate wiring. I can do it, but i hate almost everything about it, the limited space, the running them, tucking them, hoping to God the damn thing works when you're done and you dont have to try to trace down an electrical fault... This was easy, stupid easy. Wont say i enjoyed it lol, but easy nonetheless.

For starters i peeled back the factory electrical tape to expose a little more of the wire and give myself some more working room.


The little splicer clamps Raxiom provided can be done by hand with a decent bit of hand strength (i've been a drummer for 12 years :cool:), but its not uncommon to have to use a small set of pliers. Just be careful, they only need to be tight enough to tap the circuit, if you go beast mode on them, it is possible to cut the wire, and then you better be decent with a soldering iron. The clips will give a solid *click* when they're tight, you will know.

installed and re-taped:


So really that's all there is to it, aside from putting the panels back on.



So i tried to get a few pics to show what the light is like, but the iphone really struggles with the lighting. The light does not quite make it to the ground, but it does make a pretty obvious presence against the side of the car. You can see it matches the brake lights in terms of "intensity," although obviously at much lower levels since it is a smaller light.






So, any questions, comments, concerns please feel free to ask, i'd love to answer them. I'm not one for cosmetics, i'm typically a bit more function > form, but i can say this is a neat little mod for the cost, something that will certainly grab people's attention, thats for sure.
 
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#2 ·
I've already received compliments on mine. Definitely gives a bit more luxury look to it.

Mine paid for themselves when my girlfriend lost an earring in the parking lot and was able to light up the ground next to the car.

One thing I will say: step drill bit. A set was $10 at harbor freight and they made drilling the holes even more of a no-brainer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#7 ·
I've already received compliments on mine. Definitely gives a bit more luxury look to it.

Mine paid for themselves when my girlfriend lost an earring in the parking lot and was able to light up the ground next to the car.

One thing I will say: step drill bit. A set was $10 at harbor freight and they made drilling the holes even more of a no-brainer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I got a step drill from Home Depot and that was the only way I could find the "right size" drill. Great write up!
 
#16 ·
Whoops, sorry i missed these. As was mentioned, the light really can only be positioned where it is due to the mirror motor.

I believe the mirror motor is in the way. I find my white lights hit the ground plenty to see what's there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe the white is just a better (color) choice than the red, or we live in a very well lit area, so the red just doesnt quite work. Red is at the very bottom of the visible spectrum lol, we'll go with that.
 
#11 ·
I believe the mirror motor is in the way. I find my white lights hit the ground plenty to see what's there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#18 ·
Don't know what you have but apparently the white lights are recommended for best illumination.
I have the factory pony but it doesn't illuminate much at all. More of a novelty I think.
 
#23 ·
You could also probably message one of the AM reps on here and have them send you a new one in PDF file I would imagine.
 
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