Hid Xenon Lights

[GTE999]

Hi there need some help.

Have these fitted to my 89 gte. Believe it to be the last owner. The nearside one isnt working anymore. Ive checked all the fuses and wiring which appears fine. Ive also checked the actual bulp but to be honest it looks quite different to a normal bulb so i dont know if its "blown" or not.

Does anyone know where to get these from? Also the bulb is connected onto the holder then straight to the wiring, so i dont know how to change the thing.

cheers
craig

p.s This might sound daft but when i pull on the full beam the lights stay the same which puzzles me, especially as the cars mot is next month and it will probably fail on this. Any ideas are appreciated.

[adam c]

you can get the bulbs of ebay.and when you say you put it on full beam and nothing happens it is probably because the last owner just got the low beam kit but you can get the low/high beam kit so that you still have high beam as well

[Stoo]

sounds like you havent got a bi-xenon kit, and he has replaced the twin filament bulb form std, with a single filament HID bulb

try the bulb on the other side, see if it works, if it does, then its the powerpack/ballast unit that has gone

youll prob fail MOT with them anyway

[brucer]

sorry to hi jack this.but having an arguement at work with one of my work mates. he says that these hid's that you can buy off ebay aren't hid's.there just xenon bulbs..

anyone help with this discussion..he also says that a normal car doesnt run enough current for them.

[GTE999]

Its definately a proper hid system in my car. The only difference i can see is that there are two black electrical boxes situated behind the headlamps which i presume provide the correct amount current.

Tbh i wouldnt bother wasting the money on them. The amount of trouble ive had with them is a nightmare. Other drivers are always flashing me and telling me that my full beam is on! when the full beam doesnt even exist.

Im now just gonna convert back to the normal headlights but dont even know where to start with the wiring because its a bit of a dogs dinner at the moment.

cheers for the advice guys.

[Adam]

sorry to hi jack this.but having an arguement at work with one of my work mates. he says that these hid's that you can buy off ebay aren't hid's.there just xenon bulbs..

anyone help with this discussion..he also says that a normal car doesnt run enough current for them.
They are proper hid's.

Theres two kits you can get.
Bi-xenon, which have both dipped beam and full beam HID
Or just single hid, which is dipped beam hid, with a halogen filament full beam.

[Stoo]

all cars run enough voltage/current to power the ballast unit/power packs for HIDs

[meritlover]

swap the bulbs from one side to the other. if you cant separate the ballast from the lamp then youl just have to check for power at the dodgy ballast and if there is, replace the unit.
also check the rear lights as it might be a fuse.

Stoo, some cars can take the power straight off the headlights and others blow fuses due to the inrush of current to the ballast. and therefor need a relay.

[Stoo]

Stoo, some cars can take the power straight off the headlights and others blow fuses due to the inrush of current to the ballast. and therefor need a relay.

i know that
thats not what i was getting at

[meritlover]

all cars run enough voltage/current to power the ballast unit/power packs for HIDs

:confused:
what was your point caller?

[brucer]

he was answering my question.ive done a bit of research and he's got to be wrong.thanks for that adam and stoo

[meritlover]

but what he said was incorrect. the seller in many cases may be correct. not ALL cars can drive them from the headlight circuit directly

[Jack]

As said, check the bulb type. Sounds like you don't have the bi-xenon bulbs, or if you do it may be the halogen part isn't bright enough for you to notice it on full beam. Note with HIDs, you must have the low beam stay ON when the high beam is on, to avoid the dark spot when the high beam comes on or off. Not sure if bi-xenons do this (although to the strictest letter of the law, no HIDs are legal in non-HID lamps).

Some kits do come with a seperate power loom that connects directly to the battery. I find my low beams which use this loom charge up faster and give out more light than the high beams that don't have the loom, BUT that could just be due to the beam pattern.


sorry to hi jack this.but having an arguement at work with one of my work mates. he says that these hid's that you can buy off ebay aren't hid's.there just xenon bulbs..

anyone help with this discussion..he also says that a normal car doesnt run enough current for them.
See above, I have high beam running off my standard headlamp loom. Although thats Toyota wiring so probably a bit better than Nova stuff lol

The HID's your mate is referring to is probably the Xenon bulbs you can get on ebay, which sellers keep listing as HIDs when they're not.

A true HID system comprises of a HID burner (bulb), ballast, and loom. HID burners are different to halogen bulbs because they have no ballast and create light by causing an arc which requires a much higher voltage - hence the ballast (which ups the power). The ballasts connect to your normal headlamp loom and pull in less wattage than a normal headlight (35W or 42W, depending on kit iirc).


Tbh i wouldnt bother wasting the money on them. The amount of trouble ive had with them is a nightmare. Other drivers are always flashing me and telling me that my full beam is on! when the full beam doesnt even exist.
Second best mod I ever did to my car. If other drivers are flashing you, adjust your headlight beam.

Finally, I know people that have passed MOTs with HIDs perfectly fine. I will be fitting them to the Nova in due course, but that has a quad headlight setup so I can have high beam HID and don't have to worry about the warm up time issues.

[Stoo]

but what he said was incorrect

no it wasnt

you just interpreted it wrong

[meritlover]

i fail to see what i have interperated wrongly.

the statement

all cars run enough voltage/current to power the ballast unit/power packs for HIDs

is incorrect. yes on paper the voltages are the same and the wattages for continuous running are within spec. however, the inrush to the ballasts causes the fueses on many cars to blow and therefore a relay is often required.

[Stoo]

your still not getting it

regardless as to wether a re;ay is required or not, all cars' headlight wiring provides enough to power the ballast unit!!

[meritlover]

yes but the inrush current to the ballast is what blows the fuse, not the continuous running of the unit.

[Stoo]

STILL not getting it are you!

[meritlover]

Stoo, Just hold my hand. it will all be alright. ;)

[bump]

The inrush current may be an issue, but in a change to mains wiring by giving a direct battery feed through an appropriate sized fuse will sort this issue out. the relay wire should be connected into the nova loom to control the switching.
As for the charge time, this is a problem with the cheap Chinese clones on the market. Most of the proper ballasts are Osram and Tridonic.atco units, these run internal buffering capacitors in order to give the instant hit of light as they charge the rest of the circuitry.

[meritlover]

any inductor will create an inrush regardless of AC/DC.

the appropriate sized fuse is the key in the issue

[bump]

any inductor will create an inrush regardless of AC/DC.

the appropriate sized fuse is the key in the issue

Yes it will, but is a usual approach to change the characteristic curve on an MCB in mains wiring. Where as automotive will require the higher fuse and cable ratings to cope.

Hopefully that will help anyone else who is having difficulty with fusing of HID ballasts.

[meritlover]

this is very true. often the case when people install 12v spot lights in place of usual incandescant lamps. the multiple 240-12v transformers cause the MCBs to trip continuously. and need to be changed out for a C type or whatever is most suitable.

Bump, you may hold my hand in happiness.