HID's and supplied voltage..
02-21-2003, 11:58 AM
#1
HID's and supplied voltage..
Just a general Q to anyone who knows their stuff re. HID systems : I'm looking at doing a conversion to dual beam HID's on my 5th Gen; not the 2k2/2k3 setup but rather a kit with high/low's.
I have DRL's and I don't know wtf the diode is to disable them (can't find someone who does/can show me)... so unless the lows or highs are on, there's a "partial" voltage supplied on the high beam wire - I think about 33% or so. This switches off when low beams are turned on, or goes to regular/full power when the high beams are set.
Will there simply be no ignition with partial voltage? Or will it end up running the bulb at partial power, possibly not igniting properly and/or damaging it? I don't want to hurt myself for $300 if I end up frying a ballast and/or bulb... from what I can reason there would simply be lack of power to ignite, thus I wouldn't hurt anything in the first place...
I have DRL's and I don't know wtf the diode is to disable them (can't find someone who does/can show me)... so unless the lows or highs are on, there's a "partial" voltage supplied on the high beam wire - I think about 33% or so. This switches off when low beams are turned on, or goes to regular/full power when the high beams are set.
Will there simply be no ignition with partial voltage? Or will it end up running the bulb at partial power, possibly not igniting properly and/or damaging it? I don't want to hurt myself for $300 if I end up frying a ballast and/or bulb... from what I can reason there would simply be lack of power to ignite, thus I wouldn't hurt anything in the first place...
02-21-2003, 05:06 PM
#3
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Not sure what you are trying to do with your HIDs or what the problem is. On ordinary HIDs you lose your high beams. In conventional lights when high beams come on, the low beam filament goes off in some cars.
The diode you are talking about is so you can hook both high and low beam wires together so that if you flick to high beams voltage is still maintained to the ballast. In the case of high and low beam kits you should have two separate connections unless they want to switch both filaments on for high beams in which case you would tap off the wire just before the diode (if supplied) to the high beam input of the ballast.
The diode you are talking about is so you can hook both high and low beam wires together so that if you flick to high beams voltage is still maintained to the ballast. In the case of high and low beam kits you should have two separate connections unless they want to switch both filaments on for high beams in which case you would tap off the wire just before the diode (if supplied) to the high beam input of the ballast.
02-21-2003, 09:28 PM
#5
If that's what costco is getting, I am no longer worried 
I have no HID's yet : I am looking into a few possibilities right now, but I wanted to know a few things before I went ahead with it! In this case the high beam filament if you will runs at 33% for the DRL's - my concern was what would happen to the ballast being powered by the same wire originally running the low/high filaments.. in the 5th gen case it's exactly as you describe it : the low beam filament eventually switches off (you can "trick" both filaments to stay on if you hold the stalk just right though).
One of the possibilities is running a dedicated HID bulb off each wire : low and hi. The other option is a system like the CATZ HID which repositions the bulb based on low/high feed.
Costco, you da man!
Now I have to find some parts
I have no HID's yet : I am looking into a few possibilities right now, but I wanted to know a few things before I went ahead with it! In this case the high beam filament if you will runs at 33% for the DRL's - my concern was what would happen to the ballast being powered by the same wire originally running the low/high filaments.. in the 5th gen case it's exactly as you describe it : the low beam filament eventually switches off (you can "trick" both filaments to stay on if you hold the stalk just right though).
One of the possibilities is running a dedicated HID bulb off each wire : low and hi. The other option is a system like the CATZ HID which repositions the bulb based on low/high feed.
Costco, you da man!
Now I have to find some parts
Originally posted by turbo97SE
Not sure what you are trying to do with your HIDs or what the problem is. On ordinary HIDs you lose your high beams. In conventional lights when high beams come on, the low beam filament goes off in some cars.
The diode you are talking about is so you can hook both high and low beam wires together so that if you flick to high beams voltage is still maintained to the ballast. In the case of high and low beam kits you should have two separate connections unless they want to switch both filaments on for high beams in which case you would tap off the wire just before the diode (if supplied) to the high beam input of the ballast.
Not sure what you are trying to do with your HIDs or what the problem is. On ordinary HIDs you lose your high beams. In conventional lights when high beams come on, the low beam filament goes off in some cars.
The diode you are talking about is so you can hook both high and low beam wires together so that if you flick to high beams voltage is still maintained to the ballast. In the case of high and low beam kits you should have two separate connections unless they want to switch both filaments on for high beams in which case you would tap off the wire just before the diode (if supplied) to the high beam input of the ballast.
02-22-2003, 08:04 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,069
all i know is that Bi-xenon HID's will be released for the 9004 bulb setup soon, so if your a 4th gen you might want to wait. It will be 2 times the cost of the osram setup but your getting hi and low beams with the setup so it will be worth it since you get both bulbs. It will be a phillips kit with hella bulbs i am being told by a friend. i should be able to check the site out soon.... i cant wait.
02-24-2003, 09:29 AM
#7
I see your guys are talking about hi/low HID set up eh. I have it set up on my 4th gen I30t. And my advice to you all is to disable DRL if the HID will be flashing when you release the hand brake. Somehow the power for DRL is enought to ignite the ballast for a short period of time but it keeps doing that. I think this will probably damage the bulb and ballast if you don't disable the DRL. 
02-24-2003, 09:42 AM
#8
High beams are not HID because of the 'warm-up' time on them.
On halogen systems, the low beam shuts off when the high beam comes on. On HID systems, the low beam stays on when they high beam is on.
For daytime running lamp (DTRL / DRL), the high beam filaments are in series, effectively dividing the vehicle voltage to each bulb by 1/2. Hence, the DTRL operation is only at 50%.
HID ballasts regulate the voltage to the bulb, but its operating range is approximately 8V on the low end. On the high end, it's around 15-17V.
If you use HID on your high beams, the voltage might be too low that it would not operate during DTRL mode.
On halogen systems, the low beam shuts off when the high beam comes on. On HID systems, the low beam stays on when they high beam is on.
For daytime running lamp (DTRL / DRL), the high beam filaments are in series, effectively dividing the vehicle voltage to each bulb by 1/2. Hence, the DTRL operation is only at 50%.
HID ballasts regulate the voltage to the bulb, but its operating range is approximately 8V on the low end. On the high end, it's around 15-17V.
If you use HID on your high beams, the voltage might be too low that it would not operate during DTRL mode.
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