Healight Lamps

[The Hornet]

Has anyone bought the HID Xenon ones off fleabay for £6.99 +
£3.48 postage.
If so, how do they compare against the originals?

Thanks

[BUSHWHACKER]

Have a read here first...
http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/forums/sh...adlight+wiring

They will only be a tiny improvement over the originals.

[Slugsie]

I've just fitted these ones.

I did a visual check after fitting just one bulb, at around sun-set (i.e. still light) and the difference in brightness was fairly obvious then. They also produce a whiter light than the standard bulbs.

I may also go for the upgraded looms.

[The Hornet]

Thank's fellas.
I won't be going the wiring loom change route, too complicated for me.

[paulh]

Wiring loom change is dead easy and makes a major difference without uprated lamps, specially if you want to keep it legal.

[MattF]

Hell, I'm bored and have nowt to repair tonight, so might as well bore
everyone with another long winded post.

If you do alter the wiring loom, would recommend actually building your
own rather than going for one of those premade kits you tend to find
knocking about. The reason being, you can control exactly what kit, and
thereby quality of, that which you use.

Cable. Simple equation for current requirements of cable are 12 Watts
at 12 Volt require 1 Amp of current. Thereby, 120W bulbs would require
a minimum 10A cable. However, as standard, you want to allow half as
much again, just in case. With thicker cable, voltage drop is pretty
irrelevant unless you are running stupidly long lengths, (which you won't
be), so you don't need to compensate for that. However, one extra thing
to consider is how you're going to run the cable. If it is literally just going
to be loose cable held in a few places with cable ties or tape, no problem.
If, however, you're going to bundle the cable into a tightly bound loom,
you again ought to add an extra bit onto the current rating of the cable.
General ratings of cable are given as free air ratings, meaning that if they
are enclosed, or are going to be running near higher temperature equipment,
their current rating will be less than the specified current rating of the
cable. So as a general rule of thumb, getting a cable with double the
current rating you actually need is the safest bet, and also allows some
leeway if you ever need that extra bit of oomph, (current wise), in the
future. Plus, you're better with a cable that uses more thinner strands in
the core than one that uses less thicker strands. Generally, the former is
more flexible, and also has the benefit that a few strands can break without
severely affecting performance. The thicker strand cores are usually less
happy with environments which suffer vibration and movement, and if one
strand breaks, you lose a larger fraction of your rating.

Relays. Again, you are better somewhat over exaggerating the relay
rating to that which you actually need. At certain current ratings,
different metals/alloys are used upon the contacts. These can affect the
longevity and usefulness of the relay somewhat. Can't remember what the
general switch over points are, but you can tend to find that a relay that
is just above the current requirements you require may use one metal for
the contacts, whereas the next rating of relay will use different again. The
higher relay will, however, be fine with currents at a quarter to half it's
rated current, with no contact degradation, whereas the lower rated relay
may be suffering excess wear if it's close to it's top rating. So generally,
go the next size up on the relay to the rating you actually need.

Fuses. Obviously, needs to be able to cope with the demands of the load.
Keep it to the closest rating just above the load you are running. If that
pops for no reason, it may need the next size up, but make sure you keep
the fuse rating below the maximum rating of the cable. For example, if you
have a 10A load, the blade fuse rating above that is 15A, I believe, which
is fine for the purpose. And, as has been previously mentioned, try to keep
the fuses as close as possible to the battery as possible. Not absolutely
imperative, but just as a safety measure more than anything.

Time for me to bore someone else now.

[RAPTOR]

That was well deep...your middle name must be Haynes

[Apache]

Has anyone bought the HID Xenon ones off fleabay for £6.99 +
£3.48 postage.
If so, how do they compare against the originals?

Thanks

Dont be fooled by the HID in the description. Proper HID lamps operate at high voltages and require a ballast to start them. They generally cost upwards of £150 a pair.

The ones you're looking at will be standard Xenon lamps with a tinted envelope to give a blue-whire light.

[da SLUG man]

The ones you're looking at will be standard Xenon lamps with a tinted envelope to give a blue-whire light.

which, on the cheap ones, will turn your headlights yellow.

[Apache]

which, on the cheap ones, will turn your headlights yellow.

So you end up with green? Mmmm...

[MattF]

That was well deep...your middle name must be Haynes

Nah, people usually tell me it's 'boring tw@t'.

[MattF]

The ones you're looking at will be standard Xenon lamps with a tinted envelope to give a blue-whire light.

What's a blue-whire light?

[Apache]

What's a blue-whire light?

Its the same as blue-white after a few beers.