HID headlight brainstormer

[sabreuk]

yep agreed defo a lot of work i am happy with my 100w bulbs i got in, i thought id delve into this subject to emphasize the changes to peeps that want hid lights but might not be aware of all the hassle it is to fit them legaly. one thing i did forget to bring up also was the heat ratings, apparantly oem hids use 4300k bulbs which give that hid bluey look, the common ones peeps are going for here are th 8000k lights which are blue, however a bit of tinternetting and it seems anything over 4300k is totaly useless in bad weather as the colour output turns snow, rain fog blue instead of penertrating it, so if i was to go down the hid route i think it would have to be a 4300k low beam kit inthe heaadlights and then maybe a 8000k high beam kit in the roofbar lights for laning.

[markp2]

Mine are 4500k and are white to look at. Apart from the improvement in visibility, they only draw 35W so place far less of a demand on old wiring and switchgear.
I used 100w bulbs in a Fiat once and the extra current needed melted the dip switch!

[sabreuk]

mine are a 100w bulbs in the lux and never had any probs with them, so would you recommend a hid conversion giving the hassle its going to be to make them legal for the mot in 2011? do they actualy make that much of a diference or not mate, i am generaly intrested in the hid thing but reading all the rules n regs and the hassle its turning out to be is it worth it from someone that has them already fitted?

[Surfer Ross]

This one is unquestionably totally legal and will always be legal even with the new regulations: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...#WiringHarness

The reason your original spec headlamps are crap is that not enough voltage is getting to the bulb. The voltage drop from battery to bulb is due to wiring that is not beefy enough for the job. Light output is not linearly linked to voltage drop either. If you're getting 10V at the bulb, you've dropped to about 1/4 of your potential light output from a standard H4 bulb with good heavy duty wiring.

This guy is legendary in lthe lighting world: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...ys/relays.html

[subtotal]

i installed a 6000k hi/lo hid conversion kit last week but i might take it off again.

if you are considering one of these kits for your truck ,my issues with it are;
the beam is excellent but i've lost my fascia warning lights for hi and low (maybe a fuse ? but probably a relay issue)
while overtaking other cars on the motorway it seemed the beam was invading their cabin more than normal bulbs -(no complaints from anyone tho )
on full beam with my hid kit the bulb case is pulled back by a magnet and you lose the dipped beam spread -so directly in front of the cab isnt well lit
major radio interference from ballasts while lights are on
all the additional cables /fuses /relay/ballasts and moving parts on the bulbs make me feel a bit uneasy reliability wise .
legalities / mot
with all this in mind i may return to halogen
all little niggles but one or two too many ,shame though cos the lighting is brill

[Surfer Ross]

You've lost your High Beam indication because Toyotas use a switched-ground headlamp circuit. You need to run both ground and switched live back to the switch to keep your high beam indication.

You lose cutoff definition because even if the HID burner (bulb) is in exactly the same position as a normal H4 bulb, the actual light source is not in the correct position. A filament bulb burns brightest at the centre of the filament. A Xenon gas HID burner has 2 bright points, one at either end of the arc. This doesn't reflect properly from a reflector designed for normal bulbs. No amount of self levelling or headlamp washers will get round this.
This explains it really well: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...nversions.html

Legality will be greyer than ever when the new rules come in next year. Technically HIDs in a Halogen headlamp will be a complete no no, I suppose it depends how friendly your MOT tester is.

A bit of lead around the ballasts will get rid of the RF interference.
You'll get more useable light on the road with a heavy duty wiring harness and bog standard H4 bulbs.

[BUSHWHACKER]

This would be a lot easier if we all just ate more carrots.

[subtotal]

thanks for the info Ross , i've just done web search on the harness

i think i will return the hid kit while i still can and use the money for a sack of carrots

[Apache]

I suspect if they're interfering with your radio, they're not CE marked so illegal in the UK anyhow. A lot of stuff coming from China has CE stamped on it, but in this case it signifies 'China Export' - the spacing between the C and the E is much less than a proper CE mark.

There's loads of stuff like that in the country now and it causes us a huge headache as in general its cr@p.

[subtotal]

i've taken the HID conversion kit off now but i want to get some decent h4 halogens (we get loads of deer in the roads at night here)

are PIAA bulbs worth the extra cash ? has anyone here used them ?

cheers

[tonupteabag]

I didn't really want to resurrect this thread but here goes, I have been speaking with a current MOT tester and i have been questioning him about HID kits, Now then i already have a CE, TUV, E4, E11, approved HID kit which, In a previous post i was made aware that china are indeed being a bit frugal with the truth, Anyhow i have checked as much as i can about the approval marks and they appear to be genuine, I have shown the MOT tester the kit, we also measured where each filament sits in relation to the original H4 bulb, The MOT tester would be happy to pass the truck with the kit fitted as in both instances, the dip beam filament on the halogen is in the same place as the HID electrodes and the distance between the HID electrodes appears to be the same distance as the halogen filament.
The MOT tester has also checked the H4 fitting on both the Halogen and HID bulbs to check that when the kit is fitted the bulbs are in the same place and angle in the lamp.
It was mentioned about the new legislation about the MOT test and as of yet nothing has come through the pipeline regarding retrofitting HID kits but, That is not to say the rules won't be allowed in through the "back door" as it were.
He has also pointed out that blue bulbs are illegal as well, According to what he said if the light emitted is white or as in halogens slightly yellow then that is acceptable but, if the light shines with a blue tint it's a fail, so it seems a lot of H4 bulbs on offer are also illegal for uk use, so i suppose as normal it's up to the MOT tester on the day as to what he thinks is in accordance with the testers manual and, as such whether he accepts that it was "satisfactory at the time of the test" or he fails the vehicle due to "Mot testers discretion" to cover his backside.
It's simple really The mot tester has agreed as well that he has failed a vehicle for emitting blue light, the vehicle was brought back fitted with the correct bulbs and duly the ticket was printed out, The vehicles owner then got his car lifted the bonnet and put the illegal bulbs back in and drove away, so what was the point in failing it when you know that, once the vehicle is issued with a pass certificate the bulbs are being put back.

[Maverick]

i've taken the HID conversion kit off now but i want to get some decent h4 halogens (we get loads of deer in the roads at night here)

are PIAA bulbs worth the extra cash ? has anyone here used them ?

cheers

I have light output on mine which is compareable to my 2005 mondeo. Like yourself it's needed to spot the wildlife before they jump on your bonnet, as Deer, Badgers, Foxes, and suicidal cats seem to enjoy doing (my truck has passed the UK equivilent if the elk test many times).

What did I do?

I built one of these http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...#WiringHarness (well I built two actually so my sister has one in her truck as well), and then I fitted these http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/prod/osram_bulbs.html.

Now I did overenginer the wiring and components to the point that I can run much higher wattage bulbs but this has proved unnessesary, but just to finish it off I also fitted these http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/prod/racing-headlight-b.html. They are H4 bulbs (the original idea was to put my HiDs in there but they didn't fit), so I have dip (I've wired them to fog) and additional main beam. Without them the light output is as good as my 2005 mondeo, with them switched on mainbeam is better than the mondeo, and I always angle them fractionally outwards to illuminate the hedges and ditchs more.

[Apache]

Tonup, sounds like you've done your research!

For info, this is the difference between a proper CE Mark (on the left) and the Chinese 'China Export' fake CE mark on the right.

Basically, a proper CE mark tells you its been tested to the relevant European standards, wont interfere with your radio, blow up etc etc, and is legal for use in the UK. The other - well, that just tells you it came from China, may burst into flames, and make your ECU die. (Slight exageration - but cannot be ruled out as it wont have been tested)

[tonupteabag]

Cheers mate just what i was hoping for! HaHa anyhow i am going to make sure as the listing that i ended up buying from does state "This unit is CE approved for uk use" so i thought i had better check and upto now it does indeed look like it's correct BUT... As we all know the ebay listing is not guaranteed to be correct, Apart from that the kit was cheaper than any others which, is why i am now looking into it more closely as i don't fancy installing it and then having to remove it just for the MOT.

[Apache]

Cheers mate just what i was hoping for! HaHa anyhow i am going to make sure as the listing that i ended up buying from does state "This unit is CE approved for uk use" so i thought i had better check and upto now it does indeed look like it's correct BUT... As we all know the ebay listing is not guaranteed to be correct, Apart from that the kit was cheaper than any others which, is why i am now looking into it more closely as i don't fancy installing it and then having to remove it just for the MOT.

I think the E mark and the correct CE mark are the ones that make it road legal and legal to use in the UK.

Just a quick look on eBay reveals THIS one is CE marked, and THIS one isn't.