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Another Hid Question


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Yes mate, all the ones i've seen have done the same :) I've just ordered a nice new set of HID's with tiny ballasts so hopefully i'll have them tomorrow and get them fitted, Oh i miss my HID's :D

Phew, cheers Chris I was worried I might have a bad earth or something.

Pics of your new HID's when they come matey. :D

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Yeah I think it's to do with the fact that they get most of their charge when they first turn on - like you say they flash on, start off more blue and then settle down to their proper temperature.

It's only ever time to worry when they start cycling, ie:

At the end of life, many types of high-intensity discharge lamps exhibit a phenomenon known as cycling. These lamps can be started at a relatively low voltage. As they heat up during operation, however, the internal gas pressure within the arc tube rises and a higher voltage is required to maintain the arc discharge. As a lamp gets older, the voltage necessary to maintain the arc eventually rises to exceed the voltage provided by the electrical ballast. As the lamp heats to this point, the arc fails and the lamp goes out. Eventually, with the arc extinguished, the lamp cools down again, the gas pressure in the arc tube is reduced, and the ballast can once again cause the arc to strike. The effect of this is that the lamp glows for a while and then goes out, repeatedly.

More sophisticated ballast designs detect cycling and give up attempting to start the lamp after a few cycles. If power is removed and reapplied, the ballast will make a new series of startup attempts.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_discharge_lamp :)

@ Chris did you get them with the "slim ballasts" then? Saw some of those on eBay with a colour temp of 32000k which would be perfect for you :P

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Yes mate, all the ones i've seen have done the same :) I've just ordered a nice new set of HID's with tiny ballasts so hopefully i'll have them tomorrow and get them fitted, Oh i miss my HID's :D

Phew, cheers Chris I was worried I might have a bad earth or something.

Pics of your new HID's when they come matey. :D

Yeh will do mate, the ballasts are tiny compared to my old set, so will be able to hide them quite well :)

newballasts.jpg

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Yes mate, all the ones i've seen have done the same :) I've just ordered a nice new set of HID's with tiny ballasts so hopefully i'll have them tomorrow and get them fitted, Oh i miss my HID's :D

Phew, cheers Chris I was worried I might have a bad earth or something.

Pics of your new HID's when they come matey. :D

Yeh will do mate, the ballasts are tiny compared to my old set, so will be able to hide them quite well :)

newballasts.jpg

your old ballasts are HUUUUUUUUGE!! mine are like the small ones your getting now, they weren't listed as slim ones tho when i brought em, just thought that was standard shape

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Yes mate, all the ones i've seen have done the same :) I've just ordered a nice new set of HID's with tiny ballasts so hopefully i'll have them tomorrow and get them fitted, Oh i miss my HID's :D

Phew, cheers Chris I was worried I might have a bad earth or something.

Pics of your new HID's when they come matey. :D

Yeh will do mate, the ballasts are tiny compared to my old set, so will be able to hide them quite well :)

newballasts.jpg

your old ballasts are HUUUUUUUUGE!! mine are like the small ones your getting now, they weren't listed as slim ones tho when i brought em, just thought that was standard shape

Yeh Phil, most of the Ballasts that people have are like the big ones, :o so will be happy when they come B)

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Yes mate, all the ones i've seen have done the same :) I've just ordered a nice new set of HID's with tiny ballasts so hopefully i'll have them tomorrow and get them fitted, Oh i miss my HID's :D

Phew, cheers Chris I was worried I might have a bad earth or something.

Pics of your new HID's when they come matey. :D

Yeh will do mate, the ballasts are tiny compared to my old set, so will be able to hide them quite well :)

newballasts.jpg

your old ballasts are HUUUUUUUUGE!! mine are like the small ones your getting now, they weren't listed as slim ones tho when i brought em, just thought that was standard shape

Yeh Phil, most of the Ballasts that people have are like the big ones, :o so will be happy when they come B)

i can see why your changing em , bet thay effect you MPG lol

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It's pretty cool as well when they do the self levelling diagnostics when the HIDs are coming up to speed - first time I ever saw that was in an Audi and was well impressed!

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It's pretty cool as well when they do the self levelling diagnostics when the HIDs are coming up to speed - first time I ever saw that was in an Audi and was well impressed!

I know what you mean. Mine go down, cross eyed and then back again. It was funny the first few times, but now, well you know ....

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Mine were installed by the previous owner so I'm not too familiar with how to assemble/disassemble them.

What do I need to do if one goes off and I wanted to put standard HB4(for both sides)?

Take the HID bulb and holder out. Then find the original car's headlamp lead, which will be plugged into the HID ballast (the metal box of electronics that makes the HID work). Remove this lead from the ballast, plug a regular HB4 bulb into it, then insert that into the headlamp unit. Job done.

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Mine were installed by the previous owner so I'm not too familiar with how to assemble/disassemble them.

What do I need to do if one goes off and I wanted to put standard HB4(for both sides)?

Take the HID bulb and holder out. Then find the original car's headlamp lead, which will be plugged into the HID ballast (the metal box of electronics that makes the HID work). Remove this lead from the ballast, plug a regular HB4 bulb into it, then insert that into the headlamp unit. Job done.

Looks like a piece of cake

Thanks

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slighty :offtopic: i know but just read this!

Beginning in the early 1990s, HID lamps have been employed in motor vehicle headlamps. This application has met with mixed responses from motorists, who appreciate the improved nighttime visibility from HID headlamps but object to the glare they can cause. Internationalized European vehicle regulations require such headlamps to be equipped with lens cleaners and an automatic self-leveling system to keep the beams aimed correctly regardless of vehicle load and attitude, but no such devices are required in North America, where inherently more glaring beam patterns are also permitted. Retrofitting HID bulbs in headlamps not originally designed to accept them results in extremely high levels of glare, and is illegal throughout most of the world.[2]

on wikipedia. arse!

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Lol was going to convert the headlamps in my MR2 but not so sure now!

Technically yes they're illegal but there are that many people with them now you'd have to be hard done by to get caught out - but saying that one of the lads on here who is an MOT tester says they're bringing some new stuff in this year which would mean they'd fail MOT.

It doesn't mean that you could just unplug them and put in standard bulbs when they see it though :whistling:

It's like anything I guess that runs a risk!

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