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Getting tired of dealing with HID lights

9K views 43 replies 15 participants last post by  DMNordin 
#1 ·
I've had HID lights in a few of my vehicles for enough years that I'm getting very tired of how fickle they can be. I arrived at work this morning to see in the window reflection one of my HID's wasn't on. Oh joy. The bulb would give me a flicker when I tried to turn them on again. I'm hoping I have a good bulb with the right mated connections and the bulb is the problem. I do not want to have to change out the ballast...bummer
Doug
 
#2 ·
Unless you absolutely need the extra electrical capacity, and unless they have suddenly become less finicky, and unless the beam pattern has improved from what I have, they are not worth it.

Good luck.
 
#3 ·
If I didn't ride with heated gear, I wouldn't bother. The combination of watt savings and steady light when a heat controller is cycling make a difference to me. Some people report having them last forever while others report frequent failure.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, the problem is I use my synergy jacket liner, heated gloves on my morning commute, & sometimes the heated grips are on as well (like this morning: 27 degrees). I think that I don't dare go back to stock headlights, based on the hid threads where you guys have gone through & figured out current draw, right?
I did convert my turn signals to LED. Had problems getting LED brake lights to work right, so I stuck with stock brake light bulbs.
Doug
 
#6 ·
I would like to go back to stock bulbs; do I dare?
It would be a piece of cake to wire another switch to turn off one side for running heated gear.
Doug
 
#8 ·
I just looked up the other posts that went through the different loads we're talking about. Based on that, seems pretty risky for me to go back to stock bulbs, even if I turn off one side when I run heated gear.
Doug
 
#9 ·
just an observation: it's not the HID light technology that is the problem, it is the shitty manufacturing of the cheapo sets people are installing that is the problem.

i've had stock HID lights on several different vehicles that lasted WITHOUT a problem for more than 5 years.

i'm fairly certain if people tried purchasing non-chinese HID's they would have a very low failure rate.
 
#10 ·
i'm fairly certain if people tried purchasing non-chinese HID's they would have a very low failure rate.
I wouldn't disagree.
 
#14 · (Edited)
not sure, since a lot of what is "german" is made elsewhere, albeit maybe wih stricter quality control.

if i had to bet though, i'd bet on something put out by bosch. i think they make the hid's in bmw's.

but don't kid yourself, if you can find them, you will likely pay out the butt for 'em.

EDIT: 30 seconds of googling bosch and it appears that bosch ONLY makes oem and the conversion kits out there are fake bosch. bottom line seems to be that without the projector, hid's do more harm in the form of stray light.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I have been debating on removing my lights and going back to stock, and I believe this thread will be the kicker to make me do so.

I havent had any problems with mine since i installed 13000 miles ago, and i believe that is why i havent switched already. Luckily, I have h1 bulbs spare and now I can convert my wife's projector lights in her car to hid with he ballasts. So not a total loss, but I, like others, am sick of the beam pattern and horrible excuse for high beams. Plus whenever I ride 2up, I have almost no forefront lighting.
Done, taking them out tonight.


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#17 ·
I found a site that sells German kits for about $120 & they talked about some technology that precisely controls the voltage, and how their bulbs are very high quality name brand things. Sounded like it wasn't Chinese junk. Not sure how I would know for sure though. I could go for that if they're the good stuff.

I'm mainly frustrated about lack of quality. I don't know about the scattering thing; my light patterns have always been fine. I haven't had problems getting flashed from other drivers unless it was adjusted a little high, which is where I would start out &adjust down.

Doug
 
#20 · (Edited)
I still have the stock lighting on my '08 Wee and have thought about getting the Eastern Beaver switch kit to cut off one of the headlights. However I only run an electric jacket and iPhone charger and have not noticed a significant decrease. My Datek still reads over 14 volts at anything over idle. Cutting out 1 of the headlights saves 55-60 watts
 
#21 ·
DM, put in a pair of H4 bulbs, jury rig a voltmeter on the bike, wear all your heated gear, and see just what your running voltage actually is. Can you wear a warm layer over the heated garments and run a lower setting?
 
#22 ·
I ordered 2 Marva xb3's. I'll install a switch to turn off one side when I run my heated gear.
I did some research on the HID's; the good ones cost close to $300 & I can't do that unless I want to stop paying all of my bills.
I found some explanation that the halogen reflectors / housings aren't designed to work with the tube hid bulb, & that's where the scattered light comes from. Some of these guys get way uptight about it.
So I'm planning on losing the cheap hid's and rewire that part of the wiring (I've already wired a relay/directly to the battery with a fuse.
Doug
 
#23 ·
Few facts about HID plug-ins:

1) i challenge anyone to find a real non-chinese made HID plug-ins - well known brand source theirs from chinese maunfactuers with better quality control- that's all.

2) Phillips does made a retro-fit HID plug-in, clearly indicated it's for off-road and show use only - guess where they are made- china -

3) Wattage saving is not strictly 55w-35w= 20w - the blast consume almost 10watts too - at least on mine - so probably 20watts saving all up on 2 lights

4) Problematic light patten is an inherent function of using HID optics (esp from questionable manufacturers) in reflector design for halogen - although Vstrom (pre L2 at least) reflector seem not do too bad - maybe something to do with its reflector's design being about 15 degree off from vertical.

5) if you want a better pattern use a proper retrofit HID projectors - Bi-xenon: Morimoto Mini D2S 2.0 - HID Projectors from The Retrofit Source Inc although its quality is not the best either IMO - i can attest its beam pattern is about the same as those factory HID on my car and much better than my old HID plug-in

6) IF u have some extra money and even more time for customerisation and fabrication skills, then try these ECE approved HELLA LED headlight - less power consumption, vibration proof - should last until your bike dies Premium LED headlights | Hella Special OE
 
#24 ·
5) if you want a better pattern use a proper retrofit HID projectors - Bi-xenon: Morimoto Mini D2S 2.0 - HID Projectors from The Retrofit Source Inc although its quality is not the best either IMO - i can attest its beam pattern is about the same as those factory HID on my car and much better than my old HID plug-in

6) IF u have some extra money and even more time for customerisation and fabrication skills, then try these ECE approved HELLA LED headlight - less power consumption, vibration proof - should last until your bike dies Premium LED headlights | Hella Special OE
Has anyone done either of these setups? I think projectors would look awesome on the strom, but the fabrication would be difficult.
 
#27 ·
To improve my high beam pattern, I disconnected the high beam solenoid on one side.

Big improvement.
 
#32 ·
I hope my XB3 bulbs arrive today so I can tear into my wee tomorrow & get the HID out of there. I'm also looking forward to losing the electrical noise in my J&M CB/sound system that's caused by the ballasts.
Doug
 
#33 ·
So I rewired my headlights and installed the Narva XB3 bulbs yesterday. Last night went for a test ride. I'm very pleased with how bright they are; a definite improvement over stock bulbs. I would highly recommend them. And this is coming from HID'S. I got them from John at H4lights.com.
My voltmeter seemed fine. I won't be using heated gear around town, but I usually only use the gear on my commute anyways. I did install a switch so I can turn off the right light.
The electrical buzz/noise in my sound system from the ballasts is GONE! Yahoo!
I have one thing left to do. I lowered the forks 1cm on the triple tree this winter when I installed all of my farkles, so I adjusted the headlights up yesterday to compensate while I had the fairing off. Well, it's aimed too high now. No one flashed their brights at me last night, but they definitely need adjusted down a bit.

Another side note. The Salt Lake city ducati shop is who the previous owner had work on this bike. I bought it in September '12. They had installed a Chinese gel battery just before I bought the bike. The reviews on this battery are terrible. Last week I had installed a motobatt battery : that thing is beautiful! I hadn't realized it before, but my voltmeter never read a steady voltage before, and since the new battery, it's rock solid! I think I did myself & my bike (charging system especially) a huge favor with the motobatt battery.
Doug
 
#34 ·
Oh yeah, I was going to post that I was going to give the other battery away, but now I'm thinking that would be a disservice to someone else!
Doug
 
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