suzukir122
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| This all started because of an issue I had with the relay harness I bought for my HID lamps.
While replacing the harness, I switched out the horrible 6000k 35w HID lamps I installed previously, for 5000k. Usually, I would think that the result would be brighter light, but not in this case. Those HID lamps I installed are actually dimmer than the 6000k lamps that I replaced. I'm trying to figure out why. They're from the company Promax. I also uninstalled my previous Zentec electronic ballasts for the Promax electronic ballasts that came with those 5000k HID lamps. The left HID ballast from Promax failed to start the lamp, so I switched that one out with the Zentec ballast. Even with the Zentec ballast (which is also weak) although the lamp successfully started, it was definitely dim.
So my question is... what do I have to do? Should I go for the more expensive/higher quality HID ballast? Would those ballasts be of higher power?
Not really as much of a fan of the automotive Metal Halide lamps/ballasts in comparison to the MH that run off of main electricity, so I'm learning as I go.
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« Last Edit: February 08, 2024, 03:59:52 AM by suzukir122 »
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1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend
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RRK
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Roman
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| You are using some off-brand knockoff HID lamps with some random off-brand ballasts. No wonder the results are poor. I would invest in some real lamps from Osram or Philpis, unfortunately can not suggest which automotive HID ballasts are considered good today, may be I would search for some good OEM (Hella?) in a good shape at a car scrapyard?
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Laurens
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Here's a video about aftermarket, no name HID and LED headlights that contain actual measurement data: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6s3jwy4ZZAIn the attachment the table with measurements. I don't know either of the brands you mention. But perhaps try and find out if you know someone or somewhere that has name brand HID headlights. Philips/Signify still has a ton of expertise, so do Osram and Hella. |
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RRK
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Roman
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| Headlights are not all about lumens, they are about light control. I doubt that knockoff LED replacements will keep legal beam shape...
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Laurens
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| The video also contains a demonstration of the light pattern of the tested halogen/led/hid lights. I found it quite interesting.
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Richmond2000
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120V 60HZ
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| did you change the driver box with the lamps OR just the lamps
35 Watt OEM headlights almost always have the igniter built into the socket base and the driver is mounted externally often to the bottom / back of the headlight assembly
also what brand are the actual bulb as often "no name" kits use a "normal" automotive LAMP but some use a cheap chinese "no name" lamp
I am assuming this is in a car built for Incandescent lights with a "conversion" kit
if so the UV light from the HID kit will yellow the plastic lenses and dull the reflectors - even some OEM HID headlights have this issue - Peterbilt-579 and Lexus RX350 are two that after a few years the incandescent lights are brighter then the HID ones
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suzukir122
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@Richmond2000, both ballasts were changed along with both lamps. I replaced the "Zentec" ballasts that I installed previously, with "Promax" ballasts. I also
installed 5000k HID lamps, replacing the 6000k ones I previously installed. Unfortunately all the ones I've installed have been cheapo Chinese.
With the 5000k, the result was so bad that I ended up reinstalling my 6000k HID lamps, which are dim as well, but much brighter than those 5000k HID lamps that came with the Promax kit.
The Zentec kit is cheapo Chinese as well, but seems like that kit was slightly higher quality. Obviously still garbage.
I think my next plan is to look around for, purchase and then install the OEM version. We will see... but for now, I'll have to put up with the 6000k HIDs.
There's a YouTube video I found that I plan on using as guidance... the user claims that his method is a permanent solution for hazy or yellowed plastic lens.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend
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wide-lite 1000
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| WATCH OUT for those "hazy yellowed lens" people ! Some of their "permanent" solutions can cause more harm than good ! A friend of mine's son tried one of those "Permanent fixes" he saw on the web on her mini van , 6 months later , the lens was still clear but filled with thousands of tiny cracks that scattered the beam everywhere instead of down the road ! I ended up having to find a new set of headlights for her !
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Collector,Hoarder,Pack-rat! Clear mercury Rules!!
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suzukir122
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| @Wide-lite 1000, I'll keep that in mind. At some point, I think I may purchase back up headlight housings for my car... there's a possibility that the headlight housing that I purchase may include the OEM HID's as well... D1S, I think. I have a feeling that a previous owner of my car swapped out the D1S HIDs in favor of Halogen. Its possible, as I've seen several YouTube videos of the car with stock DS1 HID lamps in it.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend
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High Intensity
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| When I was shopping for hid headlamp kits for my father, I found that most of the 35/55w kits that are out there absolutely suck, eventually, I found a 55 watt kit from AliExpress that is has done pretty good, but it did cost double what other similar kits did.
One thing that I had also noticed is that most of the kits look like they come from the same set of factories, since they shared a lot of common features among them. Whereas the ones I chose were pretty unique from what I can tell, and that there wasn't 50 other sellers selling the exact same item under different names.
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icefoglights
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ITT Low Pressure Sodium NEMA
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WATCH OUT for those "hazy yellowed lens" people ! Some of their "permanent" solutions can cause more harm than good ! A friend of mine's son tried one of those "Permanent fixes" he saw on the web on her mini van , 6 months later , the lens was still clear but filled with thousands of tiny cracks that scattered the beam everywhere instead of down the road ! I ended up having to find a new set of headlights for her !
I had a car that had bad headlights like that. Basically, the lenses were too far gone to fix. Replacement was the only option. |
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suzukir122
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| I've actually been debating on going 55w as well but I've been wondering if that would prove to be too much power for the lamps, as well as too much heat
for the headlight housing.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend
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Laurens
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WATCH OUT for those "hazy yellowed lens" people ! Some of their "permanent" solutions can cause more harm than good ! A friend of mine's son tried one of those "Permanent fixes" he saw on the web on her mini van , 6 months later , the lens was still clear but filled with thousands of tiny cracks that scattered the beam everywhere instead of down the road ! I ended up having to find a new set of headlights for her !
Acrylic can develop tiny, heavily refracting cracks if treated with certain solvents. Acetone does that really badly. Polystyrene (unlikely that optics are made of it) reacts very badly to isopropyl alcohol. Interestingly enough, chloroform seems to dissolve the surface of acrylic (or polycarbonate, i don't remember) perfectly without the cracking that acetone does. I want to research that a bit more. But chloroform is hard to get and absolutely a vile, violent chemical that you do not want to work with. Even very slight exposure gives you headaches. So i kinda just don't bother. Yellowed lenses have to be protected against UV with some kind of coating. Otherwise, within a year you'll have yellowed lenses again. I've actually been debating on going 55w as well but I've been wondering if that would prove to be too much power for the lamps, as well as too much heat
for the headlight housing.
If a 55w halogen bulb is acceptable for your housing, a 55w HID will also be. However, make absolutely sure that the lamp you buy is type approved for use in your headlights. Otherwise, you risk blinding other road users. |
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wide-lite 1000
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| As a former automotive painter , I just use normal polishing compound and my buffer on headlights. I've been told that a number of the reputable companies make headlight lens cleaner/polish that works very well and actually last !
Just PLEASE , avoid all of the YouTube and wherever else Snake-Oyl salesmen out there !!! Your headlights (And your wallet) will thank you !
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Collector,Hoarder,Pack-rat! Clear mercury Rules!!
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