Has anybody retrofitted HID lights?

[Festiva_tunner]

^^ Have to agree. The ballasts must pump the voltage up momentarily (a few seconds??), enough to ensure the arc can be self-sustained. Their work is then done until the next arc start event. Once the gas is ionized & a conduction channel is established, the "keep alive" current drops significantly from the "start up" magnitude.

Cool development about the mechanically controlled high/low beam function. So the arc is still a fixed intensity and the light output is modulated based solely on the position of the arc w/r/t the reflector assembly.

Its the same therory really as conventional lighting - move the sorce to create a brighter intencity due to the location in the reflector
Most that I have seen that have the dual function move the arc in and out of a tube Check it out here this actually has a sheild that helps change the intensity

[sam.1956]

Ahhh, now I see! This is a brief description from WikiCars about Bi-Xenon lamps...primarily for my own edification...

Bi-Xenon Headlights refers to HID (High Intensity Discharge) Xenon headlights that offer both low (dipped) and high (main) beam lighting from a dual headlight system (as opposed to a quad headlight system).

A bi-xenon system eliminates the need for a separate halogen high beam bulb/lens by either moving the xenon bulb within the lens or by moving a shield up or down in front of the bulb (depending on the reflector design) to allow light to escape from the lens in a different pattern.

A bi-xenon system typically features dynamic headlight leveling and on some vehicles direction adjustability.

The four lamp Bi - Xenon systems on some cars (BMW for example) use beam deflection on one pair of HID Xenon lamps for main and high beams. The second pair of lamps contain standard halogen bulbs for the headlamp flash function, they are not used in normal running. HID lamps take a few seconds to reach full output and their service life is seriously reduced by flashing on and off, for these reasons they are not currently used for any flash function.

Of particular interest to me was a related article (same site) about the necessity of a lens-cleaning system. This was attributed to the prodigious amount of IR (infra-red) and NIR (near infra-red) emitted by the Xenon arc. The design of the HID lens system prevents all of the IR (and some of the NIR) energy from escaping to the outside, so the only place it can go is back into the headlamp assembly, meaning it retains a LOT of heat. Thus the need to keep dirt & debris from accumulating on the outer lens to help keep internal temperatures under control.

All of which makes me wonder about the longevity of a HID system being retrofitted to an existing vehicle (most of which appear to be just a bulb replacement, with the ballast to start the arc), since the headlamp/reflector wasn't originally designed to manage the extra heat load generated by the arc & the reflected IR energy. Not to mention that the original reflector wasn't designed for the enormous amount of light produced by a Xenon arc... meaning, your HID's are probably going to "blind" oncoming drivers since the beam isn't constrained properly now. Heaven help you if your HID's blind an oncoming Police Officer!! LOL!!

[Festiva_tunner]

Heaven help you if your HID's blind an oncoming Police Officer!! LOL!!

In many states it is illegal to run them - infact you can be written a ticket for non-DOT approved lighting

[sam.1956]

^^ Exactly my point, only I was a bit more subtle in saying so! Although you can retrofit about any vehicle with HID's, there's several things to consider; among which are not only the thermal and power issues, but include the legality question. The fine print in many of the HID upgrade kits specifically say, "For Off Road Use Only". Meaning of course, "not DOT approved".

Just tossing these caveats out there for folks to consider. Make your own choices, but be armed with knowledge!

[MONSOON]

Well I figure Doug being a cop and all would know the laws in his state.
I dont think they care here in Georgia.

[sam.1956]

Some states are rather Draconian about enforcing stuff like that. Other states could care less.

[MONSOON]

Well I guess we know where SW Georgia fits. Unless its blue lights. Theyre all over you in a heartbeat for blue lights.

[Festiva_tunner]

Well I guess we know where SW Georgia fits. Unless its blue lights. Theyre all over you in a heartbeat for blue lights.

remind me to not drive in SW GA then - I am Blue light equiped

[muscle_Car1]

Packrats lights are illegal in Illinois. to the best of my knowledge NO HID on any car that wasn't equipped from the factory is allowed to run any "retrofit" or conversions.

Some interesting reads concerning legality of HID...

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS/

http://orca.st.usm.edu/~jmneal/tiburon/hids.htm

http://isearch.nhtsa.gov/files/Shih.3.html

http://isearch.nhtsa.gov/files/deetz.ztv.html

http://isearch.nhtsa.gov/files/kim.ztv.html

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

[jawbraeka]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/320981963123?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_8685wt_1275

[MONSOON]