[EcoBeast]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@EcoBeast; Check that the ballasts are AC and a good brand. One good Chinese brand is Hyalutek / Hylux. If need be get them it off the net (Amazon / eBay, .com if required, and I am told AliBaba). Then get the lamps.
If you get the ballasts and bulbs then replacing is an afternoon (DIY) job.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

The Hylux ballasts are really good and reliable. So, if Ecobeast is going for 55W ballasts from a good company, then he has an option to choose 55W bulbs.

@sgiitk and S_U_N. Thanks for your inputs. I tried amazon and ebay (.in sites) but couldn't find Hylux. They are there on US sites, If I order from there, It'll take around a month to reach me.
Some of the local Pune dealers (Phadke) recommend P8, as there are no service issues with it. I don't know how it compares with Hylux.

Is there any place in Pune (or Mumbai) where I can get Hylux Ballasts (or the entire kit)?

Originally Posted by sgiitk

You may be able to use the same ballast for both high and low beams.

Mine is a double barrel headlamp. When I turn on the high beam, both low and high beam bulbs turn on. This increases the total wattage load. I had to install a wiring harness to handle it. I don't think one 55 Watt ballast will be able to support two bulbs. I checked with my local dealer and he also suggested installing one ballast per bulb. Please let me know if I am missing something here.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I would be interested to know the state of the projectors, considering he is using 100W halogen bulbs behind them currently. Have the projectors been able to take up this much heat?

It has been around 6 months and so far my projectors have been holding well. No sign of any cracks, darkening, distortion, or any other issue.

Please suggest a dealer in Pune where I could get Hylux or equivalent.
Thanks in advance.

[sgiitk]

@EcoBeast; If both come on then you need two ballasts. Not only the running power the ballast has also to provide the high voltage pulse to start the discharge. This is the catch - before the discharge the resistance/impedance in near infinite, as soon as the discharge is initiated it drops to near zero. The ballast has to handle both and the transition.

[TheQuarterMile]

I installed H7 80W Bosch bulbs on my 2007 Fiesta but find the lighting inadequate. Was thinking of installing Hella 100W bulbs. Would they make a big difference? Any alternatives which will provide adequate light lighting and a good beam throw?

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by EcoBeast

@sgiitk and S_U_N. Thanks for your inputs. I tried amazon and ebay (.in sites) but couldn't find Hylux. They are there on US sites, If I order from there, It'll take around a month to reach me.
Some of the local Pune dealers (Phadke) recommend P8, as there are no service issues with it. I don't know how it compares with Hylux.

Is there any place in Pune (or Mumbai) where I can get Hylux Ballasts (or the entire kit)?

Your best bet is Alibaba. I can ask Hylux directly. If they are ready to ship a pair to India, and if shipping charges are reasonable, then you can go with them.

Mine is a double barrel headlamp. When I turn on the high beam, both low and high beam bulbs turn on. This increases the total wattage load. I had to install a wiring harness to handle it. I don't think one 55 Watt ballast will be able to support two bulbs. I checked with my local dealer and he also suggested installing one ballast per bulb. Please let me know if I am missing something here.

I don't have experience with double barrel headlamps, but:
1. If you turn on low beam which will have projector + HID bulb, ballast is required - one for each side LH and RH.
2. Then when you turn on high beam, the halogen bulbs will also turn on. I don't think this is going through the ballasts. Is it?

I am assuming that you are going to put 55 Watt HID's in your existing projectors and your high beam will be halogen bulbs.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by EcoBeast

I tried amazon and ebay (.in sites) but couldn't find Hylux. They are there on US sites, If I order from there, It'll take around a month to reach me...

Try ebay.com, and search for a seller named New Value (or something like that). Like you said, it'll take a month or more to reach you, but you get the original Hyluxtek AC ballasts and CNlight burners.

Mine is a double barrel headlamp. When I turn on the high beam, both low and high beam bulbs turn on. This increases the total wattage load. I had to install a wiring harness to handle it. I don't think one 55 Watt ballast will be able to support two bulbs. I checked with my local dealer and he also suggested installing one ballast per bulb. Please let me know if I am missing something here.

I took a look at your thread (must say it's a neat install). You have 2 options:
1 - Go for Bi-xenon projectors on your existing setup - Will involve some modification, but it's worth the effort. Here, you retain the halogen High-beam as it is, and use a bi-xenon projector such as the Morimoto Mini. You will need a ballast for each HID burner, hence you'd need a pair. The advantage is, you can retain the ability to flash (HIDs take 5-15 seconds to come up to the full brightness) with the halogen high-beam reflector lamp. And if you were already running the low-beam HID, the bi-xenon projector will give an excellent light output for High beam as well, instantaneously.

2 - Get an additional pair of projectors for the High-Beam. Retain the low-beam projector as it is, get yourself 2 pairs of ballasts and 2 pairs of HIDs - one pair each for the low and high beams.

Originally Posted by TheQuarterMile

I installed H7 80W Bosch bulbs on my 2007 Fiesta but find the lighting inadequate. Was thinking of installing Hella 100W bulbs. Would they make a big difference? Any alternatives which will provide adequate light lighting and a good beam throw?

I have always found the Fiesta's reflector design to be not on par with those of other cars in the same price range - upgrading to higher wattage bulbs doesn't seem to work, at least with the combinations I've seen. Your best bet would probably be to add aux lamps.

[TheQuarterMile]

Originally Posted by silversteed

I have always found the Fiesta's reflector design to be not on par with those of other cars in the same price range - upgrading to higher wattage bulbs doesn't seem to work, at least with the combinations I've seen. Your best bet would probably be to add aux lamps.

Any other alternative besides installing aux lamps? HID?

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by TheQuarterMile

Any other alternative besides installing aux lamps? HID?

It's true that the light source (halogen bulb, HID, LED) plays an important role in deciding the brightness and usefulness of the light output of a headlamp, but it has to be understood that the spread and reach of a HL is greatly influenced by the reflector design as well. I hope you understood what I meant.

HIDs have their light source longitudinal to the HL, whereas a conventional halogen bulb has the filament (light source) placed transversally. A reflector designed for the latter will not be able to produce the same, let alone a better, beam with the former. Moreover, you will be causing glare to oncoming motorists without any advantage to you in terms of illumination.

[Dr.AD]

I have been looking for a headlamp upgrade for my SX4 for a long time. The stock headlamp setup was quiet ordinary, and totally inadequate for any highway driving at night.

I considered various options including HID+projector kits. Many thanks to all the experts who have posted such amazing information in this thread to help us understand the nuances, pros and cons of all these options. However, I was a bit nervous about doing any serious modifications to the headlight assembly, and even more nervous about any option that requires modifications to the reflector/lenses. So finally decided to go for the simplest of the options - upgraded to Philips Rally 100/90W H4 bulbs along with Hella relay kit (lighting harness). The total cost of two bulbs plus the relay kit was around Rs. 1500.

The improvement in the lighting is very significant! I am very happy with the new lights now, and I am looking forward to a long highway drive next weekend. To other SX4 owners who are thinking about headlamp upgrades, I would say this is a good (simple and cheap) option to consider, provided you use a good quality relay and ceramic holders to ensure no thermal problems arise.

Here is a picture of the box of the relay kit. It has ceramic sockets, two fuses and two relays all included.



By the way, I did not see any specifications of the color temperature on the Philips 100/90W bulbs. However, I did not notice any significant difference in the light color, so I assume the temperature is close to the stock bulbs (about 4000K?). Below is the picture of the packaging of the bulb. Anyone knows what color temperature this has?



And by the way, I was also looking for some nice DRLs, and installed Hella LEDayLine 4 DRLs. I am posting details of that setup in the DRL thread (under Technical Stuff sub-forum).

Thanks,
-AD

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

Your best bet is Alibaba. I can ask Hylux directly. If they are ready to ship a pair to India, and if shipping charges are reasonable, then you can go with them.

I remember a note from someone who bought top end Hylutek/Hylux from China. They did ship to india. I do not remember the vendor, must have been here or the other forum.

Originally Posted by silversteed

Try ebay.com, and search for a seller named New Value (or something like that). Like you said, it'll take a month or more to reach you, but you get the original Hyluxtek AC ballasts and CNlight burners.

Please check. i ordered some stuff from Amazon yesterday, expected date of delivery 2 Feb. latest.

You can see post #180 on http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...on-kit-12.html. He bought his stuff from avstuning, and ballasts from Hyalutek.

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Here is a picture of the box of the relay kit. It has ceramic sockets, two fuses and two relays all included.

Congratulations!
Did the headlights need any modification to use these ceramic holders?
If yes, how have you sealed it to avoid water ingress.

Please try to share photos of the headlight caps.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Congratulations!
Did the headlights need any modification to use these ceramic holders?
If yes, how have you sealed it to avoid water ingress.

Please try to share photos of the headlight caps.

Thanks! Nope, no modifications required to use these ceramic holders. Since my stock headlamps used H4 bulbs, and these ceramic holders are specifically for H4 bulbs, it was just a simple swap of holders without any modifications. So I assume I do not have to worry about any water ingress.

I will try to put some detailed photos soon.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Congratulations!
Did the headlights need any modification to use these ceramic holders?
If yes, how have you sealed it to avoid water ingress.

Please try to share photos of the headlight caps.

This is totally plug and play and also fully compatible kit. So you don't have to buy anything else apart from the bulbs itself and installation is also straight forward.

Water ingress issue comes under two cases

1. If the headlamp assembly has to be opened up in case of projector installation or DRL installation inside the assembly. Here, only the bulbs are replaced.

2. If the cover behind the bulb is made of plastic, in case of some cars like Verna etc the cover has to be modified to accommodate the different holder. However, for this car and many other cars the cover is made out of rubber. Hence it provides a good seal even if the shape of the holder changes.

[sgiitk]

Ceramic holders are a direct replacement for the plastic ones, and are designed to run hotter. So no mod except replacing one with the other is required.

[Mr.Boss]

Looking to upgrade a Pulsar 150 Classic (1st gen) Headlamp with 60/55W bulb (along with Avenger 180 coils) I have few queries here,
1) Which sealed reflector will fit inside the OE HL housing? (May be the one from Amby or Enfields?)
2) Can the OE switches & harness take the load of additional wattage?
3) Should the RR unit be changed?

[superboy44]

I just got my Honda jazz headlamps upgraded with a roots relay and osram 100/90 bulbs last week.
I am noticing a slight variation in intensity of the beam while the car is on the move, is this normal?
Variation is slight not excessive but definitely perceptible.