[gbpscars]

I have a 100/90W headlamp with proper wiring and relay setup for my OHC. I'm now working on fitting a xenon-HID lamp on projector housing for the fog lamps.

I would like to wire the HID ballast for the fog lamp in such a way it has a seperate accessory switch and is not triggered with the city lights or low/high beams.

In this case, could someone good in car electricals let me know if the car's battery face a heavy drain on full usage scenarios like
- I use high beam and the fogs (100W+35W)
- I use the pass-beam (flashing) (100W+90W+35W)
- I start the HID fog lamp while using the 100W high beam (startup voltage demand of HID is very high - upto 23 KVs, for less than a second)
,... as I will have to take the direct battery mains positive to power the HID too, same as the headlamps.

What precautions should I use to protect against drain / any electrical issues expected?

I will surely be using proper projector housing with low level cut-offs for the fog lamps. No glares.

[gbpscars]

hi all,

no one to answer this question for me please?

did i ask something so mundane!!!!

if not the electrically literate, atleast those who have a similar setup or a heavier setup, please let me know what you have fit in as accessory lamps /equipment on a plain OEM specification battery, so i can be convinced and go on with my setup.

thanks in advance.

[EVO6]

Originally Posted by gbpscars

hi all,

no one to answer this question for me please?

did i ask something so mundane!!!!

if not the electrically literate, atleast those who have a similar setup or a heavier setup, please let me know what you have fit in as accessory lamps /equipment on a plain OEM specification battery, so i can be convinced and go on with my setup.

thanks in advance.

Dont think it will cause any harm to the battery because of this.. Since people use high consumption audio systems with the standard battery.. But going in for a little higher capacity battery will definitely help..
Cheerss

[Rtech]

If your battery is in good shape, and your alternator working fine, the setup you've mentioned above should not be a problem at all. HID's actually use less power than regular halogen bulbs, so it really shouldn't create any problems.

In essence, when you turn on your HID's, you would be using 100W high beams and about 35W for the HID's. Which is the same as running your high beams along with your fog lights.

[gbpscars]

Originally Posted by Rtech

In essence, when you turn on your HID's, you would be using 100W high beams and about 35W for the HID's. Which is the same as running your high beams along with your fog lights.

This is quite convincing.
Thanks Rtech.


Thanks to you too EVO6.

[quicksilver]

Originally Posted by gbpscars

I start the HID fog lamp while using the 100W high beam (startup voltage demand of HID is very high - upto 23 KVs, for less than a second)
,... as I will have to take the direct battery mains positive to power the HID too, same as the headlamps.

Should be no issue with the startup voltage demand pal... thats what the ballast is for.

[amu1983]

Don't worry pal. It won't have any effect on the battery. But, make sure that the wiring is perfect. BTW, the car A/C consumes a lot more power than any pair of bulb. It should be close to 1500 W, give or take a few hundred. The alternator is more than capable of handling the load of your bulbs.

But, if you have a habit of keeping them ON for a long time, after engine shut-down, you'll need to be careful now.

[ajitkommini]

Originally Posted by amu1983

... the car A/C consumes a lot more power than any pair of bulb. It should be close to 1500 W, give or take a few hundred. ...

Wow 1500W?? Are you talking about the blower only? The compressor is a mechanical component driven by a belt from the crankshaft pulley right? Are you including this mechanical power as well?

[headers]

as long as there is a cut out - regulator wired in between the headlamp and the battery..no sudden loads will effect your electrical system..but make sure your engine is running while using the headlamps / AC combination..

[gbpscars]

thanks headers

meanwhile, i found more satisfactory answers on current consumed during startup of HID. at hidplanet.com's university section. some of you might find this information handy. in all i can rule out battery drain for sure, but found some interesting points about HID startup current usage.

The lines below are as replied to a thread in hidplanet.com

Im not sure about start-up, but the brand of ballast has nothing to do with the amp draw. All 35w ballasts will draw the same amps. For example if you had 14.5 volts (I think batteries are closer to 15v then 12v) then a 35w ballast draws 2.1 amps.

any 35 watt ballast is going to pull up to 20 amps during first few seconds of ignition and drop from there down to 2-5 depending on ballast brand and Gen......

Sorry dude your wrong, all ballasts do not have the same efficiency. some are as bad as 78% efficient, some as good as 90%. That is 40 watts to feed the most efficient ones and 45 watts to feed the least efficient ones. At 14.5 VDC when alternator is running, that is from 2.8 amps to 3.1 amps at steady state.

And yeah not all ballasts are the same.. some draw under 10 amps at startup and others like the hella gen3 can pull well over 15 amps.. after 10-20 seconds it usually goes down to 2 or 3 amps though.. your phillips ballasts are made by Hella so for the pair, you will need at least 30amps available protected by the 30amp fuse minimum.


and,... there was another reply from a probably hi-tech instrumentation specialist, who measured the spike on a nanosecond trace interval on his probe. this sounds scary, but no worries, this may at the most only cause a very slow fuse burnout.



If you measure with a FET probe there is a 200 mS transient of 80 amps on a Hella Gen 3. If you search around here for some of my posts I have written about this ad nauseum when peeps were wondering why their fuses kept blowing. After that inital transiet there is a period of about 8 amps for a few seconds, then it couples to a ground state where it lives on 3 amps give or take.


Not taking this too far,... we can assume a spike strong enough to be felt at 20 amps at startup and a constant usage amperes of 2-3. I hope this helps.

[mithun]

Originally Posted by amu1983

BTW, the car A/C consumes a lot more power than any pair of bulb. It should be close to 1500 W, give or take a few hundred.

What is the exact electricity consumption of the AC Blower ?

Is it really 1500W as mentioned in this thread ?

[navin]

Originally Posted by mithun

What is the exact electricity consumption of the AC Blower ?

Is it really 1500W as mentioned in this thread ?

Yes 1500W would be in the ball park. The consumption is mostly from teh AC Compressor not the blwer. The blower is a just a fan and would consume about 50-100W maybe less.

1500W at 12V is 125 Amps at 13.8V (where my car usually measures) is about 108A.

[ajitkommini]

Originally Posted by navin

1500W at 12V is 125 Amps at 13.8V (where my car usually measures) is about 108A.

Does your car have an electrically powered compressor though?

[kri$hna]

I am facing a typical drain out issue in my baleno. If I keep the car idle (ignition off & locked) for about 3 days, it doesnt crank up the 4th day. Only thing working while the car is locked is the central locking system (earlier nippon OEM & now Crosslink Wheels). When it dies off, the voltage in the battery typically hovers around 4 -4.5v, which is feel is very low and cannot be caused by a defective battery !

I bought an Exide ATB maintenance free battery in dec 2008 & the battery was replaced twice due to full drain out. I dont think battery is a culprit here, because i feel the alternator is overcharging or there might be any other fault with wiring (Gask Kit or Audio unit (HU & Amp) ). Yesterday, when the battery died again, I just got a spare battery and checked the terminal voltage @battery while engine running (without AC/Headlight), it is standing around 14.35v and while i accelerate, the voltage goes up till 14.6v, which i feel is due to a faulty alternator relay or something which is causing this over charge.

But can this overcharge be the reason why battery dies off in just a few days? I am yet to figure out the root cause, but need to rule out any alternator defects, before i get the wiring checked. Also suggest me a professional electrician in bangalore who can check this wiring & alternator issues in a Baleno.
I appreciate any help guys

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by kri$hna

** BUMP **
can anyone provide some insight plzz

14.6v is a bit high. Normal charging voltage is 13.8 to 14.4v. Higher voltages cause the electrolyte to evaporate and higher still will cause the +ve plates to buckle/deform. If high voltages persist over a period of time battery damaged is assured.

You need to want to get the regulator/rectifier plus the battery checked. Also check the car circuits for any parasitic drain when the ignition is off.