[hellstar]

I have heard many times during conversations with fellow TBHPians that after installation of the HIDs they have had to get their batteries also changed . This discussion took place whle our recent meet at mahabalipuram.

And here i am talking about car batteries which are easily rated over 60 AH , coz all the cars we were referring to were Diesel Hyundai.

My question is , can we generalize this observation ? or is it systemic to hyundai's?

theoritically the HID draw a high starting current and then stabilize at a lower level but i collect from literature that the HIDs even during start up do not draw anything more than 6 AMPS at the max. I am running 130/110W and even on low beams i have a steady current draw of about 9.5 AMPs. and touch wood my battery is well on its way to completing its third year of service.

Why would this drastically affect battery life ?

Do log in your experiences on similar lines with HID kits.

[theMAG]

You cant generalize this observation. I'm running HIDs for 2 years now, and the OEM battery is hale and hearty (touchwood) while its currently entering its 4th year of operation.

If such abnormal failures are occurring, try getting the ballasts and wiring changed.

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by theMAG

You cant generalize this observation. I'm running HIDs for 2 years now, and the OEM battery is hale and hearty while its currently entering its 4th year of operation.

If such abnormal failures are occurring, try getting the ballasts and wiring changed.

i have heard first hand experiences from at least four users now that they have had to change their batteries. tadu, cmuic, brraj and a non TBHP friend of mine who put HIDs in his scorpio MHawk.

Could this be related to the quality of the Ballasts? but all four users i believe had different brands and still had the common battery failure. also note that the battery have stood the test of time after the install.

if then which is the brand which does not cause the failure.

@mag i did see ur HID when we met at the CCD @ maddur during your drive to Gopalswamybetta. They looked cool but what brand are they ?

[theMAG]

They are Racetech, with B&W.

I strongly suspect the HID kits you mentioned/coming these days, are not of good quality.

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by theMAG

They are Racetech, with B&W.

I strongly suspect the HID kits you mentioned/coming these days, are not of good quality.

thats a possibility , so how do we decide which kit is good , is it the price / warranty ? or the brand ?

[theMAG]

Thats impossible, or atleast next to it!

For one, I would shy away from all those "genuine" "Bosch" and other "affordable" kits. There is talk that "genuine" Philips kits are available, but I cant comment on their authenticity since I've not experienced them myself. An email can be sent to their official ID asking for an official explanation.

I used this method with great success to determine the authenticity of the "Bosch" kits when they first arrived in the market - sent an email to Bosch customer care - and they replied back that the kits were fake since they do not produce such kits at all.

[ImmortalZ]

HIDs draw less current than their halogen counterparts. Their start up draw is spiky, but is miniscule compared to the current draw during engine start. If batteries blew due to installation of an HID kit, it is either due to the ballast/ignitor shorting out or the wiring is suspect.

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Thats impossible, or atleast next to it!

For one, I would shy away from all those "genuine" "Bosch" and other "affordable" kits. There is talk that "genuine" Philips kits are available, but I cant comment on their authenticity since I've not experienced them myself. An email can be sent to their official ID asking for an official explanation.

I know for a fact that PHILIPS do not make HID conversion kit but yes they are OEM supplier for many leading automotive HID systems and they do supply replacement parts for such systems , which are used by other vendors to assemble and market HID Kits . These kits have Philips components ( Bulbs and Ballast) , as well as the vendor's own technology which is primarily the wiring and the harnesses for the ballasts.

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

HIDs draw less current than their halogen counterparts. Their start up draw is spiky, but is miniscule compared to the current draw during engine start. If batteries blew due to installation of an HID kit, it is either due to the ballast/ignitor shorting out or the wiring is suspect.

the ballast or the ignitor sorting out would also damage the kit right ? but nothing of this sort has been experienced ... by virtue of the extremely high voltages generated by the Ballasts any shorts in the HID circuit after the ballast is guaranteed to be evident with quite some spectacular display.

[ImmortalZ]

Originally Posted by hellstar

the ballast or the ignitor sorting out would also damage the kit right ? but nothing of this sort has been experienced ... by virtue of the extremely high voltages generated by the Ballasts any shorts in the HID circuit after the ballast is guaranteed to be evident with quite some spectacular display.

No. High voltages maybe, but the current is low enough that it will not explode like a transformer will. But your logic is sound. If the kit works, it hasn't malfunctioned.

[Turbo Head]

Me and my friend are using 2 pairs (headlight + foglamps) of HID's in Scorpio since past 3 yrs, no problems reported so far. Just a replaced bulb, rest everything including battery and other electrical are in pristine condition.

[WanderNomad]

There is no technical backing supporting HID and battery replacement. HIDs consume lesser power (normally) than regular halogens and I have faced no such problem till date.

[gigy]

HID installation and battery are no way related. this has to be a coincidence for all of them experiencing battery failure just after hid. it consume lesser power than the regular bulbs which comes stock. the high voltage part of it is isolated from any direct connection to car voltage.
you can check with their ice setup, how long they play it with engine off, where they service the battery, how good the battery terminals were maintained, when the battery was last serviced, weather the so called battery service guys add their own mix of acid into battery, how much of car wash water entered battery, what extra electrical load is installed etc etc...

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

No. High voltages maybe, but the current is low enough that it will not explode like a transformer will. But your logic is sound. If the kit works, it hasn't malfunctioned.

not sound from explosion , high voltages cause bright sparks thats what i was referring to.

Originally Posted by WanderNomad

There is no technical backing supporting HID and battery replacement. HIDs consume lesser power (normally) than regular halogens and I have faced no such problem till date.

its heartening to see that lots of people are not having problems.

[hellstar]

@tadukuttan @cimuc and @brraj could you post your experiences with the HIDs and batteries please .

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by hellstar

I know for a fact that PHILIPS do not make HID conversion kit but yes they are OEM supplier for many leading automotive HID systems and they do supply replacement parts for such systems , which are used by other vendors to assemble and market HID Kits . These kits have Philips components ( Bulbs and Ballast) , as well as the vendor's own technology which is primarily the wiring and the harnesses for the ballasts.

I think they do for asian markets. There was a video of a chinese philips showroom in you tube, they had these kits on display. There was even a webiste telling you about the colour of the salt different HID bulb manufacturers use in their bulbs. Philips it was said use bloodred coloured salt and it was the same in my kit.

YouTube - Philips HID conversion kits [Xenon] show room in Guangzhou

Edit: Whether this video is of a genuine showroom or not is debatable. But it looks like one.