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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64595
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pacifico
David,
I have 4 of the 4000's and 4 of the 4000 compacts on my car. All have been converted to HID with conversion kits off of E-Bay. As you know, they are
awesome! The kits are fairly cheap for converting them - they are usually like $25 with $50 shipping. I guess they gotta make their money somewhere!
These kits are good for 2 lights. By converting them yourself versus buying a HID Hella 4000, you save hundreds of dollars! I've had no problems with
them yet and no bad ballasts. One last thing - I recommend having 2 euros as well as 2 pencils beams. Try adding 2 euros David - they will really
"fill" things in!
Taking a break in Calamajue.......
[Edited on 6-29-2009 by Pacifico] |
Is there a brand name? I have been reading web info from 1Off Motorsports and Planet HID. Thank you!
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 5-26-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
| Quote: | Originally posted by Pacifico
David,
I have 4 of the 4000's and 4 of the 4000 compacts on my car. All have been converted to HID with conversion kits off of E-Bay. As you know, they are
awesome! The kits are fairly cheap for converting them - they are usually like $25 with $50 shipping. I guess they gotta make their money somewhere!
These kits are good for 2 lights. By converting them yourself versus buying a HID Hella 4000, you save hundreds of dollars! I've had no problems with
them yet and no bad ballasts. One last thing - I recommend having 2 euros as well as 2 pencils beams. Try adding 2 euros David - they will really
"fill" things in!
Taking a break in Calamajue.......
[Edited on 6-29-2009 by Pacifico] |
Is there a brand name? I have been reading web info from 1Off Motorsports and Planet HID. Thank you! |
Mine were Xentec - here is the link to where I got mine:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/XENON-HID-HEAD-LIGHT-CONVERSI...
Very happy with their fast shipping! By the way, the Hella 4000's need the H1 bulb. As far as the color temperature - I thought that mine were 5000K.
I see that they are offering 4300K and 6000K, and up. If you go too high, then the light gets bluish or purple and not the bright white. I would go
with the 4300K or 6000K.....
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64595
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Hi Pacifico.. thank you very much for the link... Tell me please how they are installed... I have Hella 4000 metals. Does the HID bulb just clip in?
Where does the ballast go?
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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Very good suggestion to have both pencil and wide beam.
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 5-26-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Hi Pacifico.. thank you very much for the link... Tell me please how they are installed... I have Hella 4000 metals. Does the HID bulb just clip in?
Where does the ballast go? |
The bulbs are the easy part - take out the old ones and the new HID bulbs slide in and are held in place by a wire clip. You then need to drill a hole
in the back of the light housing where the wires will come out to the ballast. I think I drilled a 1/2" hole and then filed it out bigger to about
5/8" for the rubber grommet. This may vary depending upon the grommet size that comes with your kit. Then you need to mount the ballast box. Buy the
weld on brackets and weld them to your new bumper that you had made! (You will have to get your bumper re-chromed / powder-coated again!) Then the
lights plug into the ballast and you need to connect your positive and negative wires. If you get the weld on brackets, you may as well weld on 4
since you will have to re-finish your bumper - you'll be glad you welded on 4 and not 2 when you add more lights! Just use the lights to check your
spacing to make sure there is enough room... Here is a link to the brackets - there are several kinds:
http://www.kartek.com/Product/Fabrication/HIDTabs.html
The one shown in the picture is a combo for the light and ballast box. They also sell just the light tabs and ballast box mounts separate. I used 2 of
the mounts that hold 2 ballast boxes together. I like that new combo mount though!
Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions!
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Lee
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3480
Registered: 10-2-2006
Location: High in the Colorado Rockies
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David, anyone,
Did you change the headlights and fog lamps? Maybe I missed that.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64595
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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No Lee... the stock Toyota headlights are very good... the stock fog lights also offer up-close wide lighting for corners...
The purpose of the additional lighting is to add HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID/Xenon) lights to give total 'daylight' to the area in front of my truck
for OFF HIGHWAY driving. When the Kragen/ Chinese made HID plastic housing cracked after several miles on the road to Gonzaga last January... I knew
being 'cheap' was the wrong avenue to take... But, I couldn't resist as HID lights are usually $400 or more.
Now, I have metal housing Hella halogen lights which put bright light way out in front of my truck... as my photos show, above.
I am investigating converting the 100 watt H1 halogen bulb to a 35 watt HID bulb, that produces more light (~150 watts worth) at closer to true
daytime color (5,000 K) for 1/3 the power.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64595
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pacifico
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Hi Pacifico.. thank you very much for the link... Tell me please how they are installed... I have Hella 4000 metals. Does the HID bulb just clip in?
Where does the ballast go? |
The bulbs are the easy part - take out the old ones and the new HID bulbs slide in and are held in place by a wire clip. You then need to drill a hole
in the back of the light housing where the wires will come out to the ballast. I think I drilled a 1/2" hole and then filed it out bigger to about
5/8" for the rubber grommet. This may vary depending upon the grommet size that comes with your kit. Then you need to mount the ballast box. Buy the
weld on brackets and weld them to your new bumper that you had made! (You will have to get your bumper re-chromed / powder-coated again!) Then the
lights plug into the ballast and you need to connect your positive and negative wires. If you get the weld on brackets, you may as well weld on 4
since you will have to re-finish your bumper - you'll be glad you welded on 4 and not 2 when you add more lights! Just use the lights to check your
spacing to make sure there is enough room... Here is a link to the brackets - there are several kinds:
http://www.kartek.com/Product/Fabrication/HIDTabs.html
The one shown in the picture is a combo for the light and ballast box. They also sell just the light tabs and ballast box mounts separate. I used 2 of
the mounts that hold 2 ballast boxes together. I like that new combo mount though!
Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions! |
Thank you for those details! I am not going to weld onto the light bar and have it re-chromed... So, that may eliminate the really cheap eBay bulbs.
One of the other companies has what looks like tiny ballast that may not need to get welded... so I will check.
Drilling a hole in the lamp isn't something I would want to do, either... But, That may be a necessary evil?
Thank you very much Pacifico!!!
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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Pacifico,
Why couldn't the ballasts be installed in the engine compartment are other location further away than the light support bar? I have HID's mounted on
my motorcycle and there wasn't any requirement for them to be right next to the lights. I just ran the wire back and mounted the ballasts under the
seat, out of sight.
Ken
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64595
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Thanks for asking that Ken!
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 5-26-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
Pacifico,
Why couldn't the ballasts be installed in the engine compartment are other location further away than the light support bar? I have HID's mounted on
my motorcycle and there wasn't any requirement for them to be right next to the lights. I just ran the wire back and mounted the ballasts under the
seat, out of sight.
Ken |
This was something that I looked into when I did my lights. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but everything that I read advised to not cut the wires
and extend them. Some people said that they ran into trouble trying to extend them. If I remember right, Hella even advised to not cut the wires and
extend them. I'm no expert on the subject by any means. I think that is a great idea to hide the ballasts if you can. I would be interested to know
what happens if you extend them - please post if you do!
There are also several manufacturers that have the lights with internal ballasts. These are really cool and save space. However, I am trying to stick
with talking about converting Hella 4000's versus buying new lights (in David's case).
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pacifico
| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
Pacifico,
Why couldn't the ballasts be installed in the engine compartment are other location further away than the light support bar? I have HID's mounted on
my motorcycle and there wasn't any requirement for them to be right next to the lights. I just ran the wire back and mounted the ballasts under the
seat, out of sight.
Ken |
This was something that I looked into when I did my lights. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but everything that I read advised to not cut the wires
and extend them. Some people said that they ran into trouble trying to extend them. If I remember right, Hella even advised to not cut the wires and
extend them. I'm no expert on the subject by any means. I think that is a great idea to hide the ballasts if you can. I would be interested to know
what happens if you extend them - please post if you do!
There are also several manufacturers that have the lights with internal ballasts. These are really cool and save space. However, I am trying to stick
with talking about converting Hella 4000's versus buying new lights (in David's case). |
I would guess the reason Hella advised not extending the wires was due to the added voltage drop that would occur. However if it were a problem use
larger wire size.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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Pacifico,
My installation didn't require me lengthening the connection to the ballasts. Can't address the issue of voltage drop, etc.
The internal ballast units are now available for motorcyle installations as well. Very nice looking units. I would have definitely gone that route
as my installation with the remotes was a PITA.
Worth the trouble for the extra light though!
Ken
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Baja12valve
Nomad
Posts: 185
Registered: 7-12-2006
Location: Oak View
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I run and have been running airplane landing lights for years. 250 watts each @ 13 volts . Obscene amounts of draw, but obscene amount of light.
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 5-26-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Baja12valve
I run and have been running airplane landing lights for years. 250 watts each @ 13 volts . Obscene amounts of draw, but obscene amount of light.
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Obscene amounts of draw for sure!!! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the formula is: Watts divided by volts = amps.
So, here are a few examples of amps pulled:
100 watt Hella /12 volts = 8.33 amps.
250 watt aircraft landing light / 13 volts = 19.23 amps.
35 watt HID / 12 volts = 2.91 amps.
The HIDs are much easier on your electrical system. It would be interesting to compare lumens and see what is the brightest. The bright white light of
the HIDs is hard to beat. After using HIDs, everything else looks yellow...
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 5-26-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
Pacifico,
My installation didn't require me lengthening the connection to the ballasts. Can't address the issue of voltage drop, etc.
The internal ballast units are now available for motorcyle installations as well. Very nice looking units. I would have definitely gone that route
as my installation with the remotes was a PITA.
Worth the trouble for the extra light though!
Ken |
Ken,
Yours must have come with long wires on them? A lot of the kits come with like 12" - 15" of a pre-made wire harness. The internal ballasts are the
ticket (if you have the cash)!!!
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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I went out last inght for a little while.
Here is headlight - high beam
And headlight and one 35w HID
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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Baja12valve
Nomad
Posts: 185
Registered: 7-12-2006
Location: Oak View
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pacifico
Obscene amounts of draw for sure!!! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the formula is: Watts divided by volts = amps.
So, here are a few examples of amps pulled:
100 watt Hella /12 volts = 8.33 amps.
250 watt aircraft landing light / 13 volts = 19.23 amps.
35 watt HID / 12 volts = 2.91 amps.
The HIDs are much easier on your electrical system. It would be interesting to compare lumens and see what is the brightest. The bright white light of
the HIDs is hard to beat. After using HIDs, everything else looks yellow... |
You are right, the draw is big, but I have a 150 amp alternator and it seems to handle the load well. I have had them installed against the old style
500,000 candlepower pencil beam lights, each, and they overrode them so strong you couldn't tell if they were on or off. I promise you, these things
are one step away from lethal. I have put them on every 4x4 I have owned, never any problems.
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Barry A.
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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40 years ago we were running "aircraft landing lights" on our off-road vehicles, and never had a problem. They were flat beams that really lit up the
night. You did not want to run them when you wern't moving pretty good tho------got realy hot, and would drain your battery quickly when just idleing
the engine.
Barry
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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That's one of the reasons I like the HIDs. I can turn the motor off and can't see any drop in light.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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