| Author | Message | ||
     Desert_bird |
Going to relay for HIDs. How can I run both high and low beams off of one 30 amp relay? Any wiring diagrams? DB. (Message edited by Desert_bird on June 29, 2011) | ||
| Froggy |
You would need two separate relays unless you plan on running both lights at the same time with no option to turn one off. You might be able to rig up a switch for the high beam, but it is just extra wiring work and another point of failure. I'd just run the HID off the factory harness. | ||
| Andymnelson |
You could do it if you run the power or ground wires through the switch....but that's 1/2 the reason to run relays- to take the load off of the switches. If Froggy's advice is to use the factory harness, then consider my advice to be to not install HIDs into your halogen housings. | ||
| Desert_bird |
I've been running both HID's off the factory harness for over a year with no problems. But recently I'm getting blowouts of the ACC fuse, which I suspect is where the low beam is getting juice. I think the high start-up amperage of the HID is contributing. Also contributing are all the negative leads I have connected to the ground terminal at the head tube. I think this is also leading to the ACC fuse blowing. I upped the fuse amperage from 15 to 20 amps. Still blowing it out. I am going to run separate ground and power leads from the auxiliary fuse box to try and isolate the problem and clean things up. If I cannot run both H and L HID on one relay, then I'll just run the low and see if that solves the problem. DB | ||
| Mnrider |
I'm running my 35W HIDS off the factory harness. Thousands of miles and my housings look perfect,no flaking. I'm am using separate grounds,not the single factory ground. (Message edited by mnrider on June 29, 2011) | ||
| Andymnelson |
Let me rephrase: my advice would be to not install HIDs into your housings with lenses and reflectors designed for halogen bulbs. | ||
| Hangetsu |
So if you're going to be generous enough to give advice, would you like to give a reason for your opinion? | ||
| Ronmold |
Bad & overloaded grounds do not blow fuses. Fuses blow from overcurrent, bad grounds result in less current. You don't need a relay, you need to find the pinched/worn ACC wire that is hitting ground. | ||
| Froggy |
Andy is right, the stock reflectors are not designed for HID bulbs. Using HID is less than optimal, but with some trial and error you can get great light output that won't blind other drivers, and you won't need to replace your headlamp assembly. DB, I'd have to check the wiring diagram, but if I remember right the headlights are on the LIGHTS fuse not ACC. Also if I remember right, ACC is a 10 amp, not 15 or 20. Running just the low beam off a relay should fix your issue. | ||
| Desert_bird |
So riddle me this: What runs off that 10 am fused ACC line, and where do/es the wire/s run? Front low beam, front blinkers, and what else on the ACC line? DB | ||
| Rwven |
The Accessory fuse (10A) protects: license plate lamp, Taillight, turn-signals, front parking lamp. If that fuse blowing is killing your low beam it's because the "low beam always on with high beam" mod has been done. (The front parking light wire has been switched with the low beam wire) I am running both my HIDs off of the factory wiring. Mine are 35W. If you are blowing the fuse when you previously did not you may have an HID ballast that's going bad. Swap it for the one on your high beams and see if the problem still exists. (Message edited by rwven on June 29, 2011) | ||
| Andymnelson |
I did not mean to be cryptic. Our housings/reflectors/lenses were not designed for Xenon (HID) bulbs, rather for halogen. The very different design of the bulb (halogen ignites a filament, Xenon burns the Xenon gas inside the bulb) combined with the much brighter output (4-6 times that of halogen), and what you have is a very scattered light (blinding to drivers) with a very bright spot right in front of the bike (bad for you) and tons of light scatter- it just spills everywhere. Smarter folk have said it better than I: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/ conversions/conversions.html | ||
| Rwven |
Andy, That is the case with many reflectors, but the Ulysses reflectors actually work quite well with HIDs. I get far better lighting with the HIDs than I did with the Halogens and I do not get flashed by oncoming drivers. Folks I ride with have told me that they are not irritating at all. Ron | ||
| Andymnelson |
I'm glad you don't get flashed, but I do. And I have my lights aimed lower than I should need to to help the scenario. After all of the rave reviews on HIDs (and before doing any research elsewhere, doh!), I bought the 55w HID kits and they are quite simply too bright. I just want to provide the other side of the story to the board so as to help others avoid the mistake. 35w is obviously less bright, but still about 400% of the light output of a halogen bulb...and not properly controlled by the correct kind of lens. | ||
| Reepicheep |
+1. The Uly / lightning housings throw a very nice beam with the HID conversion kits, with a fairly crisp cutoff line. And if you are running the 35watt HID instead of the 55watt HID, it's not that much brighter. I agree in principal though, the HID retro kits on the typical car headlight enclosures are generally really annoying. | ||
| Mnrider |
On the DDM website they do not recommend 55WHID's in a small housing like the ULY has. It also states 35W system does not need a relay. When I compare my HID lights to my buddies FZ1 with halogen my lights are way brighter and shine farther. No I've never been flashed. | ||
| Hangetsu |
I have an opinion and experience that falls somewhere between the two (or three) of you. I put a DDM 35 watt HID in my low beam and a 55 in the high. I actually don't use the high beam all that often or for that long, so the heat issue isn't really relevant. As I recall, the heat of an HID is lower than a 55w halogen anyway. As far as the reflectors go, the knowledge about reflector design and the consequences of doing an HID conversion in housings designed for halogen has been out there for a long time. In fact, I expressed these concerns in an earlier discussion on this topic when I was a nay-sayer. However, in my state of frustration over how utterly crappy the stock lighting is, I, like many, ignored the wisdom of this argument and did the conversion anyway - and I'm glad I did. As far as scattered light goes, yes, the HID spread is not as sharp and accurate as the halogens were, but at least there's light. Scattered or not, with only the 35w HID low beam, I can see more road and farther ahead than I was able to with the stock high beam and my 55w PIAA X1100s combined. Regarding blinding other drivers, I never get flashed by oncoming traffic, so I'm assuming they're OK. Who I do blind is the driver in front of me, in traffic, and at the stoplight. At a stop, my low beam illuminates the entire inside of the car in front of me and drivers typically grab for the rear-view mirror as soon as I pull up behind them. However, the bottom line is, I'd rather expose a couple necking in the back seat of the occasional car in front of me and annoy the driver than hit the deer that I couldn't see because of those dismal halogens. And in defense of halogen technology, The 55w H7's that come stock in the uly should emit plenty enough light to do the job. It's the reflector design, not the bulb that's at fault. Maybe they're more suitable for HID's after all. | ||
| Ronmold |
I don't believe how a bulb makes light is of much significance, light is light. The DDM bulbs I've looked at have the arc size and position virtually identical to that of the halogen bulbs. You can compare the 2 looking through a welding helmet. They both scatter nearly the same percentage of light BUT if the HID's are 3 times brighter then they scatter 3 times more light, making them look glaring. I'm pleased with the 35w units in my Uly but would love to upgrade to some projectors, are there any out there that have been grafted in successfully? | ||
| Fr8trane91 |
I've got DDM 55W HIDs in both my high and low. Much better than the halogens. I took the time to align/aim them properly IAW the manual and have had no issues with blinding oncoming traffic or folks in front of me. As a bonus I stand out better during the day because of the whiter light. | ||
| Pdento |
I switched mine over last fall because I kept burning out my lights . I thought it might have been do to vibration . But that was not the case . I was out riding a few weeks ago and the lights kept going out on me . So I went home and ran some tests . It was do to a failing voltage regulator . If it were not for the H.I.D system having a over voltage protection I probably would still trying figure out why I was burning out my lights. |
