HID headlights

[Turbofiat124]

This could have something to do with Fiats. Anyone ever installed HIDs in their Fiat?

The lighting was poor on my 98 Chevy Van so I installed Silverstar high beam bulbs and an HID low beam system. The reason for not going with Silverstar low beams is they burn out about 3 to 6 months at $20+ a pop. When I had them in my Subaru. So I installed the original low beam bulbs. But still running the Silverstar high beams.

Although I have not driven my van in the dark, I have turned them on and they produce a lot more light than the original bulbs.



The connector that would go to the headlight bulb plugs into a ballast then from there it goes into another smaller box then to the HID bulb.

I just wonder if these use less power than a standard halogen (H4) bulb?

[baltobernie]

I don't know of any manufacturers of a standard-size 7" HID headlamp. There are plenty of HID conversions for use with H4 lamps, but these are illegal for road use everywhere, and for a good reason: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech ... sions.html. There are 7" LED conversions, selling for $150-$200, but I don't know if these mount in the standard 7" bucket.

A better choice for your Spider would be a good H4 lamp/bulb combo from one of our vendors, or a specialty automotive lighting site. These deliver a nice wide, even low beam and a "ball of fire" on hi.

[Turbofiat124]

I don't know of any manufacturers of a standard-size 7" HID headlamp. There are plenty of HID conversions for use with H4 lamps, but these are illegal for road use everywhere, and for a good reason: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech ... sions.html. There are 7" LED conversions, selling for $150-$200, but I don't know if these mount in the standard 7" bucket.

A better choice for your Spider would be a good H4 lamp/bulb combo from one of our vendors, or a specialty automotive lighting site. These deliver a nice wide, even low beam and a "ball of fire" on hi.

I already have H4 Hellas with Xenon bulbs and relays so the lighting is good but these HIDs seem better.

The HID kits sell for about $20. I don't know how reliable they are. A guy I work with has installed them in all of his vehicles and says he has not had any problems with them like with the SilverStar bulbs.

[ebrown0104]

I went with a set of new housings with H4 LED bulbs. I like the idea of LED over HID because there's no extra transformer that needs to be mounted and LEDs basically last forever. Plus, they use 10W each on low-beam and 15W each on high-beam, so it's less stress on the charging system and ignition switch (if you don't have the relay kit, which I don't).

Cost $40 for a pair of lights on ebay:



Original sealed beam on left, replacement on right. You could go with the clear glass set also, but I just like the look of the old-style fluted glass.

Then I got a pair of H4 LED replacement bulbs. I work at a motorcycle dealership so these are the ones I used, but you can also find a pair of something similar for $75-100:





With a minimal amount of messing around, the bulb fits into the lens, and the lens fits right into the original bucket without cutting or hammering or soldering wires:



Here they are on the car:



Here's a picture of the cut-off pattern:



These things throw off a major amount of light, and even though the cut-off looks fairly weak, I have them adjusted so that I haven't been flashed by oncoming traffic once yet. The only downside is that the difference between low- and high-beam isn't much, but with how bright the low-beams are, high really isn't even necessary.

[geecee]

ebrown0104..thank you thank you thank you!!

I followed your exact directions and now I have bright new LEDs headlamps!
I purchased the buckets on eBay at GENSSI-AUTO ($39.99/pair), and the Cyron ABH4K-A6K (motorcycle) LED lights at Cycleplicity.com ($111/pair including shipping).
Super easy to install and connect. They fitted right in and actually look better than the ones I had.
We won't be afraid of the dark no more!

Thank you again.

[Yadkin]

I'm looking to swap out my halogen H6024 headlamps and am interested in going with a much brighter LED conversion. However I don't want to use an illegal H4 conversion set-up. So far I have found two DOT approved lamps:

Sylvania L6024 Zevo, about $175 each
Truck-Lite 27270, about $160 each

I'm waiting for the price to come down before doing this conversion.

I have done an HID Xenon projector retrofit on my daughter's 2005 Mustang and that worked out great. So that may be another route.

[124ADDHE]

I bought these led units off Ali express. Very nice beam pattern and I've never felt so comfortable driving the old girl at night. They barely fit the backers. I've have many compliments.

NFSEPGO 60W 7" Round LED Projector Headlights with White/blue Halo Ring Angel Eye DRL For 1997-2015 Jeep Wrangler JK LJ TJ
http://s.aliexpress.com/AnqeemYR?fromSns=Copy to Clipboard

[Yadkin]

Those aren't DOT approved. I don't want to blind oncoming traffic.

[124ADDHE]

Don't be so quick to judge, yes they are.

[Yadkin]

If so it then "DOT" would be cast into the lens, or marked somewhere. The ad says "off road".

[124ADDHE]

I wish I could post an image without the hassle; I have those units with DOT cast into the glass. Maybe another vendor sells the same with DOT, this wasn't the vendor I used off of Aliexpress , just an example of the same style of light.

[Yadkin]

I hope that they are DOT, and for highway use. I've bought LED projectors before where the ad made that claim but the units that I received were not marked, so I sent them back.

[Yadkin]

I did some more research over the weekend, and found that in reality there is no such thing as "DOT approved". DOT doesn't review headlamp assemblies. They, along with SAE, merely set standards, and rely on the manufacturers to do their own testing to comply with those standards. So the correct term is "DOT compliant". This hasn't been a problem in the past with US manufacturers. The problem is occuring, in my opinion, because of the shady China factories that US consumers have little control over, along with all the ebay type resellers of those products.

Here's a good video that explains it, along with a review of about a dozen 7" round LED sealed beam replacements. (Although he uses the wrong term: "DOT approved".)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNZT6Qq ... ZqYR4IpfC5

[PhillySpider]

regardless of DOT approved, in PA any modification to OEM lighting systems is illegal. Similar to tint, a cop can hassle or cite you if they want.

[Yadkin]

Gosh, that's terrible. As bad as CA.