Everything You Need to Know about HID’s
NEIRAD enilno edition
Are you a victim of nyctophobia? Do you demonstrate symptoms of drivingphobia during dark hours? Are you afraid of driving at night? Do you feel lost in the ominous uncertainty of darkness? Do you feel intimidated by oncoming traffic’s bright lights like a search light trying to capture you from a spy movie? Do you feel that your lights wither in the dominant presence of powerful beams in new cars? Are your low beams yellow and fragile, forcing you to put your high beams on and get flashed by other drivers? Do you hold the light of your cell phone up to the windshield to help see the road ahead? – If you have answered ‘Yes”, “sometimes”, or “maybe” to any of the following questions, the following information may help.
HID headlight bulbs are a dramatic upgrade to traditional halogen lighting systems, and have been evolving in the automotive world since its introduction in the 90’s. HID’s or High Intensity Discharge light bulbs are different from the regular headlight you might have in your car (halogens) in many respects. The magnitude of light emitted, colors of the light, the mechanism of power delivery, and design of the bulbs are all enhanced with this new technology which provides incredible brightness with minimal power consumption. If your headlights aren’t as pure white as the background of this page, you are losing efficiency and visibility with the power expenditure.
Traditional halogen bulbs have a typical power rating of 55 watts. The wattage is a measure of the power of the lights, which is consequently the amount of power that they draw from the alternator through the electrical system. Wattage however, is NOT the determinant of how bright your lights will shine. Brightness is measured in lumens. You might be confused because if you have ever changed a light bulb in your house you know the higher wattage the bulb, the stronger the light; however this is because you are focusing on one lighting technology, incandescence. HID’s on the other hand, use an entirely different mechanism to emit light, and are formally referred to as Metal Halide (MH) lamps.
There are two parts to an HID upgrade system, the blubs and the ballasts. The bulbs, or actually capsules, (HID”s don’t have filaments) require unique power demands force HID lighting systems to require ballasts that change the 12-volt power coming from the alternator to start and maintain the constant current required by the HID lamps. HID ballasts of the same wattage are typically the same by performing the single task of transforming electricity. The capsules however are where differences arise. With HID’s you can pick the color of light coming from the lamp. The color temperature in degrees Kelvin determines the color of the light. Most HID lights are regarded as blue lights because the color temperature is near 8,000k or 8,000 degrees Kelvin. The Kelvin color spectrum can be seen in pictures, demonstrating how lower color temperatures near 3,000k will appear yellow, 5,000k will be closest to white light, and 12,000k is blue. Cars with OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or factory HID headlights have bulbs with a color temperature rated between 4,200k and 4,500k. This may surprise some people that such a low color temperature appears blue but this is because the light is color shifted above the cutoff line of a projector beam assembly in a headlight, a phenomenon of physics.
HID capsules also differ from one another simply because they need to fit into your car. Each car has a unique type of headlight base for each type of light: high beams, low beams, and fog lights. Choosing the correct fitment the lights will not fit and the HID installation will fail.
The first thing to consider when thinking about upgrading to HID lights is if you already have them. Most modern luxury cars such as Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, or Mercedes commonly incorporate HID lighting systems with standard configurations. The second thing to address is the effect it will have on your manufacturer’s warranty. Some car companies strongly frown upon any type of modifications and they may use it as an excuse to void a warranty.
Lastly it is important, and critical to consider the local regulation regarding non-conventional automotive lighting. Some states or counties prohibit incorporating lights that were not originally designed for the car. HID’s produce much more light than conventional halogen bulbs and when put in regular reflector headlights they can produce glare and blind oncoming traffic if not correctly aimed. In addition if the drivers choose 12,000k HID lamps that are the color of the Darien Blue Wave, you will lose a substantial amount of visibility, and as a bonus, attract a lot of cops. According to Darien police officers as long as the lights are close to white in color, give a safe amount of light, and do not impair the visibility of other drivers, the upgrades are fine.
So you decided that HID upgrades are right for you… so what is the next step? Well now you have to decide what color temperature you want from the lamps. The most light will be apparent with color temperatures closest to pure white between 4,000k and 6,000k. Anything above or below those boundaries will come at the cost of visibility. In order to install the lights, you need to match the bulb base fitment on your car. The most common low beam light is a 9006 bulb but every car is different. It is possible to check your current fitment by knowing the year and model of your vehicle by clicking the bulb guide at the bottom of the page. Be sure to notice the differences between high beams, low beams, and fogs if applicable. Finally, you are ready to order your lights. Do not be fooled by the first HID vendors that come up in a Google search. Most are similar products from the same distributor in China where the HID capsules are rebased onto halogen bulb bases. You shouldn’t pay more than $50 for an HID kit, a great vendor from experience is DDM Tuning.
I highly recommend their kit with self-branded ballasts.
So you just received your HID kit in the mail, what’s the first thing to do?
Step 1 is to pop the hood and look for the headlight assemblies. The assemblies may be concealed by a battery or other parts so be cautious and take your time when examining them. Step 2 is locating the bulbs you will be replacing and removing them. If you want HID’s in your low beams, make sure you are actually replacing your low beams and not your high beams by accident. Turn on your low beams, get out of the car, and actually look to see which bulbs are lit. Trace that to the rear of the headlight assembly and you now know which blubs to remove. To remove the bulbs, grab the base and twist counter clockwise… remember, ‘righty tighty, lefty loosy.’ Step 3 is to remove the wiring harness from each bulb. There will be a wiring clip attached to each bulb in which you will need to press various clips to remove. Keep track of where this wire lands because you will need it later on. Now (for step 4) you can install the HID capsules into the headlight assembly. When HID capsules are shipped, plastic cylinders surround them for protection. Remove the plastic and be sure not to touch the capsules with your fingers. Any oil on the capsule will cause the lamp to burn out prematurely by creating a hot spot on the surface. If you do happen to touch the bulb give it a quick wipe with rubbing alcohol and allow it to air dry. To install the lights, do the reverse of the bulb removal and allow the base to fit in the socket. Twist clockwise to lock it in.
The 5th step is to make all the necessary electrical connections and mount the zip ties. First take the wiring harness from the original bulbs look for a red and black wire down the harness. Coming off the capsules you installed in the headlight housing should be two exposed wires, a red one and a blue one. Red is hot, or positive, and blue is cold or ground. Match the reds to red from the HID capsule and the wiring harness and plug the wire into the slot in the harness. Do the same for the black wire and the blue wire. This step could be reversed easily so if the HID’s do not work when you put them on, flipping these wire configurations is the first thing to try.
Coming off the HID capsule are two single wires with plastic clips on the ends, one female and one male. These are the amp connectors to the ballasts. Match these as the 6th step up to those coming off the ballast and connect them. There should also be a third wire which will be a thicker wire coming from the capsule with has a two-prong clip, a 9006 harness at the end. Match this up and connect it with the corresponding female 9006 harness connector on the ballast.
Lastly, as the 7th step, secure the ballasts onto something solid in the engine bay away from any moving or hot parts, such as the cooling fan or engine, with zip ties. Finally you can test out the lights! If everything is good clean up the wiring with electrical tape or more zip ties, and stare in awe at the brightness of your new HID lights. Before you go back on the road it is essential to correct the aim of your headlights. Consult your driver’s manual on ways to do this but typically the procedure is to put on your lights on a flat, level surface and make adjustments on the screws in the headlight assembly. You are looking for the focal points of the light to come up only knee level from 20 feet away to ensure that you won’t blind anyone on the road.
Go out for a test drive and saturate yourself in refreshed confidence of driving at night.
Disclaimer: If you are not 200% confident with this procedure do not attempt it. All modifications to your vehicle is at your own risk and DHS, NEIRAD, and Frank Lombardi, will bear no responsibility to any damage or unexpected outcomes that occur. This article is for informative purposes only. It does not serve as instructions or a replacement for instructions for any type of automotive procedure. Always consult your owner’s manual, dealership, service center, and local law enforcement agency when preparing to perform modifications. If you are decide that this upgrade may be applicable for you but you’re not confident with installation head over to Premiere Auto Sport of Darien where you can receive great service and impeccable installations.
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