Converting J to HID

[alex61089]

So i seen a post on here about converting the J's headlights to HID and i saw this auction on ebay for the kit for only 60.00 so im wondering do you guys think it's worth it? I seen other kits for around 130.00 heres the linkhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ories

[J30inthe sun]

I bought these that the seller claims "Our HID ballasts feature German hardware from Siemens and Japanese hardware from Panasonic. World class. Our HID ballasts also feature the separation of certain traditionally high failure components."

$57.99 shipped.

I bought them on sunday & received them thursday, they ship out of southern Califonia US Priority mail. The plugs seem much better than some other kits I have seen & they came with mounting brackets.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...49857

[alex61089]

Let me know how they work! i saw a thing on one of the auctions that says you should get a relay harness with it to take the strain off the oem relay and fuses of your car (an extra 20 bucks). I'm thinking of getting the Green to go with my car but im not sure if i'll get pulled over for it lol.

[J30inthe sun]

Let me know how they work!

My local shop that I get all my work done at already installed 8000k Xentec brand HIDs, they charged me $100 for them. I bought the second set as backups. I am going to install them tomorrow to see how they differ from what I already have & how well they work.

i saw a thing on one of the auctions that says you should get a relay harness with it to take the strain off the oem relay and fuses of your car (an extra 20 bucks).

I am not using the extra relay harness & no problems so far after 1 month.

However the J30 is know to have issues with the headlight relay. I just replaced mine 2 weeks ago. Sometimes when I put the low beams on the driver side high beam would come on as well. The issue is now resolved after replacing the relay.

OEM factory low beams are 55 watts divided by 12 volts = 4.583 amps. I believe the stock fuse is 10 amps.

HIDs are 35 watts divided by 12 volts = > 3 amps.

BUT...

HID light bulbs have significant voltage requirements, especially at startup which may exceed 20,000 volts, to operate correctly. Each HID bulb receives power from a ballast unit which provides the high voltage required by the bulb to create the initial electrical arc. Once operational, the power requirements drop and the bulb maintains its electrical arc with only 35W of power.

And read this:

http://www.trix.com/Elise-HID/

Excerpts from the link:

"The HID Ballasts draw a large amount of current when first powered on as they ignite the arc and heat the salts in the capsule. It is this startup current that could blow fuses or cause damage to underrated wiring. I measured the highest startup current when the bulbs were cold (green line on chart), and it quickly drops off as they warm up. The highest peak reading was 17A!

This is clearly beyond the capacity of the 10A fuse.... or is it? The automotive fuses are "slow-blow", so they can take a bit more than the rated current for a brief amount of time. According to Bussmann's spec for the ATC fuse, we should be able to withstand around 17A for a full second without melting. The current spike is actually shorter than that, and the full time spent above 10A is about two or three seconds. In my sample set of two fuses, they have not blown at startup. Your mileage may vary, especially if you see subzero temperatures or have a different ballast core. I will be carrying a few spare fuses in the car, but I'm comfortable with that for now. I will say that I have heard three first-hand reports of HID installations on the existing power wiring, and none have reported power or fuse problems.

After warmup, the HID light levels off to 3.5A of current, which is a full amp less than each halogen bulb. The way I see it, a 2A alternator load savings almost makes up for the kilogram of extra weight added by the ballasts. Right? Okay."

...

I'm thinking of getting the Green to go with my car but im not sure if i'll get pulled over for it lol.

..

G U A R A N T E E D

Modified by J30inthe sun at 8:03 PM 3/28/2009
Modified by J30inthe sun at 8:29 PM 3/28/2009