HID kit

[steve142857]

Hey guys,

I tried to look up for a thread talking about his, but couldn't find any. Anyways, tomorrow afternoon, I am going to have a HID kit installed instead of front lights. Since I got a tint and changed OEM bulbs for 6000K blue shXX lights, I can't see very well at night. I will report shortly...

 

[Billm0066]

It has been discussed a few times but I will break it down for you. The projectors in the hid and non hid cars are very similar. In fact you could probably swap them out for each other without any issues. The problem is each projector is designed for that specific bulb. The hid is designed for d3s, and the halogen is designed for whatever bulb is in there. When you throw in an hid bulb into a halogen projector, the focal point is going to be much different, so the light leaving the projector is going to be messed up. Some projectors can handle it better than others, but usually the light on the ground has hot spots, and theres a chance you can blind people if the light is going above the cutoff.

Do me a favor, After they are installed park your car about 20 feet from a light colored wall and take some photos. Then back it up to about 30-40 feet and take some more if you can. If you have a dslr keep the shutter open a little longer so we can see the light better. Im curious to see how well the halogen version can handle hid.

 

[EcoBrick Bob]

Why aren't HID's available in Canada from the factory? Am assuming it is due to Canadian laws regarding the light pattern or power...

 

[steve142857]

Why aren't HID's available in Canada from the factory? Am assuming it is due to Canadian laws regarding the light pattern or power...

We have many cars that come factory with HID, don't know why Ford didn't offer it in the SHO... I hope the kit I ordered will come out well... My apointment is at 1h30pm today...

 

[Billm0066]

My guess is having to due with DRL's in canada. The led rods on the front of the Taurus are not bright enough to be considered drl's, and I would guess they didn't want the hid bulbs on all day long. As hid bulbs age they lose their brightness, and d3s bulbs are very expensive to replace since the ignitor is attached to the bulb.

Make sure the people installing your hid kit use a relay harness. If they are going to run it from the oem wiring do not get them installed. That can do a lot of damage to your electrical system. A relay harness will pull all the power directly from the battery, and only use your headlight socket as a signal to turn on.

 

[steve142857]

I have keyboard problem...
HID kit installed and visibility is much better.
But, don't know if coincidence, but no more heating pass. side... just cool air!
any ideas?
Thx

 

[typhoon5000]

My guess is having to due with DRL's in canada. The led rods on the front of the Taurus are not bright enough to be considered drl's, and I would guess they didn't want the hid bulbs on all day long. As hid bulbs age they lose their brightness, and d3s bulbs are very expensive to replace since the ignitor is attached to the bulb.

You are pretty much correct. The main reason is DRL's are supposed to be a lower powered light than full headlamps and the HIDs are actually too bright to be used as DRLs, plus the longevity issues you mentioned.

 

[Billm0066]

I have keyboard problem...
HID kit installed and visibility is much better.
But, don't know if coincidence, but no more heating pass. side... just cool air!
any ideas?
Thx

Did they use a relay harness?

 

[steve142857]

Did they use a relay harness?

All right. So finally this morning the heating air was working on passenger's side. The guy thinks that maybe it has to do with the use of a grounder to connect the ballaster... Maybe it resetted somthing and now it relearned it... anyways, now it is working.
The guy did use a relay harness and did a very good job for the installation, nothing shows, no wires and the ballasters are accessible, not in the way and almost completely hidden.
Yesterday it was raining after install, so on my way back home I couldn't appreciate that much, but I tried the high beams and I was impressed of the accrued visibility. Also, on the low beams, when I got home and turned in the driveway, I could see the lawn and the house very well, which was not the case with the previous aftermarket cheap bulbs.
It took the guy almost 3.5 hours for the install, but the guy is a perfectionnist and did an amazing job. His boss ended up charging me only 2 hours because they had told me it would take between 1 and 1.5 hours at first.
They charged me 160$ for the kit plus 150$ for install plus 40$ of taxes for a total of 350$ all-in.
They had ordered a condensor to avoid the error message in the computer, but when we tried the lights before fixing everything, it burned! Finally even without it, there is no error message and all works fine...
I will try to post pictures of how it lightens from 20-30 and 40ft on low and high beams.
The brand of the kit is BANDO 6000K.
Cheers!

 

[Billm0066]

Should have went much lower than 6000k. 4,300 is about oem rating for d3s bulbs. The higher you go, the lower the light output. That being said bulbs will be cheap for you kit so you can change them out if you want to go brighter.

 

[steve142857]

Should have went much lower than 6000k. 4,300 is about oem rating for d3s bulbs. The higher you go, the lower the light output. That being said bulbs will be cheap for you kit so you can change them out if you want to go brighter.

I have to say that I am more than pleased with how well I can see now. Not to forget that I have a tint in front. I went with 6K because they are white with a tint of blue and they are a very good match with the LED fogs that we have. So, that was the best combo.
BTW, the guy that installed the kit is the one that just thanked me above : Crazy Canadian... His name is Yves and he takes his work very seriously and the result is very nice. He is in Repentigny, Quebec. So anybody that would be interested in that upgrade and that leaves not too far, I really recommend him.
Thanks again Yves!
P.S. I will try to take the requested picture this week and post them here Bill.

 

[crazy_canadian]

Steve's car was the first new SHO I installed HIDs on.
So far, from my distributors, I'am the first one to ever attempt it in Quebec, as far as I know. Now that the first one is done, others will be faster to install.
I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to wiring things up. I am a Mechanic, and a former electrician, so it may helps. Heck, I have dozens of wires that I added to my '95, and it all looks factory.
Thanks again Steve! I'm glad you enjoy it.