Installing HID, but no light comes on!

[DGXSER]

The description I read states that it moves the bulb forward and back in the tube to change the reflection. It states it is 35W bulb. No change for hi or low beam.

[CatatonicBug]

HID bulbs always have only one true intensity. The Hi/Low ones (like the one I have) move the bulb in the housing. The problem I'm seeing is that the light output does not seem to change, even while riding down the street. I took the bulb out and flipped the switch to see that it DOES move. It pulls back in the housing about 3/16" - not enough to really do much, IMO.

Also, I have to flip the hi/low switch back and forth to get the bulb to light initially. Once it's fully warmed up, it's nice and solid. So far, I'm not thoroughly pleased with this unit...

[cywelchjr]

The kit he linked to says that it does.

The kit he linked to says the bulb moves. So he should be getting a change in the focus point, not a change in intensity.

[bikerphil]

Is it too cold outside for the unit to work properly? JAT

[CatatonicBug]

Is it too cold outside for the unit to work properly? JAT

Well, the bulb gets too hot to touch, and the ballast warms up a lilttle too. It IS cold out, but I would hope that it would still work as advertised once it's warmed up.

[Eveready1100]

Hi, Bug.
Has your LH still got the original setup for the headlight where it won't come on till the engine's running? Just trying to eliminate other theoretical problem sources here. Try hooking up your now-bypassed RLU wiring to a switched power wire from the ignition to give it a direct feed with no extra relays that might throw things out a bit. Might be something to do with these points you made that got some alarm bells ringing.

One strange thing though - When I trun off the bike, the HID lamp flickers and dies

Also, I have to flip the hi/low switch back and forth to get the bulb to light initially

Might have a glitch in the bike's system that doesn't become apparent until hooking up the more sesitive ballast arrangement.
For the record, my HID gives an instant bright flash when first switched on then takes about a minute to reach full intensity but is still plenty bright enough to ride with instantly.
One last thing, does the wiring kit supplied have a power feed wire that hooks directly to the battery, or does it just plug into the stock headlight plug and is totally fed power through it?

[natemoen]

The kit he linked to says the bulb moves. So he should be getting a change in the focus point, not a change in intensity.

I guess with my limited knowledge of the HID setups, I was under the assumption that the back and forth movement was ALL that they did for hi/low changes.

[CatatonicBug]

Well, I started it up this morning, and it gave a quick bright flash, then went away. One toggle of the Hi/Low switch, and it came back to life and warmed up like it should.

I do still have the headlight relay, so the headlight does not come on until the engine fires. I really don't want to get rid of that feature though... Also, my setup gets ALL of it's power from the OEM headlight plug. No other source of power from the battery.

For the record, as I understand the HID setups, ALL of them only have one intensity. SOME of them have a solenoid that moves the bulb in the housing to change the focus point, lighting up more of the road. Mine has this feature, but I don't notice ANY change in the spread of light when I flip the Hi beam on - even when sitting in front of a wall. It does turn the light off for a TINY split second, but the beam remains the same on both side of the switch.

[Eveready1100]

Nathan, your limited knowledge of HID systems is serving you well. The bulb movement is all that's supposed to happen.
Bug, I didn't mean to bypass the bike's relay system permanently, just a temporary bridge to test the system function without the extras.
The fact that the light went off momentarily when dipping the switch means that something is amiss in there as there is normally no change whatsoever in bulb intensity once you have turned the light on.

[natemoen]

So just so I know I understand correctly, HID lights DO NOT change light intensity or wattage while switching from high to low beam, it ONLY changes the position of the light source in relation to the reflector?

[justme1100]

I will stick to my 55w/100w halogen and my secondary driving lights. Sounds like a lot of screwing around for not a lot of return. Good luck though. I am interested how this works out.

[Eveready1100]

1 - Nathan, you got it, mate

2 - Hi Justme1100, You've obviously got an XJ which has a 364 watt alternator compared to an XS11's measly 280 watt job, so you can afford to be a bit more carefree on how you spend your electrical rations. However, statements like this -

I will stick to my 55w/100w halogen and my secondary driving lights. Sounds like a lot of screwing around for not a lot of return

make it quite obvious you haven't seen how much of a difference a HID installation can make to a bike's headlight, plus there's normally much less screwing around putting in a headlight kit than fitting LEDS to the rear lights as you have done. Plus there is a LOT of return for the effort.
Unfortunately, in Bugs case, there is a problem with either his bike or the unit which hopefully will be sorted out shortly.
I bought my kit from the same supplier as him which only took me a couple of hours to fit and I have been reaping the rewards of much more light = safer riding while consuming much less power = making life much easier the charging system and battery so they are a win / win situation in my book.

[justme1100]

Ahh but I have had an opportunity to drive my Nephews car which has them and I am not crazy about them. Yes I have a bit more juice to play with and my L.E.D.s took me about two hours to install and that includes fabricating the mounting brackets, the tail light itself was just the same as putting in new bulbs. I will also add that I have lowered my headlight and that in it self gave me a better light spread. I am not belittling H.I.D. and may even give it a shot in the future. I live out amongst the farmers and travel a lot of back roads so I do appreciate good lighting. I looked at the link for fleabay and was the price of that set-up really under $3 (plus $45 for shipping)?

[natemoen]

Ahh but I have had an opportunity to drive my Nephews car which has them and I am not crazy about them. Yes I have a bit more juice to play with and my L.E.D.s took me about two hours to install and that includes fabricating the mounting brackets, the tail light itself was just the same as putting in new bulbs. I will also add that I have lowered my headlight and that in it self gave me a better light spread. I am not belittling H.I.D. and may even give it a shot in the future. I live out amongst the farmers and travel a lot of back roads so I do appreciate good lighting. I looked at the link for fleabay and was the price of that set-up really under $3 (plus $45 for shipping)?

My guess is that the price was that way for import tariff reasons. "Well mister customs man, the person only paid 3 dollars for the product....."

[CatatonicBug]

Yep, they use the $45 for shipping to guarantee that they get at least that much for the unit. Though I can't stand it when people do that, it was still the cheapest unit I could find.

I think I have decided to return the unit to them and purchase a different unit from a US supplier (for a little more $). I'm just not happy with how this particular balast performs.