damn hid's

[airborneXS]

So i was given an aftermarket hid kit by a buddy of mine, he bought it and never used it...its not one of the high end kits...it has a regular style low beam with a hid high beam...i installed it, the low beam works great, but when i flick the high beam it flickers an electrical sound and does nothing...i tried the rlu removal trick, removing it and jumping the blue/black to the blu/yellow, but it still does not work...what am i doing wrong?

[Rooster]

HID's in paradise (no such thing unless it's stock)

Well to say that it's simple may not be true but did you supply the transformer with power directly to the battery? Also when the HID transformer turns on with the low beam power and you switch to high beam the wire supply to the low beam turns off and the high beam wire turns on but to the HID ballast it means off for the whole deal. This is common for low buck HID's cause the transformer is only on by one means or another I believe you will have to keep power to the low beam wire even when you trigger the high beam.

[Brent]

HID not a fan

So i was given an aftermarket hid kit by a buddy of mine, he bought it and never used it...its not one of the high end kits...it has a regular style low beam with a hid high beam...i installed it, the low beam works great, but when i flick the high beam it flickers an electrical sound and does nothing...i tried the rlu removal trick, removing it and jumping the blue/black to the blu/yellow, but it still does not work...what am i doing wrong?

I, too had trouble with a $50 HID from cycle gear. Lasted a couple of months then transformer box quit. Not a problem now in trash can. H-4 is back. Hi performance $20 H-4 is bright, only lasts one fourth as long as stock, but is easy to find replacement.

Hi dollar, DOT approved Harley Davidson HID bulb was not very bright, but is lasting well. Fortunately I have some passing lamps that could get me down the road if/when the HID system fails. I have heard positive reports on PIA bulbs, but I have been too cheap to pay thier price. Fog lights with H-3 bulbs work well, but watch for adding too many watts. It can run battery down, especially at lower RPMs.

Good luck

[airborneXS]

well, both of you have lost me....im sorry to admit that...lol

[Rooster]

what do you want to know? why it made a weird noise then made no light? Try checking the wiring diagram to see if you need one of the relay kits for different applications, such as older installs. It may be like I said that when you flip to high beam its shutting off the ballast not turning it on

[airborneXS]

it flickers with electricity, but nothing happens...then again, my bike is not in a state to be started yet, so could it be that theres just not enough juice to fire the ballast? what i want to know is what do i need to do to fire up the hid high beam?

[Rooster]

yeah that may be the ticket, maybe put a charger on it and get the volts up and see if that helps.

[natemoen]

Well.....hid kits like that are not legal anyways so I suggest giving it back to your buddy or just tossing it in the can...

You are in the military right? Do you ride on base? You will get nailed for that POS blinding hid light anyways sooner or later..

[James England]

Throw it out. Most of them are rubbish. People get stranded at night because they don't work. Get rid of it!

[b.walker5]

..and the light scatter from the incorrect reflector for an HID makes them dangerous to oncoming traffic. I agree with Nate and James, get rid of it and go back to the correct lamp for the reflector.

[WSL91]

So i was given an aftermarket hid kit by a buddy of mine, he bought it and never used it...its not one of the high end kits...it has a regular style low beam with a hid high beam...i installed it, the low beam works great, but when i flick the high beam it flickers an electrical sound and does nothing...i tried the rlu removal trick, removing it and jumping the blue/black to the blu/yellow, but it still does not work...what am i doing wrong?

A lot of the Honda VTX guys are running one that someone on the forum is importing, me included. 12 months no issues. I thought most HIDS had 1 element and they use a motor to change positoin of the bulb for low/high beam, at least thats how mine works. Mine was around $100.00 I've never been "hi beamed" by anyone since installing it and I work on an Army Post and no one has said anything to me except making me shut off my blue LEDs. It draws less current than a traditional bulb and I just carry an extra H4 in the trunk just in case. I recently installed Driving lights and am changing the bulbs to LED so like 23 watts additional that I can run should the headlight (any type) die

[airborneXS]

so what kit have u guys used?

[cywelchjr]

IF I go with HID I will go with one of the DOT approved HID kits, but they are unfortunately only made for round headlights, which means for the specials for those of use with the TRUE Vetter (not the Yamaha branded) Windjammers, and they take a bit of surgery to make room for the circuitry on the back of the light, but they replace the entire light assy, and come in both reflector and projector style, with the projector running about $100 more at a bit over $500 for a single headlight kit. They make them for motorcycles and for Jeeps primarily and the projector while giving a bit better light pattern, looks a bit strange on the front of the bike.

[Poprock]

I ran HID for a while. Real bright on a clear night. Got in fog one time and was amazed at how the light was shooting everywhere but straight ahead. Changed to a clear lens, no help. HID quit (in the daytime) probably from me touching the bulb during installation. Couldn't have been the cheap Chinese build. I replaced it with a 85/60 watt H4 and it's working fine. Run Hi beam mostly and no battery issues. It's a little brighter than stock at night, but the blue tint may not penetrate rain as well as a whiter light. Haven't got caught out yet to know. HID was 6000 K, and was blue enough it didn't shine through rain worth a hoot. Of course, it wasn't optimized for my lens either. Wish they worked better. It sounds like a good idea.

[DGXSER]

Honestly, I do not buy into the hype some folks give about the reflector and all that. Not trying to be rude or anything, but some people spend way to much time analyzing the minute details to find a reason something is bad. I want real life experience, not theoretical concepts. However, in this case, I tried an HID in my SH. I loved the light it put out, was like riding daytime only at midnight.

Then I put the bike at the end of my driveway about 80 feet from my car with them facing each other, and sat in the car. Next day I put the H4 back in. IMHO, it really is a blinding level of light to an oncoming vehicle. As I sat in my car, all I could see was the bright blue light.