[wketchin]

Hey everyone, I was talking to my buddy who belongs to the subaru forums, and he was telling me that in order to prevent the HID's from charging up and flickering every time you turn them on there is some sort of relay you can buy that you can put between the HID and the battery? Has anyone ever heard of this? I don't like how my HID's charge up, and i have actually heard that the constant purging / recharging of the ballast actually decreases the life of the ballast.

Furthermore, I was curious if anyone has tips on how to increase the lifespan on the HID unit? I have had two ballasts die on me, pop my main 20A fuse, and go into fail-safe mode. Come to realize it was either the amount of bumps around CT back roads in the winter, or the engine heat that was effecting the ballast (through my searches).

I am on my third ballast now and I have been thinking of ways to mount my ballast to prevent it from being susceptible to bumps and premature failure as well as any other preventative measures that will increase the life of my ballasts.

I was thinking of making a sheet metal strap that will go over the ballast, feeding a length of rubber tubing over it (to cushion), and drilling two holes in it and fastening it to the underside of my bumper (or bump stop :dontknow.. Does this sound reasonable? Mine are currently located to the left and right of the strut towers, which i think is greatly contributing to the shock being transferred to the ballasts.

* edit *I am also riding on BuddyClub N+, on second click from soft setting.

 

[Sage0021]

never heard of that, it takes what like 2 seconds for them to charge? my ballasts are ziptied so tight to the frame that God himself couldnt shake em. Did that on purpose

 

[wketchin]

Haha nice! It's not that i don't like the charge perse, it's that I feel like the constant charging and purging will lessen the life of the ballast. Or so i have been lead to believe.

 

[downforce137]

Hey everyone, I was talking to my buddy who belongs to the subaru forums, and he was telling me that in order to prevent the HID's from charging up and flickering every time you turn them on there is some sort of relay you can buy that you can put between the HID and the battery? Has anyone ever heard of this? I don't like how my HID's charge up, and i have actually heard that the constant purging / recharging of the ballast actually decreases the life of the ballast.

Furthermore, I was curious if anyone has tips on how to increase the lifespan on the HID unit? I have had two ballasts die on me, pop my main 20A fuse, and go into fail-safe mode. Come to realize it was either the amount of bumps around CT back roads in the winter, or the engine heat that was effecting the ballast (through my searches).

I am on my third ballast now and I have been thinking of ways to mount my ballast to prevent it from being susceptible to bumps and premature failure as well as any other preventative measures that will increase the life of my ballasts.

I was thinking of making a sheet metal strap that will go over the ballast, feeding a length of rubber tubing over it (to cushion), and drilling two holes in it and fastening it to the underside of my bumper (or bump stop :dontknow.. Does this sound reasonable? Mine are currently located to the left and right of the strut towers, which i think is greatly contributing to the shock being transferred to the ballasts.

* edit *I am also riding on BuddyClub N+, on second click from soft setting.

do you plan on keeping this car for 30 years?

 

[Jay]

Charging and purging? An HID lamp is a lot like a mercury-vapor lamp. They take quite a while to warm up and give full output. The ballast has an ignitor that generates a very high voltage to ionize the gas. Once the gas is ionized the voltage drops and keeps dropping as the lamp warms.

Heat is the enemy of anything that has semiconductors in it, including HID ballasts. Anything you can do to make it run cooler will extend its life.

 

[wketchin]

do you plan on keeping this car for 30 years?

No, but i would like it to last longer than 6 months like my last 2 ballasts.