It works!!!

[rayner601]

Was at home and had a ballast, an old bad hid bulb, and a cheap hid bulb and thought, what if?


Well here's the result. It ain't purdy, but it works!

Well that proved my theory that an hid bulb will work like this, it really doesn't care what kind of voltage it gets, it is the supporting electronics that get pissy.

I remove the old bulb completely, leaving 2 wires sticking out. The shorter one was the + and the other was -. I removed the base from the cheap bulb and using liquid solder and j.b. weld, I got the new bulb on the ignitor. I aligned it before the liquid solder and j.b. weld cured.

Here's some more pics

What ya think?

 

[LaserSVT]

I like it and its pretty clever but dont the stock Mark systems run at double or tripple the voltage of most aftermarket kits? I am sure bulb life is diminished, no?

 

[rayner601]

I like it and its pretty clever but dont the stock Mark systems run at double or tripple the voltage of most aftermarket kits? I am sure bulb life is diminished, no?

That I don't know about, but I figured it should be about the same as the aftermarket kits. I do know that it is AC voltage to the ignitor (brown box behind the bulb) and that is where the incompatibility lies whereas the aftermarket systems have the ignitor built in the ballast.

 

[CobraStar_LS8]

this might help others with a cheaper aftermarket HID replacement

 

[bobotech]

I guess in a way, this could be considered homemade rebased bulbs, right?

I am intrigued though by this idea. I wonder how bright the bulbs would be and how long would they last?

 

[rayner601]

They are just as bright as an aftermarket kit. However there is one flaw that can make this a feasible alternative to anything else. Alignment of the bulb to the ignitor is critical as I had set mine about 1/16 to 1/8" too low. There was not enough adjustment in the headlamp to bring it down to where the beam needed to be. If you can get this adjustment dead on (more than 1/16" in any direction is probably going to be the limit) before the jb weld sets, then you are good to go. Now I gotta work on a jig to align the bulb.

 

[CobraStar_LS8]

They are just as bright as an aftermarket kit. However there is one flaw that can make this a feasible alternative to anything else. Alignment of the bulb to the ignitor is critical as I had set mine about 1/16 to 1/8" too low. There was not enough adjustment in the headlamp to bring it down to where the beam needed to be. If you can get this adjustment dead on (more than 1/16" in any direction is probably going to be the limit) before the jb weld sets, then you are good to go. Now I gotta work on a jig to align the bulb.

wouldn't it be easier to buy the HID adapter rings?

 

[rayner601]

wouldn't it be easier to buy the HID adapter rings?

probably, but I like to do :q:q:q:q the hard way

 

[CobraStar_LS8]

LOL...just don't pull a Ripped Camel

 

[bobotech]

I like this idea because it seems to me that using the aftermarket ballasts just isn't 100 as nice as the factory ballasts. For example, I had to turn my autolamp delay to zero so that my lights wouldn't flicker and act badly when I turned the car off. I just like the idea of being able to save the factory components short of the actual bulb.

 

[CobraStar_LS8]

so all you need is the DLF rings and 2 new Aftermarket HID Bulbs...sweet

 

[rayner601]

so all you need is the DLF rings and 2 new Aftermarket HID Bulbs...sweet

This way you don't need the rings, just the bulbs with no base if you can find them.

 

[CobraStar_LS8]

I meant to eliminate the usage and cost of an aftermarket ballast

also cutting down replacement time from pulling the old ballast out and mounting the new ones

 

[rayner601]

I like this idea because it seems to me that using the aftermarket ballasts just isn't 100 as nice as the factory ballasts. For example, I had to turn my autolamp delay to zero so that my lights wouldn't flicker and act badly when I turned the car off. I just like the idea of being able to save the factory components short of the actual bulb.

That's exactly why I came up with this idea. Autolamp and aftermarket hid kits don't get along well, unless you add a large cap to the power feed to the ballast and that doesn't work quite right. It seems the cheaper the kit, the more it will flicker.

 

[slowmkviii]

any updates

 

[rayner601]

any updates

none due to being broke

 

[GMAN]

Rayner, I see a business opportunity here.

 

[danny_holtermann]

I see dead kittens in yard