HID power

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Good sleuthing.

I'm not concerned about the reliability of these units. They look pretty decent to me, but I haven't seen them in person, so who knows. :)
 

79TA7.6

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2006
Location
Live: Wilbur/Creston; Work: Moses Lake Washington
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta, 2002 TDI Golf, 2005 TDI Golf

keggo

Veteran Member
Joined
May 12, 2007
Location
SF Bay Area
TDI
2015 Golf TDI
My guess is that Truman's units actually use the Hella projector, judging from the high beam cutoff that Truman showed us. Which is very similar, if not the E55 projector itself. 79, if you need any tips or anything, don't be afraid to ask!
 

truman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 18, 2000
Location
columbia,MO,usa
TDI
'05 Passat Variant, Still miss the 03JW
Just thought that I should post an update- I love my HIDs. I haven't experienced any complaints from oncoming drivers either. The downside is that I don't want another car w/o them. Night vision is so much better.
 

Stirer

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2003
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
TDI
Jetta 2003 Platinum Gray GLS
Tell you what, I'm close to pulling the trigger on these. $500 even without a warranty is not a bad deal. My current lights have 100k on them and are getting pretty scratched up. Just a new set is close to this. My main question is life on the housings and the ability of the lenses to hold up - everything else is replaceable.
 

truman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 18, 2000
Location
columbia,MO,usa
TDI
'05 Passat Variant, Still miss the 03JW
Stirer said:
Tell you what, I'm close to pulling the trigger on these. $500 even without a warranty is not a bad deal. My current lights have 100k on them and are getting pretty scratched up. Just a new set is close to this. My main question is life on the housings and the ability of the lenses to hold up - everything else is replaceable.
The housings on mine appear to be just as good as the Hella ecodes they replaced. The bottom edge of the lens has the Hella logo- FWIW. So far, I have been happy with mine. I'll know more in a couple of years about how they are holding up.
 

bokonan

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Location
Baltimore, Md.
TDI
2000 Jetta, RC2 & nozzles, EGR-ectomy, VR6 clutch, Bilstien HD, 17" wheels, 250K milesmiles
For stock headlights has anyone tried Plasmaglow Platinum Series HID bulbs that are 100/80 watts?
 

FlyTDI Guy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 3, 2001
Location
PNW
TDI
'01 Jetta GLS
You'll cook your wiring w/those overwatt bulbs. Not to mention that they're illegal. Oh yeah, they're not HID either, just designed to attempt to mimick them. My vote would be a big NO...
 

ReferenceDesign

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2003
Location
Atlanta, Ga
some info on HIDs and ballasts. The HID lamp is 35W and runs on about 80V AC. To get that voltage the ballast is a boost converter. To get started they have to charge some internal capacitors. This takes a big jolt of current for a very short time, 40A worth per lamp. No worries on the 40A since it is short but it may hit a 10A hard. Since the lamp only runs 3.5A after the initial hit it is ok to up the fuse size. Fuses protect against shorts or modules with over current conditions which are rare. Your prime fault concern is a short. Since most shorts in average automotive wire gauges pull 50A+ minimum just about any standard fuse will protect against shorts.


A DC bus should feed your lamp ballasts from the battery. Use a relay if the ballasts don't have an enable (most do not). This bus can be fused for 30A. Have the relays triggered fron the low beam and use a diode to add the high beam signal to the trigger for always on low beams (HIDS)
 
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