Calling all Hid experts.

[martinjs]

ive fitted my kit, (a bit different from the vagparts kit) anyway connected everything up, they came on and looked a lot whiter than my H4 setup...they are RS2 h/lamps by the way, went for drive and they are hardly throwing any light out onto the road, about half as much as my H4's.
could something be connectad wrong? heres a pic:

1 and 2 are the original wires which went to the oe bulb.
i connected 2 to 3 and 1 to 4
5 connects to the black box on the end of the bulb.

is this the correct/best way?

they are philips D2s bulbs by the way.

cheers martin

[sal_s2]

I found this was the case with my kit until I had the headlamp aims set up.

[martinjs]

i did have to completely strip them down to drill out the rivets holding the original bulb holders in, i measured everything so they could be put back in the same position,...the left side is ok but the right is slightly low but they wern't very bright at all

[Greg_S]

go get your headlight alignment done before you do anything else. Could be that simple!

Greg

[Doug_RS2]

Are the bulbs focusing correctly? Do they sit in the same position wrt the original bulbs and reflectors?

[martinjs]

these bulbs are a lot longer than the H1's, so the tip does sit further in.
had to make my own retainers and had nothing to work from to see where the bulb would sit, they look exactly the same as these
gregs link

[Greg_S]

its not the actual length of the bulb that will make the difference but the focal point of the bulb. If you compare where the filament of the H1 bulb sits in the headlight depth wise. then measure from there the bulb bit is in the D2S bulb about 1/2 way down the glass bit which is the focal point and ensure that these distances are the same.

Greg

[martinjs]

ok, i'll check that out, does that wiring look correct. doesnt the vagparts kit need earthing to body?

martin

[Graham]

Does the Vagparts kit go straight in with minimal alteration to original headlamps or do you have to remove the old bulb holder??
Cheers
Graham

[sal_s2]

The vagparts kit goes straight in with no alteration needed to the h/lamps

[martinjs]

Think ive sussed it, according to my measurements the new bulb is sitting 5mm further into the lamp, drove upto a wall last night and undid the bulb holder (whilst it was on) pulled it out by about 5mm and the pattern on the wall became a lot brighter..just like adjusting a maglite.

in what position should the wire which runs outside the bulb (from top to bottom) sit?
at the bottom ie 6 o'clock when viewed from front of car? if you know what i mean.

martin

[Martynf]

Hi Martin,

The wire on the bulb is normally at the top, I'm pretty sure about that...

Our HID kits are virtually in the right place from a focal point of view, I'd say 1mm out which is pretty darn close!! even with the focal point correct, these Ellipsoids are pretty crap with the amount of light output. IMHO its just a 10 year old projector design that is at the root cause of the problems! I aim to prove this with the projector mod I have lined up (when I can do it!)

If you think you have a dark patch just in front of the car, like a V of missing light? then you do! its not your eyes!! what's the cause? the headlight washer jets cast a shadow on the road!!!

Once I sort out the better projectors into our headlamps, then I'll sort the bi-xenon conversion :-)

Martyn

[Stick Insect]

Hi Martin,

The wire on the bulb is normally at the top, I'm pretty sure about that...

Our HID kits are virtually in the right place from a focal point of view, I'd say 1mm out which is pretty darn close!! even with the focal point correct, these Ellipsoids are pretty crap with the amount of light output. IMHO its just a 10 year old projector design that is at the root cause of the problems! I aim to prove this with the projector mod I have lined up (when I can do it!)

If you think you have a dark patch just in front of the car, like a V of missing light? then you do! its not your eyes!! what's the cause? the headlight washer jets cast a shadow on the road!!!

Once I sort out the better projectors into our headlamps, then I'll sort the bi-xenon conversion :-)

Martyn

Have you dropped the H4 lamps? I want to improve my 90 Coupe 85 front?, haven't got the money at the mo. tho'

David

[Martynf]

Hi David,

nope, just outta stock of them at the moment!! will be in stock again soon.

Martyn

[martinjs]

The problem was that the D2S bulb is 5mm longer than the H1's so were sitting too far into the lamp, so made some more adapters, haven't had chance to test them properly yet as it was still light on the way to work tonight
and it will be light on the way home in the morning
looks like i'll have to go for a burn about at break time then

i put the wires pointing down, ive been reading this site http://www.network54.com/Forum/216460 quite some good info in the FAQ's
they say it doesnt really matter which way they go, and have tested both ways with no noticable differences.

those bi-xenons sound quite tasty, will it be compatible with my kit though?

martin