HID conversions
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I just picked up A set of LED lights for a plow truck to use on the back. I haven't found anything that is DOT compliant. With how fast this technology is evolving, I wouldn't be surprised to see something soon.
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Biggziff -- 720Deere started a thread about the Brite Box and I did a little research on the halogen and HID lamps for that thread. Came across something that has given me a theory what may be going on with the HID setup.
The H13 halogen lamp uses two filaments in the bulb. To go from low to high beam, a signal is sent and the low beam filament shuts off and the high beam filament goes on. The positions of the filaments are fixed due to the way the bulb is locked into the housing. In other words, the halogen H13 bulb is oriented correctly to take full advantage of the headlamp reflector design.
In the case of the H13 HID lamp, it uses an electromagnet assemby to push or pull the filament to a position that reflects either the high or low beam position. Here is the rub... These lamps are generically designed and I suspect that the quality of them is not consistent. There is no specific 2011 Ford Fxxx H13 HID kit. It is a generic kit that will fit anyone's reflector that uses an H13 lamp.
My theory (validated by some experimentation -- more on that later) is that when the H13 HID lamp goes to high position, it is not in the correct position to take advantage of the headlamp reflective surfaces. That is why when you switch from low to high, there was not much improvement.
Experimentation results: I spent A LOT of time playing with the HID setup. My original intent of this research was to find a lamp set that did not throw a lot of errant light -- especially on the driver's side. What supports my theory is that I measured on some HID lamps that the high beam light position (as measured at the point of highest intensity) was a roughly 3 inches higher than the low beam. On others, it was less than an inch. So what does that mean? It means that at the 25 feet I measured it at, a bulb that was 3 inches above the low beam would project substantially further down road than one that was less than an inch above the low beam.
I didn't connect the dots until 720Deere's thread and your comment on the high beam performance. I guess that is why they pay engineers to design these things!
The answer to this is a projector housing...
The H13 halogen lamp uses two filaments in the bulb. To go from low to high beam, a signal is sent and the low beam filament shuts off and the high beam filament goes on. The positions of the filaments are fixed due to the way the bulb is locked into the housing. In other words, the halogen H13 bulb is oriented correctly to take full advantage of the headlamp reflector design.
In the case of the H13 HID lamp, it uses an electromagnet assemby to push or pull the filament to a position that reflects either the high or low beam position. Here is the rub... These lamps are generically designed and I suspect that the quality of them is not consistent. There is no specific 2011 Ford Fxxx H13 HID kit. It is a generic kit that will fit anyone's reflector that uses an H13 lamp.
My theory (validated by some experimentation -- more on that later) is that when the H13 HID lamp goes to high position, it is not in the correct position to take advantage of the headlamp reflective surfaces. That is why when you switch from low to high, there was not much improvement.
Experimentation results: I spent A LOT of time playing with the HID setup. My original intent of this research was to find a lamp set that did not throw a lot of errant light -- especially on the driver's side. What supports my theory is that I measured on some HID lamps that the high beam light position (as measured at the point of highest intensity) was a roughly 3 inches higher than the low beam. On others, it was less than an inch. So what does that mean? It means that at the 25 feet I measured it at, a bulb that was 3 inches above the low beam would project substantially further down road than one that was less than an inch above the low beam.
I didn't connect the dots until 720Deere's thread and your comment on the high beam performance. I guess that is why they pay engineers to design these things!
The answer to this is a projector housing...
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From: Upstate, NY
Biggziff -- 720Deere started a thread about the Brite Box and I did a little research on the halogen and HID lamps for that thread. Came across something that has given me a theory what may be going on with the HID setup.
The H13 halogen lamp uses two filaments in the bulb. To go from low to high beam, a signal is sent and the low beam filament shuts off and the high beam filament goes on. The positions of the filaments are fixed due to the way the bulb is locked into the housing. In other words, the halogen H13 bulb is oriented correctly to take full advantage of the headlamp reflector design.
In the case of the H13 HID lamp, it uses an electromagnet assemby to push or pull the filament to a position that reflects either the high or low beam position. Here is the rub... These lamps are generically designed and I suspect that the quality of them is not consistent. There is no specific 2011 Ford Fxxx H13 HID kit. It is a generic kit that will fit anyone's reflector that uses an H13 lamp.
My theory (validated by some experimentation -- more on that later) is that when the H13 HID lamp goes to high position, it is not in the correct position to take advantage of the headlamp reflective surfaces. That is why when you switch from low to high, there was not much improvement.
Experimentation results: I spent A LOT of time playing with the HID setup. My original intent of this research was to find a lamp set that did not throw a lot of errant light -- especially on the driver's side. What supports my theory is that I measured on some HID lamps that the high beam light position (as measured at the point of highest intensity) was a roughly 3 inches higher than the low beam. On others, it was less than an inch. So what does that mean? It means that at the 25 feet I measured it at, a bulb that was 3 inches above the low beam would project substantially further down road than one that was less than an inch above the low beam.
I didn't connect the dots until 720Deere's thread and your comment on the high beam performance. I guess that is why they pay engineers to design these things!
The answer to this is a projector housing...
The H13 halogen lamp uses two filaments in the bulb. To go from low to high beam, a signal is sent and the low beam filament shuts off and the high beam filament goes on. The positions of the filaments are fixed due to the way the bulb is locked into the housing. In other words, the halogen H13 bulb is oriented correctly to take full advantage of the headlamp reflector design.
In the case of the H13 HID lamp, it uses an electromagnet assemby to push or pull the filament to a position that reflects either the high or low beam position. Here is the rub... These lamps are generically designed and I suspect that the quality of them is not consistent. There is no specific 2011 Ford Fxxx H13 HID kit. It is a generic kit that will fit anyone's reflector that uses an H13 lamp.
My theory (validated by some experimentation -- more on that later) is that when the H13 HID lamp goes to high position, it is not in the correct position to take advantage of the headlamp reflective surfaces. That is why when you switch from low to high, there was not much improvement.
Experimentation results: I spent A LOT of time playing with the HID setup. My original intent of this research was to find a lamp set that did not throw a lot of errant light -- especially on the driver's side. What supports my theory is that I measured on some HID lamps that the high beam light position (as measured at the point of highest intensity) was a roughly 3 inches higher than the low beam. On others, it was less than an inch. So what does that mean? It means that at the 25 feet I measured it at, a bulb that was 3 inches above the low beam would project substantially further down road than one that was less than an inch above the low beam.
I didn't connect the dots until 720Deere's thread and your comment on the high beam performance. I guess that is why they pay engineers to design these things!
The answer to this is a projector housing...
Laughing Gas
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,082
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From: Illinois
Great information in this thread! I have learned a lot from all who contributed. It makes me wonder if another simpler, less complicated technology, such as LEDs will end up replacing HID technology any time in the future? HID may have great light output but it is a complicated and consuming technology by its very nature 0f the high intensity arc. More to potentially fail or be consumed in the HID scenario.
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Here is that article on headlamps. LEDs are discussed, but it still sounds like Buck Rogers stuff at this point. How Your Headlights Work - Quartz Iodine H13 HID LED Headlights - Popular Mechanics
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