And so far they don't flicker ... And I've not reprogrammed anything on the car. Longest time on so far is 15,mins, but i will try it for longer later.
Also fitted a set of 3000k (yellow) hid to the fogs, quite funky.
Beam patterns seem all fine too, contrary to other previous posts.

Thought I would mention it in case others were considering. Kits were eBay canbus ones and mine is a 2011 model year (newer grill type )

They won't flicker as it's not a factory HID system. After market HID kits are designed to work with the normal power feed to the ballasts.

Factory headlights require the programming to produce the correct power for the ballasts.

Glad you have fitted them to projector headlights, so at least you won't glare people! Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Please let me know what make of kit you fitted and was it an H11 original bulb or HB3.
I have projector lamps with single filament HB3 bulbs and shutter dip. All FL2's (3) Gone
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FL2 GS Auto SD with heated leather, factory tints, alloy spare and a few other bits.

Mav71 wrote:

They won't flicker as it's not a factory HID system. After market HID kits are designed to work with the normal power feed to the ballasts.

Factory headlights require the programming to produce the correct power for the ballasts.

Glad you have fitted them to projector headlights, so at least you won't glare people!

Mav,

All the reading I had done about it left me with the impression that regardless of HID ballast, the MOSFET chips in the lighting circuit would sense them and flicker. I've even got the fused relays sitting on the desk in preparation for doing that half of the circuit.

I thought I would just plug them in and see whether they would flicker or not, and they don't, which is a bonus - hence the post.

Dru,

they were bought just as an experiment from here - at sub £20 i figured it would be worth a punt. ( I in no way have any connection with the eBay seller )

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331244871292


Having had them fitted a few days now, some observations:

- warm up time is slower than OEM systems - especially the yellow fogs
- the 6000k is really quite blue for 6000k - the 4300/5000k may have been a better choice in hindsight
- the beam pattern is not quite as even as halogen, but its still good all round, you only notice at close range driving
- the cutoff does have a purple fringe to it.
- transforms the look of the car from outside

Overall, i'm happy enough with it so far. Definite improvement in brightness over halogen - but I may consider a 4300/5000 colour temp further down the line.

My only experience of HID conversion kits is when I am riding home in the dark and filtering between two lanes of traffic on my motorcycle. I can spot the cars with HID conversions a long way away from behind as they give a blueish light and they project, ooh, about 6 feet in front of the bumper! I really think that most people buy them to look 'cool' rather than for what a headlamp is designed for - to actually see where you are going. Observation number 5 above confirms this.

BTW, just why does a HID light option on a new vehicle cost hundreds of pounds instead of £20? Those manufacturers must be mad eh.

The projector style lights will have a different reflector for Halogen and the discharge lamp, while the third party manufacturers try to get the dimensions the same the arc is a far smaller size than a halogen filament, it is pretty critical to get the whole package right or the light output falls off rapidly.
This diagram shows what happens inside the reflector

I'm quite conscious about the beams being too high and dazzling, but in my case, i've had to adjust nothing in that regard, the cut-off of the beam appears to be in the same place.

Whether the width of the beam is narrower or wider than halogen (as per placement diagram by taz), its not so easy to tell. I certainly at the moment don't feel that i've lost light at the sides and have a narrower beam, nor to I feel I've lost light in the middle.

Steve,

I've seen a lot of HID lights have the beam cutoff set really really low. My mini with original HID came adjusted like that. It was positively dangerous to drive on unlit roads as you couldn't see much in front of you. Out with the allen keys and that was sorted.

As for OEM versus eBay specials ... it comes down to the components and quality of them. There is no doubt that a philips HID bulb is far better manufactured and of higher quality than a cheap far east one. you can just tell by looking at them. Similarly, the electronics in the ballast will likely be of a higher standard / quality.

No whether that different really amounts to 10x the cost, I'm not so sure, but in my mind, there is a difference and wouldn't try to pretend there isn't.

I always understood that it was the relector and lens combination that had to be tailored to the HID bulb. I'd like to see the beam pattern and cut-off point plus light output on a proper MOT headlamp beam tester.

I have The Retrofit Source HIDs in m halogen projectors and they work well. I compared them next to an HSE of the same year with the HID projectors and the only difference in light out put is this odd faint bubble at the top of the cut off (for each bulb) and the fact that the cutoff is not as sharp when using Halogen HIDs. The Halogen projectors cut off is basically fuzzy but still there in the same spot. I'm pretty sure the cutoff difference has to do with how deep the halogen bulbs are in the projector vs. HIDs. The halogens are not set as far back in the projector lens (say 1/4") which is why the cutoff looks blurry, this is probably because they need true halogen bulbs closer to the front to get better output vs HID filaments.

I am using 50w ballast which makes it extremely bright, I'm trying to determine if it is dangerous at that level compared to the normal 35w.

You will have to watch the reflector for scorching, a common problem with HID lamps, I am getting the dealer to check mine in a couple of weeks at the service, the beam pattern has a distinct yellow tinge, a sure sign the reflector is scorched, your higher wattage may well scorch the reflector in which case you will get less light and possibly the fuzzy pattern.

Thats actually a debated topic. I always thought that in reality, 35w HIDs produce much less heat than 55w halogens? The reflectors were designed for 55w halogens, the 50w HID may produce the same or a bit more heat than the halogen. I think the big factor would be the different placement and distance from the filament to the housing that would cause a burn. I.e., the longer HID gets closer to the lens, I would expect the lens area to burn.

Where exactly is the reflector that you are referring to? In the back of the headlight?

As for my light output, its been the same since day one, so has the cutoff pattern blur. I don't think that's from anything being burnt or if it was then it must have happened immediately.

Regardless, are you still in warranty? I'd be hesitant about having a dealer look at damage from an HID. Considering retro fitting HIDs obviously voids the warranty on everything in there and the electrical.

Yes, still in warranty and factory fitted HID In my case , the light is nowhere near as good as my previous Freelander, the headlamp manufacturer has changed, the new units are made by Visteon.
I will try and get a photo, the beam isn't as uniform as the previous car and the yellow suggests a problem.