hid conversion questions

denalixlnsaab · December 19, 2005

I'm going to be installing some HID's in the low beams of my denali fairly soon, and a few of my friends cars that came stock with HID's have the low beams stay on with the high beams, and the high beams are not HID's. I only got one kit for the low beam because the high beams I don't think need them, but should I set it up so that the low beams stay on with the high beams? Or does it not matter? How bad is it for the HID's to have them turn on and off every time I switch between high and low beams?

I guess I'd really like to set it up so lows stay on with highs, but I don't know how to do this. On my old 99 suburban I got the Painless Wiring kit for it, and although it worked, I had more problems with it than you can imagine, so I want to avoid dealing with them, is there a way to homebrew something that allows the lows to stay on with the highs?

Also, how do I get rid of the feature where in dark areas the headlights automatically come one?

~Justin

Machine · December 19, 2005

I have had aftermarket HID low beams on my both of my Suburbans for over a year, now. The scenario you described is something I have thought about many times when I’m driving down dark highways or in parking garages. The kit I installed claims 3000 hours of trouble free performance, and, so far, switching from high’s to low’s has not caused anything to fail prematurely. If you’re worried about longevity – I recommend doing another wiring harness. Actually, I haven’t really had to use my high beams for anything more than a few seconds…I just pull the stick towards me to activate the high’s while the low’s are still on.

denalixlnsaab · December 20, 2005

awesome, thanks for helping me feel a little more at ease about that,

but what about the auto headlight feature, anyone know how to disable that? it's to cold out for me to go looking through relay panels and fuse boxes, i also don't like just pulling random fuses and relays unless i'm sure of it

~Justin

denalixlnsaab · December 23, 2005

bump

VR4Rob · December 23, 2005

I'm just a newb here but I've had HIDs on my previous car (Jeep Cherokee) and my current car (VR-4) and I know a little bit about them. Where are you getting your HIDs from? The quality of the kit will have a lot to do with longevity, obviously. As far as turning them on and off, I know that turning the HIDs on and off excessively will cause extra wear on the ballast and igniter, though to what extent I'm not sure. I think you'll be OK as long as you dont overdo it I.E. flash your lights on and off really fast. If you wanted to wire them up to stay on at the same time, I dont think it would be that difficult to do, just would take some careful study of the stock wiring diagram to figure out what needs to connect where. Hope this helps some

-Rob

CASEY1 · December 23, 2005

I bought a "High-4 Conversion kit" from Stylin Concepts. I have HID in my 2005 Silverado and it works fine with this kit.

holstbnet · December 25, 2005

If you do a search on this and some other truck forums, you'll find tons of threads about how to disable the AHLs -- it involves putting a resistor in the plug for your ambient light sensor. I plan to disable my AHLs when I do the Envoy HID conversion to my S-10. I like DRLs and will retain those, but I don't want my headlights turning on every morning just because I'm in the garage or whatever, prematurely wearing out the HIDs.

asilverblazer · December 25, 2005

I like DRLs and will retain those, but I don't want my headlights turning on every morning just because I'm in the garage or whatever, prematurely wearing out the HIDs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Apply the parking brake they won't come on... Of course when you release it to back out they will... I like not having to remember to flip the head lights off.

Ben · December 25, 2005

Keeping on the low beams when the high beams are on is not a good idea for boulevard or highway cruising.

If you need to "see" things that close, you are over driving your lighting.

Your reaction times vs speed vs distance vs vehicle ability to move over is not going to sync.

For show, sure thing.

For off roading, sure thing, but careful washing out detail with those HIDs. Plus the differential light source and the shadowing will make picking out certain obstacles difficult. Worse if at a higher rate of speed.

HIDs on trucks is not a good thing, IMHO. Too bright and blinding and know from driving my sports car and sedans with trucks with HIDs.

denalixlnsaab · December 26, 2005

first off, vr4rob, i got my hid's from a friend that retails them, so i got them really cheap, they are helios brand.

holstbnet thank you for the AHL term, now i know what to search for that will yield results, i too want to disable it because i'm in the garage in the morning.

and ben, i have no idea what a boulevard is, lol, and i don't and i don't know anyone that uses high beams on the highway, my highways are always to full.

and if i were overdriving my lights i wouldn't want to see things close, i'd want to see things far

i don't go offroading, i like the highs and lows to be on at the same time because i like how the lows fill the area infront and sides of the car better, the high beams on a denali are really broad, they aren't intense like other cars, but they just cover a lot of area, and i almost hit a dear the other night because i didn't see it coming out of the woods, but the low beams fill in that extra area nicely.

and i will post a few pictures later of the kit

~justin