Hi all, a while back I installed a hi/low HID kit and it was fantastic! BUT! then I started to find that every now and then it would cut out when switching from low to high. Not too good really as you only tend to do that in the dark.... I've replaced the left switchblock with a brand new set, but I noticed it was still doing it occasionally. Eventually I disconnected the globe and went back to the original as I do a lot of night commuting on the open road, which is ordinary to say the least. Now about a month later my battery gave up the ghost and I had to replace. So I'm wondering if the unit was faulty, or maybe was it due to the battery being on the way out that it may have been cutting out????? Does anybody know about these units??? it was a really great light, but no good if it aint working!! thank good I had small fog lights which run off the parkers to keep me on the tarmac when they went off. If anyone's got some clues on what could be tested that'd be beaut!
cheers, Andyb

EXCUSE THE ALL UPPER CASE I HAVE ONE HAND OUT OF ACTION. I AM NOT YELLING. THERE IS NO WAY IT WOULD BE THE BATTERY AT FAULT.
YOU HAVE REPLACED THE MOST OBVIOUS PART SO I WOULD SAY YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD SPARE SWITCH. THE ONLY THING I CAN COME UP WITH IS IF THE KIT HAD A CIRCUIT BREAKER FOR THE MAIN POWER FEED. WHAT COULD BE HAPPENING IS THAT AS YOU SWITCH FROM LOW TO HIGH A HEAP OF CURRENT IS DRAWN FOR A VERY SHORT TIME AND THEN SETTLES BACK TO NORMAL THIS COULD TRIP THE CIRCUIT BREAKER AND THEN IT RESETS WITHIN ABOUT 2 SECONDS AND THEN AS THE LIGHT IS STILL WARM AND DOES NOT DRAW QUITE AS MUCH CURRENT AGAIN DOES NOT TRIP THE CIRCUIT BREAKER AGAIN.
A CIRCUIT BREAKER IS USUALLY A SMALL THING ABOUT 25MM LONG AND 15 MM SQUARE WITH 2 SMALL BOLTS 4MM ON THE LONG SIDE. IF YOU HAVE ONE TRY A HIGHER AMPERAGE ONE.
I CANT THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE THAT WOULD GIVE THAT EFFECT AS THERE IS NOTHING STANDARD ON A BRICK THAT WOULD DO IT.

DO TELL WHERE IN OZ YOU LIVE AS IT IS A RATHER LARGE PLACE, JUST A TOWN WOULD DO AS THERE ARE MEMBERS ALL OVER AND WE ARE CONSIDERING ANOTHER GET TOGETHER OF THE OZBRICKS

Hiya K Freak thanks for the reply. What your saying makes sense, the system is a cheapy chinese knock off so I'm thinking maybe your right with the slight delay when you switch from low to high is overloading it, but it just has a normal blade fuse in the power from the +ve lead (I think its 40amp all connected straight to the battery). And as with all niggly things I cant get it to replicate the symptoms while I'm sitting comfortably in the shed......I may get a better quality set as it really made a huge difference to my night commute riding. I guess the eastern beaver kit with a ceramic coupler and a 100/130 globe might do the trick also, but seeing this kit has already been set up in the fairing, it would be relative easy to substitute the new components in. Oh and yup I've updated my location for you........and yes Woodend is probably just a touch colder than Stanthorpe is in winter!!!! (My folks are at Mt Tambourine) So make sure the get-together is somewhere around 20c.....that would be very nice. cheers Andyb

andy ..if i can add ....the hid kits really do require a good constant supply of power ....hids are known for a verry slow turn on and are illegal without constant power ...usually the hid kits are wired so that the low beam never goes out ,,,,so that when switching to high beam low is still operational durring the change over period till the high beam strikes up and often both are operational durring high beam .

but a slight glitch in power supply could leave you in the dark for a while ....and travelling at speed it seem a looong while ...

i notice that i have a high beam light switch issue time to time ,,,when the switch itself doesnt actuall make the right changeover process .

also hids have a balast (current limit device ) wired into the supply of the power to the particular globe in question .....i have heard that there a short cutts taken in the chinese manufacture process ( quality of components being the issue ) ...you may find that the balast portion of the kit ..may be the issue ...

hope this helps

hey !! and welcome aboard ..

Hi Charlie99, I reckon your right that its probably something to do with the balast and the break in power as you switch from low to hi. I remember seeing an 'eager beaver' setup that had a jumper wire with a resistor in the H4 plug that allowed you have the low beam on still when you selct hi beam.....maybe that would prevent the break in power as you switch over, therefore keeping power constant, but I'm assuming it would still trigger the solenoid to pull the globe back to high beam position??? having said that I'm certainly no electrician........I'll have a look at their site and see if i can come up with a workable solution...........cheers Andyb

sounds interesting all the same andy ....care to share some pics ?

I'll take some pics and let you know what comes of it ( if i can work out how to upload them). I spoke to a real person in a shop that sells the HID kits for bikes today. He reckons the power to the globe stays seprate from the solenoid which pulls the globe back when selecting hi beam, which means the problem is most likely in the circuitry for the balast unit. So I may just buy his kit and replace (his best unit has an 18 month warranty...) The installation was very easy on the RT with all wires and the balast unit sitting in nicely just in front of the left hand glovebox, and ran the power leads under the left side of the tank back to the battery. he also said on start up that it pull just under 7-8amps for about 20 seconds, so that shouldnt be a huge drain on the battery. cheers Andyb

hi andy ......we use https://servimg.com in here
the process of uploading and pasting pics is not hard ....if a little repitious in as much as loading the link in the right place for the post ..
but with a little bit of practice ...its really quite non confronting ....

take a look here http://k100rt.aforumfree.com/t998-posting-pictures-and-movies

this may help

Im sorry to hear about the failures of your HID's. However, im in the market for putting one on my bike. You have any suggestions as to what to buy and where to get them?

-joel

hey Joel, sorry for the time taken to get back to you. I'm in Oz, and just sourced via google for places here. But at the moment I'm awaiting some PIAA H4 globes that I ordered from the US, through a mob called 'More power Racing'(via website). Supposed to be good, and at $40+ US each (I ordered 2 for good measure), they better be! I thought I would give them a go before going down the HID road again. Regards the HID i went for a complete Hi/lo kit. you may have seen some with the HID LO, and a conventional Hi beam, but that seemd pointless as I want good light all round. I'll let you know if the PIAA's are any good. Here's the link to what I was looking to replace the HID unit i've got.....



http://www.delonixradar.com.au/hid-xenon/motorcycle-hid-lights/h4-hi-lo/





cheers Andyb