So, I intend to see if I can upgrade the lighting on the front of my car using cheap Ebay stuff and deciding if a bargain really is a bargain.
I'll be using the cheapest possible kit while keeping it safe, error free and relatively legal
I started with LED sidelights as they don't trigger a bulb failure warning and I can get loads pretty cheap.
I found some Cree LED ones for less than £3 for a set of 4, posted. I had issues with the cree chip exploding in the reflector so I've got myself another set and I'll be fitting load resistors in an effort to make them more reliable. More on that later.
I ordered this HID kit on Jan 28th and it arrived tonight. Not bad considering it had to swim all the way from Hong Kong
Although the kit came with no instructions, it was a pretty easy install.
1st, remove the cups from the back of the reflector, drill a 22mm hole in the middle and clip a small slot, leading to the stickered cut-out...
Then remove the wire clamp from the power cable...
And feed the cable through the cup, securing the rubber bung in the 22mm hole and refitting the wire clamp...
Connect the original bulb supply to the power connector on the inside of the cup - this leads out to the ballast, which in turn leads back in through the rubber bung to the bulb itself. Fit the bulb and replace the cap on the reflector.
The more eagle-eyed of you will have noticed the bulb isn't fitted correctly, I sorted it now
The ballast should be mounted on a bracket (supplied) but for now, I've tucked it away somewhere cool and breezy.
Here's a comparison - HID on the left and 100W offroad bulbs on the right...
Both HIDs
They're a bit blue for my tastes (6000k) and for the colour scheme I'm after but it's only full beam so won't get used much.
Stay tuned - more to follow when my other drunken purchases arrive
Oh, as for errors...
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