Electrical guys. HID headlight

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Big BF added some Kuryakan halogen taillights.

Dunno if that's part of the problem.

The HID headlight already on the bike when I bought it isn't throwing as much light as it used to.

Looking at the headlight it looks bright but it just isn't throwing much light.

I've got photos on my smart (ha f'in  ha) phone but it doesn't want to talk to my laptop.

I'm having one of those weeks when crap is going tits up faster than I can deal with it. It's only f'in Monday!

Printer wont print clearly either but that's another story.

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Beat phone into submission   

Here's looking at the HID in full



This is the light it's projecting   





This is with my blacktop melting spots on



This is the light they project

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Weird huh?

[BonS]

My take is that the HID lamp is not positioned in the correct place in the reflector housing (the focal point). So it's spraying its light all over the place instead of straight ahead. You can try shimming the HID bulb out a bit and see if that helps. If it needs to go in further I don't know what you'd do. In any case, substituting another lamp technology such as HID or LED can be a hit-and-miss proposition when putting them into a reflector designed specifically for a tungsten halogen bulb.

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My take is that the HID lamp is not positioned in the correct place in the reflector housing (the focal point). So it's spraying its light all over the place instead of straight ahead. You can try shimming the HID bulb out a bit and see if that helps. If it needs to go in further I don't know what you'd do. In any case, substituting another lamp technology such as HID or LED can be a hit-and-miss proposition when putting them into a reflector designed specifically for a tungsten halogen bulb.

That's what I thought. I'll check with BigBf to see if he had to get into the headlight when he did some rewiring for me.

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Just took headlight out of the "bucket".

The bulb is securely mounted to the reflector. I don't think it can be moved. I pulled back the rubber bot and the spring/hook is in the right place.

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The outside of the bucket



Is this OEM?

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Bulb in the low beam position. The bottom bright spot is a reflection.

The bulb physically moves backwards when high beam is activated 

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Part of the HID wiring

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Is this oem?

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Hologram sticker on the back of the bulb

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Could it be that the bulb is simply old?

I think it's been in the bike for donkeys years. But why would it suddenly give less light. Wouldn't it be a gradual diminishing of light output?

[Chippy01]

Britman,
I was always under the impression that HID bulbs don't work well in reflector lamp housings. It just scatters the light pattern, giving useless lighting to the guy behind the lamp while simultaneously blinding oncoming drivers.
For a HID bulb to work well, it has to be installed in a projector housing.

I know the boy-racer types both in the UK and Ireland, used to retro fit HID bulbs into their cars until recently, when the MOT (UK) and NCT (Ireland) regulations tightened the rules up.
HID's could only be fitted to projector housings, with a self levelling and washer system (this is for cars). I know the police started clamping down on blinding HID's in reflectors over the past couple of years, and they have all but disappeared now.

As far as I am aware, HID's may start to fade with age, or the ballast may start to fail, and not just blow like halogen/incandescent bulbs.
A new HID bulb in the Valk's reflector housing will brighten what you may see as a rider, but it will also blind oncoming drivers, even on the dip setting, due to the light scattering effect.

You may be better off with a better 'standard halogen' bulb.
I upgraded years ago to Osram NightBreaker bulbs. Same wattage as stock, but a much better light output. Avoid going for a higher wattage, as you run the risk of melting connections, etc, due to excessive heat produced.

Just my 2c..

[mark81]

hid lights do diminish over time. if it was a sudden thing I would suspect a voltage issue. either to the transformer or from. No way that I know of checking output volts since its so high (several thousand volts). The reason it moves the bulb for high and low is that particular hid bulb is designed as a retrofit replacement. if you look at a standard bulb the one filament is further out than the other. it focuses the light differently for high and low beam in the reflector. My suggestion would be verify proper voltage and ground to HID ballast transformer if good then replace light and transformer together due to age of bulb and low voltage from transformer. Or you could try a LED headlight like all the cool kids are doing these days.   

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hid lights do diminish over time. if it was a sudden thing I would suspect a voltage issue. either to the transformer or from. No way that I know of checking output volts since its so high (several thousand volts). The reason it moves the bulb for high and low is that particular hid bulb is designed as a retrofit replacement. if you look at a standard bulb the one filament is further out than the other. it focuses the light differently for high and low beam in the reflector. My suggestion would be verify proper voltage and ground to HID ballast transformer if good then replace light and transformer together due to age of bulb and low voltage from transformer. Or you could try a LED headlight like all the cool kids are doing these days.   

Me getting anywhere near the electrics of the HID isn't going to happen. It would end in tears. My tears.

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Yes HID bulbs do degrade over time. Many have told me this. And that the ballast is either working or not working.

I've managed to find the exact replacement bulb. Some electrical fittings vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

[flash2002]

Did you try the light with that little reflector taken out, might make a difference.

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Did you try the light with that little reflector taken out, might make a difference.

I did not. Once I had the bulb out of the headlight shell I plugged it back in and could easily look at it even on high beam. It's weak.

Putting a new one in will reveal if there's more than a bulb problem.

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Upon closer inspection I can see the problem.

Look at this link for the replacement bulb

http://www.lightinthebox.com/2-x-car-h4-h4-3-hi-lo-front-light-headlight-white-bi-xenon-hid-bulb-35w-6000k_p4533486.html?utm_campaign=cartcross

Half way up the glass section of the bulb there's a clear globular bulge. My bulb looks black here. So a gradual degradation of the bulb until it became really noticeable.

Here's a link to all the  bike stuff they sell.

Seems like pretty good pricing.

http://www.lightinthebox.com/c/motorcycle-lighting_15455

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Eventually got a couple of new bulbs from China. They did send bulbs with an incorrect connector so I got a full refund.

I then spliced in the right connector from the old bulb.

Let there be light! This is low beam.



High beam is painful to look at.

Now I wait for bulbs for the light bar lights. One of those has blown and replacements are coming form China. I paid $5.08 for 4.

I did find a bulb here but PepBoys wanted $25 for 2 Sylvania in packaging that cost more than the bulbs to produce..