Cycle Gear HID light Kit -- 55 bones

[moparman70]

this month catalog has a HID kit on sale for 55 bucks -- half off the normal cycle gear prices of 110.  It looks like from the description it comes in different sizes -- H4 -- H7 H9 H11 but only H4 has the hi/lo feature.

Is H4 a universal size and will it work on a FJ,...

It also says it works as well as OEM 55watts but uses only 35... a similar post mentions 35 watt kit by DDM -- maybe its the same kit.  

Direct OEM replacement "plug and play" according to the ad but funny it doesn't mention FJ applications.


If any have installed this let us know...

stevecc

[pdxfj]

H4 is the headlight lamp the FJ uses.

By being a "plug and play" kit, likely what they are describing is...

Remove the Halogen lamp
Install the HID lamp
Mount the ballast and relay
Hook up dedicated power and ground
Plug H4 male socket into the bike's stock H4 head lamp connector

Check all your connections, turn on the key and see if you have light.

A HID setup will draw less current (usually 1-2 amps) than the equivalent wattage Halogen lamp while putting out a lot more light. Initial start-up to fire the lamp can run upwards of 6 or more amps, but only for a brief moment.

In my experience HID is nice, but the way the H4 high/lo was constructed in the DDM kit resulted in my setup becoming useless.  Unless I come across a better constructed kit I'll stick with a PIAA lamp and the relay mod.

[rktmanfj]

H4 is the headlight lamp the FJ uses.

By being a "plug and play" kit, likely what they are describing is...

Remove the Halogen lamp
Install the HID lamp
Mount the ballast and relay
Hook up dedicated power and ground
Plug H4 male socket into the bike's stock H4 head lamp connector

Check all your connections, turn on the key and see if you have light.

A HID setup will draw less current (usually 1-2 amps) than the equivalent wattage Halogen lamp while putting out a lot more light. Initial start-up to fire the lamp can run upwards of 6 or more amps, but only for a brief moment.

In my experience HID is nice, but the way the H4 high/lo was constructed in the DDM kit resulted in my setup becoming useless.  Unless I come across a better constructed kit I'll stick with a PIAA lamp and the relay mod.

Maybe you detailed this in the other thread (I'm too lazy to look right now), but I take it that you were able to determine exactly what the failure point was in the DDM kit.  What was it / do you have pics?

I'm going to do an HID mod, but if there's a common failure point in these (and perhaps other kits, as well), I'd like to know what to look for before buying one.

[pdxfj]

The vibes of the bike is what did in the DDM kit.

In the DDM kit I had, the base of the lamp moved in and out of the socket to simulate hi and low beam.  The base is slightly loose by design and is moved by magnets. Over time the base literally ate itself to death.  The amount of free play in the base was such that the lamp would no longer remain stable and would move more and more with engine vibes.  It was to the point that anything above about 40mph caused the headlight beam to bounce around roughly 20 feet while riding.  Needless to say it was useless at night.

When I removed the HID lamp from the headlight housing I found a very fine dust all over the inside of the housing.  It was the same color as the material used to construct the HID lamp socket and housing.

I would imagine on a more modern bike the same kit would do fine since engine vibes are much, much less than the FJ.  Maybe even be ok in a later model FJ with all the engine mounts in good working order. 

[moparman70]

There are many posts -- this might be the one -- or just search under HID -- I found a few.



http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=2132.0

[RichBaker]

Looks similar to the Bikemaster kit sold by motorcyclegear.com (new enough), but the Bikemaster looks to have better connectors.

http://www.motorcyclegear.com/parts/parts/lamp_kits/bike_master/hid_light_kit_for_h4_bulb.html

[fj11.5]

i bought one of the h4 kits from ebay, cheap at $35.00  easy to install as allready mentioned , hi lo works like the standard globe , brightest headlight you could ask for ,so far not effected by vibration ect, fairly fast start up, reaching full brightness in about 6 secconds 

[Mike 86 in San Dimas]

Read the cycle gear ad. Last line in the product description was "intended for off street use" or something like that. A disclaimer of sorts I guess. It comes with the 6000K color wish it were 5000K. Could always get another lamp though.
Mike

[FJmonkey]

Read the cycle gear ad. Last line in the product description was "intended for off street use" or something like that. A disclaimer of sorts I guess. It comes with the 6000K color wish it were 5000K. Could always get another lamp though.
Mike

6K in Kelvin gives you the Blue look. But your eyes cannot fully use the wattage the bulb puts out. 4K to 5K gives you the best bang that your eyes can use. 4.5K is what blinded you on the way back last weekend.

[moparman70]

Marsh -- I recognize that voice anywhere -- bike too -- very informative  -- DDM  kit info

HID Headlight Bulb for FJ1200

stevecc

[FJmonkey]

this month catalog has a HID kit on sale for 55 bucks -- half off the normal cycle gear prices of 110.  It looks like from the description it comes in different sizes -- H4 -- H7 H9 H11 but only H4 has the hi/lo feature.
Is H4 a universal size and will it work on a FJ,...
It also says it works as well as OEM 55watts but uses only 35... a similar post mentions 35 watt kit by DDM -- maybe its the same kit.  
Direct OEM replacement "plug and play" according to the ad but funny it doesn't mention FJ applications.
If any have installed this let us know...
stevecc

Bugger me mate!!! Did my HID lights burn out some of your brain cells? The FJ uses H4, and if you pay $100 then you paid 2X what you should. Your mate San_Dimas_Mike got his kit from Cycle Gear and installed this last weekend. Get the HI/Lo bulb in 4.5K or 5K brightness. The H4 kits plug into the 3 prong OEM plug allowing 100% backward compatibility, if any part of the HID system fails, Just unplug from system and resume using normal H4 bulbs.

Mike, talk some damn sense into Steve and let him see the light.

Thanks for the breakfast burritos Steve on the last SoCal run.... I liked the green chillies and sausage bits....Great roads as well....

[moparman70]

I just might by one --- but my lazy ass will probably never install it  and dont forget Mark I started this post so I know the damn price...

did you like Marsh"s video...

[simi_ed]

Steve, did you know that DDM has a branch in Vista?  That's right in your backyard.

Ed

[FJmonkey]

I just might by one --- but my lazy ass will probably never install it  and dont forget Mark I started this post so I know the damn price...
did you like Marsh"s video...

Steve, I try not to pass up any opportunity to break someone's balls. This was just one of them and you make a good target. As far a Marsh's vid goes, guess he had some time between porn shoots to make a vid of his own. Quite tame by porn standards but very informative... I am guessing the DDM kit was fairly new, blasted sun light from his FJ and he wanted to share. I might be a little late to this party but I am drinking the HID Cool-aid. Saved my dark tinted visor ass more than once now. Just a few hours with the upper fairing off, a beer or two and you have HID.

Mike, how did your HID upgrade go? Are you seeing the light yet?

[1tinindian]

With all this recent talk about HIDs, I have looked into putting them into my 1995 Grand Prix, which some of you may know, have the mini-quad headlamps, same as the 93-97 Camaro, and they are terrible. So I started looking for a conversion kit on ebay, and it got me wondering...with the price of the DDM kit for a single H4 HID for motorcycles, I can find the same H4 Bixenon HID kits for cars that have TWO of everything, (bulbs, ballast, wiring, etc...) for the same prices as the DDM kit.
Am I not understanding something here???why couldn't you get one of these kits and use it on your bike?
Hell, I've got two bikes I could use the cars kit on them both and do it at half the price.
I'm hoping someone smarter than myself will explain to my why this wouldn't be a good idea, or why I shouldn't do it.

Leon