Hella DE Xenon lights

[Solo]

A number of us bought Hella DE Xenon lights a few months ago after a post (Bramfrank's?) noted the good price on EBay. Has anyone mounted these things yet? I'd welcome any suggestions. I can't figure out where to mount the ballasts, which are too thick to go in the nose.

 

[Deacon06]

A number of us bought Hella DE Xenon lights a few months ago after a post (Bramfrank's?) noted the good price on EBay. Has anyone mounted these things yet? I'd welcome any suggestions. I can't figure out where to mount the ballasts, which are too thick to go in the nose.

I bought them too but have not had time to install. Let us know if you get it figured out!!

 

[Solo]

Furthermore, looking at the wiring diagram, it looks like you are supposed to run a wire from the positive battery terminal and also tap into the switched power to the high beam. My thinking is that the relay must draw power from the battery to run the lights, but the relay doesn't switch that power to the lights until it gets a postive input from the high beam. Yes??

The wiring harness also runs three leads to the negative terminal. Any reason not to tie these wires together and run just one lead to the negative terminal?

Am I off in my thinking here?

 

[Bungie]

I installed mine about two weeks ago, Gen 1 so things may be different for yours.

Ballasts. Throttle side is mounted directly on the shelf below the headlights.It clears the plastic shield mounted on the lower triple with about a 1/4" to spare. Zip tied in place. Clutch side is mounted in the space just ahead of the glove box.

Wiring - I ran all 3 grounds directly to the frame using the one of the rectifiers mounting bolts. Mine are on a separate circuit and are completely independent of the stock headlight circuit. I mounted a switch in the 'flash to pass' socket (ordered from Digikey - requires some dremeling to make fit. Search the forum for proper switch to use). Power for the relay comes from my fuseblock. If your bike is like mine you don't have the clearance to mount much of anything directly off the battery. Between the main positive lead, main power to the fuseblock and my battery tender lead, I'm maxed out!

Installation - Originally I thought it would take 3 or 4 hours. It took a full day taking my time but working steady. Lots of cutting wires to length. Make sure you have lots and lots of connectors, terminals, shrink tube etc.

All that being said this ******* cannot be used as daytime running lights. Their just two bright! They have some pretty serious downrange punch to them. I just returned from a trip from Nova Scotia and the first day out I was running down the Trans Canada after dark looking for a hotel. It's a divided 4 lane with the opposing lane perhaps 500 feet adjacent. With my Hella's lit up, oncoming traffic a quarter mile up the road would flash their lights at me furiously. Only did that once!

I've posted some pics in Bram's original thread. Might want to have a look.

 

[Solo]

Bungie,

I assume you used the relay supplied with the lamps. What does the yellow wire from the relay connect to? That has me stumped. The wiring diagram indicates that it wires into the headlamp wiring somehow.

 

[Bungie]

I assume you used the relay supplied with the lamps. What does the yellow wire from the relay connect to? That has me stumped. The wiring diagram indicates that it wires into the headlamp wiring somehow.

That's the energizer for the relay (low current side). Either to your headlight circuit, or to a switch connected to power (as my install is).

 

[Solo]

So the relay has power coming to it from the battery (or fuseblock in your case) via a red wire, and then the yellow wire could attach to the highbeam wire coming off of the highbeam/lowbeam switch? Have I got that correct?

 

[Bungie]

So the relay has power coming to it from the battery (or fuseblock in your case) via a red wire, and then the yellow wire could attach to the highbeam wire coming off of the highbeam/lowbeam switch? Have I got that correct?

A relay is a device to manage high current draws so that the high current does NOT have to run through a switch. It has two 'sides' to it. The high current side, and the low current 'energizer' side. When the power is applied to the low current side, a magnetic solenoid inside the relay is charged causes an internal contact to be made between the high voltage wires, thus completing the high voltage side of the circuit..

So in a nutshell. Put +12V on the yellow wire and you'll complete the circuit on the high voltage side. If it comes from the battery through a switch or, from the high beam side of the headlights it doesn't matter. If theirs power there on the yellow wire, the circuit is complete and your lights should be flash frying a bambi.

 

[Solo]

Thanks Bungie! You've been a big help. I was thinking along those lines, but your concise description really helped me understand what was happening in there and how it should be wired. Now to stock up on connectors and get those wire cutters out. I hope that by the end of the weekend I'm ready to fry anything in front of me.