HID Low-Only to High-Only Modification

[Warchild]

All,

I have not yet had a chance to do any real testing, but I thought I'd show y'all some preliminary photos of the modification in process. Apologies for you poor dial-up dudes, but these large photos show the best detail.

I'm also going to get with Ignacio sometime over the weekend to do a side-by-side comparison with this High-Beam Only HID, compared to his stock halogen high beam.

Again, this is taking the current "Low-Beam Only" HID lamp, and turning it into a "High-Beam Only" HID lamp. This mod is more-or-less reversible.

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Modification Concept:

Those that have one of these HID kits (either "Low-Beam Only", or the "Hi/Lo" kit) universally acknowledge that the low-beam improvement is at least 3X that of the stock halogen equivalent, if not more. That being the case, one properly aimed HID "Low-Beam Only" capsule is still superior to *both* stock halogen low beams.

So the concept here is to leave one of the "Low-Beam Only" HID lamps to serve as the bike's low beam, and turn the other lamp into a "High-Beam Only" HID lamps. It follows than, that if we can take one of the HID capsules and achieve the proper focal point for High-Beam operation, we'll have the best of all worlds... a staggering HID low-beam, and a killer HID high-beam!

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Extracting the HID Capsule:

First we gather the necessary tools for extracting the HID capsule from its Low-Beam Only holder: a tiny jeweler's screwdriver, and a pair of small needlenose pliers:

Take the jeweler's screwdriver and gently pry up one of the two retaining tabs of the circlip that hold the capsule in place. Do the same for the other retaining tab on the other side:

Here you can see the circlip start to emerge from the base holder:

Now used your small needlenose pliers to completely remove the circlip:

Now you can withdraw the HID capsule completely. Yellow arrow points to circlip "locking slots" that you will have to duplicate later:

Cutting the Capsule Holder:

As previously mentioned, the high-beam "filament" MUST have an unhindered, 360-degree view of the FJR's entire reflector housing in order to exactly duplicate the stock beamcast. So we'll have to dremel out the existing "Low-Beam Only" holder to provide that view, yet still leave enough metal support to retain the nose cone (the latter, to prevent a laser-beam throw of intense HID light out the front of the bike).

Gray diagonal stripes indicate areas we must dremel away:

Here is the finished product before deburring (and also the approximate position of the HID capsule to achieve the proper focal point for high-beam operation, which is ~ 6mm to the rear of the position used for low-beam operation):

Now comes the critical part of this exercise: you must place the HID capsule so that it EXACTLY, PRECISELY matches up with the stock H4 high-beam filament placement, as shown by the yellow line below. Any placement other than this precise point, and the focal point will be dicked up, resulting in a piss-poor, out-of-focus beamcast:

Comparing the HID High-Beam with Stock High beam:

As mentioned above, I'll get with Ignacio shortly after Thanksgiving to do a beamcast comparo, but until then, you can probably guess in the photo below which housing has the HID Low-Beam Only, and which has the HID High-Beam Only!

Questions.

 

[Warchild]

Okay, even though I can hardly move with all the Thanksgiving turkey packed down inside me, I got the oldest son to come out with his camera to snap off a few more shots tonight. He has one of them ultra-mega Canon digital cameras.

Here is the HID Low-Beam only (in the right housing as you sit on the bike) facing my garage door approx 20 feet away. The HID high beam lamp is not lit in this photo. Note how the lower line of panels is well lit up, and part of the second row of panels also fairly visable, but above the distinct low beam "cutoff" line:

Here's a photo of both HID high-beam and HID low-beam lit up together. Notice how we have full coverage from the bottom all the way up and into the thrid row of garage door panels! And a smooth, continuous line of coverage all along the top, with no "dead zones" detected in the middle...

Pretty cool, huh?

More to follow when I compare this configuration with Ignacio's halogen bulbs in his FJR....

 

[BrunDog]

Sweet.

Proof positive that a properly located high beam focal point gives the desired output, yes?

-BD

 

[Toecutter]

That's all good, but I'd be worried about attracting attention from the local LEO's by riding around with only one headlight lit.

 

[Warchild]

Proof positive that a properly located high beam focal point gives the desired output, yes?

 

[Warchild]

That's all good, but I'd be worried about attracting attention from the local LEO's by riding around with only one headlight lit.

There are quite a few bikes that feature asymmetric dual headlight arrangements right from the factory - some BMWs, several Ducatis, the Honda RC-51 and CBR600F4, etc.

 

[MCRIDER007]

That's all good, but I'd be worried about attracting attention from the local LEO's by riding around with only one headlight lit.

Why? A lot of motorcycles only have one headlight lit because they one have one headlight. Other motorcycles, such as my ST1100, have one headlight lit for low beam and two headlights lit for high beam. Does your state require that a motorcycle has to have two headlights and keep both of them lit all the time?

 

[Grumpy]

Nice work!

Jim

 

[Bounce]

That's all good, but I'd be worried about attracting attention from the local LEO's by riding around with only one headlight lit.

Quite a few bikes have dual headlights that OEM config is high-only while the other is low-only. How many LEOs do you know have a list of which are which and can recall them off the top of their heads?

edit - i see others caught this too. Happy T-Day

 

[FJRocket]

And why hasn't SkooterG come by to bust YOUR chops? Uh-uh. Sorry WC, that is NOT proof positive that the high beam is any good at all. You have to go out and do a side by side test. Wah wah wah.... <_<

JK!

OK, I'm convinced. Now, hack a BIXENON light and see if it does the same thing!!!!!!!

BTW, the high beam area still doesn't look quite as bright as the low beam. Does it look that way in the garage?

 

[Warchild]

BTW, the high beam area still doesn't look quite as bright as the low beam. Does it look that way in the garage?

What you see is fairly accurate, except the low-beam portion is whiter in person that it appears in this hi-lo combination photo (my stepson the camera buff says that's not unusual given the aperture/exposure settings he used to capture the high beam. His camera shots are all done without a strobe flash).

The HID high-beam indeed is not as "intense" as the HID low beam, and this appears to be simply a property of the high-beam reflector housing. When it's on low-beam only, the reflectors provide a much more concentrated, focused beamcast and sharp cutoff. While on high beam, the aim is significantly higher and the lights appears to be splatted out to the sky everywhere, not on the road the way the low-beam is. This is one of the reasons I have never been impressed with the FJR's high-beam throw. The output of low-beam reflector housing, OTOH, is outstanding.

Try this experiment yourself: run your bike out on a moonless night to an area that is quite dark (i.e.: no nearby telephone pole lamps or commercial lighting, etc). Now park your bike along the side of the road with your low beams running, and pick out an object that you can discern quite well (a bush, a rock, etc) that lies around 50-75 feet in front of the bike. Now switch to high beam. Notice how you can't discern that object quite as well? The high beam relector is aimed much higher in an attempt to (obviously) see further down the roadway, vice downward in front of the bike to the degree the low-beam is aimed.

And why hasn't SkooterG come by to bust YOUR chops? Uh-uh. Sorry WC, that is NOT proof positive that the high beam is any good at all. You have to go out and do a side by side test.

A side-by-side test is an appropriate one, hence Ignacio and I will be venturing out to the desert canyons soon (maybe tonight it the friggin' rain would stop for a while... weather here has been dog-shit for days... :angry:

 

[dobias]

Warchild,

Question: Would it be a problem to turn the high beam HID on & off frequently? I'm aware the bulb isn't instant on. I am curious if there would be excessive wear & tear with the type of traffic I encounter where I may need to dip my lights at least once a minute for oncoming traffic.

If my conclusion is correct, I would be better off with both sides having low beam HID's and installing a pair of PIAA halogen driving lights for high beam operation.

Your comments, please.

dobias <_<

 

[Warchild]

If my conclusion is correct, I would be better off with both sides having low beam HID's and installing a pair of PIAA halogen driving lights for high beam operation.Your comments, please.

Having run these HID systems for five years now, and given the extraordinarily focused power of the FJR's low-beam reflector housing, it is my personal opinion that the very best setup one could have is to install two Low-Beam Only HIDs in your stock reflector housings, and then use the aux lamps of your choice to serve as your high beams.

Which is exactly what I am doing. And, of course, I'm using the almighty PHIDs for my high-beams.

I will say that the "Low-Beam Only" HID setup provides such a HUGE improvement over what you are used to with halogen, that you'll likely find yourself using your high beam a lot, LOT less than you did in the past.

 

[RadioHowie]

Dale,

Your pictorial is very clear with one exceptoin...You kinda blew past this part fairly quickly:

Now you can withdraw the HID capsule completely. Yellow arrow points to circlip "locking slots" that you will have to duplicate later:

Am I to assume that originally there was only one "locking slots" and the other 7 were cut by you for accurately locating the "hot spot" of the HID capsule?

 

[Warchild]

Am I to assume that originally there was only one "locking slots" and the other 7 were cut by you for accurately locating the "hot spot" of the HID capsule?

No, not at all.... those slots you see cut into the HID capsule in that photo are done at the factory. I haven't cut any slots yet, but when I do, they will be further on the down the base (toward the glass bulb) when I am done.

Here's an update on my attempts now to duplicate this successful effort on the Hi/Lo capsule:

It's not going all that well. At all.

The butchering of the butterfly mechanism is substantial. I wouldn't consider it reversable.

 

[RadioHowie]

Am I to assume that originally there was only one "locking slots" and the other 7 were cut by you for accurately locating the "hot spot" of the HID capsule?

No, not at all.... those slots you see cut into the HID capsule in that photo are done at the factory. I haven't cut any slots yet, but when I do, they will be further on the down the base (toward the glass bulb) when I am done.

Here's an update on my attempts now to duplicate this successful effort on the Hi/Lo capsule:

It's not going wery well. At all.

The butchering of the butterfly mechanism is substantial. I wouldn't consider it reversable.

Okay, then here's a tough question:

Which one of the 8 "factory slots" was the original positioning slot?

And if it was the 1st one (the farthest right in the picture) would pulling the capsule out to the last slot (the farthest left in the picture) move the capsule out far enough to get the ~6mm you need?

One final idea...instead of cutting the window in the shield for an unencumbered 360 degree "view" of the HID hotspot for the highbeam reflector, since there will still be some shadowing by the legs of the shield, any thought to complete remove the shield and its nosecone, then simply gutting a standard H4 bulb and using the glass with its built-in nose cone as a shroud to slide over the HID capsule? That way you retain the nose cone with absolutely no shrouding of the hotspot by the "legs" of the modified shield.

BTW, Thomas Edison would be proud of youse guys.

 

[Warchild]

Which one of the 8 "factory slots" was the original positioning slot?

Truthfully, I haven't determined which one..... but when the capsule is in the correct position, the majority of the factory slots are all the way out and "exposed" from the end of the holder. This leads me to believe that the locking slot for the original positioning is probably somewhere in the mid-to-forward half of the original 8 slots.

 

[Thug]

Flash Work WC Considering a patent?

 

[FJRocket]

The original "factory" clip postion in the bixenon light source has THREE SLOTS SHOWING out the back end of the mechanism. I think the clip goes where the magic yellow arrow is on WC's post.

In order to get the light source back to the position of a dual filament high beam, I had to cut a new slot about 2 -3 mm FORWARD of the factory "washboard slots". I used a dremel with a cut off wheel to start, then a very fine, very sharp edged file to finish it. I started using and exacto knife, but the material was too hard to slice (especially in comparison to my fingers!).

Warchild, in addition to removing all the guts of the bixenon mechanism, I also might suggest you cut the base and that lousy reflector back a bunch. I bevelled my base back quite a lot to stop the base from shadowing the lght source onto the relfector lens. Sorry, no pictures yet. My host servers are evidently still down. Maybe Sunday I can get some pictures posted.

I think if you are going to have a dedicated HIGH BEAM ONLY light, removing the end cap would be perfectly acceptible. Just don't EVER look at it, don't EVER leave your high beams on with oncoming traffic. You will most certainly permanently blind the oncoming traffic and melt down many nearby objects. At the very least, you might cause 2nd degree burns.