New generation H4 HIDs

[Go Far]

Dunno what size the components will be for these new lights, but rest assured that if Warchild and Baja are making these things FJR specific, they'll find a nice spot to mount everything.

I am working that issue right now, because as you can see below, the ballast for these new hi/lo H4 application are huge indeed.... each is a little under half a foot in length! They will not fit anywhere in the nose of the '03-'05 FJRs, much less the '06+ bikes.

For those who have never taken their nose fairing off, that's the right mirror mount bracket that this massive ballast is temporarily zip-tied to.... :blink:

Can you post the dimensions of the ballast cube? and the wire harness?

I'ld like to mock up a box and see if I can find a spot on the '06

 

[BugR]

I know it's an extra Farkel but why not add a dashboard shelf and then mount the ballasts under the shelf.

I'm looking at mine and I could bolt those puppies right on.

Yes it's going to take a little work to make it look clean but saves all the hassel of cutting wires, long HT runs under the seat and tank or dremel surgery to the plastics.

my 2c

Chris

 

[Bull]

inspired!

I like this idea too.

 

[Fred W]

I guess I don't undestand the need for 4 HID capsules. Why not just use two capsules and a shutter mechanism the way they do on most automotive Bi-Xenon application? This would reduce the space requirements of the ballast/ignitor in half. It also provides instantaneous trasitions from low to high beam (which you would not get with additional dedicated high beam capsules) and also keeps the total power demand at a steady 35W per side plus the miniscule current to operate the shutters.

I don't ride much at night, but if/when I do I can certainly see the benefit of having the much improved quantity of light that HID would provide.

 

[vectervp1]

Simply put, the shutter systems don't really work. That's what was offered in the previous group buy of HID systems.

If you look at a standard H4 bulb, there are two filaments, slightly off set of each other. One of them is for low beam, the other is for high beams. Because they are offset of each other, there are two different focal points for the low and high beams. The shutter doesn't take this into account, and gives you a 'less than ideal' high beam to put it nicely.

The idea behind having two HID capsules in the system is to replicate the two focal points of the H4 bulbs. The down side of this is the need for two extra ballasts, or in this case, making the ballasts twice as big.

 

[bmwhd]

Simply put, the shutter systems don't really work. That's what was offered in the previous group buy of HID systems.
If you look at a standard H4 bulb, there are two filaments, slightly off set of each other. One of them is for low beam, the other is for high beams. Because they are offset of each other, there are two different focal points for the low and high beams. The shutter doesn't take this into account, and gives you a 'less than ideal' high beam to put it nicely.

The idea behind having two HID capsules in the system is to replicate the two focal points of the H4 bulbs. The down side of this is the need for two extra ballasts, or in this case, making the ballasts twice as big.

We've been discussing the same thing here

The shutter style is clearly wrong for the FJR. However, there seems to be no clear answer as to how well the other type of BiXenon (the more common type, IMHO) would work.

The BiXenon kits I've used have an electro-mechanical system that positions the capsule fore/aft within the reflector as required to be either the low or high beam. This is a different approach from the shutter system that's failed on past FJR installations.

The fore/aft movement of the capsule puts the "bright spot" of the HID exactly spot on with the corresponding position of either the low or high beam filament of a standard H4 bulb. These applications have been very successful for me in three different bikes.

The only question becomes can the extra length of the bulb base be accommodated at the rear of the reflector assembly? It extends about an inch and a half farther back than the OEM H4 connector.

 

[FJRocket]

I guess I don't undestand the need for 4 HID capsules.

We don't NEED 4 capsules. We WANT 4 capsules.

AND PHIDS! I think Warchild already mentioned that asside from the added wattage these would take, you could have SIX HIDS running on high beam. SO with the 4 capsules you run two on low, all four on high beam. Now THAT alone would be like turning night into day. Add a pair of PHIDS (or Fuegos?) and you REALLY have something. Just watch that charging system voltage.

 

[bmwhd]

I guess I don't undestand the need for 4 HID capsules.

We don't NEED 4 capsules. We WANT 4 capsules.

AND PHIDS! I think Warchild already mentioned that asside from the added wattage these would take, you could have SIX HIDS running on high beam. SO with the 4 capsules you run two on low, all four on high beam. Now THAT alone would be like turning night into day. Add a pair of PHIDS (or Fuegos?) and you REALLY have something. Just watch that charging system voltage.

Now that I understand :yahoo:

 

[Fred W]

OK, I get it too. But I would say it's not the shutters that are the problem, but rather it's the reflector not being designed for this type of bulb.

And reading over on that other thread I think the optimum solution might be to run a pair of low beam only HIDs in the stock headlight location and a couple of the barn burning external auxilliaries for high beams (leaving the lows on all the time).

 

[Warchild]

And reading over on that other thread I think the optimum solution might be to run a pair of low beam only HIDs in the stock headlight location and a couple of the barn burning external auxilliaries for high beams (leaving the lows on all the time).

Which is why I first proposed this approach in the Fall of 2005, when it became apparent the "butterfly-wings" on the Group Buy Hi/Lo kits were complete ****.

I've been running the HID Low-Beams Only (on all the time) and the PHIDs as my "high-beams" since November of that year, about 23,000 miles now.

 

[FJRocket]

OK, I get it too. But I would say it's not the shutters that are the problem, but rather it's the reflector not being designed for this type of bulb.

[Ed McMahon] "You are correct, sir." [/Ed McMahon]

 

[SOUTHERNMAGE]

So what is the latest news? I still like the idea of 4 bright bulbs burning in the stock locations.

 

[dobias]

Dale,

"I can't create a solution that calls for butchering up the side panels (though I wouldn't hesitate in doing that myself; but that approach is unacceptable to ElectroSport)."

I wonder if they would consider a side panel that would combine their powerpack with a revised enclosure to replace the original side panels? Maybe we could eliminate the side covers altogether & dress up their powerpack.

dobias :glare:

 

[Warchild]

So what is the latest news? I still like the idea of 4 bright bulbs burning in the stock locations.

The version I was testing (which was actually designed for a H4 car application) turned out to present a sub-optimal beamcast emerging from our reflector housing. It's back to the drawing board for this system.

Dale,
"I can't create a solution that calls for butchering up the side panels (though I wouldn't hesitate in doing that myself; but that approach is unacceptable to ElectroSport)."

I wonder if they would consider a side panel that would combine their powerpack with a revised enclosure to replace the original side panels? Maybe we could eliminate the side covers altogether & dress up their powerpack.

Actually, I have found a way around the problem of placing the mega-ballast in the nose cowling of the bike. However, it is all for naught until the re-design of the duel-capsule H4 bulb is complete.

 

[bmwhd]

So what is the latest news? I still like the idea of 4 bright bulbs burning in the stock locations.

The version I was testing (which was actually designed for a H4 car application) turned out to present a sub-optimal beamcast emerging from our reflector housing. It's back to the drawing board for this system.

Dale,
"I can't create a solution that calls for butchering up the side panels (though I wouldn't hesitate in doing that myself; but that approach is unacceptable to ElectroSport)."

I wonder if they would consider a side panel that would combine their powerpack with a revised enclosure to replace the original side panels? Maybe we could eliminate the side covers altogether & dress up their powerpack.

Actually, I have found a way around the problem of placing the mega-ballast in the nose cowling of the bike. However, it is all for naught until the re-design of the duel-capsule H4 bulb is complete.

In a week or two, I'm going to try the BiXenon H4 in my '06. Not the butterfly type but the one that moves the capsule fore/aft to position it correctly for either high or low beam. Those have worked flawlessly in 3 other MC applications I've tried.

Won't be as much light as WC's solution but should be cheap and easy (except for the ballast, of course).

 

[BrunDog]

BMWHD: I think this is the right solution. I proposed this solenoid type in/out unit last year and got blasted that these fail all the time. I find it hard to belive, considering solenoids and the bearing mechanisms are not rocket science....

-BD

 

[bmwhd]

BMWHD: I think this is the right solution. I proposed this solenoid type in/out unit last year and got blasted that these fail all the time. I find it hard to belive, considering solenoids and the bearing mechanisms are not rocket science....
-BD

Solenoids fail all the time? That's rich! Tell it to my 1975 Gottlieb "300" ;-)

Seriously, I used one in my KLR650 with no issues at all. Compared to that, life in an FJR's headlight housing is like keeping it in the box.