I got a set of super white HID's for normal driving purposes and I have a question. These are 80 watts and I was told that I have to re-wire my lighing electrical system for these so that I do not blow the electrical system. I have a 1990 accord DX. Does anyone know if this is true or am I ok to just plug em in? I know everyone has different oppinions about these bulbs but I am just looking for straight technical info.
Thanks a lot.

 

i just plug mines in. but best to go with oem

 

okay, i think you're talking about just plug-in bulbs, and not the entire HID system with the ballasts. since they're the "super white HIDs" then you would be okay just to plug them in, but from what i hear, SOME few cars have problems with burning their wire harnesses, so there isn't too much risk involved. i'm running those and they worked just fine for the past couple years.

if you really did get real HIDs, they should have much lower wattage (like 40/45w or something) because they generally require less current from what i understand, but i could be wrong too.

 

Cool Thanks. I know they are cheap lights but I just want to see how they look. If I like them then great. If i dont then oh well they were not very expensive.
Is it true that I should adjust them down an inch or two so that I dont blind oncomming traffic?

 

As jon already mentioned I think you mean HID look, they are not HID(High Intensity Discharge) unless you have a ballast, ignitor, and capsule(the HID version of a bulb). It kills me when folks call the blue coated bulbs HID, because they aren't, also all HID bulbs are 30-35w with a bust of 80-150w during ignition.

Now to your question. Your standard bulb is more than likely 55w, which using ohms law current = heat(watts) / voltage, so at 12v(55w is spec'd at 12v) your bulbs would be pulling 4.58amps using an 80w bulb would pull 6.67amps, which is a 150% the stock current. The stock wiring may not be able to handle that. You could risk burning your harness. You could add relays in and tap directly off of your battery to feed the bulbs or buy an aftermarket wiring harness to be safe.

 

Sorry. I know they are not acuall HID but it is quicker to type I guess. Do you know where I might find an aftermarket wiring harness or instructions on how do re-wire it myself?

 

here is what I was proposing to upgrade the harness.

 

That helps a lot. I can do a lot of wiring & electrical work but im not too big on the "Technical Classification" part. Do you know what kind of relays I should get?

 

you could also just use one of the stock connectors to make it easier. also I forgot to label the fuse on that drawing

here ya go



yeah just get some bosch 30a automotive relays, should be like $2-$5 each. I'd buy them off of ebay, you should be able to get them for $1 each on ebay. 4 pole or 5 pole doesn't matter since you wouldn't be using the 5th pole.

 

Thanks a lot for all your help. I apreciate it. I will get a few of those relays and try it out.