HID Conversion of my Hella 4000 Halogens today!

Thanks to TW members, I was refered to 'GG Lighting' in Fountain Valley, CA to get my two Hella 4000 (100 watt halogen) lamps converted to HID Xenon bulbs.

It was a pleasnt 60 mile (1 hour) drive from my San Diego County home this morning with my XM satellite radio, and with perfect directions I drove right up to GG's installation facility. Cody is the company owner & head technician, and even though it was a Sunday morning, he was happy to do the job for me.

I have 4 off road lights on my Tacoma. Two are the Kragen plastic HID Euro (driving) beams (35 watt) and two are Hella 4000 metal, pencil or spot beams... that were 100 watt halogen.

Here they are originally (note the halogen's slightly yellowish color and the HID slightly bluish color):



First, we removed the Hella 4000s from my light bar, then seperated the lamp from the housing.

HIDs require an inline ballast to create the arc at startup. The slim ballast will fit inside the lamp housing of a Hella 4000.






That's Cody



Cody sells complete 9" HID off road lamps, as well (35 watt or insane bright 55 watt) in a fog (wide-cornering) pattern or a spot (pencil beam pattern):














There's the ballast, resting inside the lamp housing.

Unlike other HID kits I have seen online, no drilling holes required in the lamp. Cody mastered the intallation and used shrink-tight insulators on the connections.



LIGHTS ON!





No more YELLOW! Bright, pure white (hint of blue at start up)... These are 4300ºK color bulbs. I do not know what the Kragens are, but Cody thought they looked like 6000ºK.




Thank you Cody, GG Lighting dot net

When I go out at night and try them out, I will post the photos here!

 

See his web site for prices...

 

got a link?

 

It is in my last line, GG Lightingdot net

(no spaces, for some reason the direct link won't show) Please feel free to PM me for his phone numer or web site if you can figure it out the way I have it here!

 

I like how you said you pulled up to his instillation facility. AKA... A garage.

I'll look into his site though.

 

They say it is better to be a captain of your own row boat than a first mate on a destroyer!

His garage IS his installation facility!

 

I just checked several AM, FM and Satellite stations... NO, NO noise/ crackle or hum!

 

When you take your night time photos could you get a pic of the beam pattern? I converted a set of 500ff's and the beam pattern is all but worthless. I would like to convert a set of Hella 4000 compacts since they are so much better than the 500's to begin with. The Euro beam 4000's on my last truck had a great pattern, I hope nothing is lost in the conversion.

 

The 4000's are pencil (spot) beams... so they go straight down the road and far! Not any wider than a 2 lane road... I will post lots of photos of the HID conversions once I feel like going out at night... Just like I did before (if you saw my light photos before).

The Kragens are Euro (driving) beams, so they light a bigger oval pattern, but not quite as far down the road... Having a pair of each I hope complement each other... Having the spots be white or blue-white also, instead of yellow-white should look much better!

 

How was the ballast mounted inside the lamp housing? Is it floating free?

 

Yes, it fits snug enough to not move. Since Cody is an off road racer, he understands what Baja and the desert can do, and he said it would not be a problem.

 

I was curious if the conversion changed the pattern at all on the 4000's.

 

I can't wait to test them, maybe Friday night if I have enough energy!

Understand that the pencil beams have really no 'pattern' other than a long, narrow beam on the road ahead... The pair (adjusted straight ahead) only illuminate the width of a 2 lane road... but way, way down... like a mile+ on a dark desert highway (dirt road/ salt flat).

The 100 watt halogens were plenty bright, but when I compared them to my 35 watt Kragen HIDs, they seemed 'yellow-ish' and duller!

Here is a photo of them all on, in Baja, on the beach, last May...





The yellowish color of the halogen Hellas, headlights and fog lights compared to the two Kragen HIDs is pretty striking! Now, the two Hellas are HIDs too.

My choice will be what to do for the headlights: Low beam HID only, Low beam HID with a halogen high beam bulb, Bi-xenon (where the HID bulb moves so the beam pattern changes).

 

I got my kits for my headlights, fogs, and he converted my KC off roading lights for me. Cody is legit.

 

Cody is a Great Guy, He Helped me turn an old hand held spotlight into an HID spot light.

+1 for him.

Call him if you need ballast and bulbs. 714-932-3279 ask for cody.

 

ooo, great idea, I have a hand held spot to do that with. Cool!

 

The 4300s were white, for sure... but I desired them to be the same as the Kragen HIDs. Cody thought (and some TW member posted) that the Kragens look like 6000ºK in color.

So, Cody sent me a pair of 6000 bulbs to try (edit: they were supposed to be 5000 bulbs)... and alas, they are far bluer and dimmer than the Kragen HIDs (which must be 5000ºK)... Even dimmer than the 100 watt halogens that used to be in the Hellas... at least to my eyes.

When I get the 5000's installed I will take a fresh batch of photos and post. I did take photos of the 6000's tonight... and will show them too. Just not tonight, I am too sleepy!

EDIT: Cody was to send 5000's but sent me 6000's on accident(?). The 4300's flicker like a candle flame in a breeze and that is why the change, more than to change the color.

 

Kragens (on the outside) and Hella 4000s with 6000ºK bulbs (35 watts):





Kragens only:





Hellas only:





BOTH on the garage wall:



okay, so the 6000 bulbs are way more blue than the Kragens... So, I think we can see the Kragens were a lot closer to 4300K, and when I get the 5000K bulbs I will take a fresh batch of pics.

 

i told you they were 4300k on the other thread haha sweet lights tho

 

I must have missed that!

I still have the 4300K bulbs.... maybe I will switch one and see the 6000 and 4300 side by side?