HID headlight conversion for new Colorado

Sam, a lot of people put these in, and on some vehicles it's legal, others not.

I am fairly sure if a vehicle is factory fitted HID, that's ok to play with them, if not factory, pretty sure it's illegal . . . think OEM setups having protection to stop headlight blinding drivers coming the other way.
Sometimes the glare they give off is terribly bright even on low beam, very annoying and dangerous at times.

Do some more research as to the legalities, and if able to set this up just ensure it's not going to incur the wrath of other road users.

HID ballast is needed to fire them up.

You can only legally fit HID lights of under 2000Lumens???? unless you fit the full enchilada Like correct reflectors auto levelling lights and auto headlight washers. Also you shouldnt put them in low beam.

Lights of that brightness are hardly worthwhile doing.

The focal length of the globe assembly is incorrect for normal headlight reflectors and thereby makes them flare a lot.

I have HID standard in my car and they have projector lens and shutters to dip them rather than changing globes to do so.
They dont like being flicked on and off as they need time to warm up.

Mine have auto levelling and every 5th time I turn the headlights on the washers pop out and clean them .I was also told not to put headlight protecors on as then the glass cant be washed.

Far better to buy a set of HID driving lights that are built correctly to do the job.

To retrofit a car like mine legally to what I have is just under $5000 Worth reading to back up what I have said

http://www.racq.com.au/cars-and-driving/safety-on-the-road/driving-safely/headlights

http://www.caradvice.com.au/278125/headlights-explained-halogen-v-hid-v-led-v-laser/

The fact is headlights are very strictly controlled under the ADRs ..... the section on headlights is so big it is split into 2 sections for download ..... hundreds of pages. ... from memory about 400.

The upshot is .... there is NO LEGAL HID lamp conversion for headlights ..... a given headlight MUST have the type of lamp it is approved for ...... so if that headlight was approved with a halogen lamp .... that is what it must have in it.

The practical probem with HID is that the filament lengths are different and you simply can not get a HID lamp to perform to specifcation in a lense and reflector designed for halogen.

In addition the HID replacement globe, shifts the filament to dip the headlight ..... this mechanism is fundametlly flawed and unreliable expecially with excess vibration.

As far as Fitting entire HID assemblies, it is pretty much, practically impossible to do so and achieve compliance unless that vehicle was fitted with HID at least as an option. ..... among other things HID required self leveling suspension and lense washers.

Because the low beam function in particular in headlights is very strictly controlled, there is very little to gain by converting headlights if you wish to remain legal ........

There is one point where gain may be had ..... that is to fit an aftermarket or modified headlight loom that ensures the headlight recieves full voltage at its terminals ..... that will ensure you have the brightest legal low beam.

On the matter of HID in general ...... its days are numbered ...... LED is progressing rapidly and it can be a point of argument as to LED having overtaken LED as the most viable driving light ...... if LED has not surpassed HID at this time, it will do so within 12 months.

cheers

.
Sam,

I became fed up with the poor OEM headlights on the Troopy and fitted these LED replacements. (The price is for a pair) Drop straight in to the existing mounts and are fully waterproof. They are superb as headlights but will not show up a roo at 1km. And neither will HID inserts into your existing reflectors. For that you need decent driving lights.

I scrapped my big halogen Oscars that blocked radiator airflow and fitted 6" HID's which are OK at the road speed of the Troopy, but if doing it again now I would, as Bantam recommended, use LED driving lights, maybe lightbars. Better performance and low current draw which does not require fancy wiring and relays etc. None of these will give you problems.

The reason that HID's require a ballast and cannot be simply plugged in is because of their operation. They produce light by means of an electrical discharge (High Intensity Discharge) which is essentially an arc between two electrodes in a gas. This requires a special starting function and control of the current so a control unit known as a 'ballast' must be employed. Halogen lamps contain just a simple wire filament that needs no special controls.

The globes for your Colorado should be listed in the owners manual Sam.

I've just replaced the original headlight globes, in Landcruiser ute, with Phillips 130Plus globes that are legal, but supposed to be much brighter and give 50% or more, light down the road. Tried them early this morning and low beam was very good.

In 2 previous vehicles, I've put HID inserts into the inner high beam lamps, and they worked very well. On one vehicle, a Toyota wagon, I removed the driving lights, as I didn't need them.

Have had HID's in another vehicle, and they worked alright, but I did wind the alignment down, to reduce glare for oncoming motorists. Many vehicles using these haven't been checked, and they are blinding.

Bob

Thanks for the help so far guys. Has anyone heard of the HID bulbs turning the reflectors/perspex white/opaque? I assume it is something to do with the larger amounts of UV light produced by HID (especially with the higher temperature colours). I'm interested to know if this has happened to anyone here or if you know how to ensure it wont happen. I think I read about it on another thread here but it may have been a different website.

As an alternative to converting my headlights, has anyone heard of adding some sort of spot or spread light into the fog light cutouts? I bought the Colorado LS (base model) so it has no fog lights but still has the necessary cutouts for them and just has grey plastic inserts in there at the moment. I thought it might be a good little project to try and make use of it. It would be nice to hook it up to high beam and have some good floods lighting up the sides of the road. Size would be the limiting factor here though.

It's not just headlights that you can not replace the globes with anything but the original specification globe if the lights are subject to conforming to an ADR. If your lamps are filament lamps then any replacement globe must conform to Australian Design Rule 51/00 Filament Lamps Download that PDF file and peruse it, you will notice:

"SCOPE
This Australian Design Rule (ADR) prescribes the dimensional and
photometric requirements for filament lamps which ensure
interchangeability and correct functioning when installed in a lamp unit."

If the globe is not replaced with one conforming to this ADR then your lamp is no longer ADR approved and your vehicle will be deemed as unroadworthy.

This includes replacing tail and stop light gllobes with LED units.

Sam there's been some great advice but it's starting to get messy.
To recap.....
*Forget about HID inserts! I've tried them & they're bleep .
*Upgrade your OE globes to Philips X-treme Vision
*Yes you can fit LED's in the fog position BUT must be switched with the high beam not the fog light switch. While there are plenty of suitable brands an option that works well are Jcar LED spots. These are small diameter but still powerful enough to effectively light up to 300m, ideal for winding roads & tracks.
*If serious about better lighting, HID driving lights for long range & quality LED for short & mid range.