HID from DDM install question
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 514
Likes: 17
From: SW Mississippi
Wait, that won't work, the stock wiring to the headlight is 12v to EITHER the low or high beam, so on high the low wire goes dead, which would kill the power to the ballast. Sorry about that, I'm either confusing the hell outta you or you're laughing at what an idiot I am! So, you will have to find a "hot only with ignition on" wire for the ballast 12v+, and use the ground from the original headlight plug for 12v-, and the high beam wire for high!
Supporter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 627
Likes: 2
From: Salem, OR
Stangheel. I have done a total of 7 kits on Jeeps and single bulb hi/lo kits on bikes all from DDM tuning and from what your describing you have the wrong kit because the dual headlight hi/lo bulb kit wiring harness has a long and short side as one side is closer to the battery and each bulb needs a ballast so they are kept relatively close to each bulb. If you had a single bulb H4 Hi/lo it has one ballast, one connector from the ballast to the bulb, and one bulb with a 3 prong H4 plug all tied into the wiring just like the one in the picture on their website. The hi/lo bulbs are solenoid style as mentioned above and being they are budget bulbs there is a chance of getting a bad one but it sounds like you got pretty much all the wrong stuff. I had a bad bulb new in a dual kit and DDM replaced it but they can be tough to get a hold of sometimes. http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DD...rcycle-HID-Kit
Tryus, E-Code lamps were noticeably better when cars and bikes were using sealed beam lamps because of two factors. Most E-code sealed beams were Halogens and that didn't come to the U.S. till the 80's. Second the grid or pattern formed on the glass of the lens made them very easy to visually adjust them for proper light aiming unlike many DOT lamps which required an aiming device to ensure the light was shining where it was supposed to. Using modern inserted bulbs such as H4's there is not much difference so the only reason you would have seen them as much brighter is only because you likely had not aimed your lamp to where it was giving you the best amount of light shining on the road. If you were talking about the older sealed beam lamps your statement would be correct.
Tryus, E-Code lamps were noticeably better when cars and bikes were using sealed beam lamps because of two factors. Most E-code sealed beams were Halogens and that didn't come to the U.S. till the 80's. Second the grid or pattern formed on the glass of the lens made them very easy to visually adjust them for proper light aiming unlike many DOT lamps which required an aiming device to ensure the light was shining where it was supposed to. Using modern inserted bulbs such as H4's there is not much difference so the only reason you would have seen them as much brighter is only because you likely had not aimed your lamp to where it was giving you the best amount of light shining on the road. If you were talking about the older sealed beam lamps your statement would be correct.
Last edited by xantasm; Mar 13, 2013 at 01:41 AM.
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 514
Likes: 17
From: SW Mississippi
Sounds like good advice there, xantasm, but I'm not quite following you on the e-code. I'm using a hid bulb with a h4 type Jeep headlight, e-code, and the effect is, with the stricter cutoff of the e-code, I'm not blinding everyone on the road. The hid bulb in a dot headlight scatters the light so bad that it blinds everyone. And, since the available light is concentrated down the road, instead of being scattered all over, it seems to me that would be "brighter", even with a conventional h4 bulb... but then, I could be mistaken. But I do know it's a great setup with the hid, because I've tried it with the original Harley headlight, and the e-code, and the difference is remarkable!
Supporter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 627
Likes: 2
From: Salem, OR
All the E-Code does for you is take a lot of the guess work out of aiming the light. Not saying they are bad, just that they are not "brighter" although light being aimed correctly visually would be perceived as brighter. Yeah I know that sounds a bit like chasing your tail. My point is you can get the same brightness results with a standard lamp as you can with E-code and with the newer style bulbs so IMO spending the extra cash on an E-code is unnecessary unless you just like them then hey its your bike and your money. Not saying any thing wrong with them, just saying if he already has a good H4 style lamp no need to buy another one.
As far as HID and scattered light that argument has been way blown out of proportion by ******* companies trying to sell you something like Cibie and Daniel Stern lighting because the first generations of HID cheap kits were being used by people who had no idea about that either the lamp housing or the bulb had to have a hood at the end of the bulb to direct the light back onto the mirrored surface of the lamp and it has to be properly aimed or it shines like a flash light and yes HID is more scattered than Halogen but not to the extreme many would have others believe. I have run them in a Jeep that had 37" beadlocks on a combined 7" suspension which put the headlights way up high and knowing that I made sure they were aimed at a down to the right angle so I saw plenty of the road without blinding oncoming drivers and asked numerous friends to confirm for me to make sure. If you look at halogen H4's next time you are in the store especially ones the latest greatest brilliant whites like Sylvania Silverstars they all either have a hood or a coating on the end of the bulb specifically because without it they would blind oncoming drivers just as readily as a HID bulb would. .
As far as HID and scattered light that argument has been way blown out of proportion by ******* companies trying to sell you something like Cibie and Daniel Stern lighting because the first generations of HID cheap kits were being used by people who had no idea about that either the lamp housing or the bulb had to have a hood at the end of the bulb to direct the light back onto the mirrored surface of the lamp and it has to be properly aimed or it shines like a flash light and yes HID is more scattered than Halogen but not to the extreme many would have others believe. I have run them in a Jeep that had 37" beadlocks on a combined 7" suspension which put the headlights way up high and knowing that I made sure they were aimed at a down to the right angle so I saw plenty of the road without blinding oncoming drivers and asked numerous friends to confirm for me to make sure. If you look at halogen H4's next time you are in the store especially ones the latest greatest brilliant whites like Sylvania Silverstars they all either have a hood or a coating on the end of the bulb specifically because without it they would blind oncoming drivers just as readily as a HID bulb would. .
Last edited by xantasm; Mar 13, 2013 at 01:50 AM.
I definitely ordered the right kit, the one you posted the link to. It even says on that page that the high/low harness is designed to work with two ballasts. One connection has short wires and one has long wires, presumably for the left and right, although I only have one headlight. I'm very confident it's the bulb, but just wish I knew someone around here running HID bulbs so I could compare the bulbs physically or even borrow their bulb. Still waiting to hear back from DDM again after this latest discovery.
I will definitely add pics once I get this thing working, but in the meantime for those that are helping, here are some pics of the kit that I have. I definitely ordered the correct one and by the description on the website this appears to be the correct harnesses. Again, I'm pretty sold it's the bulb. I've also attached a pic of the inside of the bulb. Thanks to all!
Former Sponsor
Joined: Aug 2005
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I run a single beam version off ebay 35W h4 and have it set so that when it is on high beam it is off completely. This works great as the HID is so bright there is no need for a high beam and I heard about issues with the dual hi lo.
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Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 514
Likes: 17
From: SW Mississippi
Man that's nothing like my bulb. It's been a few years though, things change I guess. I'm sure xantasm will straighten us out on this bulb. But either way, cut all that junk off the wiring harness, it's just a bunch of clutter, and where in the heck would hide all that stuff on a wide glide. It's really easier than you might think. I should be able to walk you right through it. But that's for later anyway...
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 514
Likes: 17
From: SW Mississippi
Looking at those pics, it's hard to see, but it looks like two different bulbs you took pictures of. The first bulb pic does look like the hid i know, but that closeup looks alien to me. Did you take it apart?