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HID Opinions

6K views 54 replies 8 participants last post by  J_MacR1 
#1 ·
I have a 2012 R1 that I bought a little more than 2 years ago which came with an HID kit installed. I'm starting to have a little issue with the right side headlight (if you are looking at the front of my bike). I figured before pull the kit out and start swapping bulbs and ballasts that I should get some opinions first on what may be causing this.

Upon a cold start, they're both the same color. Then the right side will start to flicker to orange after maybe 30 to 60 seconds, or it'll stay yellow and then later on as I've been riding it'll turn orange. Sometimes both headlights will remain yellow like I want them to, but I'd say most of the time the right one is either orange or slightly off-yellow. Check the pictures I attached. Should I get a new ballast or just get new bulbs?

Also, I was thinking about trying the deep pink bulbs I think they're like 15000K. Not sure why, but I feel like it might look complementary to the white and red look. Opinions on this? Thanks everyone.
 

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#2 ·
I have a 2012 R1 that I bought a little more than 2 years ago which came with an HID kit installed. I'm starting to have a little issue with the right side headlight (if you are looking at the front of my bike). I figured before pull the kit out and start swapping bulbs and ballasts that I should get some opinions first on what may be causing this.



Upon a cold start, they're both the same color. Then the right side will start to flicker to orange after maybe 30 to 60 seconds, or it'll stay yellow and then later on as I've been riding it'll turn orange. Sometimes both headlights will remain yellow like I want them to, but I'd say most of the time the right one is either orange or slightly off-yellow. Check the pictures I attached. Should I get a new ballast or just get new bulbs?



Also, I was thinking about trying the deep pink bulbs I think they're like 15000K. Not sure why, but I feel like it might look complementary to the white and red look. Opinions on this? Thanks everyone.


I had to troubleshoot mine after I installed my High beams (04-06 but same concept) one side was taking longer to "heat" up and the blue was more dim. I unattached the working ballast and tried it then and found the problem, the ballast wasn't giving enough voltage to the bulb. I just ordered a replacement ballast and it works great now.

Could be worth a try


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#4 ·
Flickering is a power issue. Not enough of it.

Is there a relay kit installed? A relay kit will will be connected directly to the battery.

Ballast could also be bad. I would replace the entire kit with a reputable brand. www.theretrofitsource.com

15,0000K is insane and will not produce very much light ;a standard halogen bulb might be brighter.
 
#7 ·
I swapped the ballasts and saw no change, then swapped the bulbs and noticed its now the left headlight that's discolored. The ballasts seem fine, the I believe its a bulb issue now. Doesn't look like a relay kit was installed, when I pulled the wiring & ballasts out of the front I noticed that there was some splicing into another wire or 2. Everything looks pretty neat and covered up there, just a lot of wires going to different directions lol.

I was worried about getting poor visibility with 15,000k. Right now with my yellows its not good either, but I live in NYC and the roads are really lit up at night so I think I may be able to get away with it. Oh and the police probably wont be happy with pink lol. I know yellow is pushing it a bit, haven't had an issue though.
 
#11 ·
I know. I never spliced with my cars either I always used a harness right from the battery. When I saw this setup, I thought for a second that maybe I should get a harness and remove the splicing, but I dont think there has been an issue so I may leave it just because it is more work. Idk... what do you think?
 
#16 ·

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#25 ·
I work at a motorcycle shop and they highly recommended the switch to LED. From my experience and reading I've noticed a ton of issues with the wiring on HID conversion kits. This is just what I've read and noticed really. Thus far, with the fan's and straight plug and play, they have been awesome. The boot had to be pushed all the way out, fit perfect, and man O man are they bright. But I've never run anything but stock lights so, I mean ya they are pretty damn nice, specially at that price.
 
#26 ·
HID vs. LED Auxiliary Lights - Illuminating the Differences - ADV Pulse

LED Light Advantages

More Efficient: LEDs don’t put off as much heat as HIDs because a higher percentage of electrical power goes directly into generating light. The low current draw means you can run brighter lights without requiring an alternator upgrade for your motorcycle. In addition, you’ll have more electricity for heated grips, heated gear and other accessories.

More Durable: With a typical lifetime of 50,000 hours, LED lights last about 10x longer than HID lights. That’s roughly 6 years of continuous usage! Even if you ride at night frequently, a set of LED lights should theoretically outlast your bike. LED lights do not require a ballast like HIDs, which is another electrical component that could potentially fail. The plastic LED bulbs are more resistant to the shock and vibration experienced during off-road riding as well.
 
#42 ·
I'm not taking sides here but LED's are still too new for me...and (mainly) I'm still too ignorant on the whole matter...



Looks like HIDs mounted in a standard housing (as opposed to a projector housing) and that's a Lexus similar to mine. So my question is, what is the direction of the light? I know it's brighter from the viewer's/driver's perspective but it appears from the front to be a lot less focused from the on-coming view.

Haha, I'm keeping this. I'm ashamed that it took me a second to get it. You win the forums today. [emoji23][emoji23]


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Yesss! Thank youuuu *takes a bow*, I'll be here all week.


But they already run cooler than HID, and stock. So again, I don't see the issue. I mean, again, it's up to you what you put on your bike. I never thought to upgrade till recently and I'm honestly not picky. Just saying that very quick google search shows everything, and I mean everything in favor of the LED over the HID. Except for color choice, and I'm assuming that is only on the bigger headlight style bulbs, because LED actually has a buttload of colors for smaller bulbs. I even did an upgrade on my license plate lights last night, they are super bright.

I did away with the fender, and when I did so obviously the light was taken out as well, so I had to come up with options, the light that came with the kit was a cheapo, single bulb, and I could barely see the plate, so in order to prevent getting pulled over I ordered a couple of Chinese mini LED's, so I killed the lights while it was dark and you can see that the headlights are BRIGHT, and of course the LEDs on the plate are super bright as well.

Granted this picture because its in an enclosed space may not be a good representation.
Great job! While I also have LED's on my tag lights, both on the car and the bike, I'm not going with putting them up front just yet. I know many car manufacturers are starting to included LED's in the high trim packages of their vehicles. It looks like the light is just flooding out, I like the "accuracy" and clear cut-offs of HIDs. Again, though, I'm ignorant!
 
#31 ·
Hmm, this is directly from Xenon HID's. So let's see, more energy efficient, easier faster installation, more durable, better heat emission, longer lifespan, lower power draw, oh wait here is the kick, only 4 colors.


Durability Average, couple moving parts, bulbs and filaments. High, no moving parts or filaments. Shock proof.
Energy Efficiency Average High
Installation Time About 60 min About 30 min
Heat Emission High Low
Lifespan 5000 Hours 25,000 Hours
Power Draw Average Low
Available Colors 7 4
Fast Warm-Up Time Yes Yes
 
#35 ·
But they already run cooler than HID, and stock. So again, I don't see the issue. I mean, again, it's up to you what you put on your bike. I never thought to upgrade till recently and I'm honestly not picky. Just saying that very quick google search shows everything, and I mean everything in favor of the LED over the HID. Except for color choice, and I'm assuming that is only on the bigger headlight style bulbs, because LED actually has a buttload of colors for smaller bulbs. I even did an upgrade on my license plate lights last night, they are super bright.

I did away with the fender, and when I did so obviously the light was taken out as well, so I had to come up with options, the light that came with the kit was a cheapo, single bulb, and I could barely see the plate, so in order to prevent getting pulled over I ordered a couple of Chinese mini LED's, so I killed the lights while it was dark and you can see that the headlights are BRIGHT, and of course the LEDs on the plate are super bright as well.

Granted this picture because its in an enclosed space may not be a good representation.
 

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#47 ·
So I got the new HID bulbs, yellow and pink, and im still favoring my yellows although the pink is a different look which I like because its not too deep. However I think the yellows provide much more contrast so im most likely going to stick with those.

As for the wiring, the bulbs have prong plugs that slip right into Yamaha's OEM headlight connectors to draw power for the ballasts and then feeds the bulbs. Should I hook it up this way?

I did buy a relay harness and if I use it, it'll plug in right to the battery and eliminate some extra wiring around the headlight caps. Or should I hook it up this way?
 
#48 ·
You have to do both.

The only difference is that you will be plugging the ballasts into the relay harness and the other end of the relay harness goes to the OEM light plug. The other end goes to the battery.

The signal from the OEM plug to the relay harness is only there to close the relay. Once the relay is closed, it starts to draw power directly from the battery.

The OEM plug is only acting like a light switch.

Here's a generic diagram.

 
#49 ·
I'm not sure why you'd fit a relay harness when there are already headlight relays?

But you might want to run a direct, fused feed from the battery to the relays to reduce the voltage drop.

My 99 lost almost 2 V from the battery to the headlight connectors, although some of that was age related. There is now 13.6 V and the headlights are much brighter..

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#52 ·
Well I dont mind running a relay harness, only issue is there's so much wiring and components to hide and such little room lol.

Also One2, where is the factory connector located that you mentioned plugging into? Not sure if there is a different one somewhere or if you meant the OEM headlamp plugs, because those do not fit into the relay's male plug. Its the same looking one as found on a ballast.
 
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