My modded 35W HID running on Li-Ion

Hey everyone!

After I saw other projects on this subject, I'd like to share my recently built HID torch with you.

I don't expect any whoa's on this, since it's only a 35W HID mod, but main advantage of this one is, it's actually useable without needing to check and observe anything while operating the lamp.

Technical data:
> Host is a 55W halogen torch from a local hardware store for 8EUR
> HID bulb (35W D2S Osram) and ballast (Hella system) were ripped off a broken Mercedes E-Class W211 headlight
> powered by a Li-Ion battery pack rated 14,8V 4,4Ah (stripped Dell 66Whr laptop battery pack)
> overcharge and overdischarge protected by a MAX1924XEEE based battery controller

The lamp runs about 95min (checked directly after charging), without any interruption or cooling. The battery controller automatically shuts down the lamp to prevent deep discharge of the Li-Ion cells.

Ok, you did some math and ask: how can the lamp be run for 95mins? The capacity of the batteries doesn't match the runtime? ... Well, at full charge the batteries have 17V, by providing a steady output power of 35W, the ballast goes down to about 2.4A at 17V, reaching it's nominal current drain of 3.2A at 12V (which equals to about 35% charge left).

Total cost: 63EUR (estimated)
Host lamp: 8EUR
HID bulb+ballast (broken headlight from ebay): 30EUR
Battery pack (unwanted semi-used from ebay): 5EUR
Battery controller: 15EUR
Misc stuff like connectors, switch etc: 5EUR

Charging is done via a standard laptop charger rated 20V 3.5A with 2x12V/21W car bulbs in serial to the battery (for current limiting).

Pics of the outside:



The bulb



Ignitor mounted on reflector and bulb




Lamp inside, ballast and battery pack


Battery pack with glued-on controller


Ballast with wires and 10A car fuse


Illuminated backyard


Beam shot


The beam shot sucks, because of 2 reasons. First, my camera sucks big time without daylight. Second, the beam is too divergent to create a good far-range spotlight, because the lamp still uses the stock reflector which you can't really expect high quality from. But the lamp is really bright at close range where you actually need the light.

Very nice Mod. Where did you buy the battery controller ?

A guy here in Germany called Bernhard Krack developed the controller, he also sells it as DIY kit or ready assembled board.

The PCB's he sells are factory made, very good quality. With some solder experience you can assemble the board yourself, like I did.

This is his homepage about the controller (in german of course):
http://www.krack-bernhard.homepage.t-online.de/Li_Ion/kk06.html

Nice mod! Thanks for posting. Babelfish link to the German page for English translation!

Thanks, I was hoping there would be a place here in the States that sells them.
I've seen them at BatterySpace but they can't handle the start-up current draw of a HID.

Tks for the post, was thinking of modding a lamp like this for some time and never thought of 2nd hand car lights as a HID source.

Welcome to CPF, wshadow!

Excellent 1st post here, and that looks a very neat mod. 63 Euros for a light like that shows what can be done.

hmm i have similar light......is there any hole in the hotspot?

@rizky_p: There is a dark area in the spot of about 5 degrees. This never really annoyed me, but if you use a D2S like I do, you can try to crack and remove the ceramic isolator tube on the wire that goes to the top of the bulb. The isolator is not really needed, it's just protecting the wire against bending or other damages while handling or installing the bulb.


@larryk: A friend once made Gerber data [1] for the controller board, because I wanted to start mass production of the boards in china. I never started to, because the project where mass production was needed got frozen. AFAIK the Gerber data contains 10 boards at once, someone with knowledge about PCB making has to check that. Maybe if some of you join, you can use a local PCB service to get a few hundred boards, the production will get cheaper as the number increases. The IRF4905 MOSFET used on the controller can handle the startup current without any problems. It can actually handle a steady load of 74A, but only with heatsink ofcourse. The 3-4A drained by the HID ballast do not require any cooling of the MOSFETs.

[1]: http://qshare.com/get/212202/layout_oli_neu.rar.html

@scott.cr: The translation sucks, like many translations of entire websites. If you have any questions about the controller, ask me.

Hi wshadow

Great first post indeed.
Gave me some ideas . . . Have modified a Vector Twin to 2x50W HID and was looking for a lithium power source to lighten the load (weight) and improve runtime. This thread was the impetus I needed to get out and buy a couple of the Dell packs and fit them in my Vector.

Posting a few pics of the mod soon . . .

I'll stick a link HERE

Cheers
Pete

Hi

Posted thread

DIY 8800mAh Lithium pack for HID / Thor Mods

Thanks
Pete