got my 35 watt hid kit today

I got the kit today

at 12.0 volts one ballast and bulb draws 3.55 amps-42.6 watts.

the bulb goes out at 6.6 volts and will re-strike at 7.6 volts
4100k phillips bulb seems pretty bright.

now if I can find my electric screw driver I will start modding my thor.

I would strong sugjest not taking that ballast voltage that low. The reason being is it's a regulated switching supply and will try to keep the bulb power at 35 watts at all costs and when you lower the input voltage, the input current is higher and can overheat parts in a worst case situation. I personaly would not run a 35watt hid ballast bellow 10 volts.

I did not think it would be a good idiea to run it for very long below 12 volts.

I am trying to think of a way to work around buying the h4 adaptor

I finished the hid mod to my black thor.

works great and it is getting dark outside.

Mark,

Could I ask what ballast system you're using?

Wilkey

Mark, pictures and beamshots, please. What did the mod cost, it is practical and what level of skill is needed to do it?

phillips ballasts-phillips bulbs-4100k

I got both ballasts and bulbs new - ebay - 220.00 shipped

the ballast was to big to go inside so I mounted it on the bottom of the thor.

the ballasts case is cast aluminum with heatsink fins -anodized black so the black thor hides it well.

no exposed wires any where.

I have a 9 amp hour battery on the way.

I got a better cary strap from under my work bench - I do not know where it came from -
same color and design just twice as wide with a shoulder pad.

getting the focous right was the hardest part for me.

it is a pretty easy mod.

worth it well the hid thor runs for over 1.5 hours and is really bright and white.


1 ballast and bulb and a thor only cost me 135.00.
the 9 amp battery from target online cost 23.00.
I should get 2 hours runtime with the bigger battery.
I did not need the h4 adaptor.

I bet it is brighter than a x990 - better bulb and a bigger reflector.

the other ballast and bulb will be transplanted into my 2 million cp vector - halfway done now.

I need to find my digital camera.

The most enjoyable part is hearing the hum as it starts up/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif. Also, the other little mod to the Thor is to get a proper charger that actually floats the SLA, that way you can always leave it on the charger and not worry about cooking the SLA. That way, the SLA will last for years and years.

I will build a float charger using a lm 317t regulator ic and the 1.5 amp wall wart it came with.

LOL,
"lm 317t regulator ic"- who?

what is the bulb part number?

I'm a DIY'er as much as the next guy, but for premade 35 watt alternative, at $200 all made (with no battery) and waterproof, the Havis-Shields alternative is really tempting (Havis-Shields HID). Don't get me wrong, I like the possibilities of HID, but my Thor with 12ga silicone wiring is waiting for the soft-start board and is gonna be a hot wire light.

I would have to take the thor or my vector apart to get the bulb part number.

hid has higher color temp-4100k and our eyes are more sensitive to it than lower color temp sources of light.
and I think it is attenuated less by the atmosphere.

I wonder if the reflector-lens of the thor is more efficient
with the higher color temp of hid.

I could be wrong.

I think Newbie posted the stock Thor bulb as a Phillipps 12569

lm317t

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&category_name=CTLG_011_002_017_000&product_id=276-1778

I let my hid thor run(warm up) for 15 minutes while measuring the current flow and voltage at the battery terminals(2 multimeters-tek tx3)
after 15 minutes it is pulling 40.4 watts from the battery.
including losses thru the power switch wire connectors etc.

I am tempted to take it apart farther to measure the voltage drop/power loss in the wiring.

Maybe I am missing something here, 12 volts at 3.55 amps for a rated 35 watt bulb?

the extra wattage is because of the ballast loss I find that "about" 7-9 watts is typical or about 42-44 watts total

tha ballast in my thor is more efficient than the other ones I have