HIDs and MOT...

[dextersaurus]

So today i've been told that if i convert my headlights to HID, it'll fail the MOT because it's not got auto-leveling and Wipers on it...

I need to convert to HID, as the light on the bike is drawing twice the power compared to the stock light (since it's 2 bulbs rather than one), and it keeps blowing fuses.

Can anyone clear this up?

I was under the impression that if the lights are correctly aligned, there should be no problem.

Dunc

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Not had to MOT the duc yet, but suspect, as i know the bloke, he may turn a blind eye. To be on the safe side i will take a spare Halogen and tools to get at the headlight.
Easy to leave the ballast in place and unhook the connectors.

Like you said HID without the gubbins is an MOT fail.
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[dextersaurus]

It's easy enough switching out the connections to change it from HID back to halogen, screwdriver and take the bulbs = job done... so if it's gonna fail the MOT due to the HID lights i'll just do that and fit them again after the MOT.

Dunc

[iooi]

[dextersaurus]

How would i go about doing that? electrics are not my strong point...

Dunc

[daesimps]

I've had HID conversions on 4 cars, the wife's car and both bikes for the last 5 years. Not once have I failed an MOT.

The key is to ensure that your lights are well adjusted so that they don't blind oncoming traffic. If you use H7 bulbs also consider the H7R which has an anti glare shield on the bulb.

In fact, I've been blinded by more people with badly adjusted normal headlights in the recent weeks. Some people complain that HIDs are blindingly bright, but I think most of that is due to Chavs with cheap, poorly made conversion kits on. Also, speaking to some of my elders, it appears that the bright white light attracts your attention and causes you to look directly at it, getting blinded. Apparently the same thing happened in the old days when they moved from the very yellow lights to the much whiter (relatively speaking) halogen bulbs. Everyone complained they where too bright and should be banned, much like a lot of people do now about HIDs.

So the key is, good quality conversion, possibly anti glare bulbs and make sure you check your beam alignment.
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[dextersaurus]

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270685791049&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

That's the one i was going to get.

The lights are bright enough, it's just the power consumption i'm worried about...

If someone can walk through how to set it up with a relay i'd be happy

Dunc

[Raffles]

[MarkJ]

I'm sure that HIDs draw more power on start up then settle down to about 35w (if they're the 35w version) once they've warmed up, so if you're doing a twin HID setup you might still have the same problem.

[Finglonga]

[stonesie]

I've done a wiring upgrade on the SV and it has made a massive differance

Another way around your problem is to wire in one bulb so it only uses its dip, and the other for main beam.



Twin HID's will still need more power than the standard single bulb and if they dont get enough they will 'strobe' as the ballasts keep charging and trying to light the burner, but then are not getting enough power to sustain the arc so they try again, and again,... I have removed the dim-dip system from my car for this reason.


To sum it up......
To use both lights together you need to upgrade the wiring.

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

I ran twin HIDs. Didn't like the delay on the mainbeam..was excellent...but waiting half a second for the bulb to illuminate was too long.

Happy with my compromise.
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[dextersaurus]

Relay sounds like the best idea then. that, or using one side for dipped and one for main beam...
HIDs seem pointless, especially on the GPZ

Dunc

[Tarmacsurfer]

The powers that be are apparently cracking down quite hard on HID retrofits, been looking into converting my own bike for similar reasons and aside from the MOT problems (and there will be problems according to the small local station I usually use who often turn a blind eye to stuff for me) there is a good chance it could bite you in the arse should you have a serious accident. A shame, as they make a lot of difference.

The legislation was mainly aimed at barry cars but it's obviously going to affect everyone. To be fair, having been on the receiving end of a set of badly fitted HID lights coming toward me in poor weather I can see the reasoning behind it. The world went very white and fuzzy, a wet visor is bad enough without the light show.
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