[s-cars] HID light question

[Igor Kessel]

Andreas wrote:
> I was talking to a friend with a 2000 S4 and he said he was having problems
> with the HID bulbs burning out every 5k.
> 
> He simply replaced them with halogen bulbs and now they work fine. He
> complained that the HID bulbs were dimmer anyway.
> 
> How does this work? I though the HID system was a special system with a
> special electrical setup.
> 
> Can a bulb simply be swapped? Anyone else run into this problem? 
> 
> Are the high beams just halogens? How does Xenon fit in to all this? Is it
> the same as HID?
> 
>  
> 
> Really confused 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks
> 

Andreas,
the HID "bulbs" can not just be swapped with halogens. It requires a 
profound conversion.

In my wife's 2004 Allroad I replaced the original DOT-spec Halogen 
projectors with the Euro-spec ones off a wrecked German A6 including the 
ballasts and the high tension cables. It was basically a direct swap.

In my own 1997 UrS6 I installed the Euro-spec HID projectors off a 
wrecked German BMW 740i also with the ballasts and the high tension 
cables. This installation was much more involved due to the decidedly 
different projector arrangements.

-- 
Igor Kessel
two turbo quattros