Knowing that our cars do not come with Auto headlight, I always keep my hids on.

My question is, what are the consequences of driving with the hids on all day? Is it like halogen bulbs where after x amount of hours, the bulb will die out?

Any feedback on this would be great.
Thanks!

 

They will just die out faster and you will have to replace them, than you can get some Phillips Ultinon 6000k's

 

There is no good reason not to leave the headlights on. The HIDs will last many years (if not the life of the car). I have never seen, nor heard of a car with HIDs in which the HIDs "died out" naturally. Even if they do "die out" in several years (6 or more), I think the benefits of keeping them on outweigh the cost of replacement.

 

I've seen many of them die out. The average life span is 3,000 hours.

 

Lights do cost gasoline to operate. so that's one reason to not have them on all the time. I guess you'd have to balance the possible slightly increased safety vs. the slight amount of gas used. (Rough guess: 1% less mpg, like a couple of tenths of an mpg).
The alternator is harder to turn when it is generating power. (For anyone that says it's not true "because the alternator is spinning anyway", you just found a source of free energy - why not generate power with that free energy and solve the world's energy problems?)

 

actually, leaving them on will do no damage
HIDs lose life span when turning on and off repeatedly

 

So all those times that Jinro uses the car during the day won't count as cycles ?

It is true that short time spans between "striking", or repeated "striking", of the bulb is worse but any cycles still count. I'm not looking to start a debate over the merits of DRLs. Lord knows there is enough controversy over that. I'm just trying to say that using HIDS as DRLs will cause more hours and cycles than not.

I used to be a big fan of DRLs but my enthusiasm waned as more and more cars had them in the late 90s. It seemed that they were so common place that they weren't even noticeable. The poor motorcyclists were had the most to gripe about. They became invisible again. Turn your headlights on in the dark and the rain. If you can't do that then turn in your license.

What do yo want from me. I still shift a car. Imagine all that extra work. God forbid I should have to turn on headlights.

 

In a way I want mines to burn out so I can have an excuse to purchase 6500k's. So I have mine on even during the day.

 

I am a fan of DRL but not low-beam full intensity DRL. I think 75% intensity, high beam only DRL looks good on cars. If I can't have that, I won't run headlights at all.

And Adobeman is right, there are significantly more cycles by leaving the switch to "ON" al the time. They come on when you unlock the doors, and if you don't open the door in a certain amount of time they go back off, and then come on when you open the door. Running errands and getting in and out of the car can result in many cycles during one day.

 

First off, I think both the bulbs and the electronics for the hids are very expensive,
at least when compaired to regular bulbs.
Anyone price an electronics module for the hids?

I added a relay to turn the fog lights on whenever the key is on, as daytime running lights. I left them at full intensity.

Brett

 

I don't know where you guys get your information but a the straight circuit to the HID STARTERS will not last by leaving them on all the time as they will when the switch is used. Each headlight has a starter on it which is responsible for amplifying current to power each headlight. By not using the switch it will add to the wear of the starter on the light assemblies.

 

Oh and just so you know those starters can be between $900 up to $1600 EACH

 

WOW maybe 15 years ago. If that is true your getting ripped off who ever told you that. The ballast and ignitor together is around 350-400 per side. The starter should outlast it all.

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

 

Ok ill admit I didn't research the Acura oem part for pricing just going by what I know Mercedes Benz prices are.

 

do you always have to buy them together? or can one of those two can break down and replace it?

 

They can be replaced individually

 

They last a long time, the only thing that you shouldnt do is play around with them by turning them off and on, off and on, off and on, or even flashing your highbeams for a long period of time because then the bulb will burn out. A murano with HID's was high beaming me with flashes for about 5-10 seconds, then one of his bulbs died so I just laughed and kept driving. Besides that, you'll be fine for a good 3 years or so

 

THE TL has Bi-Xenons meaning, the same bulb is still on, but a mirror moves up and down to hi beam someone, meaning when you high beam, only a mirror is moved up and down, not the whole bulb ignited on and than off again