H4 hid power consumption

[Garage_guy_chris]

hey guys, got thinking lighting again for the 450 and the HID thing crossed my mind again, i think with the poor charging system on the 450 I will likely have to use a 35w/35w or 45w/45w H4 bulb to not kill the battery. then i remebered reading somewhere that HID setups draw less power than a regular 50w/65w H4 bulb. Im just curious if anyone has load tested an H4 HID setup to see what kinda power draw they have? Im thinking it would be a good upgrade, if its not gonna kill the battery?!?!

 

[83scrambler]

The calculation is voltage (Volts) x current (Amps) = power (watts)


so 12V x __ = 35W
Solve for __
35W/12V= __
__ = 2.9177777 Amps


Same goes for the 55/60W higher current bulb
55W/12V = 4.5833 Amps
60W/12V = 5amps

 

[Kong]

In any event an H-4 bulb is not a HID system, no matter what wattage bulb you use. HID is a much different beast; expensive and to my mind not good for anyone.


When you got to buy your head-lamp get yourself one of the 'Euro Spec' rather than a DOT approved one. The difference is astoundingly better use of the light the bulb puts out.

 

[Bozz]

An HID lamp is a totally different system of making light.

Assuming you have a complete HID system, with Ballast, lamp, reflector/projector, etc. they do use less power to maintain the light than a comparable Halogen lamp.

However, when the HID system is turned on a far amount of power is used for a short period to strike the arc and stabilize the plasma.

So your charging system/battery will take a hit for a few seconds to get things up and running, but after that you will be able to maintain the light with less power.

The point I'm trying (poorly) to make is that while the average power use in an HID system is less, the momentary power use can be higher and you should be aware of this before you spend money/time/effort to adapt this tech into an old bike.

Can it be done, absolutely. Be warned that it may not necessarily be a "plug and play" type swap.

LED lighting looks promising as a much simpler way to get more lumens per watt with these old bikes.

 

[TicoCafe]

I have used these guys for both my bikes with no issues so far...great price and customer service too!

It was a plug and play install.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Categories/Motorcycle-HID-Kits-Lighting