H4 dual filament HID question

[CorvallisBMW]

OK, so which pins do I jump? Because pin #30 is only one pin, and to jump something you need 2 pins. So which one do I jump #30 to? 86, 87 or 88?

[CorvallisBMW]

^ agreed. The cutoff on the H4s is very controlled and tight. It's not quite as tight as the ellips, but it's still very good. And it's not like it's hard to adjust the aim of your headlights...

[VacMan]

Sorry HID in anything but a projector is FTL. Jmho though.

Have you seen an H4 lit? Have you seen the pattern or the cutoff? If I parked a projector car and an H4 car side by side, you'd be hard pressed to tell which one was which. H4's are nothing like sealed beams or any reflector-style headlight.

Here are a couple of pics I googled:

[Schnitzer318is]

Sorry HID in anything but a projector is FTL. Jmho though.

[VacMan]

Wait, $25 HID bulbs? And HIDs in a non projector housing? Yikes, and you are gonna be one of the kids that pisses people off with HIDs in a reflective housing, hence blinding people.

Not true, the Hella H4 headlight has a nice clean cutoff and and throws a very similar pattern to an OEM projector. I had them on my cabrio before I got my Euro smileys and will be putting H4's on my new E21 so I can run HID's.

[Fidhle007]

Wait, $25 HID bulbs? And HIDs in a non projector housing? Yikes, and you are gonna be one of the kids that pisses people off with HIDs in a reflective housing, hence blinding people.

Yeah, I leave my high beams on when I pass people like that. Osram Silverstars FTW!

[Van Westervelt]

Wait, $25 HID bulbs? And HIDs in a non projector housing? Yikes, and you are gonna be one of the kids that pisses people off with HIDs in a reflective housing, hence blinding people.

[CorvallisBMW]

Ya, smoke tint LaminX. But I don't have to worry about light output; even with the stock Hella H4 bulbs these shits are plenty bright on the darkest roads. If you only had sealed beams, then smoke film would be a death sentence. But H4s are nice and bright, so no complaints here.

[gearheadE30]

You can install crosshairs in all 4 lights like you would in any highbeams.

It does look like they are tinted, though.

[2002maniac]

A little bit OT, but corvallis, did you smoke your lights? Any loss of light?

I dont think you can smoke H4's (unless you tint them, then yes you will lose light.)

[gearheadE30]

A little bit OT, but corvallis, did you smoke your lights? Any loss of light?

[VacMan]

Yeah, this has been pretty well documented already by guys swapping euro H1 setups into sealed beam cars (sealed lows are the same as H4s) and it's been verified that making a two lead harness doesn't work. Just jump the relay pins I told you to and call it a day, it's the safest and easiest.

+1, you're experiencing the same thing anyone who's ever swapped lights from sealed beams has. Jumper the relays and call it good. Or deal with highs only and no lows when your brights are on.

[Fidhle007]

Yeah, this has been pretty well documented already by guys swapping euro H1 setups into sealed beam cars (sealed lows are the same as H4s) and it's been verified that making a two lead harness doesn't work. Just jump the relay pins I told you to and call it a day, it's the safest and easiest.

[TheEtaUnderdog]

^ damn I wish I had seen your post last night Fidhle, I would have tried that. I'll try that first, and if it doesn't work I have a few other possibilities listed below.

Here's what I found out from my little expiriment last night:

Normal H4 bulbs are dual filament, with one filament (hereby referred to as "low-beam filament", not to be confused with the whole low beam bulb) burning while your low beams are on, and the other filament (hereby referred to as the "high-beam filament", not to be confused with the H1 high beam light/bulb) burning when your highs are on (in addition to the H1 highs themselves). The low beam wiring harness has 3 sockets: one for the "low-beam filament", one for the "high-beam filament", and one for ground.

When you turn on your low beams, 12V goes only to the "low-beam filament" socket. When you activate your high beams, 12V goes only to the "high-beam filament" socket.

The DDM HID kits only come with 2 wires, which mean you can only have the HID headlights running when the lows are on OR when the highs are on. Not both, as swtching between high beams and low beams disrupts where the 12V is going. So I spliced the wiring harness to connect the "high beam filament" and "low beam filament" wires, hoping to trick the HIDs in to staying on when the highs are activated. It works!! But of course since electricity travels both ways, and I've fooled the relay in to thinking the HIDs are running as high beams, it means the high beams (the H1s) stay on all the time, whether the high beams are switched on or not.

Confusing yet? Sorry, I'm not too great at technical writing.

My idea is to splice an extra connector on to the 12V wire coming off the HID bulb, and plug them in to both the "high-beam filament" and "low-beam filament" sockets on the H4harness. This will make them just like the 3-plug H4 bulbs you would normally use, and it should allow them to get power whether you have your highs or lows switched on in the car.

I will continue to work on it and post updates as I find out more!

relays are your friend...

[CorvallisBMW]

^ damn I wish I had seen your post last night Fidhle, I would have tried that. I'll try that first, and if it doesn't work I have a few other possibilities listed below.

Here's what I found out from my little expiriment last night:

Normal H4 bulbs are dual filament, with one filament (hereby referred to as "low-beam filament", not to be confused with the whole low beam bulb) burning while your low beams are on, and the other filament (hereby referred to as the "high-beam filament", not to be confused with the H1 high beam light/bulb) burning when your highs are on (in addition to the H1 highs themselves). The low beam wiring harness has 3 sockets: one for the "low-beam filament", one for the "high-beam filament", and one for ground.

When you turn on your low beams, 12V goes only to the "low-beam filament" socket. When you activate your high beams, 12V goes only to the "high-beam filament" socket.

The DDM HID kits only come with 2 wires, which mean you can only have the HID headlights running when the lows are on OR when the highs are on. Not both, as swtching between high beams and low beams disrupts where the 12V is going. So I spliced the wiring harness to connect the "high beam filament" and "low beam filament" wires, hoping to trick the HIDs in to staying on when the highs are activated. It works!! But of course since electricity travels both ways, and I've fooled the relay in to thinking the HIDs are running as high beams, it means the high beams (the H1s) stay on all the time, whether the high beams are switched on or not.

Confusing yet? Sorry, I'm not too great at technical writing.

My idea is to splice an extra connector on to the 12V wire coming off the HID bulb, and plug them in to both the "high-beam filament" and "low-beam filament" sockets on the H4harness. This will make them just like the 3-plug H4 bulbs you would normally use, and it should allow them to get power whether you have your highs or lows switched on in the car.

I will continue to work on it and post updates as I find out more!