My HID's are really dim, infact bloody awful. Its a recent kit so not that old, not that it means much but all the info etc.

 

Basically when i switch them on they do flash quite brightly but then go alot dimmer, which makes driving difficult. Also weirdly, the speedo in the car jumps to 60-80-100mph or something like that when I turn them on, is it possible its an earthing issue?

 

I seem to remember the HID's in my last 300zx were better, also the speedo didnt jump either! But maybe I hav rose tinted glasses as vs my astra or my M3 300zx lights are poor whatever.

You Might find your lenses need cleaning, on the inside of the glass and especially the projector lens.

 

I upgraded to 55w HID as well as cleaned them and they are superb.

They do look fairly clean but its something i could give a try, do you have to remove the bumper to do that? Its almost as if they are opperating on lower power, if thats possible? What about the speedo jumping? (It also does it when i remove my seatbelt and the seatbelt warning light comes on)

The inside of the projector lens can be cleaned in situe, using a bit of mico fibre cloth cut to about 2" square on the end of a paintbrush, although you can get the meguiars swabs from Halfors that will do the trick.

To clean the rest, its headlight out really. I thought mine looked clean until i gave them a clean with a white cloth, you tend to get a thin film of grime build up in the projector lens.

 

My first set of HID's were 35w and combined with the grime on the lens, didnt look very bright at all. I then used the 55w HID's, before cleaning the lens and they were much brighter, for obvious reasons, but since ive had the lights apart and cleaned all the glass, i have to say a big difference and although a pain in the ass, a worthwhile job.

My HID's are really dim, infact bloody awful. Its a recent kit so not that old, not that it means much but all the info etc.

 

Basically when i switch them on they do flash quite brightly but then go alot dimmer, which makes driving difficult. Also weirdly, the speedo in the car jumps to 60-80-100mph or something like that when I turn them on, is it possible its an earthing issue?

 

I seem to remember the HID's in my last 300zx were better, also the speedo didnt jump either! But maybe I hav rose tinted glasses as vs my astra or my M3 300zx lights are poor whatever.

 

Firstly, no HID install should affect the electrical system so the fact that your speedo bounces around is an indication that there is a problem. I assume that this started happening only after the HID install and not prior to that? Could be a coincidence but I'd check to make sure the HID ballasts are wired up correctly and that there are no exposed bit of cabling shorting out on the chassis.

 

Secondly, HID's will flicker quite brightly when first turned on and will then slowly become brighter over the course of 2-ish seconds. The colour of your HID's should be brilliantly white if you have a 6000K kit. If it is anything other than brilliantly white then it is likely to be a fault. A ballast fault could result in insufficient voltage being sent to the bulbs which results in dimmer lighting. You're probably best off trying a new pair of ballasts to see if that resolves anything (I can supply those if necessary).

 

From experience, any 6000K HID kit will dramatically improve the headlights on a Z32. You really should clean the inside of the projector lenses and headlight glass but even without doing so you should see a marked improvement over stock.

 

For reference, a 35W 6000K kit is roughly 300% brighter than a halogen 55W bulbs whereas a 55W 6000K kit is 100% brighter than a 35W kit. In order to minimise light scatter, and as a result blinding oncoming drivers, it is important that you clean both the inside of the projector lens and headlight glass. The outside of the headlight glass should also be cleaned regularly. Finally, it is imperative that the headlights are properly alligned to avoid blinding oncoming drivers and also to ensure the correct beam projection.

 

HTH

Hi Dan, thats really helpfull thanks! To be honest, I bought the car with the HID's installed so I cant say if it did it before or not, but I have a feeling that it could be a short somewhere. My HID's seem to be brilliant white for a second or so and then go much dimmer. I'll have a look at taking it all to bits and checking the wiring, or get dad to check the wiring!

Firstly, no HID install should affect the electrical system so the fact that your speedo bounces around is an indication that there is a problem. I assume that this started happening only after the HID install and not prior to that? Could be a coincidence but I'd check to make sure the HID ballasts are wired up correctly and that there are no exposed bit of cabling shorting out on the chassis.

 

Secondly, HID's will flicker quite brightly when first turned on and will then slowly become brighter over the course of 2-ish seconds. The colour of your HID's should be brilliantly white if you have a 6000K kit. If it is anything other than brilliantly white then it is likely to be a fault. A ballast fault could result in insufficient voltage being sent to the bulbs which results in dimmer lighting. You're probably best off trying a new pair of ballasts to see if that resolves anything (I can supply those if necessary).

 

From experience, any 6000K HID kit will dramatically improve the headlights on a Z32. You really should clean the inside of the projector lenses and headlight glass but even without doing so you should see a marked improvement over stock.

 

For reference, a 35W 6000K kit is roughly 300% brighter than a halogen 55W bulbs whereas a 55W 6000K kit is 100% brighter than a 35W kit. In order to minimise light scatter, and as a result blinding oncoming drivers, it is important that you clean both the inside of the projector lens and headlight glass. The outside of the headlight glass should also be cleaned regularly. Finally, it is imperative that the headlights are properly alligned to avoid blinding oncoming drivers and also to ensure the correct beam projection.

 

HTH

 

With the 6000K HID's are the 55w bulbs a straight swap for the 35w bulbs, or is it a new HID kit ?

Hi Dan, thats really helpfull thanks! To be honest, I bought the car with the HID's installed so I cant say if it did it before or not, but I have a feeling that it could be a short somewhere. My HID's seem to be brilliant white for a second or so and then go much dimmer. I'll have a look at taking it all to bits and checking the wiring, or get dad to check the wiring!

 

Yep, something definatly not right there. They should do the opposite - start of dim and get brighter.

Interesting in getting a HID kit but do you have to still use a H3 HID KIT or can I get a H1 Kit??

The dip beam is H3, the main beam is H1, you only want the HID's in the Dip as they dont like to be flashed.

With the 6000K HID's are the 55w bulbs a straight swap for the 35w bulbs, or is it a new HID kit ?

 

If you already have a 35W HID kit and want to upgrade to a 55W kit then all that is required are a new pair of 55W ballasts.

 

FYI - I can supply new 55W ballasts at a cost of £80.00/pair plus £6.80 Special Delivery.

 

Regards,