What is the output voltage of a HID ballast?

Asked by: Shauna Williams

Good, quality HID ballasts provide a true 35W of output power. Diode Dynamics slim ballasts actually output 38 watts!

How many volts does a ballast put out?

Newer fluorescent ballasts are usually rated for both 120 volts and 277 volts. Some are rated for only 120 volts, others for only 277 volts (used in commercial environments).

Can you test the HID ballast with a multimeter?

Using a multimeter

By connecting the multimeter to the ballast, you will see right away whether you have a working or a bad ballast. If the multimeter measures and detects current, voltage, etc. you will know that your ballast is perfectly fine.

What is the output voltage of a 1000 watt metal halide ballast?

1000W mercury H36 and 1000W metal halide: around 220 volts.

How many volts are HID?

An HID light takes 12 volts from the vehicle and steps it up to 25,000 volts. When vehicles with these lights have been in a collision they can and will electrocute a firefighter because of the amount of power that resides in them.

How do you check voltage on a ballast?

To measure it, set your digital multimeter to around a thousand ohms resistance setting. Connect the black leads to the white ground wire on your ballast. Afterward, test every other wire with the red lead. When you do this test, a good ballast will return an “open-loop” or max resistance.

What is the output voltage of a 120 volt ballast?

Specifications

How do I know if my HID ballast is bad?

Dimming or Flickering Headlights

If your HID bulb cannot produce its full brightness or strobe periodically, this is most probably a ballast problem. When a ballast begins to fail, it may have problems regulating and providing a stable current, hence the dimming and flickering of your light source.

How can you tell if a ballast is good?

If the ballast is good, an analog multimeter has a needle that will sweep to the right across the measuring scale. If the ballast is bad, then the needle won’t move. If you’re using a digital multimeter, often the digital readout will possibly list a “1” when it doesn’t find a measurable resistance.

Can HID bulbs work without ballast?

All compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs require a ballast, which is often integrated. All HID bulbs require a ballast, which is sometimes integrated. No LED bulbs require a ballast, although some are engineered to work with an existing ballast.

How much power does HID use?

The average electricity consumption of LED light is 30 watts per hour whereas HID light consumes an average of 100 watt per hour. Even while using 100 watts per hour, HID light fails to give as much brightness as a single 30 watt LED gives. This advantage is the most effective feature in LED vs HID lumens.

How many volts should headlights use?

Headlight lamps therefore are designed for 13.2 volts. If you apply more, the lamp shines brighter, but it ages considerably faster, too. Five percent excess voltage costs you 50 percent in lamp life! A lamp that runs continuously on 14.5 volts or more will soon burn out.

Do HID headlights use more power?

HID headlights use less power than halogen bulbs, and put less of a strain on the energy supply of a car, truck or van. As such, the energy within a given vehicle can be more healthily allocated to other functions.

Will a 55 watt HID bulb work with a 35 watt ballast?

You can use 55w ballasts with standard 35w bulbs, but the life of the bulb will be shortened a bit, and their color will Wash Out a bit.

Will HID lights drain my battery?

With the BRP HID kit there is no more drain on the battery during use than with the standard halogens. In fact HID’s use less power to create more light. In the case of an an aftermarket HID kit if it were properly designed and installed there should be no issues either.

What’s better 35 watt or 55 watt HID?

By increasing the intensity of the arc, you are just “running them hotter,” which will wear down your bulb much faster. A bulb running 55W will usually last about half as long as a bulb running 35W. Brightness: 35W bulbs driven by a true 35W ballast will provide at least 3200 lumens.

Which is better 5000K or 6000K HID?

The brightest HID color temperature is 5000K, emitting perfectly white light. 4300K and 6000K will be just as bright but will have a very light tint of yellow (4300K) or blue (6000K).

How do I make my HID headlights brighter?

1. Upgrade your headlight bulbs to LED. LEDs (light-emitting diode) are the brightest headlight bulbs. …
2. Upgrade your headlight bulbs to HID. …
3. Clean your headlights with a headlight restoration kit. …
4. Retrofit your headlights & fog lights. …
5. Buy premium halogen bulbs.

Is 8000k brighter than 6000K?

The 6000k is usually the most popular. The higher you go in the Kelvin Rating, you get more color in the light in exchange for visibility. So 6000k will be just slightly brighter than 8000k and 8000k will be slightly brighter than 10000k and so on but they will have more and more color to them.

Which is brighter LED or HID?

Brightness: LED lights can have a brightness of 9,000-10,000 lumens while HID might have 8,000 lumens. Both, however, are brighter than traditional halogen lights. Technology: LED lights use electricity while HID uses gas (typically xenon).

What’s the best HID color temperature?

There are seven “K”s for HID color temperature: 3000K, 4300K, 5000K, 6000K, 8000K, 10000K and 12000K. the lower number with the longest wavelength and the best penetration the light has. The penetration of 3000K and 4300K is the best, comparing to 10000K and 12000K, they are the worst.

What are the brightest headlights allowed by law?

Federal limits are orders of magnitude higher, and in a different measurement all together. Depending on the lighting system of the vehicle, headlights are limited to about 20,000 to 75,000 candela, according to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108.

Is 8000K HID legal?

Xenon HID bulbs with a high colour temperature – such as 8000K or above – are sometimes not road legal. Halogen bulbs with a colour temperature of 4300K or over also tend to be non-road legal.

Are 8k HID lights legal?

Some states allow HID headlights, but California allows only headlamp bulbs that emit light that is white or yellow, which means that only low-intensity HID lights are legal.