Thread: Bi-Xenon Vs Halogen

Originally Posted by phl

the difference in the D4 with CCF is the OEM HID gets a spike at startup to give it instant high intensity.

I am not sure I quite follow that. The ignition of HID/Xenon globes is a two stage process - at start the high voltage is used to vaporise salts in the globe which in turn ignites the gas and it is not until these gases are fully ignited that full brilliance is achieved.

So while no always obvious it should take 5 to 10 seconds for the globe to get full brilliance when first turned on. The OEMs do not have an issue when going to high beam as the Xenon globe is already alight with the shutter determining the hi/lo pattern (also have the Halogen globe to fill in the dark spots).

Cheers

Garry

Thanks Gary, I understand now. My aftermarket ones use two separate H7 globes, not one globe with a shutter.

So, I dont think I'll bother with changing the CCF.

Regards

Originally Posted by Celtoid

.. and Bob's your uncle.

Yes!

I wondered if with the wrong CCF setting that they could flicker on startup or be slow to start but also that the CCF setting could just be documentation.

Two items I think should be std on every model D4, EDiff and Bi Xion head lights!. With both these as std this car would win every 4 x 4 comparison/ offroad test challenge thrown at it ( won most anyway) and turn a sensational offroad vehicle into an unstoppable one! ( in most cases)

Thanks very much again for the great advice.

I'm going to have to dig deeper into the software/electrical aspects, as I don't want to start mucking around unless I'm certain that it can be done, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

I even talked to LR yesterday and they were willing to give it a try but were not certain of the outcome .... so I need to make more enquiries. I'm calling some independants.

I'll keep you updated.

Cheers,

Kev.

Originally Posted by ytt105

Phl

Does that mean that updating my CCF will cause my aftermarket HIDs to warm up quicker?

Regards

Just the main beam, not the high beam. As stated, HIDs takes some time to warm up, which is not great in a car situation. So what manufacturers do is give a higher surge voltage initially to bring it up to full lumens faster, but at a slight cost of reducing lamp life.

So with most OE HIDs/Bi-Xenons, you'll notice it strikes with an initially very bright light, which then drops to normal. Great if you have the proper bulbs, but as one guy in DISCO4 found out, not good if you have halogens, as it kills them much more quickly; problem solved when the CCF was changed to reflect he didn't have Bi-Xenons.