Was researching these for my Jeep, however the 914 may just get a set. If the CFO approves it...

7\" HID

My best,
Mike D.

Thanks for the link! I've been looking at some other bi-Xenon lamps that were $500 each and would take some major shoehorning to fit in the stock location.

it needs a black front cover to blend in. or you need a silver car.

they look futuristic.

ouch....$700 for headlights is pricey ......

If you do put them in, you are going to HAVE to run new wiring. The stock wiring will not handle the load those things will put on the harness.

My suggestion... buy one of the JWest fuse blocks. Then run new 10 gauge power feed wires from the battery to the fuse box, and hook them to two of the spare fuse locaitons. Then run 10 gauge wires from there to the front of the car, one to each headlight location.

At each of the headlights, add 2 heavy duty relays to each side. Wire pin 30 on both relays to the wire from the fuse block, using 10 gauge wire. Run a 10 gauge white wire from pin 87 on one relay, and a 10 gauge yellow wire from pin 87 on the other relay to the back of the headlight. Hook the original headlight wires to pin 85 of the relays, matching the color of the wires that go to the headlights. From the remaining pin on the back of the headlight, run a 10 gauge brown wire and ground it to the ground post behind the headlight. Run a 16 gauge brown wire from pin 86 on each relay to the same ground post. Now put 30 Amp fuses in the two locations on the fuse box that you used.

What this does is to move the headlight load from the original 16 gauge wires that run through the headlight switch, the dimmer relay and the VW style fuse box, and it moves them to a ATO style fuse with proper sized wires that can handle the load of the monster lights.

For you guys with a /6, this is very important. On the factory /6, not only do the headlights run through the headlight switch, but they run thorugh the NLA turn signal switch. The extra power of the halogen or Litronic headlights can burn up the headlight switch, or the NLA turn signal switch.

Hope that helps.

I paid only $400 for my car.

I guess it helps that I already have the JWest fuse block. Clay thanks for that write up. Since no one has purchased my cars I think I may be hanging on to them for now so I'm looking at some upgrades to make teh '72 more of a driver. Those headlights do look futuristic but I figure at night, no one will notice.

My best,
Mike

I think sylvania also makes a 7" HID replacement light

QUOTE (Sparky @ Dec 28 2004, 12:10 PM)

I guess it helps that I already have the JWest fuse block. Clay thanks for that write up. Since no one has purchased my cars I think I may be hanging on to them for now so I'm looking at some upgrades to make teh '72 more of a driver. Those headlights do look futuristic but I figure at night, no one will notice. My best, Mike

Your welcome. I am currently putting the relays in my /6 conversion. Not to run litronic lights, but I want to be able to run the brightest friggin halogen lights I can find. Our little cars are hard enough to see, and I am tired of seeing my own shadow in front of me at night.

Let me know if you want a diagram of the wiring for this.

Good info Please post (if you can ) that Diagram. I only have H4 euros on mine but Relays are a good idea.
One question I thought the amp load(?) was only at startup with those lights & after "lit" they drew less power than stock?

Yeah, I like to know where I can find stuff like that. It gives the car so much more power and makes it so much faster. And the handling, we wont even go there.

QUOTE (TimT @ Dec 28 2004, 11:13 AM)

I think sylvania also makes a 7" HID replacement light

Yep. Last year someone posted a link to a blow-out sale - they were being sold for something like $100. Everybody said they were going to get a set. In typical fasion, nobody ever reported back.

-Ben M.

Interesting thing about HID lights and the load they impose. While running, they only draw about 35W per lamp (2-3amps), which is much lower than the 55-60W an incandescant or halogen light draws. However, when an HID light is turned on, the power to get the arc started is MUCH higher, like 200W PER LAMP. A pair of these starting can draw 30amps, which is more than the generator on my 912 even puts out, and is 3/5ths of the current the stock 914 alternator puts out. Once they're running, they taper off to 35W each, so the current drawn from the system during normal use will actually be lower than with halogen lamps. All of the extra wiring and relays are there just to support the first few seconds of operation.

Some of the HID upgrades use a halogen lamp for high beams, and only use the HID for low beams. These kits are typically half the price of the lamps that use HID for both.

QUOTE (ClayPerrine @ Dec 28 2004, 05:24 AM)

If you do put them in, you are going to HAVE to run new wiring. The stock wiring will not handle the load those things will put on the harness.

Didn't 914s come standard in the rest of the world with Halogen lights?

I thought H.I.D.s used less energy than normal lights.

I don't doubt the need for new wiring and fuses, Just curious.

Thanks for the post James, I was going to write up something similar. HID is easier to run than Halogen.

Halogen is a HUGE heat producer, so it's very wasteful. Yes you can make it really bright, but you're making huge heat as well. HID is much more efficient. More efficient = less power.

QUOTE

HID is easier to run than Halogen.

Well, yes and no. HID lights require a high-frequency DC-AC transformer and ballast to run, which means you find some place to put the thing. HID lights are effectively flourescent lamps, which is why they're so efficient. However, flourescent lamps require AC, which the alternator is putting out, only to have it converted back to DC by the rectifier block (power loss and heat generated there), then converted back to AC and the voltage stepped way up by the transformer (yet more power loss) for the HID lights. The bulbs are supposed to draw 35W, but I don't know what the ballast and transformer consume. It's not zero. If they each consume 1 amp (assuming two units, one for each light), that's about 7 amps total draw, compared to about 8.5 amps for a pair of 55W halogens. Not all that much power savings. The difference is the HIDs will run cooler, and will produce 2-3x the light of the halogens for that lesser current.

Clay is 100% correct about the relay thing, too. IMHO, one should run relays even to power halogens or incandescents, as it saves wear and tear on the expensive and hard to source headlight and ignition switches. 30 amp relays are available at any Radio Shack for peanuts. On an HID system, however, the relays are necessary, not just nice to haves. The 350-400W draw during the first seconds of operation of the HID lamps will burn up the stock system.

QUOTE (ClayPerrine Posted: Dec 28 2004 @ 12:28 PM)

QUOTE (Sparky @ Dec 28 2004, 12:10 PM) I guess it helps that I already have the JWest fuse block. Clay thanks for that write up. Since no one has purchased my cars I think I may be hanging on to them for now so I'm looking at some upgrades to make teh '72 more of a driver. Those headlights do look futuristic but I figure at night, no one will notice. My best, Mike Your welcome. I am currently putting the relays in my /6 conversion. Not to run litronic lights, but I want to be able to run the brightest friggin halogen lights I can find. Our little cars are hard enough to see, and I am tired of seeing my own shadow in front of me at night. Let me know if you want a diagram of the wiring for this.

Yes please! I would really appreciate it Clay.

Off to do the drawing in Visio, and I will put it here when done.

Here is the Factory diagram, stripped down to just the headlight stuff...

Here is the diagram with the relays and extra power feeds.

The relays are the standard square Bosch relays that are used on thousands of cars. They are available at any FLAPS. The reason for this is that now the only load on the factory headlight circuit is to energize the relays. You can do that with a 2A circuit.

The relays now handle the load of the headlights, and the new fuses (30A) power the lights, thus saving the headlight dimmer relay and the headlight switch.

Thanks!

Right on
Thanks Clay