michakaveli

I'm going to undertake retrofitting some E55 Bi-Xenon projectors into my OEM halogen lamps. I've previously performed the mode w/ some Audi A4/S4 projectors. I currently have the Hella Gen III ballasts and do not get a lamp failure fault. I have a pair of Hella Gen IV that I need to use for this application. I've heard that only some ballasts will not give the lamp failure fault. Would I get the fault w/ the Gen IV's?

Zam if your're reading... Please help a brotha out. Trying to refamiliarize myself w/ the world of HID. Haven't done a project in over a year.

BTW, I have some I believe Philips 5000K that I bought from Akinaboy on eBay. I like the 4300k better for light out. Do the Philips or Osram 4300k bulbs have stronger light output.. Lumens that is :-)

zam2000

The Hella Gen-3 will not trigger lamp msg, but draw lot of power during boot, you will need 15A fuse to handle it. Never a good thing

I've tried Hella Gen-4 twice, one time it trigger lamp msg, another time not, so not very conclusive.

The Denso ballast (from Lexus) and Mitsubishi ballast will not trigger lamp msg on any Benz. The best, and kinda expensive.

The Panasonic ballast will not trigger lamp msg when light turn on, but "might" trigger msg when light is turned off, odd. But they're very durable and compact (a bit pricey too).

One thing about all of the Japanese ballast (Denso, Mitsubishi, Panasonic/Matchusita) is that they draw much less power during boot, so won't hurt/affect your light wiring harhness at all. With the Hella ballasts, if not careful, you might fry your wire in the long run. That's one of the reason I don't use them at all. And they're not that reliable.

Generally speaking, the Japanese ballasts are much better than the German one (guess it applies to all electronic stuffs ??): more efficient, draw less power (while give same performance), more compact/reliable. Cost a bit more, but you really get what you paid for.

Philips D2S bulbs give a bit more light than Osram, but both are good. Go with 4300K, the light output is the best. After a while (burn in), you will get that white/purple look anyway.

Avoid aftermarket HID stuff at all cost, most are junk.