Despite
being around for a number of years and fitted to an increasing number of cars,
many garages and technicians are still reluctant to fit xenon HIDs, often
seeing them as difficult to fit, expensive and potentially hazardous. To remedy this, aftermarket lighting
expert Ring has decided to “bust the myths” surrounding xenon HID bulbs,
offering up practical advice and answers for the questions they are asked most
often.
“When carrying out market research in the UK aftermarket, some independent garages we spoke to were reluctant to fit xenon HID bulbs. As lighting experts, it’s our job to educate the industry on this technology and open up what is a huge opportunity for their businesses.
“So we decided to take the top five myths and FAQs we hear on a regular basis and give the aftermarket the advice and answers they need.” Carl Harrison, bulb expert and Product Manager for Automotive Lighting at Ring
Lighting the way
The introduction of xenon HID bulbs
has been one of the biggest vehicle lighting developments of the last 20 years.
Xenon HID bulbs are different from
ordinary bulbs as they have no filament. Instead, they have a glass capsule in
the centre of the bulb containing xenon gas. Two metal electrodes going into
the glass capsule enable a high voltage to cross the xenon gas. This voltage
ignites the gas to produce a bright white light output.
For the
bulbs to illuminate, the start-up voltage has to be very high and therefore a
ballast is required for each headlamp. These ballasts convert the vehicle’s 12V
DC voltage to ignite the bulb and then maintain a lower operating voltage.
As xenon HID bulbs become more common and are no longer restricted to just premium
or luxury cars, many more motorists are now benefiting from the crisper, whiter
colour temperatures, helping them see road signs and obstacles more clearly. In
addition, legislation was introduced in 2012 so new vehicles produced after
then would use D3 and D4 references, which do not contain mercury.
View Ring's range of xenon HID bulbs.