Technical Bi xenon on Fiat X1/9

[SpiritX]

Hi guys,

You probably know the problem of low brightness of X's headlights.
I was wondering how I can improve it.

Offcourse first thing that came in mind is to install bi xenon bulbs but I have no idea how these bulbs look like and if it possible in any way to fit them in X's headlights.

Anyone knows if it is possible?

If not, what are the alternatives?


Cheers,
Leo.

 

[alexGS]

First thing that comes to my mind is - a relay added for the low beam.

On my '88 X1/9 it was a simple matter to add a relay to the bracket at the edge of the fuse tray. There was already a relay for high beam. The low beam relay then supplied the power to the two separate existing fuses and the rest of the wiring stayed the same.

Benefits: column switch no longer melted under the strain; headlights received good voltage and worked much better.

-Alex

 

[jimbro1000]

Alex is absolutely right - and you can do the conversion without cutting any wires if you're careful, or using scotchlok connectors. Everything you need should already be in the fusebox on a '79 except for the actual relays. Most had spare relay mountings to begin with.

All it takes is a bit of extra wiring and relocating two female spade connectors.

If you do go for higher power bulbs keep in mind that the wiring is going to struggle and it might be worth running new +ve feeds to the lights from the fusebox. It is also definitely worth cleaning up the earth rings in the wings as these will not be in the best of shape after 30 years (they weren't brilliant after 3 years).

On the same subject it might also be worth replacing the main battery cable from the engine bay to the battery and the same from the fusebox to the battery. Pretty much everything will work better afterwards.

Incidentally the headlamp units on a 79 are not halogen H4 fittings, they take the old tungsten bulbs so you either need conversion bulbs (probably NLA) or replacement headlamps, fortunately they are standard 7" sealed beam replacements (without sidelight fitting) so these are a bit easier to find.

 

[SpiritX]

Allright. Thanks for help.

I actually did change the headlamps long time ago to H4 I guess...
I have attached a picture with a similar kit.

Should there be any problems with fittings?

You were talking about the halogen bulbs, but are the xenon bulbs different?

Something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/H4-BI-XENON-HI-LOW-BEAM-HID-CONVERSION-KIT-6000K-8000K_W0QQitemZ370129014081QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item370129014081&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1689%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1308%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

 

[rachaeljf]

HID are a big improvement over incandescent bulbs. I have fitted aftermarket HID kits to two cars and I have been quite pleased with the results. The only issue I have had is the ballast units can introduce noise into the car's electrical system, which can be annoying if you happen to listen to AM radio. HIDs draw less current than the original bulbs, so that can only be a good thing for an X1/9!

Here's a photo to show the bi-xenon bulbs do fit.

Cheers R

 

[SpiritX]

Cool! Thanks a lot!


Did you actually find the reason of that noise from ballast?
Is that really annoying?
Cuz I have a good audio system which I listen a lot.


And the last question is which temperature would you recommend??
4300K, 6000K, 8000K or even 10000k?


Thanks again,
Leo.

 

[rachaeljf]

I am no expert, but I believe the ballast/control units use a switching regulator to get the high voltage necessary to drive the HID bulb. The switching regulator can generate noise on the supply line, which can be heard as a whine on the radio. If you have a variable speed battery drill, the whine the drill makes at low speeds is due to the same effect. I bought slightly dodgy Chinese HID kits, and I suspect their noise filtering is not the best. More reputable brands of HID ballast units, e.g. Bosch or Philips will probably be fine. I could probably fix mine by just putting line filters (like the ones you can get for your radio) on the supply wires near to the ballast units - it's best to filter the noise as close to the source as possible.

As for colour temperature, go for 4300 K, or 6000 K unless you want to look "cool" with blue tint headlights. Higher temperature bulbs simply give out less light. I use 4300 K bulbs.

Cheers R

 

[SpiritX]

Ok, cool.

Thanks a lot indeed. I will now move to searching a nice HID kit.

I will probably post some photos when I get it finished!


Thanks again,

Leo.

 

[DjPatD]

hey guys which kit are you going to buy for the x19 headlights i want to buy them for mine as well.

here is a pic, with the new cromadora rims!

 

[SpiritX]

Ive purchases a new H4 Headlamp set.

Ive found on ebay Philips H4 HID kit 6000K for £168 + p&p.
It it expensive, so I am trying to find something else.
But there is too many chinese stuff around, so it is hard to find a good kit for low price.