To the almighty Eletrcial HID Gods. I need help. I have read so much on installing HID's it's not funny. I am very electricaly dumb and I do not want to mess up/burn up my truck. Therefore I thought I would propose this questions to yall: There is such a big disagreement on here whether It is reccommended to use a wiring harness with a relay or to run without a relay on all HID applications of 35 watts. My thought is, it can't hurt to run one so why not for safety and insurance/pieces of mind. Can anyone tell me where a can get this relay (NAPA, Auot Zone, Alligator Perfromance, ect..,). Maybe even a part number would be awesome!! What does a relay look like?? Is their a certain size I need to get??

I am planing to purchase from an recommonded e-bay seller. I want a set of 35 Watt 6000K HID's for low beam and then another set of 35 watt 6000k for my fog lights. The only part I am missing is a relay? Any and all help will be gratfully

Usually most HID sellers offer relays, so start there.

I don't run a relay and I've had my HIDs for over a year and have not had one problem with them or my electrical system.

I got my HIDs for better road lighting and originally got 6000K lights and they were too blue for me and weren't light enough, so I got some 4300K lights and those are much brighter and project the light much further than the 6000K lights. My friend has 5000K lights and his are actually whiter and make mine look slightly yellow in comparison.

Hope that helps.

sharphid.com

<--- another guy who doesn't use a relay.

Thanks guys for your input and special thank to Underlord for the web link. That's why I love this site sooooo much. Ask a question and not only recieve good useable information/opinoins, but also links to web site to fix the problem all together. I e-mailed sharphid and with-in a couple hours they wrote be back anwsering all my question and offering me a discount. I will be making my HID purches next week for these guys. Thanks again for everyones help. Yall have a swell weekend :D

Thanks

To the almighty Eletrcial HID Gods. I need help. I have read so much on installing HID's it's not funny. I am very electricaly dumb and I do not want to mess up/burn up my truck. Therefore I thought I would propose this questions to yall: There is such a big disagreement on here whether It is reccommended to use a wiring harness with a relay or to run without a relay on all HID applications of 35 watts. My thought is, it can't hurt to run one so why not for safety and insurance/pieces of mind. Can anyone tell me where a can get this relay (NAPA, Auot Zone, Alligator Perfromance, ect..,). Maybe even a part number would be awesome!! What does a relay look like?? Is their a certain size I need to get??

I am planing to purchase from an recommonded e-bay seller. I want a set of 35 Watt 6000K HID's for low beam and then another set of 35 watt 6000k for my fog lights. The only part I am missing is a relay? Any and all help will be gratfully
You really don't need a relay, but if you want to use one, more power to you. As you said, it won't hurt. If you are trying to get the most usable light output from the HIDs, you should probably consider 4300k instead of 6000k. Also, the 4300k cuts through weather better with less glare and eye strain.

Once again Guys, thanks for all your help. I'm going to go through sharphid to get my HID's. They have a HID Battery Wiring Harness that has everything in it for a plug and play and I'll still be able to use my daylight running lights with no problems. Very excited..now I just need to wait until pay day :(

Thanks again for every ones help

Damn Russ I live out here in Reynoldsburg....if ya got any probs let me know. Hell we can even put em in here if ya want to drive out here. Easy as hell to do. I dont use relays either. Your pulling about 2 more amps each at startup (~6A) and less than halogens at operation.

GetSome8.1HD

Wow, I didn't know you lived in Reynoldsburg. If you're serious, I will take you up on your offer. I'm about dumb when it comes to eletrical things; although I was able to figure out how to install my LED parking/day light running lights.

Anyway, it will be a couple of weeks before I can order my HID's. If you don't mind, I'll PM you when I get them in. And then we can set up a time for me to come over and install my HID's.

Thanks a lot
Russ

i got a relay with mine just because the company was offering it for no extra cost but IMO u dont need one. I installed them on my dads truck without a relay and havent had a problem.

Let me know Russ. Wheneva is good. Beer is cold ;)

I Don't Use a relay either... I have the fogs and the low beams on HID 6k and i love it... haven't had any problems with power or flickering... I did disable the Daytime running lights.. I just don't like em..... the only issue i had was a bad ballast once, and the company warrantied it and sent me 2 new ballast's no questions asked....

I recommend running a relay-- because most switches are not designed to carry the high amp load that lights use. Then you can run lighter gauge wires to the switch while using a relay and you can install the relay closer to the battery connections so you have less voltage drop and less heat build up on the wires.

These are some of the reasons GM uses relays on most high amp accessories. :D

I recommend running a relay-- because most switches are not designed to carry the high amp load that lights use. Then you can run lighter gauge wires to the switch while using a relay and you can install the relay closer to the battery connections so you have less voltage drop and less heat build up on the wires.

These are some of the reasons GM uses relays on most high amp accessories. :D
What is the fuse amperage for headlights? Then see what most HIDs are running at startup (highest draw on system). The wires will be suitable for the amperage of the fuse and then some.

See that is why I asked this question about relays. I have read on so many post that people are having trouble with their Day light running lights working....but then again other have no problems. However, most, like Zipman, just un-plug their day light runs.

When I put my HID's on I want everything to work. That's why I'm excited to try www.Sharphids "HID Battery Wiring Harness". This is suppose to fix the daylight running light problem. For $20.00 I think it's worth a try. So, once I buy it and the "Great" Getsome help me install them, I'll do a write up and report how good they work...or if it's a wast of money.

Please note: I have never purchased anything from Sharphid. I got the site from this post from Underlord. However, I have written Mr Sharp several time by e-mail. He has been very prompt in writting back with good info answering all my questions.

I recommend running a relay-- because most switches are not designed to carry the high amp load that lights use. Then you can run lighter gauge wires to the switch while using a relay and you can install the relay closer to the battery connections so you have less voltage drop and less heat build up on the wires.

These are some of the reasons GM uses relays on most high amp accessories. :D
GM now uses relays for lighting, so the days of melting light switches are gone. I agree that with most aftermarket lights that a relay is needed for the reasons you mention, but HIDs don't draw any more current (in fact, less) than stock lights. The way the ballasts are designed to work (at least the good ones), they're not as sensative to slight voltage drops as when you're directly powering a bulb.

The only reason I can see a need for a relay is to prevent any voltage drop if the ballast isn't able to handle the feed via the stock headlamp wiring, not to protect the wiring. Bottom line is that if the kit needs a relay, it should come with one.

As far as the question about DRL issues, considering all the newer trucks have separate DRLs now, I don't see this as an issue at all. In the older vehicles that used the headlights also as the DRLs, I can see where there might be some problems.

See that is why I asked this question about relays. I have read on so many post that people are having trouble with their Day light running lights working....but then again other have no problems. However, most, like Zipman, just un-plug their day light runs.

When I put my HID's on I want everything to work. That's why I'm excited to try www.Sharphids (http://www.Sharphids) "HID Battery Wiring Harness". This is suppose to fix the daylight running light problem. For $20.00 I think it's worth a try. So, once I buy it and the "Great" Getsome help me install them, I'll do a write up and report how good they work...or if it's a wast of money.

Please note: I have never purchased anything from Sharphid. I got the site from this post from Underlord. However, I have written Mr Sharp several time by e-mail. He has been very prompt in writting back with good info answering all my questions.
See my post above about DRLs. Also, don't go with the 55w kit in your low beams as you will be blinding other drivers even more. I realize guys are happy with their HID kits, but let's face it, you're installing an illegal system into a housing that isn't designed for them. HID kits do throw more stray light than a standard bulb. A 55w kit with almost 40% more lumen output is only going to throw more (and more powerful) stray light. If you decide to go with 55w for your high beams, then at that point I would install a relay kit.

Can't edit my post, but after thinking about this DRL issue a bit, I have to admit I'm not sure about the nbs DRL setup. I think they use the low beams, so for these 'newer' newer trucks an HID kit may cause issues. Hopefully someone with a nbs can comment.

Can't edit my post, but after thinking about this DRL issue a bit, I have to admit I'm not sure about the nbs DRL setup. I think they use the low beams, so for these 'newer' newer trucks an HID kit may cause issues. Hopefully someone with a nbs can comment.


NBS Truck do use the low beams for DRL's... there is a Dedicated Fuse under the hood for this... pulling the fuse, disables the DRL's and no codes or errors thrown on the Dash....

but HIDs don't draw any more current (in fact, less) than stock lights.
Actually they do at start up depending on what kit you get. Most are around ~6V and if you use the formula of W/V=A halogen 55W are running at ~4.5A. Now HIDs do operate after start up under ~4A usually again depending on what brand you go with and if ballast are analog or digital. Not nit picking ya...just FYI if anything ;)