Burnt Headlight Wires

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I'm not sure which thread it was, but I was talking about the Piaa Plasma Blue Spark bulbs, which were supposed to have a color temp of 7000k. I've also experienced the Piaa Super Plasma, which are supposed to be 5000k.

I'm probably going to enrage the Piaa fanatics, but basically both these bulbs are mainly for show only. They produce a pretty nice color (aqua blue for the Blue Spark, and pinkish white for the Super Plasma), but in order to achieve that color, Piaa has heavily coated the glass. This creates for pretty poor illumination when compared to regular halogens (and even other superwhite brands I've seen), as the light just isn't powerful enough to push through that glass coating (seen below on the right, with a superwhite bulb on the left).



It might have been a bit better if they increased the wattage, like most aftermarket brands, to compensate for the coating. But I guess they wanted to play it safe, as the increase power also increases the risk of burning your wires.

As for HID's, now that I've finally converted to the Philips 6000K, I can honestly say it was worth every penny. Not only is illumination clear and bright, but the blue/white color is attention grabbing. To boot, installation was a snap (at least for the AutoLamps kit ... which by the way, is now called HID-Online.Com) and reversible. This means you can remove the kit and transfer it to your next car (assuming it's also running 9006).

Installation is very straight forward, and should only take like 20 minutes. The hardest part was figuring out where to put the ballasts (could Mazda make the engine bay any smaller?). It's pretty hard to explain how it all connects to the battery, then to the ballasts, then to the headlight sockets, and then to the HID bulbs, but I think HID-Online.Com might have a diagram somewhere.

No modifications are necessary (again, I'm speaking about the HID-Online kit and do not know about the other conversion kits), not even heat wrapping wires for water-proofing. Their kits have evolved to using water-proof connectors, so it's all just plug and play. Let me know if you want any pics. Good luck! Sorry again for the long post.

[MMS'mine]

I dont mind the long post at all. I actually would rather people put lots of detailed info like you did. I appreciate that.

I understand the the piaa super plasma bulbs are coated and all, but other on this forum really recomend these bulbs over all other bulbs out there. Most people actaully say they are very bright compared to the stock bulbs. It think those people should speak up right about now.

Thanks for giving me some insight on how these are to be installed to. Everyone kinda helped with that.

And if it isnt inconvenient for you, I could really use a few good pics of the installed HIDs from several angles.

Another question Image. Were you able to fit the dust cap/cover back after installing the HIDs? Or are the HIDs sticking out of the headlight assembly?

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MMS, no inconvenience at all. I'll take some snaps tomorrow of my HID setup and post them up (it's midnight here in Sydney). I have some trouble getting the lighting right due to an old digital camera, so please excuse the non-accurate depiction of the HID illumination.

Most people actaully say they are very bright compared to the stock bulbs. It think those people should speak up right about now.

I highly recommend them as well, but I would probably stick with Piaa's regular halogen line, or the Xtreme Whites. These have no or little coating respectively, and should produce good illumination.

I'd say the Piaa Xtreme White are equivalent to the Philips Blue Vision bulbs. I installed the Blue Vision (color temp is 3700 K) on my wife's car, and I highly recommend them for those looking for an alternative to the more expensive Piaa's. The Blue Vision runs at 55-watts, costs about $30, has a slightly whiter color than regular halogen (not as white as superwhites), and the road illumination is excellent. Both Piaa Xtreme Whites and Philips Blue Vision should be brighter than regular halogens.

Another question Image. Were you able to fit the dust cap/cover back after installing the HIDs? Or are the HIDs sticking out of the headlight assembly?

Heh-heh, I asked this same question as well prior to getting my HID's. Unfortunately you won't be able to pass any wires around the dust cap, so I think most owners choose to leave the cap off. However, I just made a simple modification (contradicting my claims of 'no mods necessary!') which allows me to fit the dust cap back on.

I don't know about other kits, but the HID-Online.Com kit comes with a rubber grommet which the wires, that connect to the headlight socket, pass through. If you drill a hole about a 0.5 inch in the center of the dust cap, you can pass the wires through the hole, and then use the grommet to seal up the hole. Just another reason why I recommend HID-Online's conversion kit.

[MMS'mine]

Thanks Image. thats some good detailed info. Im just really disappointed at these super plasma bulbs that PIAA made.

Anyways, Im not thinking since these bulbs are coated, they would work much better in the high beam 9005 application, because high beams are no projector lights, they are reflector lights. That might be why coated bulbs dont work well with low beams.

Ill just decide to go with the Philips 6000k HID kit once I have the dough....peace

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Here are some pics of the things I'm talking about:


This is the water-proof plugs that HID-Online uses for their conversion kits. They make for excellent plug-n-play, but also cut out the work of having to either heat-shrink wrap them or having to cut and splice. The yellow ring on the right side is the rubber seal. Sorry about the out-of-focus pic, my digi camera's not that good.


These are the plugs when connected. Male plug with the rubber seal can only connect & lock to the female plug (this is what they're called so please don't blame me for the phallic analogies), and the kit is fabricated so that it's impossible to connect the wires incorrectly (ie- from the battery to the ballast, and then from the ballast to the HID globes).


This was the only place I was able to fasten the ballast on the left side of the engine bay (left side when looking at it from the front of the car). 1) This is the wire that wraps around the engine bay coming from the battery. 2) I've fastened the ballast next to these nodes. I did try to mount them below that radiator hose you see on the right, but it got too hot as well as being too exposed. 3) These wires lead from the ballast to the HID globe.


This is my dirty & old dust cap. I've drilled a hole through the middle, and ran the wires through. The black rubber grommet that comes with the kit seals up the hole nicely.

I'll try to take pics of the headlights tomorrow.

[MMS'mine]

Thanks a lot. These pics will definitely help.