HID Installation - Relay (Low Beam Warning)

[Qube]

My HID kit is to arrive in the next day or so. I've given some thought to wiring up a relay... but who wants to cut up their harness? As such, I'll probably scope out the driving light option in the high beams wired in parallel. I'm just worried to find a place to mount the ballast on the (left) driver side! The passenger (right) side has ample room.

As a side note, why would there not be simple 'kits' there to wire up these relays? They would sell like hotcakes, and given the relative simplicity of design, not be too difficult to manufacture. Strange... especially since if the harnesses/connectors were bought in bulk, they would be pennies.

[Rory]

My HID kit is to arrive in the next day or so. I've given some thought to wiring up a relay... but who wants to cut up their harness? As such, I'll probably scope out the driving light option in the high beams wired in parallel. I'm just worried to find a place to mount the ballast on the (left) driver side! The passenger (right) side has ample room.

As a side note, why would there not be simple 'kits' there to wire up these relays? They would sell like hotcakes, and given the relative simplicity of design, not be too difficult to manufacture. Strange... especially since if the harnesses/connectors were bought in bulk, they would be pennies.
You may want to search the archives a bit. Some have their HID's hooked up with harnesses directly to the battery and some have them hooked up direct to the stock plugs. I have done both and decided on using the stock plugs to avoid the OBC faults. I thought about hacking up the harness as you described but am fine with using the stock setup. YMMV and collect info before deciding if the risk of running HID's off the stock harness is acceptable to you. Enjoy the new lights, they are great.

Best,
Rory

[Paul in NZ]

there is a write up somewhere where the relay was wired to the high beam so that on start up the lkm looked at the high beam filament for the headlight test,but as soon as the lights are turned on it fires up the hids,let me se if i can find that link.I dont think a relay is required for the installation as the power consumption is less on the HID apart from an instant at ignition.

[Jon K]

I use the stock wiring harness, just plug that puppy in and let her rip. The only reason they use the relays is because of initial voltae of firing the HIDs up, but E34s have ample wiring, they consume less power when post-fired... its fine.

[Rory]

I use the stock wiring harness, just plug that puppy in and let her rip. The only reason they use the relays is because of initial voltae of firing the HIDs up, but E34s have ample wiring, they consume less power when post-fired... its fine.
I would say based on the experience of folks with HID's on this board that using the E34 stock harness should be ample for an HID setup. But I do not believe anyone has confirmed scientifically the ability of the E34 harness to stand up over time. It was definitly not designed from the ground up to run HID's which as Jon noted require an initial large voltage to ignite the bulb. If you run a relay to ignite the bulb off the battery the spike comes direct from the battery through a beefy harness to the ballast rather than through the stock harness. That being said there are a lot of folks out there who have been running through the stock harness for a few years without any issues to date. Of course YMMV.

And the link that Paul mentioned can be found here: http://www.bbesound.com/bmw/hidinstall/

Best,
Rory