I just wanted to send a quick reminder to everyone that has purchased bulbs that have HID APPEARANCE..

Make sure if you running over 55/60 (stock wattage) that you use electrical grease.

If you do not and moisture gets between the socket and connections you can have a wiring melt down.

This goes for ALL Bulbs. PIAA, Xenon Superwhites, Hyper, etc etc etc..

So this is just a friendly warning to all F150 Owners out there.

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Fred Folkerts/Chicago IL
1997 Ford 150XLT Black
5.4 TRiTiON/4x4 Off Road
285x75x16 Goodyear Wrangler's
Xenon Superwhites
Modified Air Box.
K&N Air Filter
Superchip
http://www.sportbikes.net/ford/index.html

 

White Knight, this might sound stupid but, exactly where do you put the grease?

 

Oops.. sorry I should have checked back on this post..

Put the grease right on the 3 metal prongs from the bulb. I also put it on the sockets too where the bulbs and socket connect..

Hope this helps..

------------------
Fred Folkerts/Chicago IL
1997 Ford 150XLT Black
5.4 TRiTiON/4x4 Off Road
285x75x16 Goodyear Wrangler's
Xenon Superwhites
Modified Air Box.
K&N Air Filter
Superchip
http://www.sportbikes.net/ford/index.html

 

I am assuming your asking about the PIAA so I will break that down. PIAA is over priced in my book. Very nice bulbs but over priced.

Anywhere from $60-80. whoever is wripping you off harder.

The reason PIAA can charge so much becuase they are known for great Bar lights and aftermarket fog lights.

But when it comes down to bulbs.. there is one other maker that I know of. Eaglite that is compairable to PIAA. Both of them are the closest to HID appereance you can buy. And thats a fact.

The problem is so many bulb manufactorers say Xenon.. but they have no Xenon Gas in the.. they just call it Xenon. (Not false advertisment) So people buy them thinking they are Xenon gas and it works just as well. WRONG. What has been known to happen is overheating of the sockets (not just the wiring.. but the base of the bulb itself melts) and the bulb just popping.

See this is the basics of the Bulb. You have a filement inside which is pulling more power which heats up a lot quicker. The Xenon gas in the Eaglite and PIAA cool down the filement to keep it from over heating the base and or possibly melting the whole headlight wiring assembly. The blue coating around the bulb is to keep the yellow spectrum from going through. This is why if you hold up a piece of white paper to the PIAA and Eaglite you will see a slight blue line on the outer edge. Just like the Real HID assembly's.

And when I say put electrical grease on your connections.. This is to keep moisture from getting between the connecting from your wiring harness and bulb socket.

When a wiring harness melts in the PIAA and Eaglite this is due to moisture.. Not the bulb itself. Resistance is always going to cause overheating. Thats just the basics of electricity.

PIAA bulbs can be purchased at the piaa website. http://www.piaa.com

Eaglite bulbs can be purchased at my website. http://www.sportbikes.net/bulbsallvehicals.html

I hope I answered your questions. I know its a pain with so many bulbs out there and finding a good one is tough. Just stay away from Sylvania, Hyper, and the bulbs that JC Whittney is selling. These bulbs are bad news.



------------------
Fred Folkerts/Chicago IL
1997 Ford 150XLT Black
5.4 TRiTiON/4x4 Off Road
285x75x16 Goodyear Wrangler's
Xenon Superwhites
Modified Air Box.
K&N Air Filter
Superchip
http://www.sportbikes.net/ford/index.html

 

OK...more questions: Are these lights worth the costs? If so, where does one pick up a good set? I currently am not happy with the stock lights and am looking to improve the lighting.
I am not impressed with the NOPI crowd attempt at true Xenon (the blue replacement halogens).
Excellent tip...might save a few wiring harnesses.

------------------
...my first "big" truck
'99 Ford F-150 Lariat
4WD, 4DR...absolutely stock (I guess)

 

I have been using Eaglite Xenon's as well. What I like is that they are a super brite white, and just barely any blue. I see many cars down the road driving with blue headlights. These are nice and white. I tried another brand for the heck of it and that was a mistake. Not the same bulb. I used the 9007 100/80 watt bulbs and love them. Here is the person I use for all my bulbs. This person has auctions on ebay, but you can buy them directly from this person as well, which is what I do. The persons email address is Ebay@midnightmoose.com. From there they can give you there web address so you can see all the info about the bulbs.
Price I believe is $ 17.95 per pair and 3.95 shipping if I am not mistaken.

Jeff

[This message has been edited by Screw5.4L (edited 02-26-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Screw5.4L (edited 02-26-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Screw5.4L (edited 02-26-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Screw5.4L (edited 02-26-2001).]