# What would happen: halogen in place of HID bulb?



## iced_theater (Apr 29, 2006)

What would happen if you put a regular halogen bulb in place of an HID bulb in an automotive application? Would it just blow the bulb from the voltage from the ignitor, or would it just be very dim as HID bulbs are 35 watt versus the 55 watts of the halogen bulb?


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## Morelite (Apr 29, 2006)

HID's have a much higher voltage feed than the normal 12-14 volts.


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## iced_theater (Apr 29, 2006)

Alright, I wouldn't of cared about the bulb, but didn't want to chance busting the ignitor or ballast.


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## winny (May 7, 2006)

Unless the maker of the ballast are total morons, it should have protection against a short-circuit and a cold lamp is just about a short-circuit.
Suppose the fillament would be broken, it would be fun to see if the ballast could actually arc the lamp and what would happen. Don't try it without protective glasses though...


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## s0crates82 (May 8, 2006)

winny said:


> Unless the maker of the ballast are total morons, it should have protection against a short-circuit and a cold lamp is just about a short-circuit.
> Suppose the fillament would be broken, it would be fun to see if the ballast could actually arc the lamp and what would happen. Don't try it without protective glasses though...



and gloves... with cameras running...


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## Illum (May 8, 2006)

winny said:


> Unless the maker of the ballast are total morons, it should have protection against a short-circuit and a cold lamp is just about a short-circuit.
> Suppose the fillament would be broken, it would be fun to see if the ballast could actually arc the lamp and what would happen. Don't try it without protective glasses though...




Halogens Bulbs can take one heck of a lot of temperature, but they are not made for arcing...
if that does happen, you can expect the Halgen gas mixture to expand a couple times than its original volume....equivalent to  of the bulb, and if not careful, it might go through the "windshield" too...


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## idleprocess (May 9, 2006)

Most HID bulbs use entirely different connectors than halogen bulbs even if they are mechanically compatible with standard automotive bulbs. Given the high voltages during the startup pulse during warmup, high-voltage connectors are a necessity.

_If_ a ballast could arc between the contacts of a blown halogen bulb, it would likely probably explode given that ordinary glass can't handle the combined high temperatures and pressures that arcs generate.


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## Zelandeth (May 13, 2006)

Arcing...arcing you say...no idea if that would happen, but if it did, most likely, there would be quite a loud "pop" and a few million bits of quartz flying all over the place.

A link if shown below, taken from Lamptech.
This is what happens when arcing occurs in a mains voltage halogen lamp with inadequite fusing.

Oh for a high speed camera to play...er...experiment with...


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## AlexGT (May 14, 2006)

WOW!!!!!

Nice video!!!!! incredible footage! Thanks for the link Zelandeth!

AlexGT


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## 270winchester (May 15, 2006)

huh...I think that bulb was retired in good form....


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## yuandrew (May 19, 2006)

Some member on HID planet, I think his user name was liteglow, was crazy enough to try that if I remember. He first broke the filiment then attached the ballast. This resulted in an arc igniting across the points. He then broke the bulb and got the arc in opened air as he mentioned.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=210

You do have to be a member to read the thread though


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