scorpio11

I recently installed HIDs on my A3, i noticed that a few days later that my front wipers were not working.

has anyone heard of HID kits affecting the wiper motor in one way or another?

Now my wipers dont work, and after doing some research, the hids may have been the cause. I loved the HID lights.

cuetip

Karma. HID lights in housings (reflector or projector) not designed for them produce ridiculous glare for other drivers while not actually producing a significant improvement in road lighting for the driver of the modified car. There is a perceived improvement due to more white light hitting the road immediately in front of the car but down-road visibility is rarely significantly improved and may be hindered by constricted pupils caused by the increased foreground light.

Still, not sure why the lighting system would impact the wipers. HID lights typically operate at lower wattage than halogens. Unless the relay system you use is wired incorrectly or impacts the wiper relays in some other fashion.

altesporsche

I know this is an old post but for those who have experienced this the cause is the EMP from the ballast and ignighter interferes with the circuitry of the wiper motor. there are people who can fix this but it will happen again unless the lights are removed. currently the only kit that works uses factory type ballast.
as for the comment about it not giving off more light .. sorry but this is untrue. if you use 4300-6500 HID they will have more lumens than any halogen bulb you can get. so light given off is increased quite a bit it isnt an illusion. the illusion is the Xenon bulbs that are pure white and claim 4300 or 5000k but actually only put out 2300-2400 lumen. but with hid after 6500k the light output decreases and the harder it is on peoples eyes. the glare to oncoming traffic shoudnt be that bad if the lights are properly adjusted and with the correct shields.

cheers

cuetip

Yes, HID bulbs do produce more raw light output, however unless that output is properly focused it is not useful. There have been numerous studies performed by engineers with respect to this topic and the consensus is that hid bulbs in halogen housings typically reduce or offer no significant down-road lighting improvement while in nearly all situations generating illegal and dangerous levels of glare to oncoming drivers.

altesporsche

I know this is old but I seen it and had to reply, Cuetip you are correct about the proper focus but the problem is not with the focus when using halogen housings its the cutoff of the light pattern that causes the glare and if this is properly controlled there will be more light available. Lumens is a measure of light given off that is visible to the human eye, so with more lumens there will be more light available down the road depending on the design of the housing projecting the light. Most E code (euro) have a more aggressive light pattern to the road Vs. north american vehicles but once again given a type of light housing designed to use a halogen bulb then using a Hid bulb with twice the lumens available the light will be better within the range of that housing period! most of these so called "tests" were complete by people with partial understanding of how light works and how the design of the housing effects the light dispersed. if properly set up to control the cut off ( there are Dr3 bulbs with shielding that have decent cut off) the light from HID will be better. I would like to see these numerous studies from "engineers" testing HID kits in Halogen housings. Myself being an Engineer and at one point actually designed lighting for BMW I can assure you that engineers that are working in an industry are not going to waste their time testing HID kits in Halogen housings unless they are employed by the HID company or are jobless and have nothing else to do. I do not mean to sound like an *** if i came across that way but when making a statement to refute something someone has put out there as help to others with questions please do not regurgitate what you have heard by hearsay or read somewhere on a forum.
cheers !

I am not a fan of aftermarket HID kits for the exact reason i just explained .. people do not know how to properly adjust them or take into consideration that there are bulbs that have shields for use in halogen housings.

cuetip

Well, I think we are going to have to disagree. However I am a professional member of APEGA, I have many engineering friends in numerous roles including in the auto industry. I know there are studies on the effectiveness of HID bulbs in halogen housings because it has come up in conversation numerous times while talking with a friend and colleague whom works for Ford. They wanted to see if improved lighting could be realized without the need to spend the r&d money on new housings for existing models. The results were conclusive, there was no acceptable way to use HID lights with shields or otherwise in legacy housings. I don't have access to those exact studies as I have since moved into oil and gas but this website has compiled some excellent studies as well as covers the basics of the physical reasons this is not possible. Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

I am surprised that you say you worked for BMW in lighting and claim that they never tried to do something similar. This is cost engineering 101 stuff.