Calling all HID experts

gravebox · 10-22-2009, 05:11 AM

some time ago i bought a set of Toyota OEM ballasts...

i have an issue with how ridiculously short the out going discharge cable is to the bulb. it's only about 5-6 inches in length...

now, before anything is said about just moving the ballasts closer... i can't do that. there is a wierd grounding settup with these ballasts because they were designed to be mounted inside the plastic housing of the headlight housing they were made for. because of this, i had to build a set of electrical isolation boxes to protect them from arcing across the chassis on metal to metal contact *not a HUGE arc and did nothing to light output, it's just a bit uneasy on the nerves*.

The Question, adding length to the cable? it's a D4x type igniter end, so the wire between the igniter and the ballast is wide open for modification. the MAIN issue is... there is a metal mesh wrap around the actual power cables. this mesh is fixed to the metal clip ends of the igniter, down the cables and connects to the inside of the ballast electronics AND to the outter shell of the ballast making every square inch of these things capable of arcing on any metal contact *does not ground out with physical contact to one's hands, stupidly tested by yours truely*.

question is, if i extend the cable and use another line of wire to extend the mesh wrap just incase it's a needed thing for the ballast to work... would it be safe to add another good 6-8 inches to the line without giving too much added resistance to what the ballast see's between the bulb and it's self?

PCH · 10-22-2009, 11:45 AM

You can buy extension cables as long as 3ft, i think. So there should be no problem with adding lenght if you use right gauge with quality connections.