Daylight Running Lamp using HID: good or bad?

When I look at my lights, the high beams (at a lower power) are on when my stalk is set to DRL, NOT my Low beams...I have HIDs installed btw

 

^^ What he said - the DRL's are high beams at 40% power. You would not be able to put a HID ballast on the high beams and expect it to work without some relays and an additional power wire to bypass the reduced power. If you are planning on using the HID's for lowbeams you will be just fine - they are not connected to the DRL's - and I also have been using aftermarket HID's from the day I got the car, I pulled them out of my 2010 Prius before trading it in.

 

The low beams are not going to work unless you have either relays or Canbus with your HID kit. I have canbus on mine - no issues with DRL

 

The kit I got did not require can bus or relay...that I know of. It was plug and play all the way.

 

I'm fairly sure that the C does not require a CAN BUS setup. No headlight monitoring system. Doesn't hurt to have it though.

 

I have a set of HID ballasts with no relays nor canbus, it didn't work for any of my headlights. I could get a set of relays to make it work but didn't want to hassle and bustle with wiring, that's why I went ahead with plug and play canbus.

 

The kit I got was from xenon supply... I have got to say they look great and install was simple.

 

Yeah dude - I got a $35 kit on ebay in 2010 for my Gen 3 Prius, When I traded it in last month I pulled that kit out and put it in the Prius C. No relays, no CANBUS, works just fine. Same bulbs, same ballasts, no flickering.

 

HID always operates at full intensity. As a result, dimming for DRL is not possible.

Tom

 

Right - you would need relays and some new wiring to protect the ballast from a 40% voltage feed- but that brings me to the next question... The DRL's are on the high beams, not the low beams, why would you want to have HID high beams anyway? They have to be cycled on and off for oncoming traffic, and HID's take a few seconds to get up to full intensity whereas a halogen bulb is at full intensity from the start. Additionally the more the more times you cycle a HID bulb the shorter its lifespan would be. If you want to change out the high's too, get some silverstars or some colored halogens.

 

Normally HID headlamps do not have high and low bulbs. They have one bulb with a movable cutoff that mechanically switches the illuminated area from high to low. This requires a purpose designed reflector or projector assembly, which is why retrofitted HIDs are illegal.

As pointed out above, HIDs do not tolerate or work well when cycled on and off.

Tom

 

I had an old set of HID ballasts and H11 bulbs and it didn't work for me, so I've ordered a new one already equipped with canbus ballast and it worked just fine.

I didn't want HID on my highs, I just checked my old ballasts on lows and on highs before I have ordered a new set for my low beams.

 

I just thought that we needed to clarify that the expensive kit that you bought is not Required for this car, would not want to confuse anyone and make them spend $150 when they do not need to. Many people have installed the basic kit with no issues, not sure what caused your issue, but my guess is you had a defective unit, or a bad install.

 

I am not trying to confuse or to force anyone to buy something they don't want/need to buy. I shared the experience I had with my old HID ballasts. Whether to take it into consideration or not is completely up to the person. That's one of the goals of such forums IMHO, people can get different opinions and make their own decision.

 

I have a set of 5000K hid kit installed, but the light output is very disappointing. I can't see as well as the original Halogen at night. Anyone has kit installed that actually has better output than the original? I don't mind of the look.

 

update: pulled trigger and get 4300K set from xenonsupply. I'm totally happy. Super bright and high visibility.

 

I use these for low beam only and not for daylight. My 2010 Prius doesn't come daylight running option, so I bought a fog light kit and ran those as daylight. I wired fog lights to turn on along ignition.