I had the new PIAA H1 bulbs put in for the high beams yesterday. I was testing them out facing a building with windows that go low to the ground, to see the reflection of how my highs would look to others. I tested it by pulling the stalk toward me and for some reason, my HIDs come on as well. I tried this with no lights on and with the parking lights on. Both times, whenever I pulled the stalk, the HID low beams would turn on as well.

I remember doing this a while back when I had the stock high beam bulbs and only the high beam bulbs would come on. Now, I'm not saying the installation of the new high beam bulbs is responsible for this as I don't see how that would be possible. Who knows, this problem might have been there for a while. I just noticed this problem today since I was consciously trying to see how my highs would look with the new PIAAs.

What's wrong here?

 

Nothing is wrong. Since HIDs take a second to brighten up, they must be on all the time, even when highs are on. This is why we don't have HID high beams - the second it takes to light up is against USDOT regulations. That's why you'll see on high end cars like Porsches, the HIDs move to change patterns from high to low rather than have separate lights. Honda went the less expensive route and just used halogens for the high beams. If you quickly flash your brights, the HIDs won't fire up in time, so you wont see them, which may be what you saw before.

 

I know that when the HID low beams are set to on and I either pull or push the stalk, the high beam comes on along with the low beams.

However, with the lights in the off position or in the parking lights only position, if I were to pull the stalk toward me, the HIDs come on as well. You're saying this is normal? I thought this would cause premature wear on the HID bulbs, especially if you're the type to do like 5 flicks in a row, and often at that.

 

You're right, it will cause premature wear of the HID bulbs. The bulbs and ballasts are only going to light a fixed number of times (think hundreds of thousands) before they're worn out. That's a good reason why you shouldn't make a regular habit of flashing your high beams when the HIDs are off.

 

 

So if the S2000 HID low beams are supposed to come on with a high beam flick, don't you think that's a design flaw? This scenario would ONLY occur during the day time (since at night, the low beams would always be set to on) and you don't need the extra brightness from both the low and high beams on to illuminate your path. During the day, you would normally flick high beams to warn others or do it out of courtesy to pass.

 

Yeah, this is something that always bugged me.

 

it is...but i dont flick my brights that much. maybe once or twice a month..im sure people here dont go around and flick there lights every time they want to pass somebody everyday..maybe once in a while. but you should be worried. im sure peoples hids havent gone dead because of the flickering..

or you could just turn on your hids during the day and if you happen to flick the brights, you wont force the hids to turn on/off so quickly.

 

Thanks for the confirmation. I guess when I had seen the car's reflection in a window a few years ago, I probably hadn't held the stalk long enough for me to realize that the HIDs came on as well, hence assuming they weren't supposed to come on. So I guess, in the S2000's case, the HIDs are "supposed" to come on with the high beam flick.

As for high beam flicking, I do it often as people ALWAYS inconsiderately clog up the left passing lane. I try not to pass on the right out of courtesy to others because it should be the order of things. Activating the left turn signal and flicking the high beams while in the left passing lane are the universal signs for letting people know you want to pass. But it seems like most people are either ignorant OR they are blatantly inconsiderate and blinded by useless pride to comply with safety and let you pass.

 

Never realized that the HIDs go on too when you flash the hi-beams too ... learn something new everyday ...