[njscan]

Been looking on EBAY at all the HID Conversion kits available for my 2007 RAV. I'm amazed how the cost has dropped. You can get the kit for ~ $40. Has anyone used these, or can you comment o the quality?

You can go up on EBAY and do a search for HID Kit

 

[avs]

You pay what you get. I would not trust the ebay kit. Try to look for the HID kit that comes with two separate relay harness, so this way if one ballast goes dead the other one still works.

Well I'll let Zeoth the HID nazi chime in that you should not install pnp in stock reflector headlamp.

 

[njscan]

I agree

I hear ya...
A friend of mine just bough these and I've done some preliminary measurements. The running current is less than the OEM bulbs and the heat generated by them is also less. Funny thing is that what he paid ~$40 for is the EXACT kit that another dealer is charging $99 for. I guess it comes down to if you buy from the retail dealer or from the manufacturer. I do appreciate your input.

 

[WJBertrand]

I put an HID kit made by VVME (www.VVME.com) on my motorcycle a couple of years ago. Easy install and no problems with the kit since. I plan to do the same with the RAV.

 

[njscan]

Thanks, one more question

The VVME kit is about the same cost, and I also see it's offered for my 2007 RAV with a relay harness kit. Can someone explain the purpose of the relay harness?

I've looked at the installation. It appears that the ballast received power from the original socket. The ballast output has another socket that mounts into the headlight ass'y.

??

 

[Zeoth]

Well I'll let Zeoth the HID nazi chime in that you should not install pnp in stock reflector headlamp.

You get what you pay for. Cheap kits are cheap for a reason.

1. Bulbs life is short
2. Balasts life is short
3. May not come with wire harness
4. Doesn't have the breakers built in

Could you end up with a kit that will never give you problems? Sure but most people have problems within a year or two. I retrofitted almost immediately and I have driven over 70,000 miles with my headlights constantly on (I don't have DRL and I generally feel safer with lights on) and I've never had a problem. I retrofitted 2 other cars that has never given me problems in the 10+ years I've been retrofitting.

Additionally, yes HID bulbs in reflector housing glares the crap out of other people. If you don't believe me, you just get on the road and look for cars running HID kits. You can spot them a mile away.

 

[Octane]

I bought two VVME kits for my rav4 (one for spare parts), paid under 100$, and one of my ballast just blew a couple of months ago, after 3+ years of use. I did the same thing for my wifes Mazda 3, and after 2+ years the kit still works fine.

most 100$ kits are actually cheap 40$ kits with a mark up... IMO, you either get two of the cheapest, or you go with the best!

 

[njscan]

All noted - thanks

I'm hearing you, and I 'd agree.
Been reading and the wiring harness probably isn't required.
1. My DRL's have been disabled since day 1.
2. The "kit" actually draws about 2 amps less than the OEM's (measured my friends who just got this kit)
3. The ballast can be easily opened, and it's only a simple DC-DC converter circuit, which I can easily fix if it fails. It's very similar in design to the ballast circuit used in DLP TV's. Regarding the glare, going to check it out this evening. The company he purchased it from also offered a wide choice in color temperature from 5000K up to 30,000K. 6000K is very close to daylight and won't have that annoying BLUISH look.

I appreciate all the feedback.

 

[Octane]

about the harness, it is optionnal, but it's safer to use one, so that if something goes wrong, you wont fry your oem wiring, which is expensive to fix compared to a relay harness...

in my case I had to use a relay harness, since the rav4 has intellegent relays, that cut the power to the headlight when you pull more than 10 amps, in my case the ballasts are supposed to pull 9 amps at startup, but the oem relay still cuts out the power... so if ever the ballasts don't turn on, you are probably triggering the relays safety function...

 

[WJBertrand]

The VVME kit is about the same cost, and I also see it's offered for my 2007 RAV with a relay harness kit. Can someone explain the purpose of the relay harness?

I've looked at the installation. It appears that the ballast received power from the original socket. The ballast output has another socket that mounts into the headlight ass'y.

??

The VVME kit I have uses the OEM headlight plug only to trigger the relay. The ballasts then draw power directly from the battery via a new wire and fuse included in the kit. Though once warm, HIDs will pull less power than the OEM incandescent bulbs, they exceed normal draw during the ignition and warm up phase. Over time that might be too much load on the OEM circuits. The relay allows power for the HID system to by pass the OEM wiring. I believe this is the way all the kits they sell work. In the case of a bi-xenon set up for H/L beam, the high beam contact in the OEM plug triggers the bulb or shield (depending on design) to change position.

 

[njscan]

Thanks to all

Thanks to all - I know have a much clearer understanding of the overall installation. I've decided to go with the EBAY dealer (since I've seen the product) and buy 2 sets. One for a spare just in case. That dealer also had a wide selection of bulbs (color temperature) to choose from. Here's the link in case anyone is interested:

H1.H3.H4.H7.H8.H9.H10.H11.H13.H4.9006.9007.5202.HID Kit | eBay

 

[WJBertrand]

Hmmmm, no relay harness??

 

[njscan]

Not needed

In my case, no need.
My daytime lights are disabled and the initial inrush current is less than the OEM's. I measure the starting current on the set my friend just bought and it's less than the OEM's lights.

The ballast box can be opened, so even it it goes bad it can be opened and repaired. For anyone who has an understanding of DC to DC converters the design is very straight forward. Going to buy an extra set as it's cheaper than just buying two extra bulbs.

 

[avs]

In my case, no need.
My daytime lights are disabled and the initial inrush current is less than the OEM's. I measure the starting current on the set my friend just bought and it's less than the OEM's lights.

The ballast box can be opened, so even it it goes bad it can be opened and repaired. For anyone who has an understanding of DC to DC converters the design is very straight forward. Going to buy an extra set as it's cheaper than just buying two extra bulbs.

Good luck!

 

[Zeoth]

A wire harness isn't just to handle power draw but to also give consistent power to both ballasts.