How to tell if you have HID or Halogen
 

Hey all,

I got destroyed by all the hail that came through Tennessee a few weeks ago and it busted my headlights. I am getting them replaced and i want to go aftermarket but it seems there are a few configurations of headlights. How do i tell which one i have? My lights are a bright white when you look at them head on and when i first turn them on it takes a second or two to brighten up, almost like they need to heat up.... Im very confused on this... HELP!!!

Thanks!
Brandon

PS. Anyone have an opinion on these if mine is Halogen?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/03-05...mZ190533298098

It depends on the color of the rotator cuff inside of the capacitor housing. If it appears blue with red diagooctagons, HIDs are confirmed. Otherwise, the color would be black with blue triangulaterals. These not be HIVs. Check and confirm the color chart provided under the headlight gauge box under the hood. Some vary with year models.

Completely agree, depending on the color, you may have different kind of HIV, see a doctor to see the HIV chart and pick out the one you may have, they do vary with year you had it for and models youve been with.

Which model Z do you have? Only the Base models came from the factory with halogen lights. Based on your description, I suspect you have HID lights.

Since when did headlights get infected with HIV?

How to tell if they're HIDs? Look very closely at the drivers approaching you at night. If they're older and they're flipping you the bird, you've got HIDs.

http://cdn3.knowyourmeme.com/system/...oll%20face.png





But anyways:

http://assets.sylvania.com/assets/im...7e437637e4.jpg
Halogen lights have been around since 1978 and are the standard factory headlights in the majority of all vehicles on the road today.

http://assets.sylvania.com/assets/im...4e0997f98d.jpg
High intensity Discharge Lighting is light from a plasma discharge rather than a filament.





Then use this page as a guide to find your bulb code:
http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...lacementGuide/

yes.. here appears the troll!

Far less face palming than i imagined after reading the headline.

Happy Friday to all ..those w extra energy to begin a day of making fun at others expense.. let the games begin!

Only the base model 2003-2005 have halogens.
All others models have HID.

If you have HID, then you cannot buy an aftermarket headlight as all aftermarket headlights are designed for halogen bulbs.
So either you buy an HID OEM headlight 2003-2005 or 2006-2008 (bi-xenon).

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I take it i have the HIDs. The comments including smart remarks are not cool at all. Reminds me of little ricers with Hondas hanging out in the Wal Mart parking lot. Thanks for all the help and i hope the forum doesnt get overun by people whos mouth are smarter than their brains.

if its like the g35 theres a small stamp on the lower headlight corner somewhere with the bulb size. btw those ebay headlights look pretty good

You look at the bulb. Is this the correct answer?

Looking at the bulb type would be the best solution, but you could also take a look at the color and light output. If it's a white color with high output and a pretty decent cutoff line, you probably have HID. If it's a more yellow color, it's probably halogen. But like others have mentioned, the only Z's sold with halogen bulbs were the base models from 2003-2005. If your Z is equipped with cruise control then it's not a base (unless it was upgraded aftermarket).

350z with hid and halogen.
 

I've noticed my stock 2003 touring 350z has hid low beams but halogen highbeams.... what aftermarket lights can i get? The low beams are pure white light but the high beams are no doubt halogen.

Same man. I want a plug and play led bulb kit, but I’m not sure if it’ll work with the touring headlights.

Upgrade to 06+ Factory (or Depo brand, only acceptible alternate to OE) Bi-xenon headlights. Pretty much everything else is a waste of time and money.

Don't swap in LED bulbs into the high beam location. I know this seems to be the fad right now, but the usable light output is trash. As Mic says, if you want a true upgrade, change over to a bi-xenon setup which uses one HID bulb for both the low and high beams with focused light output through a projector and a "flapper" inside the projector to change the hi/lo. Also, don't go above 6000K for the color temperature of the new D2S bulb.

I found a consistent, and easy way to tell whether a 350z has HID or Halogen low beams on a 2003-2005 without removing the housing.
My understanding is that 2006+ only come with the Bi-Xenon headlamps regardless of model, so both low and high beams are implemented with one D2S bulb.
The housing is different on the 2006+, and there isn't a second bulb for high beam. Those use one D2S bulb per side.

On 2003-2005 models, the low and high beam bulbs are separate, with the low beam bulbs located behind a projector/reflector, so they aren't visible without removing them.
The High beam bulbs are visible though, and that's how you can tell which system you have.
At the bottom, center of the housing, below the projector/reflector, there's a bulb facing forward. Shine a light on it, and you can see it clearly which bulb it is.

Your high beam bulb will be either an H7, or an H1. Luckily, they look quite different, with the H7 almost perfectly cylindrical. The H1 is not fully cylindrical, and has electronics visible within the bulb (at least the bulbs I looked at online). Take a look at pictures online. I can tell that my Z has a Philips H7 high beam.
If the high beam bulb is an H7, you have a HID system, and for low beam, your Z uses a D2R bulb. If you want to confirm, your car will have a ballast.
If the high beam bulb is an H1, you have a halogen system, and for low beam, your Z uses an H7 bulb. Your car will not have a ballast.

It's strange, but both systems use an H7 bulb. The HID system uses the H7 for high beam, and the halogen system uses the H7 for the low beam.

Also, I don't think you can tell by reading the markings on the housing. I believe at least some parts of the housing, maybe the black, back portion are identical for 2003-2005 regardless of which system is in use. I believe this because voltage and wattage for each of the three bulb types are listed on the housing (D2R, H7, and H1), even though only 2 of them are used in each configuration.

I hope this helps!

lol. Just turn them on. Halogen and HID have vastly different light outputs.

That would be easy if you have another Z to compare the light to, and/or your working low beam is full intensity. But I have one low beam out, and the other very dim.
Until looking on this site, I had no idea that HID lights dim over time.
The high beams are Halogen in either case, and full brightness, so I'm assuming the light produced by an H1 would be similar to an H7.
My technique takes guessing out of the equation. Look at what bulb you have for a high beam. That tells you what your low beam is.