# Technical Electric Question



## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

Looking at just doing the PIAA h13 and PIAA foglamp h8 in the Xtreme White 4100k. But in both cases the power rating says h13 is 55/65=75/85 and the h8 is 35=75. so are they just saying the bubs will use 35 watts but put out 75 and same with the h13's 55 in and you get 75 out. i have used these bulb before and they are very good and last forever. just don't want to have to upgrade the wiring. the site say plug and play!


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

i can get the PIAA's for uner $80 but is this a better deal...6000K HID Kit [6000K]


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

It's marketing doublespeak. The bulb is consuming 55 watts, and is not using dark magic to somehow get the equivalent of 75 watts. It can't, since it violates the laws of physics. It's outputting just as much light as any other 55 watt H13 bulb. Probably less, since the PIAA typically has a dark blue coating that takes away from the visible light you can see. 

I'd do the headlight harness upgrade and get a set of clear glass bulbs. That will be the best thing to do for the stock headlights. Unless you want to do a HID projector retrofit, which is a whole different kettle of fish.


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

ok cool. thats what i thought just was not sure. now i had the PIAA's before in my cobalt and they worked really good for 3 years. i did notice the blue coating on the bulbs. but thje lighting was very good and clean. i could see so much better. I know PIAA maks good stuff...just seem what works on all other cars don't work on the cruze. the cruze seems to be a different monster. just seeing that you can get HID kits for the same price as the replacement bulbs and upgrades harrness i might want to go with the HID kit???


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

The HID kit in the OEM housing will make the area in front of the car really bright, and won't be so bright further down the road. So your brain gets tricked into thinking it's seeing better when it is really not. The harness makes the halogen bulbs put out more light, and that light gets thrown further down the road. So, the far-away areas are lit just as much as the close-in areas. That's better, since there's more light further away. The OEM headlights are pretty good once the bulbs have enough power. 

Another advantage is that the harness keeps the DRL functioning normally. HID kits don't like the low-beam based DRL on the Cruze. All the drivers with a burger in one hand and their cell phone in the other need the help spotting a black car that the DRL provide. Mine's black too, and the DRL make spotting it from far off very easy. Trying to spot a black car on a very gray day is hard without DRL. We get lots of gray days around me.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

In addition to the road not actually being brighter with an "HID retrofit," they are illegal, and someone on this board actually got fined $250 for having them. They are also unsafe, and inconsiderate to oncoming drivers. NHTSA is cracking down on vendors that sell them pretty hard. 

Upgrade your headlight wiring harness and you'll have much better results.


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

sciphi said:


> The HID kit in the OEM housing will make the area in front of the car really bright, and won't be so bright further down the road. So your brain gets tricked into thinking it's seeing better when it is really not. The harness makes the halogen bulbs put out more light, and that light gets thrown further down the road. So, the far-away areas are lit just as much as the close-in areas. That's better, since there's more light further away. The OEM headlights are pretty good once the bulbs have enough power.
> 
> Another advantage is that the harness keeps the DRL functioning normally. HID kits don't like the low-beam based DRL on the Cruze. All the drivers with a burger in one hand and their cell phone in the other need the help spotting a black car that the DRL provide. Mine's black too, and the DRL make spotting it from far off very easy. Trying to spot a black car on a very gray day is hard without DRL. We get lots of gray days around me.


i just don't understand how the new harness gets tied into the stock setup so the lights work right. my understanding is that the harnness replaces the stock one but what do u do tie it into the fuse box


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> In addition to the road not actually being brighter with an "HID retrofit," they are illegal, and someone on this board actually got fined $250 for having them. They are also unsafe, and inconsiderate to oncoming drivers. NHTSA is cracking down on vendors that sell them pretty hard.
> 
> Upgrade your headlight wiring harness and you'll have much better results.


ordered new better bulbs...for get the hid kit. but i need help understanding how to tie the new harrness into the stock


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/57-h...-your-headlight-wiring-harness.html#post77792


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

yes i read that from beginning to end and still don't see it. but what i could see is it kinda looks like it just ues the left head light stock plug and plugs into the new harnness. k so thats where it ties in. so the right side u just kinda tape up in case u go back to stock. can u clear up the inline capacitor


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

ordered harness


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Let me know when you get the harness if you still have questions. Do you have a place locally where you can get a capacitor?


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Let me know when you get the harness if you still have questions. Do you have a place locally where you can get a capacitor?


yes radio shack


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Get a 440 microfarad capacitor. It'll be massive overkill, which is what you want.


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

ok cool but i can hook it up like the cecaa850 did and not have to cut up the harness. and i am right in that only the left side stock connector is used to power everything and just to tape up the right side connector


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

smorey78 said:


> ok cool but i can hook it up like the cecaa850 did and not have to cut up the harness. and i am right in that only the left side stock connector is used to power everything and just to tape up the right side connector


That's correct. No need to cut up the factory harness. You still need to find a way to connect the capacitor though.


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

i would just back out the terminals like he did and solider it to the terminals just like he did and reinstall. we are not cutting the harness and running the circuit thru the capacitor. i just need to run it parallel


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

smorey78 said:


> i would just back out the terminals like he did and solider it to the terminals just like he did and reinstall. we are not cutting the harness and running the circuit thru the capacitor. i just need to run it parallel


Assuming the leads on the capacitor are long enough, that should work well.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

The leads on the capacitor I used were about 1" long on each side. I put the leads into the sockets and slipped the relay back into the socket to hold it in place. After that, some electrical tape made it water-resistant.


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## smorey78 (Apr 8, 2012)

yep thats what i am going to do. what does the capacitor do?


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