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All right guys, short story. I'd just bought a 2010 Cobalt SS in September with projectors already on it. After looking over this site I believe they are Gen 4 (it uses H7a and H7u bulbs.) The lens have heat stress cracks all over them, and let alone he spray painted them black...I can't stress how bad let alone how dangers it to drive this thing at night. I bought new head lights from ZZP and they come with H1 halogen lights. My question is, can I use the ballast that is on my car already with the H1 bulb? And can I use a ballast on just a halogen bulb or do I need HID?
Last edited by 05duramax; 11-04-2017 at 07:10 PM.
Reason: spelling
A HID ballast essentially steps up the voltage similar to a ballast in a fluorescent lamp and converts from DC (direct current, which halogen bulbs use) to AC (alternating current). When you turn it on it produces a surge voltage in the thousands of volts range to ionize the gas in the HID bulb capsule and create the arc between the electrodes that gives off light. The "ballast" then regulates voltage/current to keep the HID capsule running.
If you tried to use a halogen bulb in a connector attached to a HID ballast/controller it would immediately blow out. If you want to switch back to a regular halogen bulb you'd need to remove the HID wiring harness and ballast. If you wanted to stick with a HID bulb I can't say if that ballast will drive a different bulb/capsule than what it was designed for. You'd have to contact the manufacturer but I suspect it might work.
Also keep in mind that just because you have an aftermarket "projector" headlamp assembly with a cut-off shield so you don't blind other drivers as much as putting a HID bulb in the OEM reflector housing, the actual projector assembly and lens still needs to be designed around a specific bulb type.
That means if you have an aftermarket projector headlamp designed around a convention halogen bulb and you drop in the HID bulb/capsule the arc might not be in the exact same place as tungsten filament on the halogen bulb and won't reflect off the internal reflector and through the lens exactly as it should. The cut-off shield might prevent it from blinding other drivers as much but the light might not be placed down the road exactly where it should. If you can bypass the current HID setup and run a quality halogen bulb you might want to give that a try first before dumping more money into HID parts.
11-03-2017, 08:24 PM
