[Guru]

Thanks for the reply Jakob! and for the advice on putting more thermal compound beneath the heat sink. I have some left over AC MX-2 from when I exchanged the stock cooler of my graphics card for an Arctic Accelero, is it ok to use that type of thermal compound?

 

[theshadow27]

Assuming you mean Arctic Silver (AS) MX-2 yeah that's fine. Just a dab. These things get pretty hot - in general if you can physically bolt it to a metal panel it will do better than if it's zip-tied to a coolant hose.

BTW - see that 25V 1,000uF capacitor? That's the input bypass capacitor. There's another 4,400uF in the BOW-3. The one in the KBOWE is 36,000uF - so 6 times more - so even with the BOW-3 and the internal bypass it's only 15% of what is required to keep the WMM safe. I'm stealing that picture btw

 

[Guru]

Be my guest Jakob and once the BOWEs arrive, i'll be taking pics of their intestines too, then I'll post those up and wait for your approval. they cost 24 Euros each which is about $32 so I hope they'll be up to the job.

You can't risk driving without functioning wipers here in Europe, it showers even in July, so blowing the WMM is the absolute last thing I would want to do, I have Philips NightGuide type S installed now as halogens and I can't complain about their illumination, they're pretty good... but I'm just curious about the benefit I'll gain by walking that extra mile; going with xenons that is.

p.s. which BOWE out of all the BOWEs involved is the KBOWE?

 

[unrlmth]

Thanks for the help everyone. Got it all finished up today, washed it and took a few pics.







And my workspace before I cleaned everything up.

 

[Guru]

Beautiful car unrlmth, and good work, any chance of a night shot to see the light pattern of those E55s?

 

[theshadow27]

which BOWE out of all the BOWEs involved is the KBOWE?

KBOWE is the one that I designed with a diode and large capacitor per side, as per the instructions in my signature. Since it had to be called something to differentiate it from the rest of the cancelers/eliminators, we named it humorously as the "Kyle Bulb Out Warning Eliminator" because the one I built writing that tutorial was for Kyle (aka ForceFed).

 

[unrlmth]

Beautiful car unrlmth, and good work, any chance of a night shot to see the light pattern of those E55s?

Yea I will, but I still have a few small tweaks to make with the aiming and connect the solenoids for the high beams. The beam pattern is pretty much identical to the e55 shots in this thread: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/content.php?2-Bi-Xenon-Output-Comparison-TL-E55-Murano-FX-IS-e46-LR3

I also used the ZKW lenses which help a little bit with the output and cut-off.

 

[Guru]

BTW - see that 25V 1,000uF capacitor? That's the input bypass capacitor. There's another 4,400uF in the BOW-3. The one in the KBOWE is 36,000uF - so 6 times more - so even with the BOW-3 and the internal bypass it's only 15% of what is required to keep the WMM safe.

Ok, I might be suggesting something silly now, but just theoretically speaking and forgetting for now about size limitations: if I were to scrape the rubber insulator off that input bypass cap, cut it out, and then weld in its place one of these>

from HERE for example,

would I be doing something useless/ineffective/stupid?
btw, the BOWEs I've ordered still haven't arrived.

 

[theshadow27]

Ok, I might be suggesting something silly now, but just theoretically speaking and forgetting for now about size limitations: if I were to scrape the rubber insulator off that input bypass cap, cut it out, and then weld in its place one of these 40,000 microfarad capacitors would I be doing something useless/ineffective/stupid?

Other than the obvious size issue, and waterproofing of the HID module, that would work perfectly. The thing about capacitors is they add up in parallel (when put across the + and - wires) so a 1,000 + 40,000 = 41,000uF. That means that you don't even have to cut apart the case to do the same thing - you just put the big capacitor outside, across the + and - input wires. And that, good sir, is essentially what the KBOWE is - not magic or even rocket science!

If you feel confident in your ability to cut out the capacitor in the HID ballast, you have more then enough skill to assemble a KBOWE. It's four components, five wires, and eight solder connections. It can go anywhere between the CEM and the HID ballast. The only difference is the addition of a diode which reduces the change of damage to the WMM from the noise the ballast produces.

 

[Guru]

It's not assembling a KBOWE I'm worried about Jakob, I believe I can handle that, it's the intrusion in to the CEM harness to hook up the KBOWE that's discouraging, that's the only thing I do not want to do "for now", that's why I'm twisting and turning trying to find a bypass to that invasive maneuver.
You see, I do not care not one bit about this HID kit I bought, if I damage/destroy it by tinkering with it's caps and rubber then so be it, at least I'll have the joy of a failed experiment and go on to order another kit, but I do not want to risk damaging my car in anyway

I think I should wait and see what turns up in the mail, perhaps the caps in the ordered BOWEs, if they turn out to be rubbish, will be easier to exchange with better ones, and perhaps those BOWEs will have the protective diode too, we'll just have to wait and see... my only hope is that it will be possible to open up those BOWEs without having to "force an entry"

Thanks for now for all your help and support Jacob, I appreciate it. :thumbs up

 

[theshadow27]

Oh. Why didn't you say that before? You can make a KBOWE so that no wires have to be cut at all - it's just twice as expensive as doing it the other way. The main difference is you need two enclosures, and four sets of superseal connectors (shells, pins, seals) with the crimping tool, and two ground leads. Other than that, it's exactly the same. Actually if you don't mind hacking up the kit, you could do it without the connectors.

The downside to doing it this way is the theoretical lifespan of the capacitor is reduced due to the high temps in the engine bay. A 105*C cap that's rated to 6000 hours at 105*C will likely last 12000 hours at 50*C. They also don't like living below -15*C or so, which the interior almost never falls below because of insulation and the greenhouse effect. So will reduce the lifespan of the unit, but realistically if you check it every few years and don't mind replacing it in the future it will be just fine.

As far as finding a suitable comercial product, I'm curious but highly skeptical - I looked extensivly before I wrote up that tutorial. In fact, I've been working to get companies *to* develop a product so I don't have to do this any more If you do find one, it will make the front page of the how-to guide. Otherwise, I'll put together a tutorial on the other way...

 

[Guru]

Hi Jakob, these finally arrived in the mail today>
The BOWEs I ordered:

The cap in that commercial build has these specs: 2200uf/25V -40+105

What's the gigantic coil for?

Do you think I'll be safe to go with these Jakob? ... I doubt it personally, but I'll wait for your opinion. thx.

 

[Guru]

I forgot to mention that I have the DRL function turned off by software from factory, if that makes any difference.

 

[theshadow27]

The BOWEs I ordered... The cap in that commercial build has these specs: 2200uf/25V -40+105

Very cool - thanks for the pictures. It is nice to see one apart without all the epoxy (although electronics not set in epoxy or silicone don't belong in the engine bay!!). This seems to be similar to the dissected DDM one, without the addition of the diode and ceramic capacitor.

What's the gigantic coil for?

The coil (DC choke, actually) and 10nF caps form an LC filter designed to prevent the HF noise generated by the ballast (on top of a steady DC supply) from interfering with a headlight monitoring system. The 2,200uF capacitor is to smooth out voltage fluctuations. The diode shunts negative spikes on +12 back to ground. It looks similar to the KBOWE, but the only common function is the big capacitor.

Do you think I'll be safe to go with these

I would not recommend using that as-is. The capacitor is just too small. It could be modified to work fairly easily - there's even an empty spot for another capacitor.

If I were you, I would order 4x 10,000uF or 12,000uF 25V or 35 capacitors -- something that looks like this or this or this - you want (1) a high temp range, preferably -40-105c, (2) equal to or greater than 25V. Solder two of the caps to each board. Then pot the whole thing in high-temp epoxy or RTV silicone.

 

[theshadow27]

I forgot to mention that I have the DRL function turned off by software from factory, if that makes any difference.

Oh.

Theoretically disabling DRLs eliminates the problem. I have not personally measured a vehicle with DRL disable to confirm this, but it seems to be the consensus. Do you have a multimeter that measures AC?

In any case, it would not hurt to use them anyway (since you've already got them, right?). I would do is solder another ground wire to the negative in the commercial adapter, and bolt the ground lead directly to the frame (on each side). And pot (cover completely inside an enclosure) the electronics in silicone or epoxy, otherwise they will be eaten alive from vibration and heat.

 

[Guru]

If I were you, I would order 4x 10,000uF or 12,000uF 25V or 35 capacitors -- you want (1) a high temp range, preferably -40-105c, (2) equal to or greater than 25V. Solder two of the caps to each board. Then pot the whole thing in high-temp epoxy or RTV silicone.

Will do chief, so get rid of the lousy 2200uf that's already in there, and replace with 2x 10,000 or 12,000uf caps.

Do you have a multimeter that measures AC?

I knew I had one somewhere>

Now, what do I do with it?

I would do is solder another ground wire to the negative in the commercial adapter, and bolt the ground lead directly to the frame (on each side).

Which commercial adapter do you mean chief? A, B or C?

 

[theshadow27]

Will do chief, so get rid of the lousy 2200uf that's already in there, and replace with 2x 10,000 or 12,000uf caps.

You got it.

Now, what do I do with it?

Stick it across a headlight bulb while the car is running. The easiest way to do this is probably use the wires that run between A and B on your diagram to hook the low beam connector to the high beam halogen bulb (which should be 9005). This will provide the same load on the system but allow you to probe the B connectors. Once this is set up, start the car and make sure the bulb is on (so the normal side has the low beam on and the rigged side has the high beam on with power running through the B connectors to the bulb plugged in at A). Now connect the DMM in 20V *DC* range (to the left on the dial) and verify that there is ~12V between the red and black wires (red lead to red wire, black lead to black wire) at the B terminals. Then, switch the DMM to the 200V *AC* range, and connect the leads in exactly the same way. If the meter reads 0.00 in the AC range than there's no PWM.

Which commercial adapter do you mean chief? A, B or C?

I was referring to soldering onto the circuit board in the box between the A and C terminals, however you could tap the black wire anywhere between the A and B terminals and achieve the same effect.

Remember to fill that (A-C) box with RTV silicone before you mount it in the car!

 

[slrising]

That's gotta be one of the worst board construction jobs I've ever seen, can't quite tell from the pics but looks to have cold solder joints (one looks like it didn't even get fully soldered top right center), the component leads look to bent by hand at any angle that would allow them to be inserted into the board, the exposed portions of the copper were tinned by hand for whatever reason (guessing because the card wasn't recoated to prevent corrosion) and the wires are bird caged. This combined with the small caps will really reduce the reliability of it. How much did you pay for those and which company is selling them? After looking that over I'd be inclined to build a seperate unit or at a minimum fix the cold solder joints.

 

[Guru]

I thought so too, wasn't at all impressed with the quality... Company name is unknown, they carry the code name HID_elim but that means nothing in my opinion..
Could you please be a bit more specific about those cold solder joints, which ones do you mean, and what kind fix do you have in mind? re-soldering?

oh, and they cost me 44 euros or $58 ... yes, I know

 

[theshadow27]

I don't think the board looks *that* bad. The exposed solder is to increase the current carrying capacity of the copper trace, which is standard practice. It looks off but that's just the color of the Chinese "lead-free" solder, caused by the high tin content. It does look like the wires were hand-soldered but the only one I'd be concerned about is bottom left, and even that is probably just flux inclusions and nothing to be worried about.

The part that bothers me is the quality of the components (e.g. I know it's a diode from the way it's wired but it has no visible markings), but that only matters for the electrolytic cap since the rest will fail open. The ceramic caps aren't realistically doing anything, but taking them out doesn't accomplish anything.

Overall though the biggest concern is that it's unpotted. Even the best components will fail due to repetitive motion stress from vibration, and the lead-free solder only makes that worse.

@Guru: the way to fix a solder joint is to re-solder it (heat it all the way back up, apply some more solder, let it cool down) but if I'm right and that is PBFree then you'll need to remove all the old solder before new solder will bond right. At that point you might as well throw the board away and just re-use the connectors...