mborkow

so yesterday i decided that in addition to the one bulb that he is warrantying that i would get a second bulb (for when i, or another local rennlister, blows another one) to avoid having to wait for an east coast turn-around (i also thought it might prompt some better service if i put something in it for him ;-)). i sent another email indicating that i now wanted two bulbs and this morning i found an email in my in box:

hi, we haven't received the bulb yet, i missed the delivery guy. but ye we can send you two bulbs no problem. for the second bulb it will be $60. and also can you give me your address and the bulb type you had. thank you!

now, i think that $60 is a bit much (since he sells them on ebay for $100 for a pair), but i didn't feel like arguing over $10 from 3000 miles away so then i told him i wanted it express mailed (so that it might get here before the weekend) and he wrote back:

hi, thank you. if you want us to mail you the 4300k jsm h1 bulbs. please paypal $73 to our paypal account: thelegend321@aol.com thank you!

so, this morning i paypalled him the $ and am waiting for some word from him...

Midnight C4S

Hey Matt - As I was next to you doing the HID install at Devek back when I'm doubly interested. I don't drive as much as you do and certainly not as much at night but I'm hoping this all works out. Good luck and thanks for posting for all of us to watch.

mborkow

thanks...i hope so too! i am ordering one additional bulb in case this happens to me (or anyone else in the bay area) again

Pete Lech

That certainly is a different bulb that Porsche (and many others) use, a D35S. I felt lucky to find those for $80 each in pairs. Porsche price is $145. each, BMW $195. each.

STLPCA

Pete
Porsche's Litronics oem bulb is a Philips D2S. Aftermarket H1 HID bulbs are rebased D2S bulbs of frequently unknown origin. The quality of the bulb & the rebasing varies greatly.

If you found new Philips, GE, Osram or Sylvania D2S bulbs for $80/pair you got a very good deal.

AOW162435

I recently purchased a pair of brand new Philips D2S 35W bulbs from a Ebay bulk reseller for about $60 (Current auction from same seller). Excellent service, quick shipping and in the end my problem was an ill-fitting connector....

Andreas

mborkow

i was just looking at the picture of those bulbs in the auction and they don't seem to have the wiring/connector that our aftermarket kits need. when i went to remove just the bulb i was surprised that there was no way to detach the bulb from the wiring that leads out of the headlight back to the connectors and had to cut the wires. i hope i didn't make a real mess of this...

mborkow

although nick never did respond to my emails, two [i presume] new bulbs did arrive today by express mail (which i paid for) this am. i was able to install the new bulb, though it is not as trivial as simply popping out one bulb and putting in another. it requires snaking the wiring from the bulb (you cannot disconnect the wires from the bulb unless you want to snip the wires) to the ballast in the trunk via the rubber grommet that bridges the inside of the fender to the inside of the trunk. after i got the wiring through the grommet the rest was pretty simple (since i could just look at what i had done with the original). one thing i did notice when i fired up the headlights was that the new one seemed a little whiter than the original. in anycase, inspite of questionable communication from the vendor he did manage to get me the bulbs in time. i also have one extra bulb (which i am sure i or someone else will probably have to put to good use at some point...). i also wonder if it isn't a bad idea to get a couple extras now if these kits require a unique bulb/wiring harness (do they?).

AOW162435

Could you post a pic of what these bulbs look like? Are they standard D2S bulbs with some sort ao an adaptor attached?

Andreas

mborkow

here is a shot of the bulb and attached wiring:

mborkow

the tough part is getting that big plastic piece (at the right hand lower corner) through the tight rubber grommet

kkim

If the color of the bulb bothers you enough, put the second bulb you just purchased in the other side and keep the used bulb as the spare. The 2 new bulbs should be of the same color.

Mahalo for documenting the customer service from the vendor... something others should consider if purchasing this kit in the future.

AOW162435

You sure that's not an octopus? Pretty involved setup for a lightbulb.

Hope your lights are back up and running for the New Year.

Andreas

mborkow

thank you; they are! now let's just hope they stay lit...these bulbs were supposed to be good for 2500 hours. i figure i put maybe 200 hours on them and i already lost one.

so, this is not what the bulbs from other kits or the litronics look like? i thought that replacing the bulbs (which i thought would last for years) would be a snap...wrong :-(

i thought about that, but i am firm believer in: if it ain't broke don't fix it. i am not pulling that bulb until it dies and i hope that won't be for another few years at least!

STLPCA

Andreas - You my friend got a very, very good deal. If I didn't already have a spare pair of D2S bulbs, I'd buy them. Thanks for the link.

As I posted above, AFAIK no HID bulb manufacturer makes H1 based HID bulbs (although I'd heard PIAA was going to). The aftermarket kits applicable to a 993 require someone taking a D2S bulb made by ???, physically removing the bulb portion from the D2S base & installing a fabricated H1 base so that it will fit a light housing designed for an H1 halogen bulb. There are many potential problems in that process (capsule &/or base alignment, bulb damage, etc.) which can not only alter performance, but bulb life as well. In addition, mismatched bulbs & ballasts can reduce service life of both components. The avoidance of these problems may result in increased manufacturing cost. Thus, all aftermarket bulbs/kits are not the same. The least expensive may not be the best selection, so it's very helpful to share after the purchase experiences w/the various kits.

Hopefully, it's an isolated failure which won't be experienced by others in the group buy.