Xenon Deconversion

[Mudpuppy]

So the other night I was riding home on the freeway and I thought damn my lights look dim.. but that was all i thought about it because i shut the bike off to open the garage and then pushed it in as it was late.. so tonight i washed the bike and was taking it for a ride to heat the chain up to lube it.. i went to close the garage before i left turned around and bam there was the answer - one of the headlights was out.. so i took it for a ride as is because it was still daylight anyways.. i came back, did some shit in the backyard and had like an hour before Mrs. MP came home.. so i figured i would change the bulb out real quick as i saved the original bulbs when I put the blue xenon bulbs in.. figured it might look funny to have one blue and one white but better than just one light.. so i begin..

i remember when i changed the standard bulbs for the xenon i took all the fairings off for some reason and had a bitch of a time.. so this time i just took the one fairing piece off and it allowed me ample access to the bulb.. pretty simple right? wrong.. shit starting turning for the worst.. first i couldn't remember how to get the fucking bulb out.. figured out to peal the rubber weather seal back.. oh yeah there's that fucking stupid ass clip that gave me fits the last time.. so i peal the rubber seal back and the fucking bulb won't come out.. the bulb is definitely toast.. so after many attempts i get the fucking thing out of there but two of the metal prongs break off and stick in the socket.. so out come the vise grips.. looked like they melted in the socket.. well 30 minutes later i got the fucking things out.. of course in all this process the fucking piece of shit clip that pushes the bulb in comes disconnected and now is like a fucking rubix cube.. so i put the new bulb in and fuck with the clip and put it every fucking way and it just doesn't seem to work.. finally after about 30 more minutes i figure it out.. i go to put it in and the screw i loosened to get it out is now in the way.. so i take the screw out carefully and reposition the clip.. then i hold the clip with a flat head screwdriver and go to put the screw back in - dropped it and i heard it hit a flat spot somewhere in the fairings and stop.. fuck.. so i start shining the flashlight around and can't see it.. so off come the fairings.. at this point i was extremely pissed.. 30 more minutes pass and i can't find the screw anywhere.. now i am shaking the bike back and forth and i can hear it but no idea where it is.. then i considered taking the headlight case out - got 3 screws out and thought better of it.. said fuck this and got a new screw.. fit it in with a washer upgrade and put the bike back together..

got to love when a 5 minute job takes 3 hours..

now i have 1 xenon blue headlight and 1 standard white.. daytime won't be as noticeable but at night i am sure it will.. i am going to have to order another set of xenon or something.. i was going to change out the other xenon with the standard bulb but after all that i said fuck this and called it a night.. the important thing is i can ride as is..

[WARputer]

Damn, what a story ........how long did this Xenon bulb last ya ?

[Mr Lefty]

Thought you said it was HID?

anyways... I hate that shit... when I changed my headlights over in my truck from sealed lights to H4 conversons (to allow me to just use bulbs not the sealed headlights) it should have taken me 15min tops... took me 2hrs... cause I had to modify EVERY fucking thing. the headlights were just a hair bigger than stock so the mounting ring wouldn't fit... they were also too deep... ect..

how's the bulb work now though?

[WARputer]

Originally Posted by Ebbs15

Thought you said it was HID?
?

Xenon does make HID kits...from what I hear they're good stuff too. The life on them is supposed to be """10x a standard bulb""" ....so I'm wondering if maybe the bulb retainer was loose & caused this issue ? My high beam retainer isn't exactly tight, hopefully mine won't have a meltdown like Mudpuppy's.

[Mr Lefty]

yes but he said he just replaced the bulb... converting to HID isn't a 5 min job... you have to splice wires, mount ballasts, and run wires. this sounds just like a high out put halogen bulb.

[WARputer]

Unless he has the plug-n-play kit like mine.

[Carolina]

did u find the screw that would suck if it landed somewhere critical
or did i miss that part still hungover myself

[Mudpuppy]

sorry i didn't mean HID - they are Xenon bulbs.. not sure but it look like it shorted out.. i put the bulb in 3 or 4 years ago.. the other one is still going strong on the right side.. i wasn't riding in the rain or anything either.. doesn't look like a moisture issue..