HID H4-3 Bi-Xenon Bulb Install For Goldwings
This tech article is mainly directed to doing an H4-3 HID system installation on the 84-87 Goldwings. It is relevant to either a 35W or a 50W system using a digital ballast (ie slim).
There are several different types of H4 (9003) bulbs out there but this install is for the Bi-Xenon which is a single bulb that has hi/low capabilities.
It uses one(1) slim digital ballast about the size of a credit card but approx ½" thick. The bulb is a single element but houses a solenoid which moves the focal point of the bulb in and out to give a high and beam beam pattern.
Although at startup they have a high amp surge (approx 8-10 amps) but they quickly revert to about 3.5 amps after about 30 secs or less when at that time the bulb is at max light output and remains on whether or not it is switched from low to high beam.
The HID bulb puts out about 3X the normal light of a standard 9003(H4) but uses about 20% less power to do so. It is also usually able to be adjusted higher than a standard headlight pattern in that it does not seem to bother oncoming traffic as much. Another plus in itself. This article is for a 5000K bulb which is probably the closest to being a pure white at night versus a standard bulb which is about 4300K and somewhat yellow. Only problem with a H3-4 bulb is that if the bulb burns out you have no headlight at all but carrying an old H4 bulb makes it easily replaced back to a standard bulb fairly quickly as if doing this in the middle of the night is fun. But since most of us have driving or foglights also we do have a way to at least see us to a safe area to replace the bulb. And since most people have installed it themselves, it should be within their expertise.
Preparing to Install
1) Remove windshield garnish
2) Loosen and let headlight assembly hang by adjuster cable
3) Disconnect stock headlight connector and remove stock seal and headlight bulb
4) Remove right storage cover and pocket
5) move right vent grilles front and back, remove vent drain tube and pull rubber vent out
Pull out bulb, ballast and power/relay cable and figure out what’s what
BEGIN INSTALLATION
1) Begin by cutting bike headlight cable connector and lengthen wires ten(10) inches maintaining color, pull wires thru and back into area shown and reconnect
headlight connector
2) Install headlight bulb into assembly and cut gasket for bulb clearance and reinstall
3) Connect relay cable to ballast and place cable and ballast into the right fairing pocket in the area beside the air comp tank front of fairing
4) Run the output cable from the ballast into the headlight area thru the same hole where the headlight adjust cables exits into front of fairing
5) Connect the fairing headlight connector to the connector on the relay cable and stuff into area above headlight
6) Connect the two wires on the ballast output and the switching wire from the relay cable to the H4-3 bulb and reinstall headlight assembly into the fairing
7) Connect the ground wire and the power wire on the relay cable to a 12v source
temporarily to test the installation, turn on bike power and see if headlight lights up, and if it does leave system running for about ten minutes to burn in bulb
Note: do not turn light on and off during this time if possible, failure to do so may lead to shortened bulb life
8) Once you have determined that there are no problems with install you can button everything back up and wait for nighttime to check out headlight alignment. If you are not able to obtain a good alignment of low beam height it is possible to shim up the assembly with washers under the lower headlight attachment tabs.
9) Only thing left is to make the permanent connection to a 12v source to run headlight and make a good permanent connection with the ground wire
10) Note that power to the HID system can be made to a fulltime unswitched circuit thru the power connection because there is no draw to the system until power is sensed on the original headlight system, if system is wired correctly,if you pull the headlight fuse and start motorcycle,the HID system should be off
In the event of a H4-3 bulb or ballast failure all that is required to return system to stock is to remove the HID bulb and reinstall original bulb and attach original bike connector
Each supplier of the HID systems pretty much use the same general wiring of the components, it is normally in the relay cable where there are slight differences. Any cutting or lengthening is acceptable as long as no changes are made to the output circuit of the ballast and the HID bulb.
I have encountered no problems by not attaching the ballasts permanently to the fairing and have over 4000 miles since installing a 50/55w system and used the system 8-10+ hours per day minimum on a 3 week 3000+ mile trip.
Once you install your system your lightning will look somewhat like this if you use a 5000K bulb. Your driving lights that you once thought were kinda bright will now be a disappointing "yellow". H3 HID driving system is now about to be installed as soon as I can find a suitable location for two more ballasts that can be mounted close enough to the bulbs. Easier said than done on a Goldwing. Yes, the bulbs will fit in most driving assemblies.
Your nighttime driving will never be the same and you’ll wonder why you waited so long to install a system. Don’t worry so much about buying a full two bulb kit because you can easily buy a 2
nd relay cable on eBay that you can resell or install in that other bike. Of course then you’ll want a system on all your vehicles.
neoracer@gl1200goldwings .com
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