# what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts?



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

in the oem hids, there is an ignitor and ballasts.. why?


----------



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

doesnt anyone know?


----------



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

please?


----------



## nater (Apr 10, 2000)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

Well, 
Good question.
Many ballasts today have the ignitors built into them. Some of the Japanese cars still have them separate.
I am unsure about the starters/ignitors but...
I look at the ballasts as a way to convert the current to the high voltage that it needs to send to the d2s...w/o the high voltage those bulbs won't ignite.
Now, if a ballast does this then what does the ignitor do? I am unsure.
But TTT for someone else to help with this.
Are there any technical guys out there that can jump in here?
Later,


----------



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (nater)*

yes ttt for more information on what an ignitor is.
on a side note, nater, if oem mkiv hids come with an ignitor and ballast, and run on stock wiring, how is that not dangerous? ive always thought that running hid's on any car without a relay will not be good for the stock wiring. so, if oem hid's can run the power to the ballast, then to the ignitor without using a relay, how does it not fry the stock wiring?


----------



## germanrox (Mar 30, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

Quite the interesting question. Here is how I think of it. First start with the ballast and seperate ignitor. I think of the ignitor as the guy in front of the old model T hand cranking it to start the engine (ballast) and then the engine keeps itself running. Now with the LVQ-212's you have the hand cranker guy built into the package, much like our cars have the starters built onto the motor. Ok this probably doesn't make much sence, but I have food poisoning right now so work with me here!


----------



## GS Audio (Oct 17, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (germanrox)*

quote:[HR][/HR]Quite the interesting question. Here is how I think of it. First start with the ballast and seperate ignitor. I think of the ignitor as the guy in front of the old model T hand cranking it to start the engine (ballast) and then the engine keeps itself running. Now with the LVQ-212's you have the hand cranker guy built into the package, much like our cars have the starters built onto the motor. Ok this probably doesn't make much sence, but I have food poisoning right now so work with me here![HR][/HR]​I think Mr. Ford just rolled over in his grave......LOL!!!








But the explanantion make sense.










[Modified by gsantelli, 7:07 PM 1-8-2003]


----------



## Bugging55 (Oct 2, 2002)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (gsantelli)*

I am adding my .02 cents too!
I think the ignitor would give you the initial 23000 or whatever volts that you need to 'ignite' the bulb. After that, I read that the bulb only needs aboput 90 volts to keep the reaction going.
So I propose that the ignitor gives the first 23000 volts and the ballats regulates the power for a constant 90 volts.








I am just guessing as is often the case!


----------



## germanrox (Mar 30, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (gsantelli)*

quote:[HR][/HR]Quite the interesting question. Here is how I think of it. First start with the ballast and seperate ignitor. I think of the ignitor as the guy in front of the old model T hand cranking it to start the engine (ballast) and then the engine keeps itself running. Now with the LVQ-212's you have the hand cranker guy built into the package, much like our cars have the starters built onto the motor. Ok this probably doesn't make much sence, but I have food poisoning right now so work with me here!
I think Mr. Ford just rolled over in his grave......LOL!!!








But the explanantion make sense.









[Modified by gsantelli, 7:07 PM 1-8-2003][HR][/HR]​Dont even start with me! I'll make you go fetch me a Ferrari. Why would anyone work for a company who sponsors a Porsche anyways


----------



## Daemon42 (Feb 9, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

Try this.. 
http://misty.com/people/don/d2.html
All the nitty gritty details you'd ever want. 
ian


----------



## nater (Apr 10, 2000)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

quote:[HR][/HR]on a side note, nater, if oem mkiv hids come with an ignitor and ballast, and run on stock wiring, how is that not dangerous? ive always thought that running hid's on any car without a relay will not be good for the stock wiring. so, if oem hid's can run the power to the ballast, then to the ignitor without using a relay, how does it not fry the stock wiring?[HR][/HR]​The OEM MK4 HID's that are in a genuine german car as OEM equipment are wired up using thicker wiring and most likely HAVE relays built in for them. 
If you buy the OEM MK4 HID's and install them in a car that was not made with them in mind (any N/A model) then it could cause problems.
So, my guess is the MK4 that you buy over in germany with OEM HID's as an option will be wired up correctly from the factory.
Later,


----------



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (nater)*

quote:[HR][/HR]The OEM MK4 HID's that are in a genuine german car as OEM equipment are wired up using thicker wiring and most likely HAVE relays built in for them. 
If you buy the OEM MK4 HID's and install them in a car that was not made with them in mind (any N/A model) then it could cause problems.
So, my guess is the MK4 that you buy over in germany with OEM HID's as an option will be wired up correctly from the factory.
Later,[HR][/HR]​i wonder where the relays on then to get power. what's interesting is that all of the wires from the harness to the ballast to the ignitor dont go thicker than 14 gauge. the thickest is from the ignitor to the bulb, which is about 12 gague. 
so the relays would be before the actual plug that plugs into the headlight right?


----------



## nater (Apr 10, 2000)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

quote:[HR][/HR]The OEM MK4 HID's that are in a genuine german car as OEM equipment are wired up using thicker wiring and most likely HAVE relays built in for them. 
If you buy the OEM MK4 HID's and install them in a car that was not made with them in mind (any N/A model) then it could cause problems.
So, my guess is the MK4 that you buy over in germany with OEM HID's as an option will be wired up correctly from the factory.
Later,
i wonder where the relays on then to get power. what's interesting is that all of the wires from the harness to the ballast to the ignitor dont go thicker than 14 gauge. the thickest is from the ignitor to the bulb, which is about 12 gague. 
so the relays would be before the actual plug that plugs into the headlight right?[HR][/HR]​I am unsure. But 12 or 14AWG wire is sufficient. Ever look at some of the wire in the MK3 cars??? Very small. I don't know thickness but when I got 14AWG wire it was almost twice as thick.
So, it really doesn't matter where the relay is (closer to the battery is better) as long as the wiring is thick enough.
Later dude,


----------



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (nater)*

ok.. so the wire size is sufficient so that's a good thing. however, if the oem hid's dont have a relay in the housing to draw power, then wouldnt that be bad for the existing wires? which is the point of the relays that we are using right? 
bascially, what im trying to find out is that for people that have converted to oem hid, is it bad that they are not drawing power from the battery? (assuming that the euro mkiv oem hid equipped cars do have a relay)


----------



## nater (Apr 10, 2000)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

quote:[HR][/HR]ok.. so the wire size is sufficient so that's a good thing. however, if the oem hid's dont have a relay in the housing to draw power, then wouldnt that be bad for the existing wires? which is the point of the relays that we are using right? 
bascially, what im trying to find out is that for people that have converted to oem hid, is it bad that they are not drawing power from the battery? (assuming that the euro mkiv oem hid equipped cars do have a relay)[HR][/HR]​Yes. Bottom line is this:
If your car didn't come with OEM HID's (which yours didn't) you need to hook up a relay and 12-14AWG wire...
Later,


----------



## blackjetta18T (Apr 24, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (nater)*

Ballast converts the electricity needed to keep the bulbs lit
The igniter generates the spark to light the HIDs. After that the blaast takes over.
I have the oem's. The relay is built into the headlight.


[Modified by blackjetta18T, 4:03 PM 1-12-2003]


----------



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (blackjetta18T)*

quote:[HR][/HR]Ballast converts the electricity needed to keep the bulbs lit
The igniter generates the spark to light the HIDs. After that the blaast takes over.
I have the oem's. The relay is built into the headlight.

[Modified by blackjetta18T, 4:03 PM 1-12-2003][HR][/HR]​where is the relay in the headlight?


----------



## blackjetta18T (Apr 24, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

In the OEM's it is a large flat box the is embedded near the high beams underneath the main cover. It is some how connected through the ballast.
When i open them again I'll take a pic.


[Modified by blackjetta18T, 4:10 PM 1-12-2003]


----------



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (blackjetta18T)*

when i did my wiring for my oem hid's with my own ballasts and bulbs, i didnt see anything like that. when figuring out the low beam power/ground wires, i traced them to the ballast first, then out the ballast to the ignitor and then to the HID bulb itself. 
i really wanna know where the relay is now. im going to check on my hid's later tomorrow


----------



## blackjetta18T (Apr 24, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (mrdejected)*

My HID's were assembled by pgperformance
Everything idide was completely custom made. The ballast does not look like the ballast you get in a conversion kit.


[Modified by blackjetta18T, 4:20 PM 1-12-2003]


----------



## mrdejected (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: what is the difference between an ignitor and ballasts? (blackjetta18T)*

quote:[HR][/HR]My HID's were assembled by pgperformance
Everything idide was completely custom made. The ballast does not look like the ballast you get in a conversion kit.[HR][/HR]​the ballast of course wont look the same because you have the oem hid ballasts.... but the way the ballast looks shouldnt matter since it is all wired up the same way. im going to take a look at my headlight tomorrow to see if i can find the relay inside of it...


----------

