I recently had HID Fog Lights installed and they were pulling alot of power. So much that the installer had to install a #15 fuse instead of a #10. I'm planning on having HID's installed in the high beams. Should I upgrade the factory installed battery? and If so, what should I install?

Thanks

 

Pick yourself up an Optima Red Top. They're built like tanks and could power a small city for years.

 

i haven't heard of anyone having to upgrade their battery as a result of HIDs. if you're worried about anything, it should be the alternator. if it's not putting out enough amperage to charge the battery, then it doesn't matter what battery you put in there, it will die eventually. check your alternator voltage with all your electrical loads ON at idle. if it's putting out ~13.8-14.5 volts, you should be fine.

if you don't feel confident doing it, take it to a place like auto zone. they will test your electrical system for free. if your car has a lot of miles, it may be time to change the alternator and/or battery anyways. if the alt puts out what it should, but the battery won't take the charge, then the battery is bad. if both check out OK, don't spend $$$ where you don't need to spend it.

 

"Pick yourself up an Optima Red Top. They're built like tanks and could power a small city for years. "

Hahaha love this response!
My Monte has a red top.

 

Aren't HIDs supposed to pull less power than regular bulbs? I thought that was part of the benefits.

 

they do when theyre on. i think when they first fire they pull more. some people run relays on them but from what ive heard thats to keep from frying your wiring. ive never had a problem so i have never run them before.

 

My Monte has botha Red Top AND a Yellow Top! I CAN and DO power a small city!

 

honestly, when i put my hids in they didnt flicker at all when i was using full bass compared to the dimming all the time with the stock bulbs, you should be fine

 

How do you know they were pulling a lot of power? Did you buy higher wattage bulbs than stock?

This kills me- never go back to that installer again. The fuse sizes and wire sizes in the car are typically sized to whatever device they run. You can't just replace a fuse with a bigger size- the wiring is typically not correctly sized to handle that. This is a good way to burn up wiring in the car.

The proper way to do it is (if for some reason you bought higher wattage HID's than your stock bulbs) to run fresh, larger wiring through a relay. That way you can properly select the wire size and fuse size for the amperage you need to draw- and the stock wiring will only be used as a trigger for the relay.

I don't see what HID's have to do with the battery at all. When the car is running- your alternator should be providing enough electricity to run all accessories. If you install something that draws a significant amount of current- then you should really be looking at upgrading the alternator.

With that said, even if you installed HID's in your fogs, lows, and highs- I don't see you drawing hardly any more current than stock- I've never seen HID's that were significantly higher wattage than stock bulbs, so your current draw would be the same. What wattage are the bulbs you're putting in?