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Bought my 2002 Arc Sedan in February with the Touring Package & 83k. I was kinda disappointed in the "brightness" of my 9-5s Xenon headlamps. They flickered a bit, and definitely got dimmer the longer they were on. One night, I swear they were orange...
That it was time to get new capsules was confirmed to me when I drove my 1990 900 with those ever-wonderful (sarcasm...) 9004 bulbs, and they were tons brighter...
Eeuroparts has the Xenon capsules for about $130 each. I searched fleabay, and found a chap (akinaboy?) selling them for about $90 each. Was going to pull the trigger on those, but then the same chap had some up for $45 each!
So, I stupidly did a buy-it now, ordering two, and didn't read the fine print until later. The fine print said that these were tested and working, BUT the ceramic insulator on the return wire (which parallels the capsule) was cracked due to shipping.
Ok, so I shoulda looked, but it was done, so I waited for them to arrive. Got them in the mail, and after looking at the way he packs them, I wasn't surprised about the cracking. Lots of bubble wrap, but no boxes or anything...
At the end of March, I went up to a friend's place in Maine, and along with other things (Bluetooth, AudioTroll, Tire monitor), I swapped in the "new" HID capsules.
Well, there was little need to worry, despite what I'd read all over the net about not using capsules with cracked insulators. They fired right up, no problems, no flickering, no arcing, not anything like that.
The old capsules were like candles in comparison. With those, I was eager to get the halogen high beams in operation, but now, I hardly see the need, driving where I do.
Looking at the old capsules, there was a white deposit covering the entire inner surface of the arc chamber. Normally, there is a little bit of salts rolling around, but these are almost opaque.
Not a single problem thus far with the "broken" capsules. They're bright like HIDs are supposed to be, don't give me any worries, and I got the pair for less than the price of one most other places.
I'm not strictly recommending anyone else do this, but it worked out for me.
_______________________________________
Current:
2002 9-5 Aero Kombi Cosmic Blue
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2002 9-5 Arc
1990 900 5-speed
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1980 99 GLi
1986 900 turbo
1986 900 S
1991 900 turbo
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1976 99 GL
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(#1140) 
[Profile/Gallery]
(more from Larry West) on Thu, 22 May 2008 10:29:38
, Tue, 20 May 2008 17:07:36