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I bought my 2002 Arc this past February with 84,000 miles. The left HID was already flickering, and, depending on how long I ran them, their color changed.
I started looking about. Saw the Eeuroparts listing, but decided to poke about on ebay. I found this one seller - akinaboy, if I recall - selling the Phillips capsules for about $85 each.I was following them, and just waiting on having the cash to buy two.
then one day, I saw that the same seller has some of the same for only $45 each! Of course, I pulled the trigger ona pair before really reading the ad...
The reason these were so cheap is that the ceramic insulation on the ground return for the capsule was cracked and broken into a few pieces. Reading around the 'net, you'd think that this was the worst thing that could happen. "Don't install them" everyone seemed to be saying.
Well, since I already had them, and had nothing to lose (plus I was hatching schemes where I could get the insulators from the old capsules onto the new), I decided to install them anyway.
Fired them up, and there was (and has since been) no crackling, arcing or shorting. They work just perfectly.
AND the difference in brightness has been tremendous. Quite honestly, While I would like to have the option of having the Halogen H7 high beams on alongside the HIDs, I really don't feel an imminent need. The new capsules are that bright and the beam is that good.
The old capsules had a thick white coating inside the arc chamber, which prevented a lot of light from escaping. I'm sure that is happening all the time, but it just got to a critical point on those. I suspect the original ones were original to the car since May 2002.
I don't know if I'd go with the "broken insulator" capsules the next time, but eBay is a good choice (just stick with the right capsules!).
_______________________________________
Current:
2002 9-5 Aero Kombi Cosmic Blue
2000 9-5 SE sedan, Imola Red
1990 900S Rose Quartz, Auto
Past:
1999 9-5 LPT Combi
1999 9-5 LPT sedan
2002 9-5 Arc
1990 900 5-speed
1986 900 turbo Convertible
1991 9000 turbo
1980 99 GLi
1986 900 turbo
1986 900 S
1991 900 turbo
1984 900 turbo
1976 99 GL
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(#1140) 
[Profile/Gallery]
(more from Larry West) on Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:57:14
