I have an '02 GS300. I'm thinking about converting my ligts to HID. I've noticed that some people use relays and some don't. Is the relay necessary?

 

For the gs its not necessary. I have replaced many lights in many cars and the thing with the GS is that the wiring is so over engineered that it will handle the demand of the HIDs without a problem.

 

Thanks for the reply Spyder. Would you suggest any particular brand?

 

i used the cheapest ebay brand for both my low and fogs. they work perfect =) (about 60 dollars for a set of 9006)

 

The relay is to the protect the circuit #1 thing of course. #2 it provides you constant voltage like any HID would necessary need.

 

On my other cars they comed eqipped with relays now in days, I have a kit on my pathy and on My brother In law Mustang both came with fuse for ...in my solara H4 bulb I made a relay because of the DRL ...but im going to disable that and prob get a Hi Low kit ....I use just a low for almost 2 years now no problem....

 

i would say just get one. it like insurance to protect the OEM system.

 

How does a relay protect the circuit? Relays are nothing more than an electric high current switch. There is no fuse in them, nor any protection. If you want to protect a circuit, you need to fuse it correctly. If you are using the factory wire to turn on the relay, and you run a feed directly to the relay +12V side, you have effectively bypassed the factory fuse from protecting the HID kit. You should always fuse the +12V no higher than what is recommended for the kit you are using when using a relay as the supply and the factory switch to turn it on.

See above. Also, a relay will typically pass 30A, which is quite a bit of current. They should be fused to prevent anything from blowing up the system. Use the proper size fuse as recommended with your kit.

Big Mack

 

I meant relay kit. It would have a relay to provide constant voltage and a fuse at the end.

 

big mack,

go into hidplanet.com and do your homework. a fused relay can protect the OEM circuit.

 

Big Mack

 

Excuse me? Do my homework? Please reread what I said. A relay in and of itself does not protect a circuit. A fused lead going to a relay will, just as I said. I was very specific, whereas the previous posts stated only a relay, not a fused lead going to a relay.

Big Mack

 

I ordered a pair of 6000K from HID extra. I'll post some before and after pics when I get them installed. It's going to be my first mod on this car so do expect too much. Thanks for all of the helpful advice guys.