Halogen Headlight question

I see some cars on the road that have intensely white headlights. Is that an effect that can be achieved with an ordinary Halogen bulb, or is it a special kind of headlight? When I bought the halogen conversion kits for my roadster pickup headlights, I see that there is wiring and a small socket set into the back of the reflector about half way between the halogen bulb and the bottom of the reflector. I seem to remember reading somewhere that this is for a small bulb that somehow "modifies" the colour of the halogen headlight to give it a different colour. Can anyone school me on this? I don't know much about it.---Brian

Brian, Are sure it's not for turn signals?

The previous guys are probably right regarding the extra socket.

Are you confusing Halogen lighting with HID lighting? Halogen light bulbs have a filament that is similar to a standard incandescent bulb. The glass is smaller and is made of quartz to withstand the temperature. The bulb is filled with halogen and allows more power to be applied across the filament. The resulting glow (measured in degrees kelvin) is a whiter light, usually about 3000K. Most cars have halogen bulbs. The temperature is a measure of the color of the light.

HID lighting (high intensity discharge) is a bulb that uses an arc discharge across a gas inside a quartz envelope. The temperature is in excess of 5000K. HID lamps require a transformer to provide a higher voltage to jump the arc, kinda similar to a fluorescent light....but different chemistry. HID lamps require less power, have brighter and whiter light and cost much more. The gas is a metallic like metal halide, mercury vapor, or sodium.

The Fake HID lamps use some colored bulb but are junk...sold at the sucker counter at Pep Boys and such.
If it doesnt have a transformer, it cannot be HID.

mike in tucson

I definately have Halogen bulbs. Maybe your right---maybe it is for a signal light. I see tuner cars driving around with very intense white or blue-white lights, but they must be using the HID lighting.

most of those tuners have small bulbs in them to give the blue cast like HID lighting provides, it's a cheap way of getting the same effect.

I do a lot of night mountain driving, and I'm certain there are other types/Brands, but I have a set in my Daily Driver-they are Sylvania Silverstar Ultra's-I love 'em although they don't last as long as regular Bulbs-

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...ce/Silverstar/