I left the chrome finish on the reflector bowls so that the halogen high beams would continue to work well. The problem with xenon is that it takes time for the bulbs to warm up, so they can't be used for flash to pass if they are off when flashed. I wanted to preserve that capability.
I wired a standard automotive relay across the low beam, with a diode across the coil as is common practice. The positive lead going to the high beam is cut and connected to the common terminal of the relay. The normally closed terminal of the relay goes to the bulb side of the high beam wire that was cut, and the normally open terminal of the relay goes to the projector coil. The other wire from the projector coil is grounded.
So it works like this - when the low beam is off and the high beam is flashed, the halogen bulb is used, as it was originally. When the xenon low beam is turned on and the high beam is flashed, the shutter is opened.
After running the low beam for 30 minutes, the ballast is at 91 degrees, and the front of the projector is at 132 degrees.
Sorry about the crummy picture. You can see the relay in the middle of the picture, on the right. It fits inside near the white adjustment knob, held in place with a small piece of industrial velcro.
Threaded Mode
