Aftermarket lighting question

[97talonman]

I recently replaced my regular halogen bulbs with new xenon bright white bulbs that look like HID's. The only thing is my car calls for 9006, 55 watt bulbs and I put in 9006, 80 watt bulbs. I was wondering if the difference in wattage will damage anything or cause any problems.

[sierrap615]

if they are really 80w blubs, then yes, they produce more heat then 55w, and since your car was most likey only designed for 55w bulbs, the 80 bulbs can melt your headlight and wiring, or in an extreme case, start a fire.

however - recheck the packaging, many manufactiors of those pretty blue blubs label them "55w = 80w" because they claim that it puts out the same amount of light as a 80w bulb eventhough it pulls 55 watts, which IMHO doesn't matter because the color temp srcews up the useful output light.

if you have a ohm meter double check, if my math is correct(it probilly isn't someone double check please) a 80 watt bulb should read 1.8 ohms and a 55 watt bulb should read 2.6 ohms.

[97talonman]

I tryed to measure the ohms but the multimeter kept jumping all over the place and wouldnt stay on a reading anywhere near either of those what should I do

[sierrap615]

yeah, i just tryed to with a few bulbs i have, reading jumps around. i'm guessing its due to the fillament coil shape(its inducing voltage into itself)

check the packaging