The hid ballast has special circuitry installed that helps restart the lamp quickly after turning it off.
Hid bulb ballast.
Hids lights must be capable of turning on and off quickly in order to function without overheating.
Full light output is reached after the arc tube temperature rises and the metal vapors reach final operating pressure.
The hid ballast has to be able to regulate the current in your hid lighting system very precisely.
In order to sustain this brightness an hid bulb ballast must be used to regulate its voltage.
You won t find the same type of circuitry in other vehicle lights.
If you do not use the ballast there will be nothing to regulate the electrical power and the bulb may use more energy and burn out quickly.
Here is an ebay aftermarket 10000k 75w automotive xenon hid lamp running on a us 70w m98 psmh ballast without the usual 3 wire ignitor wired to the ballast circuit.
Hid lamps require a ballast to operate.
A ballast is essential in hid lighting technology because it provides the voltage to start the bulb and it also helps in maintaining an adequate flow of electrical current to the bulb.
Hid ballasts also act as dc to ac converters.
Too much power and your lamp will die out faster and may actually explode.
Typically the hid ballast sometimes with the addition of a capacitor and igniter serves to start and operate the lamp in a controlled manner.
Hid lamps take several minutes to warm up.
Too little power isn t good for a hid lamp either as it can damage the light causing uneven lighting and a possible crack in the arc inside the bulb.
Just like other parts of your vehicle the hid bulb ballast is also not exempted from getting damaged over time especially if it s exposed to moisture.