Xenon headlight bulbs

[northernladuk]

It's not volts that kill, it's amps!!

Static electricity is about 25,000 volts isn't it?

Correct. Try dropping a spanner across the terminals of a car battery. It's not 12 volts that does that.

[DimPrawn]

It's not volts that kill, it's amps!!

Static electricity is about 25,000 volts isn't it?

You need voltage to break skin resistance, it's then current that kills.

Static electricity has almost no current.

The 25,000 volts in a HID circuit in your car has plenty enough current to kill you in seconds.

[northernladuk]

Even on my commuter car I'm happy to wait until the service or let the garage so it while I do some shopping.

[DaveB]

Correct. Try dropping a spanner across the terminals of a car battery. It's not 12 volts that does that.

Your average car battery can put out around 500 amps for 30 secs on full discharge (such as when staring the engine) and they are normally rated around 45 amp/hours in general use.

[nomadd]

It's not volts that kill, it's amps!!

Not true. You must consider both voltage and current.

"If the voltage is less than 200 V, then the human skin, more precisely the stratum corneum, is the main contributor to the impedance of the body in the case of a macroshock—the passing of current between two contact points on the skin. The characteristics of the skin are non-linear however. If the voltage is above 450–600 V, then dielectric breakdown of the skin occurs."

Here's a good watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xONZcBJh5A

[Hugh Jardon]

Are they the ones that have the bulkhead splitting problem?

That is the rather inferior 9-3 that had that nasty GM issue I think.
I have put many miles on both the Saab 9000 & 9-5 with no major issues even up to 300k+ miles.

[NigelJK]

IIRC 1/3 amp through the heart is enough to Kill.

[vetran]

IIRC 1/3 amp through the heart is enough to Kill.

40mA 0.040A

[Hugh Jardon]

Yes it is clear to see that there is a potential hazard or two to changing one of these bulbs.
Maybe this approach is flawed. But wouldn't just disconnecting the car battery before replacement render one of these xenon bulbs dead as a dodo!

[Archangel]

I've just changed the xenons in my xc60 bought a pair of oem off ebay for £60 saving £240 on volvo price. Volvo recommend switching the lights on without the ignition to discharge the capacitor, but I just went ahead and disconnected the headlights from the wiring system and swapped them both. Took around 2 mins.