Not sure if they're too new for people to have experimented with, but I'm looking at a set of e46 bi-xenons made by ZKW, which utilize a 2-wire high beam solenoid. Has anyone determined if these solenoids, like the older 3-wire solenoids, will overheat if they're given continuous full power during high beam useage? If so does anyone have a description of the wiring needed to power the solenoid safely?
Unless solenoid has a bulit in switch for pull and hold function, it is pretty easy to determine by meausuring resistance across solenoid. Anything less than 20-30 ohms will be cooking hot.
I'm trying to measure the resistance across the solenoid to determine how many amps it can handle for how long (at 12v DC). The problem is that when I first apply the dvm probes to it reads about 60-90 ohms and then the resistance goes to infinity. Does anyone know what this indicates or means?
A solenoid are not exactly a resistor, but ur value of 60-90ohms gives an idea that it should be ok to apply 12v directly. keep an eye on amperage draw it takes to hold solenoid pulled. it should not be more than about 0.7 amps. Initially amperage will fly up to 5-10 amps, b ut don't worry about that.
