HID woes

UWSkier · 02-25-2007, 11:04 PM

I know there were a bunch of us that bought the HIDs from Great Value Mart over the summer. I'm wondering if I'm the only one having any problems.

Once the cold weather rolled in, my right light started misfiring intermittently. That was annoying, but no BFD. Just switch off and on and it would usually work.

BUT, during the most wicked thunder blizzard I've ever driven through on my way back from Wyoming on Friday (southern MN got hit hard), my left light failed. It will fire, stay on for a bit, then shut off. Once this happens, I have to let it 'cool down' before turning it back on again, only to have it fail again.

Anyone else dealt with this? I've emailed the seller about it. I don't really want to have to switch back to the Halogens, especially since my fenders are coated in snow and ice right now and I don't have a dry garage to work in...

Chris93Si · 02-25-2007, 11:13 PM

I've had one not fire in the cold but haven't experienced the problem you're having. Hopefully they'll honor the 1 year warranty.

UWSkier · 02-26-2007, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris93Si

I've had one not fire in the cold but haven't experienced the problem you're having. Hopefully they'll honor the 1 year warranty.

Well, I'm running with one HID, one Halogen right now. It looks hella cool...

No response from the seller yet, but it's only been a day.

pi3yeargrad · 02-26-2007, 04:37 PM

hmmm... did u check that no water/ice got into the conections?? how did u connect??? when u unplug everything is everything nice and dry??

Justintoxicated · 02-26-2007, 08:28 PM

Sounds like a problem with the ballast.

Treebasher · 02-26-2007, 08:41 PM

The only time I had one misfire was when I started the truck with the lights on to try and reset the tire sensor light...it was -20F. Turning them off and on fixed that. Have you tried swapping the bulbs?

UWSkier · 02-28-2007, 12:38 PM

I swapped bulbs. It was definitely a faulty ballast. All connections were pulled and shot with some WD-40 to displace any moisture. They were dry though. Pulled the ballast apart, but it's sealed with molded rubber goo. No way any water or salt should've gotten in there.

Peter has been responsive to emails and should be sending a new ballast. Those double-sided foam stickies really stick to the headlight shelf. Getting that off was a PITA!

Treebasher · 02-28-2007, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UWSkier

I swapped bulbs. It was definitely a faulty ballast. All connections were pulled and shot with some WD-40 to displace any moisture. They were dry though. Pulled the ballast apart, but it's sealed with molded rubber goo. No way any water or salt should've gotten in there.

Peter has been responsive to emails and should be sending a new ballast. Those double-sided foam stickies really stick to the headlight shelf. Getting that off was a PITA!

Ha! I was thinking about that when I was installing mine. It sure felt like the double sided foam was going to be beotch to remove... Nice to hear he is working with you.

UWSkier · 03-01-2007, 11:11 AM

Yep. Sending mine in and he's shipping a replacement... or so he says. Will update later.

UWSkier · 03-20-2007, 11:39 AM

Got the new ballast. It works to keep the light on, but it doesn't have the capacity to light the bulb from cold in one shot. I have to flash my lights 3 or 4 times to build up enough heat in the bulb to stay on. I think the new ballast he sent me is also bad. He said he'd send me some 8000K bulbs to try instead, but that was over a week ago. Haven't heard back yet...

It's beginning to look like the old adage "you get what you pay for" is coming true here...