HID went out, whats the problem?

MrAnderson20 · Aug 3, 2014

Im kind of a noob at HID kits, even tho I am smart at other areas of building and fixing the truck. My ignorance of this area is catching up to me haha.

Anyway, when I first got the kit, it took me awhile to wire the headlights, and then the HID's. Somehow a ballast blew on the passanger side of the truck almost right away, even though the guy I bought them from told me I had wired it up right. Once that the ballast was fixed, the passanger side headlight was perfect. But the drivers side headlight was different. The whole headlight worked right off the bat (except when I blew a fuse for the running lights), but it always had a "shaking" HID bulb, for reasons I don't understand since it is in there tightly. It also did not appear as bright as the passanger HID, it looked like there was some kind of circular shadow in the beam light. I drove it around like that for a few weeks, and tonight I realized it was out.

It cant be a blown ballast, right? Wouldn't of it blown right away, like the other one? I think its a bulb issue or something, and I have the feeling its not a blown fuse.

Walrus · Aug 3, 2014

Switch ballasts side to side. If the problem moves get a new ballast.

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know when God is going to turn you into Forrest Gimp. Run Forrest run! Buwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

PaPro4x · Aug 3, 2014

What kit did you buy? Before and after? You may have had two different temp bulbs. If they are cheap ballasts....then it could be that simple. If they were wired right also, then that shouldn't be happening unless they are cheap kits. Hell, I ran my first set for well over a year with no issues, and have them sitting right here in my living room still good to go. So, I would start with the kits you are buying right out the gate.

MrAnderson20 · Aug 3, 2014

Walrus said:
Switch ballasts side to side. If the problem moves get a new ballast.

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know when God is going to turn you into Forrest Gimp. Run Forrest run! Buwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

that's a good idea.

PaPro4x said:
What kit did you buy? Before and after? You may have had two different temp bulbs. If they are cheap ballasts....then it could be that simple. If they were wired right also, then that shouldn't be happening unless they are cheap kits. Hell, I ran my first set for well over a year with no issues, and have them sitting right here in my living room still good to go. So, I would start with the kits you are buying right out the gate.

Lookin at the box right now, it is Extreme Lighting Accessories-Automotive Lighting. I paid 108 bucks for this kit, and i bought them at a nearby shop right away because i thought there was an issue with the new headlights being installed atm, and thought it needed new bulbs. Later found out the directions were a little misleading.

These HID's are kinda pissing me off, because i feel like i was getting better a better lit road with my old headlights with the halogen bulbs.

PaPro4x · Aug 3, 2014

HIDs in stock housing scatter like crazy. What wattage and temp are they? I've never heard of that brand, so I can't say much in way of if you have junk parts or not. My current HIDs are DDM with my new headlights, but my LEGIT HIDs never had an issue. I agree with Walrus tho. Try that and from there I would look into a different brand.

MrAnderson20 · Aug 3, 2014

PaPro4x said:
HIDs in stock housing scatter like crazy. What wattage and temp are they? I've never heard of that brand, so I can't say much in way of if you have junk parts or not. My current HIDs are DDM with my new headlights, but my LEGIT HIDs never had an issue. I agree with Walrus tho. Try that and from there I would look into a different brand.

I know, that's why I never ran HID's in the stock headlights....its wayyyy to bright, just blinding. I never would of installed them on stock headlights cause then I would feel like a giant **** to everyone else on the Las Vegas highway hahaha.

they are 35 watt, 3600 Lumens. Temperature is not listed. Yeah, ill try Walrus said, and go from there. Any good ballasts that you recommend?

PaPro4x · Aug 3, 2014

MrAnderson20 said:
I know, that's why I never ran HID's in the stock headlights....its wayyyy to bright, just blinding. I never would of installed them on stock headlights cause then I would feel like a giant **** to everyone else on the Las Vegas highway hahaha.

they are 35 watt, 3600 Lumens. Temperature is not listed. Yeah, ill try Walrus said, and go from there. Any good ballasts that you recommend?

Look into LSAL or DDM. Both have great reviews across the forum. What K value are the bulbs? That K is for Kelvin aka temp. I run 6000k bulbs and they look white to me, where as 5000k or 4500k look to "amber" IMHO. If you have something that is more blue or even more amber that may be what is tricking you into thinking there is less output. Just seems odd honestly. Good luck tho, because anything electrical is never fun.

MrAnderson20 · Aug 3, 2014

PaPro4x said:
Look into LSAL or DDM. Both have great reviews across the forum. What K value are the bulbs? That K is for Kelvin aka temp. I run 6000k bulbs and they look white to me, where as 5000k or 4500k look to "amber" IMHO. If you have something that is more blue or even more amber that may be what is tricking you into thinking there is less output. Just seems odd honestly. Good luck tho, because anything electrical is never fun.

Mine are 6000K. I don't think HID's look right when they turn too blue lol. But forreal, it hasn't been so fun so far, but im learning a lot from my mistakes, and crawling towards a final finished product with these lights! That will strip me of my "noob" status for HID's :wink:

HID went out, whats the problem?

MrAnderson20

Walrus

PaPro4x

MrAnderson20

PaPro4x

MrAnderson20

PaPro4x

MrAnderson20

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