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+--- Thread: HID Issues (/showthread.php?tid=3541)
HID Issues - D_Eclipse9916 - 01-19-2006
Let me say I fucking HATE HIDS. I have had two kits in my goddamn car and both have died. I Was wondering if someone tomorrow would take a look at my car and the HIDs and maybe figure something out as to what the problem is. If they cant im just forgetting the whole HID thing for a long ass time. The only reason I have these kits was I got them from friends in return for work on their cars. (They volunteered to give them to me)......
Someone please help!!
- Feersty - 01-19-2006
Sucks man..
- WRXtranceformed - 01-19-2006
HID kits, AFAIK, require a lot of special wiring and harnesses. Generally they're not plug and play (on Subarus anyhow). I'm not electrically inclined, but I think it has something to do with varying voltages and the possibility of burning out stock wiring harnesses because of the extra / different requirements of HIDs. Or your friends could have given you cheap, shitty HIDs ^_^
- Ginger - 01-20-2006
HID works a lot like flourescent lights, with the ballast and all. I'd draw new wires for pretty much everything for them, as opposed to going through the factory harness, using only the "switch" line from the factory harness.
Check the grounds you used, too. That's always what I check first.
Can you clarify what, exactly is burning out? Is the 'bulb' dying? The ballast? The wiring frying itself?
- D_Eclipse9916 - 01-20-2006
I dont know. Thats the problem, I havent taken them out. I really dont want to cut up my stock harness untgil I verify that I need to. There are no grounds on this specific kit except to the stock harness. They were wokring before for a long time (4 months) and then one went out and shortly after the other one went out. ARGH!
- Ginger - 01-20-2006
You don't really need to "cut up" your factory harness, just draw new leads from sources (like a 12V line straight from the fuse box, and a ground straight to the chassis, etc.). Anywhere you need to access the harness you can just tap in to it, but leave the whole thing in tact. Does that make sense?
Can HID's burn out because of too much heat? Cheap electronics tend to be that way... your ballast could be in a spot that gets no air flow, or maybe the housings heat up the bulbs too much? The nice thing about this electricity stuff is that it only takes a little bit of time with a multimeter to figger' out what's what.
Re: HID Issues - ripley - 01-23-2006
D_Eclipse9916 Wrote:Let me say I fucking HATE HIDS. I have had two kits in my goddamn car and both have died. I Was wondering if someone tomorrow would take a look at my car and the HIDs and maybe figure something out as to what the problem is. If they cant im just forgetting the whole HID thing for a long ass time. The only reason I have these kits was I got them from friends in return for work on their cars. (They volunteered to give them to me)......
Someone please help!!
I always hate telling people this but... your first problem is you are using a kit. Even if you can get them to work you arent going to get all that you could out of them. The easiest way to do it is to do a retrofit from another car (TSX, S2000, E46 are frequently used.) Kits where you just slap the bulb into your stock housing normally gives an unwanted outcome. Stock harabolic housings are designed for normal bulbs. WHen you put an HID bulb into a harabolic housing or even projector that was designed for fillament bulbs you end up with glare (this is the reason why HID kits are illegal). Glare will blind the living hell out of anyone comign toward you. Also with kits you are using rebased bulbs, which if die... you have to find that company to get replacements... or get another kit. With a retro all bulbs are D2S or D2R, interchangable between cars/bulbs. (I use a ballast from an E46 M3 and one from a navigator). And the most important part... with a retro you know that the equipment is tried and true... if it wasnt, the manufacturers wouldnt have put it in thoasands of cars trusting it to work. o yes... and my favorite part... you wont get that awesome flicker when you have too much glare.
for more info (AND PICS!) check out hidplanet.com forums (link on the right side).With that said... are you using a wiring harness or your stock wiring? Ballsts pull a large amount of power when they first fire... if they can't pull enough power they wont work (or they melt your firing, not fun).
What is happening when they stop working? Are one or both of them not firing? or after they are on are they fading and diming? Not firing suggests ignitor or wiring, fading out suggests ballast (you ballasts probably have ignitors built in).
If you need to know how to make a wiring harness let me know, it's easy and only about $15, much better than rewiring your car.
- ripley - 01-23-2006
If both HID's are on separate lines and they both go out at the same time it's definatly your car's wiring.
- ViPER1313 - 01-23-2006
I thought all the wiring that was required was
ballast to fusebox (+)
ballast to chassis (-)
ballast to stock headlight connector (+) to turn on lights
ballast to bulb bases (should be part of the kit and not require any wiring)
Am I mistaken?
- .RJ - 01-23-2006
If your wiring is in adequate (particularly on the ground side) it will burn up bulbs though.
- D_Eclipse9916 - 01-23-2006
Lol I got em for free so I dont give a damn about beam pattern, one of the lights still is brighter than two regular halogens. I was just hoping someone could help me figure out this one so I can sell it.
PS- I Do have some projectors with TSX projector housings hopefully coming in about a month. However, ill be selling this set and my other set of hids and hopefully be able to afford some d2s bulbs and ballasts.....
- ripley - 01-23-2006
D_Eclipse9916 Wrote:Lol I got em for free so I dont give a damn about beam pattern, one of the lights still is brighter than two regular halogens. I was just hoping someone could help me figure out this one so I can sell it.
PS- I Do have some projectors with TSX projector housings hopefully coming in about a month. However, ill be selling this set and my other set of hids and hopefully be able to afford some d2s bulbs and ballasts.....
TSX's are baaaadass... wow... my friend has them in his accord... they are wide like mine, but the cutoff it just soooo sharp... wow. Very nice flicker.
- D_Eclipse9916 - 01-23-2006
yeah a guy has em and is waiting for payment from me ( I told him it would take a while), I thought 2 weeks but told him 1-2 months just in case. Well thank god I Told him that becaues Travis pmed me saying he was selling his dsmlink, so I am buying that, and then paying that off, then getting the TSX stuff...
- JohnC - 01-25-2006
D_Eclipse9916 Wrote:yeah a guy has em and is waiting for payment from me ( I told him it would take a while), I thought 2 weeks but told him 1-2 months just in case. Well thank god I Told him that becaues Travis pmed me saying he was selling his dsmlink, so I am buying that, and then paying that off, then getting the TSX stuff...
Shouldn't you be buying tires instead?
- D_Eclipse9916 - 01-25-2006
shhhhh...I also need new tie rods...
- Andy - 01-25-2006
Don't worry, the DSM Link actually programs the car with drive with corded tires. Different fuel maps and whatnot :lol:
- D_Eclipse9916 - 01-25-2006
hahahahahah