01tl4tl

HELP!!!!!
yes, the great and mostly knowing 01tl4tl is stumped

kaixen 6k bulbs 1000 hours, oe ballast system, new housings 4 years ago to replace leakers

OLD PROB:
R- passenger low beam- headlight goes out while driving, cycle switch off and On and light comes back on

Started after 15 minutes use, got worse- 2 minutes and goes off
L headlight sometimes did same thing--almost like they alternated

One night BOTH went off and didnt want to come back on until a few attempts
that was exciting!

NOW: installed hidextra kit, ballast ignitor bulb on R side
test ok first drive
next drive approx 15 minutes and bulb goes off!, cycle the switch and its back on!!
Doesnt do it on every use,,5 minutes use is ok,,drive 15 and its off

swapped relays, will swap fuse just to see
cant wrap my mind around this one, even has our megamod shaking his head

Who has a realistic troubleshooting suggestion? besides try the other kit on R side
anyone with same problem of 1 side goes out and will reset?
Thanks

thelastaspec

I think that if the ballast detects an anomaly it shuts off.
Can there be something that messes it up to turn off?

How exactly does the oem harness work?
its there something allong the line that possibly can faulter (vibration or bump) that causes this to happen?
are there high ampreage loads tied somewhere to this circiut? - maybe a + rail splits before it gets to the fusebox or relay under the hood? so it may just dray too many amps or volts even thought they arent on the same fuse - enough to tell the ballast to shut off?


Mine did this when i had an old battery.
Its done this to me as well when it was cold out a couple weeks ago and on a -10*C night.

thelastaspec

thelastaspec

Keep in mind if there is too many volts suddenly going down that line it can shut off - the loop rule says so. (fan, alternator who knows turning on or off) ->creates spike

pickler

im 90% sure its the fuse. this happened to my friend's ES300, apparently the fuse would just cut power. there was nothing he could do except some major wiring and new fuse box etc...he went back to oem 35w. btw are you running 55w HID?

01tl4tl

35watt, L side has oe ballast setup still
R side has the hidextra replacement kit

totaledTL

You stated you swapped relays- did the problem remain? Did you try any new relays?
Possibly the contacts in the relay are getting worn & drop out after current flows through them & they heat up- just a guess. Can you open one of the relays to inspect or are they sealed?
This one would be a good candidate for connecting a meter that logs voltage levels over time if you can find somebody who has one.

g3t0ffma1nuts

iTrader: (1)

I'm pretty sure you already tried swapping the ballast ignitor?

thelastaspec

why dont you just get some aftermarket relay harnesses and wire them straight to the battery? >~15$?

fsttyms1

my guess is its in the fuse panel/relay. I might do as suggest above and wire the lights to a new relay and new 12v source.

01tl4tl

I swapped relays with no change
R side has brand new hid ballast ignitor and bulb

Last night worked for under 5 minutes and quit (same prob that caused me to buy the kit)

later it came on slowly over 20-30 seconds,,as compared to Left side which came on instantly at brightness
then it worked for an hour getting home!!

thelastaspec

Some manufactures/stores say this problem is caused by pulsating voltage or lack of power. I read here that the solution is to use a wiring harness like I and fttsm said above.

http://www.carhidkits.com/index.php?...allation_guide

thelastaspec

not the perfect thing but the idea of what you could use:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/HID-H1-H3-40A-Rel...item3367e2d494

01tl4tl

hmmm have a new battery- like that means anything
Better get the alt system ckd out for free at local parts store~

could it be as simple as new battery cables?
been several recent postings where that solved unusual issues
When the batt was installed there was a LOT of external and internal crud in the cable!
(should I have mentioned that earlier= duhhhh on me)
they cleaned the terminal and soaked the exposed end of the cables with hot water in a cup (DIY tip: add baking soda to hot water for faster job)

Had been a long term prob of fast crud buildup on batt terminals, had to baking soda/water them every few months
Batteries Plus said it came from the location of vents on the old costco batt, that sent fumes right at easy target of terminals

So, it could easily be crudded farther down inside the cable,,enough resistance to cause fluctuation in volts maybe? that would tie in with the fuse theory guys..

tired of scratching my head,,want to find reason,, not just add more parts~

anyone who replaced cables know the lengths?
thanks for everyones ideas

totaledTL

More reasons for finding & using a meter to measure voltage over time.

thelastaspec

i think we have to get to the root of the problem here, the voltage and amperage at the ballast. totaled_tl's idea is genius - ive been trying to find the right tool for this.
(you cant really hook up an oscilloscope to your car unless you have a compact one...)

basically the root problem is the voltage/amperage is fluctuating/spiking and causing the ballast to shut its self off to protect itself.

as i have been researching for my hid fogs, it seems that this relay harness is what people use to get around voltage/amperage/wattage problems. Who knows if there is some faulty connection along the line and it may be a needle and haystack thing to find where it is.

totaledTL

Fluke used to make one. Would be willing to bet they still do. Cost would be high I imagine. That's why I mentioned trying to find someone who had access to one. Coworkers used to have one, also a portable o'scope. I recall using it to test a speed sensor one time & it worked well.

TLer trash

I understand your frustration, but I don't think the problem is in your battery cables. The current draw of your headlights is miniscule compared to the cranking and charging currents the cables carry.
I don't have a ton of experience with hids, but every one I've done that had lights cycling on and off turned out to be bulbs. Other than that, I try like hell to avoid the aftermarket kits. They look well built, but I've had lots of problems despite my minimal exposure to them. Look closely at any connectors for pins that didn't lock and get pushed back in the connector. Other than that, if you have a kit with two bulbs and ballasts,try swapping those components. I put retrofit kits on my daughters car and my truck, and had to swap stuff around till it worked, send a kit of the losers back, get another kit, repeat, then mine would occasionally not come on for a while, but it's been ok for a year or two. None of the bulbs have exactly the same color. Is your old ballast still usable? Try to get one known good bulb and start there. I've had the best success with phillips and osram. It would be nice if you could borrow a bulb that you knew for sure was good. One of my customers found what appeared to be real phillips for around $75 a pair, but I worry about fakes. Good luck.

01tl4tl

It had kaixen 6ks in it- still running stock ballast and kaixen 6 on driver side
It hasnt gone off yet, but did a few times in the past

R side has the full new kit and bulb, which do the same thing as old setup

while major power surge isnt my concern,,the issue of any micro thing upsetting some protective system sounds reasonable

Im thinking- extra ground wire from ballast to frame, cant figure how this system is even grounded without an extra wire, since ballast goes on with double-side tape!!
nothing in their very marginal directions about that~

Its not from heat- happens right away

have other kit and OE, kaixen and hidextra bulbs to try when I get a chance
Going to ck resistance of batt cables first and add that wire

thelastaspec

frame/black wire is - red is +
as long as you have something going to the negative terminal of the car everything is fine.

http://www.blindinghid.com/relay-harness/

i really feel this will all be solved with a relay harness.
your using a non oem ballast on a factory harness that as far as we know is just barley designed to work with the oem ballast. the formulae for power and voltage state that if you even mess with the bulbs power output (change the bulb - witch you have) the whole set up has a different resistance, and aslo has a different voltage draw and amperage going through it.

I'm studying to be an electrical engineer if that helps.
so eventually i can redesign the cars electrical system and ecu for fun.

http://www.hidextra.com/universal-hid-relay-harness-343

01tl4tl

I will have to give them some grief for not selling me that with the kit

Order was done on the phone and current problem discussed,
the guy had no idea why it would be doing the `goes off but resets with switch cycle`

thelastaspec

they really should include it as a "premium" hid vendor online.
ive seen cheap ebay kits include the relay for virtually no extra cost.

i know from research that these ballasts are designed to switch off if the voltage/amperage they are getting is "bad"

ive also seen it suggested on a manuf. faq (i had the same idea and the post i saw confirmed that ppl have done it) that if there is bad power being sent to them that a capacitor (of the right spec) can be wired in much like the car stereo capacitor idea... ill look into this.

thelastaspec

oh, another point i forgot. on some hondas they used a type of solder/way it was soldered that the joints are prone to breaking or "drying". this is sometimes inside a relay or on the back of a random pcb. when something heats up or not enough juice is getting to a relay (the oem ones) they can turn off -> turning the bulb off -> flick the switch, it re switches the relay.

here is an example on a honda main relay what can happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY_GnVwOF9U

thelastaspec

MurdaZ

iTrader: (1)

bumping this back up as im having the exact same problem..

01tl4tl did u end up figuring what it is?


i think its heat related as today after work i started the car, and a co-worker told me my driver side is out


before it would only be the passenger side headlight, once its on it stays on, but if i turn off the switch, and back on 3-5 times i have to cycle it to get it back on

and last night the driver side acted up....hids still light up good, but this prob makes me think its all ballast or relay.



also i might just end up going with a hid kit...what kit do i need to wire onto our stock low beam wiring? i know fogs are 9006, but what are those?

01tl4tl

D2R kit with 5000k bulbs
get the `relay kit` too, or make one- to avoid voltage issues

they are easy to install- cut the 2 small power leads going to OE ballast,
use splice or connectors to new ballast wires
kit has all the component wires in a plug together setup
I had to cut a small v into housing plastic so the new bulb power wire fit nice

mine did have a loose connection!! and the tape holding ballast quit on first hot day,,while I had lower engine cover off,, so ballast dropped to the ground and dragged along for a few blocks till I could stop
lost all but 1 screw from its cover but still works!

put back on with zipties!

MurdaZ

iTrader: (1)

thanks man, read some more on the forums, said its an igniter issue as it stays on but doesnt fire up after a few times, but buying aftermarket is far cheaper....ill be going this route.

thanks