HID Problems!

[JessMan]

Alright gang. So the previous owner of my car had an HID kit on the car. They looked and worked great until the drivers side ballast went out. I would turn the light off and on and no light, checked all of the connections, nada. So I bought a new kit from SIMPLYHIDKITS and it was supposed to be plug and play. Well it wasn't. It didn't have the cable for the plug that is inside the headlight housing.

So what is the plug anyway? Because the drivers side was not connected. It had the cable plugged into the plug inside the housing, but the end outside of the housing was not connected. But passenger side was connected.

So I just ran the kit without either side plugged in. No lights. So then I just plugged the passenger side as it was before with that cable. Lights worked. So I had to cut that cable, run it through the rubber seal for the housing cap, then splice it back together. Everything worked. Ok cool.

Well now, my passenger side is flashing off and on randomly... and sometimes when I start my car it doesn't come on and I have to turn the lights off then back on and it will come on. Did I get a bad kit or is something else going on? I checked all of my grounds and connections and they all look good. Nothing changes when I wiggle the wires around.

[JessMan]

This is the plug in the housing I'm talking about and the cable I had to cut. 20160117_144937.jpg20160117_151234.jpg

[Napalm]

looks a little bit like my philips kit. it was plug n play from start to finish.

there should be - on the car side 2 wires that had a connector that fit the OE bulb. Looks a bit like the end you're holding in your right hand - it should be male.

For a philps or morimoto kit - that will plug into a harness that supplies start up voltage to the ballast. This is the signal to turn on the system, and for a philips kit - is the power supply to. Now there are kits that have relay addons - and are wired direct to a battery line. IN those cases you headlamp plug would go to the relay kit first.

did any of that make sense?

as far as your intermitent issue now - it might be that your spliced wires aren't fully tied. question did you solider them back together, or did you use some buttsplice?

[mjones73]

It's the plug that would normally go in a halogen headlight bulb. If your existing HID kit had a relay harness, only one side needs to be plugged in to turn the relay on when the headlights come on. If you have a relay harness, you'll probably find a wire tapped into the positive post on the drivers side to the fender running to a relay which would then feed to the ballasts then the bulbs.

[JessMan]

Napalm I did use a butt slice and then shrink wrap. I didn't have a solder iron with me when I did it because I thought it would be plug and play. Last night I double checked the connections, they're good and the light didn't change when I wiggled the wires. I zip tied everything together and tight to the side of the engine bay so that nothing moves now. We'll see what it does tonight on my way home.

Mjones, that's exactly what it is man. It's a relay harness because only one side is plugged in. Thanks man!

[Napalm]

is it still flickering?

did you check the fuse in the relay harness (I assume it has one since the others I've used have had them). and did you check the relay?

When I used a relay harness for my GTO I did both sides together - IE two harnesses, 2 relays, to lines to battery. So each headlamp was separated - like they are on the car. This way a dead relay, or a dead fuse only killed one light.

now the new XenonDepot Sylvania kits with digital ballasts - don't need a relay harness. Mine is 4 years old now and no issue and I leave my lights on auto. I did pull the DRL though. I hate DRL's anyway.

The morimoto kit I installed for a buddy in his lexus - also didn't need a relay harness. The ballasts will tolerate as low as 9V DC.

Just an FYI.


Good luck and hope you find your issues.

[JessMan]

Alright after zip tying everything up it hasn't done it since. Which is weird because I was shaking the entire harness and nothing changed before I tied everything up. Darn gremlins lol.

[mjones73]

Alright after zip tying everything up it hasn't done it since. Which is weird because I was shaking the entire harness and nothing changed before I tied everything up. Darn gremlins lol.

Don't you hate when that happens? I had mine die after a 1/4 mile pass, figured out the connector on the battery post was coming apart. I ended up replacing it and the fuse holder along with routing the wires better and it was all good.

[Chewy]

This is the #1 reason why I've never installed my Morimoto HID's I bought over 2 years ago! Headlights are kind of important! lol

[mjones73]

This is the #1 reason why I've never installed my Morimoto HID's I bought over 2 years ago! Headlights are kind of important! lol

They are fine when installed correctly.

I believe the kit in my car has been installed for a few years (I bought it last Jan). Whoever installed it basically had the lead dangling from the post to the headlight. I soldered in a longer length and wire tied it along the fender. Not expecting the same problem now. That red wire running along the fender use to just hang where the air box was.