Morimoto 3Five ballasts
01-23-2014
#1
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Morimoto 3Five ballasts
During the start of winter, I started having problems with my Morimoto 3Five ballasts from theretrofitsource.com. My passenger side ballast would fail to fire when I turned on my headlights (but would be alleviated by turning my lights off and on again), and I experienced some light flickering, as well. I e-mailed TRS about it, and here was their response:
They then put me on the waitlist for their new, upgraded Morimoto 3Five ballasts, which I just got in the mail today.
At a glance, there's not much of a difference, as far as aesthetics go. They are nearly identical, the only exception being the new ballasts being a few millimeters thicker. On the inside, there's apparently a new igniter/igniter capacitor that puts out more voltage than the old ones, as well as an upgraded chip to help it perform better. When I initially fired it up, the only thing I noticed was that the light did indeed stabilize faster. No fail-to-fire situations yet, but I've only fired 'em up twice since I installed the new ones.
So, why am I posting this up? The Morimoto retrofit is a popular choice among our community, and if you have some Morimoto ballasts that you received anywhere from 2011-2013 and are experiencing lighting issues, contact TRS right away, and they'll set you straight.
Over the past several weeks we have been working non stop to study and correct the issue and have concluded on two necessary changes for the ballasts:
1) If you're experiencing a mis-firing bulb: We found that the magnetic core used in the igniter sometimes won't put out the necessary 16KV to create a strong enough arc, especially when cold.
Solution: The new standard igniter will be capable of producing up to 20,000 Volts. Rather than going with an externally mounted igniter because the existing ballast shell is too thin, we have opted to increase the ballast's thickness by 2mm to accommodate the massive igniter. It's like putting a V8 in place of a V6.
2) If you're experiencing a slight "flicker" - this is because the reaction time of the ballasts circuit board isn't fast enough to keep pace with the instability in the arc inside your HID bulbs.
1) If you're experiencing a mis-firing bulb: We found that the magnetic core used in the igniter sometimes won't put out the necessary 16KV to create a strong enough arc, especially when cold.
Solution: The new standard igniter will be capable of producing up to 20,000 Volts. Rather than going with an externally mounted igniter because the existing ballast shell is too thin, we have opted to increase the ballast's thickness by 2mm to accommodate the massive igniter. It's like putting a V8 in place of a V6.
2) If you're experiencing a slight "flicker" - this is because the reaction time of the ballasts circuit board isn't fast enough to keep pace with the instability in the arc inside your HID bulbs.
At a glance, there's not much of a difference, as far as aesthetics go. They are nearly identical, the only exception being the new ballasts being a few millimeters thicker. On the inside, there's apparently a new igniter/igniter capacitor that puts out more voltage than the old ones, as well as an upgraded chip to help it perform better. When I initially fired it up, the only thing I noticed was that the light did indeed stabilize faster. No fail-to-fire situations yet, but I've only fired 'em up twice since I installed the new ones.
So, why am I posting this up? The Morimoto retrofit is a popular choice among our community, and if you have some Morimoto ballasts that you received anywhere from 2011-2013 and are experiencing lighting issues, contact TRS right away, and they'll set you straight.
03-10-2014
#3
Prelude Owner
iTrader: (7)
Re: Morimoto 3Five ballasts
Thanks for the info!!
I am starting to have problems with my driver side ballasts not lighting on the first start up. I will make sure to contact TRS.
Did they replace both of them of just the one you were having the issue with?
I am starting to have problems with my driver side ballasts not lighting on the first start up. I will make sure to contact TRS.
Did they replace both of them of just the one you were having the issue with?
03-10-2014
#4
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Rep Power: 485 Re: Morimoto 3Five ballasts
They sent me a brand new pair. All they ask in return is you cut the cords coming from the ballast and send then picture proof (with serial numbers in view for both). They hold you credit card information until then, and once you send the pic, they send you an email saying the got it and are deleting you cc info they stored
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