HID acting weird
 

hey guys my hids are acting funny. sometimes it will work normal and sometimes it doesnt work at all? everytime this happens i disconnect the male/female connector from the bulb to the ballast and also the connector that goes from the relay to the ballast and then reconnect everything and it works again. its like it has a mind of its own. it works whenever it wants to. any suggestion?

Re: HID acting weird
 

yes...get a quality HID kit. I can bet you bought a cheap hid kit from ebay or something.

I got phillips d2r with an H4 harnass and casper shields. Never ever had a single problem with them. They costed me around 3-400 to piece everything together.

Re: HID acting weird
 

more likely your ballasts are gone or could be a loose wiring harness...make sure everything is tight

Re: HID acting weird
 

I'm assuming the wires going to the ballast are spade-type connectors because mine were doing funky stuff a long time ago, too, but unplug the spade connectors, take some pliers and make the female connection(s) a little "tighter" so the male ends can't really move around when plugged in.. That's what fixed mine..

Re: HID acting weird
 

actually i got my kit from 3bspecs.com and all my friends got them and never got a single problem. they're sending me a new kit and ill snap a pics.

Re: HID acting weird
 

no such thing as a quality kit. they all come from china and cost the same to make. if you pay more well you got screwed. i got my ballasts for $100 and they have not messed up even once in 4 months. your issue sounds like a wire connection problem. either your connections are not waterproof and are getting corroded, or you need to put some dielectric grease and mount it away from water. or you are using the stock harness and messing up the wiring.

Re: HID acting weird
 

hey i tried using the dielectric grease on the pins and stuff already. one question though, would speaker wires be the problem because my stupid friend accidently cut too much wire off so he used speaker wires on my stock harness and on the relay. i ask him could that be the problem and he said no i used a multimeter and its drawing the same amount of power. wrong or hes right?

Re: HID acting weird
 

what so you mean there is no quality kit out there? come on..they are not all made in china. Phillip ballast and bulbs are made in germany. I'm sure you know this.

If you're talking about the kits on ebay then ok, i'll give you that.

as to the OP: i would piece together an hid kit. Get some phillip ballast and bulbs along with some casper shields. After you get the casper shields, get a harnass from suvlights.com and plug everything together.

Re: HID acting weird
 

4 months is not even a long time.

i had my phillips d2r bulbs and phillips (hella) ballast for over 3 years without a single problem.

Re: HID acting weird
 

i've had my xtec kit since january 05.. the only problem i had was the loose spade connectors, and that was easily fixed by tightening them as i mentioned above..

and i paid 230 shipped for bulbs and ballasts

Re: HID acting weird
 

i got the mculloch (however you spell it) kit from importparts.com 2 years ago, no problems, phillips bulbs with it.

Re: HID acting weird
 

I also had my old made in Korea hid kit for 4 and 1/2 years and didn't have a single problem. I bought it at www.hid-lights.com and they were some generic brand. The only reason I switched them out was because I went to 55W. True, there are quality kits out there, but those are generally used OEM kits that come directly off luxury cars, but the truth is a ballast is a ballast regardless of the brand. They get the job done. Bulbs, however, are a different story. There is a definite difference in quality. There is a reason why I, most retrofitters, and luxury car manufacturers won't use anything but Philips D2S 85122+ bulbs. They are quality bulbs that has undergone strict quality control.

Re: HID acting weird
 

hey i tried using the dielectric grease on the pins and stuff already. one question though, would speaker wires be the problem because my stupid friend accidently cut too much wire off so he used speaker wires on my stock harness and on the relay. i ask him could that be the problem and he said no i used a multimeter and its drawing the same amount of power. wrong or hes right?

Re: HID acting weird
 

if the multimeter's showing the same voltage, then it shouldn't be a problem.. as far as i know, a least..

Re: HID acting weird
 

I beg to differ on teh ballast. there are crappy ballast out there that will not turn on your bulbs either at all, or make them flicker. You must have been lucky with your kit. I went through so many diff. hid kits. some having cheap ballast and some having cheap bulbs.

Never regretted going with OEM stuff off of luxury cars.

saying all hid kits are from china is just plain stupid.

Re: HID acting weird
 

this happens to me occasionally, so i got a relay harness and fixed it all!

Re: HID acting weird
 

ive had more problems blowing oem ballasts because they were not waterproof. i know alot of other people having the same problem. not too smart for oem to use ballasts in a car that arent even waterproof. if a ballast makes the bulb flicker, it means you didnt wire them correctly or used too small a wire size. from an electronic standpoint, ballasts are relatively simple devices and always work if installed properly. most of the problems people have are due to user error. as for speaker wire in the harness, i wouldnt recommend it. a new harness should be at least 14 gauge with a 15 amp fuse. now if youre blowing the fuse, you have to upgrade the wiring size to fix the problem. my guess is your friend didnt have much experience and just hacked something together. and maybe some connections are loose or got water in them.

Re: HID acting weird
 

hm the fuses are still okay, its not blown. so i dont know what else could be wrong. but im receiving a new kit soon.

Re: HID acting weird
 

sometimes, its the relay that gets wet and stops working. is yours sealed on the bottom? if not, try keeping it away from water and see if it helps or just buy a sealed relay from the auto store. i had all sorts of problems after car wash or rain where only one side would work. swapped relays and it worked again, then the ballast got water in it and died. also it could be a cheapo relay thats just no good. relay is only $5 from store, try that first before taking everything apart.

Re: HID acting weird
 

good thinking. cause i mount my ballast on the front support bar and water could get on it thru my "typer r " grill. or from below. you think i can put zip bag over my ballast? like would it suffucate.

Re: HID acting weird
 

no no very bad idea. they need to vent in order to cool themselves, and also a bag could trap moisture (you can never get it airtight). just move them to a dry spot and the relay too. or get a waterproof one.

Re: HID acting weird
 

hmm. where do you mount your ballast and relay? kus i was thinking just putting it in the zip bag and then zip tie it down but have a lil openinin where the mouth of the bag is so it can cool. plus wiring can come through at.

Re: HID acting weird
 

i have my relay between the coolant overflow tank cap and the battery. ballasts are between battery and headlight on the pass side, and tied to the spot near the fans above the receiver/dryer on the driver side. but mine are waterproof already so its not as big a deal if they get splashed. make sure relay is mounted with connections facing towards the ground.

Re: HID acting weird
 

I have mine mounted by the inside of the wheel wells. They never get wet there. Also, I went on Ebay and found the cheapest HID kit I could find, and they work perfectly. Installing them was a bitch, but it is worth it.

Re: HID acting weird
 

hm "make sure relay is mounted with connections facing towards the ground" can you explain a little bit more and how come?

Re: HID acting weird
 

the relay has spade connectors, make sure its facing down. that way any water and stuff will drain out. its bosch's instructions not mine.

Re: HID acting weird
 

hey guys what is the gauge for the wire of our stock h4 harness?

Re: HID acting weird
 

i think its around 18 gauge or maybe 20, its really tiny, as big as the turn signal wire which is pretty sad. it needs to be at least 14 gauge.

Re: HID acting weird
 

yeah its 18 gauge. i went to honda today and he pieced together for me a new h4 harness. i also got my new HID kit in today. the guy from 3bspec walk me through it.(nice dude hanh) but i didnt realize it but the passenger side high beam doesnt work. could it be a fuse? wat else may cause that?

Re: HID acting weird
 

18 gauge may be a bit small for hid. but for hi beam, you sure you tapped the right wire? the h4 setup is a bit confusing how the power and grounds work. may just be hooked up wrong.