Help Me Troubleshoot: Base --> HID Kit Problems
11-24-2008, 06:34 PM
#1
Help Me Troubleshoot: Base --> HID Kit Problems
Hello all. First off, sorry for the length, but I figured those who know electrical would probably ask me all of the symptoms anyway, so I typed them in advance.
Specs: Base 350Z halogen headlamps with Philips slim-ballast HID conversion kit. Just your standard kit: bulbs, ballasts, wiring harnesses.
There is an in-line single 20-V fuse right before the hot wire's direct contact point to the battery.
Problem:
I'm driving on the highway in Boston and my low beams completely cut out. I immediately think it's the in-line fuse. Sure enough, it was blown, so I replace it........4 times. I wasn't sure if I had purchased a possible faulty fuse, so I tries the whole pack
. I then checked the 2 fuses in the fuse box for the low beams (driver's and passenger's side). They were both good.
Next, I replaced the single in-line fuse with a 30-V fuse. This was just a random idea. The 20-V should work just fine, since it came with the kit and has worked for 3 years. The 30-V fuse allowed me to turn on the passenger side HID, which stayed on for a minute, then burnt out. After a few trials, just that side would work each turn-on, then finally did not work whatsoever. The driver's side HID never ignited. I checked the 30-V fuse, and it was still intact. Strange.....
Within the past year or so, I have noticed the driver's side HID sometimes does not ignite initially. It will take a few turn-off, turn-ons for the HID bulb to ignite. I thought nothing of it...maybe it means something.
In summary, the driver's HID is not igniting at all, and the passenger side HID is igniting w/ a 30-V fuse (not consistently), but the system fries 20-V fuses. Lastly, I noticed a slight poof of smoke rising from this small, black wiring relay box where the HID wiring converges together, and the hot-wire emerges from, connecting to the battery.
Anyone who thinks they can diagnose this, please let me know.
Specs: Base 350Z halogen headlamps with Philips slim-ballast HID conversion kit. Just your standard kit: bulbs, ballasts, wiring harnesses.
There is an in-line single 20-V fuse right before the hot wire's direct contact point to the battery.
Problem:
I'm driving on the highway in Boston and my low beams completely cut out. I immediately think it's the in-line fuse. Sure enough, it was blown, so I replace it........4 times. I wasn't sure if I had purchased a possible faulty fuse, so I tries the whole pack
. I then checked the 2 fuses in the fuse box for the low beams (driver's and passenger's side). They were both good.Next, I replaced the single in-line fuse with a 30-V fuse. This was just a random idea. The 20-V should work just fine, since it came with the kit and has worked for 3 years. The 30-V fuse allowed me to turn on the passenger side HID, which stayed on for a minute, then burnt out. After a few trials, just that side would work each turn-on, then finally did not work whatsoever. The driver's side HID never ignited. I checked the 30-V fuse, and it was still intact. Strange.....
Within the past year or so, I have noticed the driver's side HID sometimes does not ignite initially. It will take a few turn-off, turn-ons for the HID bulb to ignite. I thought nothing of it...maybe it means something.
In summary, the driver's HID is not igniting at all, and the passenger side HID is igniting w/ a 30-V fuse (not consistently), but the system fries 20-V fuses. Lastly, I noticed a slight poof of smoke rising from this small, black wiring relay box where the HID wiring converges together, and the hot-wire emerges from, connecting to the battery.
Anyone who thinks they can diagnose this, please let me know.
Last edited by blackfairlady; 11-24-2008 at 06:38 PM.
11-24-2008, 07:04 PM
#2
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check perhaps that the wiring is not touching any of the other contact points for the other bulbs. my HID kit kept blowing my high beams because the metal mesh that goes around the outside of the wiring was touching the contacts and shorting the circuit, never fixed it cause i never use the highs...
11-25-2008, 03:31 PM
#4
bump
I went through the whole system and couldn't find anything. Even swapped bulbs, and the same symptoms occur regardless of what side each bulb is on. That leads me to believe the bulbs are probably fine. The fuse still blows like no tomorrow. One fuse fries each time I try the low beams.
I went through the whole system and couldn't find anything. Even swapped bulbs, and the same symptoms occur regardless of what side each bulb is on. That leads me to believe the bulbs are probably fine. The fuse still blows like no tomorrow. One fuse fries each time I try the low beams.
11-25-2008, 05:35 PM
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Hello all. First off, sorry for the length, but I figured those who know electrical would probably ask me all of the symptoms anyway, so I typed them in advance.
Specs: Base 350Z halogen headlamps with Philips slim-ballast HID conversion kit. Just your standard kit: bulbs, ballasts, wiring harnesses.
There is an in-line single 20-V fuse right before the hot wire's direct contact point to the battery.
Problem:
I'm driving on the highway in Boston and my low beams completely cut out. I immediately think it's the in-line fuse. Sure enough, it was blown, so I replace it........4 times. I wasn't sure if I had purchased a possible faulty fuse, so I tries the whole pack. I then checked the 2 fuses in the fuse box for the low beams (driver's and passenger's side). They were both good.
Next, I replaced the single in-line fuse with a 30-V fuse. This was just a random idea. The 20-V should work just fine, since it came with the kit and has worked for 3 years. The 30-V fuse allowed me to turn on the passenger side HID, which stayed on for a minute, then burnt out. After a few trials, just that side would work each turn-on, then finally did not work whatsoever. The driver's side HID never ignited. I checked the 30-V fuse, and it was still intact. Strange.....
Within the past year or so, I have noticed the driver's side HID sometimes does not ignite initially. It will take a few turn-off, turn-ons for the HID bulb to ignite. I thought nothing of it...maybe it means something.
In summary, the driver's HID is not igniting at all, and the passenger side HID is igniting w/ a 30-V fuse (not consistently), but the system fries 20-V fuses. Lastly, I noticed a slight poof of smoke rising from this small, black wiring relay box where the HID wiring converges together, and the hot-wire emerges from, connecting to the battery.
Anyone who thinks they can diagnose this, please let me know.
Specs: Base 350Z halogen headlamps with Philips slim-ballast HID conversion kit. Just your standard kit: bulbs, ballasts, wiring harnesses.
There is an in-line single 20-V fuse right before the hot wire's direct contact point to the battery.
Problem:
I'm driving on the highway in Boston and my low beams completely cut out. I immediately think it's the in-line fuse. Sure enough, it was blown, so I replace it........4 times. I wasn't sure if I had purchased a possible faulty fuse, so I tries the whole pack
. I then checked the 2 fuses in the fuse box for the low beams (driver's and passenger's side). They were both good.Next, I replaced the single in-line fuse with a 30-V fuse. This was just a random idea. The 20-V should work just fine, since it came with the kit and has worked for 3 years. The 30-V fuse allowed me to turn on the passenger side HID, which stayed on for a minute, then burnt out. After a few trials, just that side would work each turn-on, then finally did not work whatsoever. The driver's side HID never ignited. I checked the 30-V fuse, and it was still intact. Strange.....
Within the past year or so, I have noticed the driver's side HID sometimes does not ignite initially. It will take a few turn-off, turn-ons for the HID bulb to ignite. I thought nothing of it...maybe it means something.
In summary, the driver's HID is not igniting at all, and the passenger side HID is igniting w/ a 30-V fuse (not consistently), but the system fries 20-V fuses. Lastly, I noticed a slight poof of smoke rising from this small, black wiring relay box where the HID wiring converges together, and the hot-wire emerges from, connecting to the battery.
Anyone who thinks they can diagnose this, please let me know.
I'm guessing your Ballast is shot... I install a few o those generick kits on my friends cars and always have problems with the ingnitors... dont over load your fuse cause the fuse is a safety device that will blow before anything worse hapend to your car (fire) I sugest you to get a new set ... I use this guys they have decent prices and their kits are plug and play so no cutting wires... or tapping for power...
http://cqlight.ca/
the other thing that you can check is the bulb harness make sure that is not burn in the inside and is not making a good contact...
Good luck
Letme know
*****
11-25-2008, 06:00 PM
#6
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Assuming you don't know much about electrical here... (fuses are rated in Amps, not V - assuming you mean volts?!?), I'd get all of the wiring checked by a professional or someone that knows what they are looking at. If the lights are engineered for a 20 AMP fuse, and originally came with one, the worst thing you can do to fix a blown fuse is put in a higher amperage fuse without identifying and correcting exactly what caused the fuse to pop. You can very easily catch your wiring on fire and burn your car up if you just randomly add higher amperage fuses. If a wire has a 20 amp fuse, increasing the fuse by 50% capacity is an easy way to burn your car up because the gauge of the wire is most likely not sufficient for 50% more load.
If i were you, I'd get rid of the aftermarket add-on Hid setup...
If i were you, I'd get rid of the aftermarket add-on Hid setup...
Last edited by 06blueZ; 11-25-2008 at 06:15 PM.
11-25-2008, 07:02 PM
#7
I switched the ignitors from one side to the other...same symptoms. I then switched the ballasts from one side to the other, and the symptoms switched. So I figured it was the ballast that (obviously) did not allow for the bulb to ignite. I disconnected that ballast and, as I did it, noticed a trickle of water come out of where the wiring harness plugs in. I then shook around the ballast, and I could hear water swishing inside. I did the same with the other ballast, and I didn't seem to hear anything. So there you have it.
That would cause the constant burning up of the fuse, right?
Are ballasts susceptible to water leaking into them? I installed them using instructions from a DIY on the forum. They are double-sided taped on the inner fender well. I can't find a better place to put them. So I'm kinda screwed if they're not supposed to be waterproof. I am going to look at the vendor's website again, and see what their warranty / product info is. It's a Philips ballast, so it should be quality.
Here is (generally) where my ballasts are placed. This is not my car:
Thanks ***** and 06BlueZ for your responses.
That would cause the constant burning up of the fuse, right?
Are ballasts susceptible to water leaking into them? I installed them using instructions from a DIY on the forum. They are double-sided taped on the inner fender well. I can't find a better place to put them. So I'm kinda screwed if they're not supposed to be waterproof. I am going to look at the vendor's website again, and see what their warranty / product info is. It's a Philips ballast, so it should be quality.
Here is (generally) where my ballasts are placed. This is not my car:
Thanks ***** and 06BlueZ for your responses.
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11-25-2008, 09:54 PM
#8
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Phillips doesnt make an HID conversion kit for aftermarket purchase. neither does Mcculloch. none of those 'big brands' do. HID scams. not to rain on your parade
You need a high quality HID conversion kit my friend. im running an aftermarket kit that we used to sell in my Z (i had OEM HIDs, these are just significantly brighter) without a single glitch.
Replace with a bigger fuse? your actual relay may be shot
You need a high quality HID conversion kit my friend. im running an aftermarket kit that we used to sell in my Z (i had OEM HIDs, these are just significantly brighter) without a single glitch.
Replace with a bigger fuse? your actual relay may be shot
11-26-2008, 06:40 PM
#9
If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have gone with the company I did. The kit seems to be of decent quality, but not worth what I paid. What's a quality HID kit anyway?
I just need a new Philips XLD-145 slim ballast. Googling now.
Right now I've got one HID low beam and one Halogen. .....cute.
I just need a new Philips XLD-145 slim ballast. Googling now.
Right now I've got one HID low beam and one Halogen. .....cute.
11-27-2008, 08:38 AM
#10
Registered User
If your passenger side has 12V (taken in the wiring) and blow fuses your ballast is damage, replace it. Your driver side ballast's starter is damage too. You need to replace both ballasts. Good luck! WWW.SAGAHID.COM
11-27-2008, 08:40 AM
#11
Registered User
If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have gone with the company I did. The kit seems to be of decent quality, but not worth what I paid. What's a quality HID kit anyway?
I just need a new Philips XLD-145 slim ballast. Googling now.
Right now I've got one HID low beam and one Halogen. .....cute.
I just need a new Philips XLD-145 slim ballast. Googling now.
Right now I've got one HID low beam and one Halogen. .....cute.
11-27-2008, 08:49 AM
#12
Registered User
I switched the ignitors from one side to the other...same symptoms. I then switched the ballasts from one side to the other, and the symptoms switched. So I figured it was the ballast that (obviously) did not allow for the bulb to ignite. I disconnected that ballast and, as I did it, noticed a trickle of water come out of where the wiring harness plugs in. I then shook around the ballast, and I could hear water swishing inside. I did the same with the other ballast, and I didn't seem to hear anything. So there you have it.
That would cause the constant burning up of the fuse, right?
Are ballasts susceptible to water leaking into them? I installed them using instructions from a DIY on the forum. They are double-sided taped on the inner fender well. I can't find a better place to put them. So I'm kinda screwed if they're not supposed to be waterproof. I am going to look at the vendor's website again, and see what their warranty / product info is. It's a Philips ballast, so it should be quality.
Here is (generally) where my ballasts are placed. This is not my car:
Thanks ***** and 06BlueZ for your responses.
That would cause the constant burning up of the fuse, right?
Are ballasts susceptible to water leaking into them? I installed them using instructions from a DIY on the forum. They are double-sided taped on the inner fender well. I can't find a better place to put them. So I'm kinda screwed if they're not supposed to be waterproof. I am going to look at the vendor's website again, and see what their warranty / product info is. It's a Philips ballast, so it should be quality.
Here is (generally) where my ballasts are placed. This is not my car:
Thanks ***** and 06BlueZ for your responses.
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