I have a 2003 350z Performance model. I ordered a pair of 55W slim ballasts and relay harness from DDMTuning and installed them without a problem. I don't drive much at night but not long after the install I noticed that the HIDs were flickering somewhat. They would flicker for a few seconds but never fully turn off and it was NOT unique to a specific side. I contacted DDM and am still dealing with the issue after several months later.

Things i've tried to remedy the problem:
1. cleaned the ground (its connected directly to negative)
2. replaced the relay with a new one that DDM sent over
3. swapped ballasts
4. swapped bulbs
5. checked every connection 3+ times between the HID bulbs and battery
6. installed error eliminators (aka capacitors) from DDMs site

things i haven't tried are swapping a new fuse, it already has a 20 amp fuse so i should be good there, i haven't tried a whole new harness yet, and i haven't tried installing load resistors.

Is there anything I'm missing that could lead to a solution? It seems that the lights are more prone to flicker when the car is running rather than being turned off. Any thoughts?

 

Common problem. Lots of people have this problem and I have yet to hear of a solution. Nature of the beast with cheap aftermarket HID's.

 

take any ebay hid bulb ballast or relay pack ever created..

put them in a loosely packed 12x12x10 inch box.

promptly throw in the nearest volcano.






I literally did this with a box of at least 6 full sets of lights and ballasts.. they are pure garbage in every sense of the word.. and are not worth the constant headache of breakage and terrible output. threw them away, i wouldnt even sell them to enemys on craigslist for 25 bucks.. theyre that bad.

Buy from TRS.. buy once, and get 5x the performace as well.

 

these weren't bought off ebay and I previously had only ever heard good things about DDMTuning products and seen good reviews about the exact same kit several times over from members on here having them in their cars.

 

None of my DDM kits have really given me problem. The 3000k kits flicker and make disco lights while they warm up, but then they are solid. The 5000k kits work perfectly fine. My car has them in the fog lights and my bike has them for headlights.

 

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Cat...s/DDM-HID-Kits

slim ballasts are not good quality, from anyone.

im seriously not trying to be a jerk.. but take your own story, multiply it by 6 sets of lights over 2 cars and 2 years.. and im just trying to tell you from my experience

I run TRS ...at a premium price yes..but have never had issues since.
And the light output is vastly incredibly superior.

up to you on how many times you want to try to fix your lights before it becomes cost effective to jsut buy a good kit from TRS.
a whole set up w 35 watt ballasts, bulbs and a relay harness will run you 150 bucks.

They are incredible. I wouldnt "spend your money for you" if it wasnt valid good advice


http://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid...id-system.html

 

Only ebay hids that are reliable are authentic: Denso, Matsushita, Philips, or any true oem ballast with bulbs. All those slimline ballasts are garbage.

 

Brian,

The TRS kit....will that drop into a oem 2005 HID housing and be great? I see the TRS say it's meant for D2S set ups, with oem being D2R of course...but you'd know the real deal.

Second...would TRS dropped into a Depo '06 setup be a big improvement over normal Depo 06 lights? I'm about to buy the Depo setup for my 04 Z since I've already converted the harness to six pin to eight pin or vice bersa...I forget right now as I type this...but the TRS setup is something I'd do if it's compatible with my oem setup or the Depos. I suppose I'd have to re-convert that TRS harness to make it fit my 04 base model though, or could I just the existing converted harness with the rest of the TRS kit that I'd drop into Depos?

Thx...no thread hacking intended...thought this might help some others get a full understanding of how to get the best light output for our headlights...so truly, not trying to be rude here.

Thanks for all help and understanding,

Saved

 

In my experience even quality slim ballasts are not good. Regular ballasts are the way to go.

Nothing but good experience with Diode Dynamics.

 

Putting in better HID components is never a bad idea... there really IS a difference in quality out there.

However, if it's not a defective ballast maybe the relay harness isn't beefy enough to handle the current draw of anything greater than a 35w ballast. Replace your existing relay harness with this one and I'll bet your problems disappear:

http://www.gtrlighting.com/hid-singl...relay-harness/

 

ddm drop ships the kits directly from China, soooooo think about how good quality control must be

 

yeah, i had just seen several posts about DDM slim ballasts on here and I can't recall seeing too many people reporting issues with them. Oh well, I decided to take bmccann101's advice and go with a TRS HID kit and so far all is well with them. fingers crossed.