6000k hids installed quick question

[bigtallsam]

hi all, hope ur well

just a quicky!

installed my h1 hids - lookin and working great

are the bulbs phase sensitive i.e. only work if positive and negative are the right way round feeding the ballast?

sorry if it's a stupid question it's just if noticed that they dont always 'strike' first time and i can't think why?

bulbs are being fed off the cars loom with 15a fuses to compensate, could i need to look at the light switch or something else i might've missed?

regards

sam

[bigtallsam]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a128/btsam/DSC00114.jpg

[fkong777]

same thing happens with my HID kit.. I just live with it. but consider wiring the OEM harness to a relay and get 12V power with better gauge wires.. That may help the HID no start issue at lease slightly.

[bigtallsam]

thanks!

they do strike then go off within a second - turn of lights then back on - hey presto!

i get the feelin the ballasts don't like having to power up the bulbs from being completely off, which i think is why some kits have the relay/battery feed thing to keep the ballast charged - or am i wrong?

s

[Qube]

If they don't go on the first time, you're not getting enough voltage to the ballasts OR you're using mismatched bulb/ballast pair. Fix it soon as your quick on/off isn't good for the bulbs.

Are the bulbs THEMSELVES phase sensitive? I've never wired them reverse to know, though I doubt it. On the other hand, why mark the bulb leads red/black or whatever then? The ballast is sensitive, of course.

[bigtallsam]

thnaks qube - i meant the ballasts, shoulda worded my question a bit better, cheers

the ballasts and bulbs came complete - i think their ok. i might check the voltage from battery and or alternator after all she is 16 years old!

[Qube]

thnaks qube - i meant the ballasts, shoulda worded my question a bit better, cheers

the ballasts and bulbs came complete - i think their ok. i might check the voltage from battery and or alternator after all she is 16 years old!

I had something like this happen twice. Though in my case, it either never stayed on (just flashed) or turned off when it felt like it, and eventally on when it felt like it.

1. mismatched ballast and temporary replacement bulb
2. ballast defective

[bigtallsam]

ok, they've been installed for 24 hours and i'm a little puzzled

you may remember i said that they don't sirike first time?

well,

the left may strike but not the right - or sometimes vice versa? on my recent night time travels.

could i have a voltage prob as mentioned earlier? if so where do i investigate?

any thoughts appreciated

s

[Qube]

ok, they've been installed for 24 hours and i'm a little puzzled

you may remember i said that they don't sirike first time?

well,

the left may strike but not the right - or sometimes vice versa? on my recent night time travels.

could i have a voltage prob as mentioned earlier? if so where do i investigate?

any thoughts appreciated

s

Do a quick check. Look at the headlamp or take the bulb out and turn on the lights. Do you see a small blip like it's trying to ignite the salts? If you do, then check the voltage to the OEM harness (not through the ballast to the bulb !!). If it reads 12.5v car on or 13v off, then you're good with voltage. I would suspect bad ballast at that point.

Is it completely 'random' which one wants to 'fire' at any given time? Does the 'dead' one fire after a 'few tries'?

[jrobbo]

I bought a set off ebay that did exactly the same thing. I contacted the seller, and they replaced the ballasts for me, and the new ballasts work perfectly, they now strike first time, every time, without execption

Regards

John

[bigtallsam]

it does seem random but i always get the 'blip' as you mentioned then about a second later one or the other goes off - try it agsain and it works?

[Qube]

My money is on defective ballasts. Easy test. Rule out all scenarios. Swap ballasts on each side, then swap bulbs. If it happens no matter what is where, you're 99.99999% sure it's the ballasts.

[bigtallsam]

cheers qube, just replied to your pot in the other thread

by the way, i love your sig, i asume it rained that day afterwards

s

[Jon K]

I have Phillips HIDs and they ALWAYS IGNITE. I have never had them flicker, shut off, etc. I also have OEM Hella HIDs in my sisters car, hers ALWAYS IGNITE too.

[Jehu]

How come his set up needs a kit when i see these Xenon http://cgi.ebay.com/BMW-5-SERIES-E34-XENON-CAR-BULBS-HEADLAMPS-H1_W0QQitemZ260037306266QQihZ016QQcategoryZ72235QQ tcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

bulbs say they're straight swap no mod needed?

[bigtallsam]

your mistaking regular bulbs with a blue tint / standard halogen lamps for h.i.d. (high intensity discharge) 'kits' which need ballast/ignitor a tiny bit likea household tube fitting

the hid bulbs don't have a filament like a normal bulb but burn xenon gas instead and so need a couple of thousand volts up their bottom to get them going, hence the ballast/ignitor. the result is about 10x brighter than a normal bulb depending on the k (kelvins) you go for

those 'xenon' halogen bulbs you mention usually just filter out some of the light in order to re-create the look of a hid bulb whilst claiming better performance and whilst some of them do chuck out a bit more light most of the guys on here will tell you they usually end up working worse than a normal bulb and don't last as long

s

[Jehu]

Thanks for that.

[Tiger]

I had the same problem when I first installed... one side is flaky. I traced it down to the LKM... I resoldered it... and clean the relay contacts...

The headlight switch, if you switch on rapidly, it usually catches all the time. If you switch slowly, then sometime it doesn't.

Over time, it eventually resolved itself... so no trouble now. I suspected my ballast causing the problem... but now, it is no problem. Mine is the first generation Phillips Ballast/bulb system. New one (third or 4th generation) shouldn't have any problem at all.

[bigtallsam]

cheers, was thinking of looking at the light switch as well!

s