the HID upgrade ballast question
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the HID upgrade ballast question
i thought i was done exterior mods with the angel eyes...i was wrong.
A few days ago i threw in the HID xenons, no problem. By the way ive passed atleast 7 or 8 officers and not one has pulled me over, and the light doesnt seem scattered.
As expected with everything i do, i have a problem.
The one ballast seems to not go on all the time. Example, i can throw the switch on (turn the key for power on too) and the lights go on, never fails ever. However occasionally when i turn the key to crank the engine on to drive my car, the one ballast starts to light, then stops and wont go on. its only when i crank (use the ignition). Im taking a wild guess it isnt getting enough volts? When the car is on, i just shut off the lowbeams and wait a second, turn them back on and everything works fine.
in the event a ballast dies, is there a store that sells ballasts for these upgrades, or is it ebay thing?
Im sure some of you lighting wizards could help me on this one figuring out why it wont light sometimes. [/b]
A few days ago i threw in the HID xenons, no problem. By the way ive passed atleast 7 or 8 officers and not one has pulled me over, and the light doesnt seem scattered.
As expected with everything i do, i have a problem.
The one ballast seems to not go on all the time. Example, i can throw the switch on (turn the key for power on too) and the lights go on, never fails ever. However occasionally when i turn the key to crank the engine on to drive my car, the one ballast starts to light, then stops and wont go on. its only when i crank (use the ignition). Im taking a wild guess it isnt getting enough volts? When the car is on, i just shut off the lowbeams and wait a second, turn them back on and everything works fine.
in the event a ballast dies, is there a store that sells ballasts for these upgrades, or is it ebay thing?
Im sure some of you lighting wizards could help me on this one figuring out why it wont light sometimes. [/b]
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They're not sold in stores because they're illegal. Places can be fined for selling them, which is why you'll mainly find them on ebay.
I won't comment about glare here, but if the ballast hasn't died (most of the "kits" on ebay aren't very good quality, and you're usually lucky to get a year out of them), then you should proabneed to upgrade your wiring harness. They draw quite a bit more current than a halogen bulb during the first 30 seconds of startup. Go get a 9005/9006 headlight wiring harness upgrade (uses 14 gauge wire and two relays, and pulls power directly from the battery) and power the ballasts with that.
But, NEVER have the HID'* on when starting the vehicle. What happens is the voltage to the ballast drops, and when the ballast tries to keep the output steady, it'll strain itself trying to keep the 85V output going to the burners. That'll kill the ballasts. Best to only turn them on either when the engine isn't running, or after you've started it.
Post some pics of the beam patterns after you get it fixed...
I won't comment about glare here, but if the ballast hasn't died (most of the "kits" on ebay aren't very good quality, and you're usually lucky to get a year out of them), then you should proabneed to upgrade your wiring harness. They draw quite a bit more current than a halogen bulb during the first 30 seconds of startup. Go get a 9005/9006 headlight wiring harness upgrade (uses 14 gauge wire and two relays, and pulls power directly from the battery) and power the ballasts with that.
But, NEVER have the HID'* on when starting the vehicle. What happens is the voltage to the ballast drops, and when the ballast tries to keep the output steady, it'll strain itself trying to keep the 85V output going to the burners. That'll kill the ballasts. Best to only turn them on either when the engine isn't running, or after you've started it.
Post some pics of the beam patterns after you get it fixed...
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Oh, and one other thought. You'll not want to use your high beams until you mod your wiring so the low beams stay on with the high beams. Turning a HID system on and off more than about 3 times per hour will shorten the lifespan of the burner.
I tried a set of 6000K HID burners. Only had them in a week. Too blue, too dim, couldn't see the road. Back to 4100K I went.
I tried a set of 6000K HID burners. Only had them in a week. Too blue, too dim, couldn't see the road. Back to 4100K I went.
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BTW: the brand of the ballast is called Tenon. last time i had Phillips.
I have no clue who Tenon is. (my bad) so i will probably look into phillips and convert. theres this website called www.xenondepot.com if any of you have bought from here before. they carry phillips ballasts, or atleast the coversion.
Unless any of you might know of a Hella or Phillips conversion kit.
i just want a decent ballast and bulb set. 6000k is what i have now, i liked my 5000k better.
I have no clue who Tenon is. (my bad) so i will probably look into phillips and convert. theres this website called www.xenondepot.com if any of you have bought from here before. they carry phillips ballasts, or atleast the coversion.
Unless any of you might know of a Hella or Phillips conversion kit.
i just want a decent ballast and bulb set. 6000k is what i have now, i liked my 5000k better.
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hello friday the 13th.
my ballast officially died. and after reading around, Plus driving my other car and having the xenons behind me...... im gonna do the smart thing and be nice to other drivers, seriously you really should have projectors. you live and learn these things.
Since these ballasts probably have 1 hour use total, and i put them in tuesday, am i owed a refund from the ebay seller? thoughts??
Im going to search first but I might start another thread maybe on the best halogen bulb to use. Ive heard PIAA, ive heard of Hella. I need to do some research.
my ballast officially died. and after reading around, Plus driving my other car and having the xenons behind me...... im gonna do the smart thing and be nice to other drivers, seriously you really should have projectors. you live and learn these things.
Since these ballasts probably have 1 hour use total, and i put them in tuesday, am i owed a refund from the ebay seller? thoughts??
Im going to search first but I might start another thread maybe on the best halogen bulb to use. Ive heard PIAA, ive heard of Hella. I need to do some research.
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2000 + GM cars need a ballast and igniter not just a ballast and HID'* are not Illegal If you have a problem with throwing light it'* not the HID'* it is the headlight alignment.
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Originally Posted by ReallyAGXP
2000 + GM cars need a ballast and igniter not just a ballast and HID'* are not Illegal If you have a problem with throwing light it'* not the HID'* it is the headlight alignment.
If you read the laws word for word any and all non stock headlight modification is illegal. Yes this would mean projectors too. But projectors are an OEM product, which makes them debatably illegal when properly installed. The fact that you are putting a bulb in a lens that is not designed for a HID bulb is what makes it illegal. No matter where you aim it.
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What I meant in my last post is that when installing HID'* in 2000+ GM vehicles you need to use a set up that is Ballast and igniter separately.
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Originally Posted by ReallyAGXP
What I meant in my last post is that when installing HID'* in 2000+ GM vehicles you need to use a set up that is Ballast and igniter separately.
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Well Why.... IDK I do know that when I put mine in they did the same thing and not just in the Bonne but my truck aswell as soon as I replaced them ballast igniter separately they worked all the time. And i know of a few people with newer GM cars and trucks who have had the exact same problem.
I think the igniter on the separate system is grounded where on the other it'* not..
I think the igniter on the separate system is grounded where on the other it'* not..