What ticks the Lamp control Module?
#11
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Thread Starter
Re: what'* the problem
Originally Posted by 89SSE
yes that'* correct. that'* exactly what i mean to tell you. those things draw a little less than HALF the current of a normal halogen bulb... what'* the problem? they draw a lot of current to start up, but it'* only for like a millisecond. it'* never been a problem... and continues to not be a problem... did someone tell you to put a second battery in to run your HIDs?? lol
.. Ballast runs bout 35 watts continious after power up. You're lucky you got away with it.. personally I wouldn't have wired it up straight to ballast.
The DC power from your car is being turned into AC power to supply the charge needed to power up the HID bulbs. The ballast throws out 23k +/-1-2k of volts to the HID bulbs upon start-up often refered to as warm-up. This is when you seeing HID trun on and start to change colors and get brighter as they warm. This usually lasts only around 25 seconds or so on OEM ballast. Cheaper aftermarket ballast tend to warm-up longer
Your oem halogen equiped car was never designed or intended from the manufacturer to use or run high voltage/high current/ high amperage HID ballasts. Ballast draw a imense amount of amps upon start-up and could very seriosuly damage your wiring and not just at where its connected. We are talking serious damage to fuse boxes, ecu'*, or worse could short and cause fires on very old cares that even have a hard enough time trying to power halogen. The reason why is, that when the ballast "demand" power, your car has to supply it from somewhere. Lets say its tapped into your oem headlight wire ok. Now you power up the ballasts, the draw current from your wiring, your wiring might not be up to the task so its needs help, t searches for a source and before you know it, you've now weakend not only one source but two now
#12
Member
Posts like a V-Tak
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: 26 mile & I-94, Michigan
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
HA!
is that why i have such a problem with them working all day every day for over 2 years now! ya know, there happens to be over-current protection on every circuit in that car (headlights included). some silly thing the factory did... somehow it never seems to shut off due to my HID'* drawing an "intense amount of amps" . i'm curious, the reference to the ballasts drawing 35 watts, do you think that'* a little or a lot?
in some newer cars it would be a problem. but not because of what your'e referring to.
...works good! lasts long time!
in some newer cars it would be a problem. but not because of what your'e referring to.
...works good! lasts long time!
#13
Member
Posts like a V-Tak
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: 26 mile & I-94, Michigan
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
also
i also wanted to add that i had worries about this before i put them in. but i figured there is protection on the circuit so...what'* the worst that could happen. the wire definitely is not going to melt! lol i can't remember off the top of my head if it is a fuse or a circuit breaker. but i guarantee there is protection on the circuit. if it was a circuit breaker my lights would never warm up, they would blink on and off! if it was a fuse, well....you know the rest so really, the wires are the last thing i would worry about.
#14
DINOSAURUS BOOSTUS
Expert Gearhead
Re: also
Originally Posted by 89SSE
i also wanted to add that i had worries about this before i put them in. but i figured there is protection on the circuit so...what'* the worst that could happen. the wire definitely is not going to melt! lol i can't remember off the top of my head if it is a fuse or a circuit breaker. but i guarantee there is protection on the circuit. if it was a circuit breaker my lights would never warm up, they would blink on and off! if it was a fuse, well....you know the rest so really, the wires are the last thing i would worry about.
Here'* that switch. It got hot enough to melt through the high temp plastic.
Your older car may be different as metioned before. You may be lucky so far. I honestly do not know, what I am positive about is the ability to melt wires and items through heat. You may not blow anything before the wires melt. Whenever possible follow the manfacturers instructions on how to install aftermarket devices. Remembering our cars were not designed for the equipment originally.
#15
Member
Posts like a V-Tak
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: 26 mile & I-94, Michigan
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
magic smoke
wow, looks like you let the magic smoke out of your switch! was that from your HID lights or did something else cause that? i'm curious, what kind of ballasts did you have? there are some cheap ballasts out there that do not have much protection and will fry themselves. I've got Denso ballasts. They're pretty smart and won't kill themselves, they shut down if they detect any problems... I've also heard that Hella and Osram (Sylvania) have good ballasts, I don't know of anything else, but I would probably stay away from cheap off brand ballasts... Maybe that'* why it overloaded your switch/harness. As for WHY the fuse did not blow, I have no idea. I suppose it could be drawing near maximum current from the fuse, which would not cause the fuse to blow, or it could have been a defective fuse. I've seen that before also. especially when you're drawing near the current limit, i've seen the fusible element do all sorts of things..including glow red hot, catch the plastic around it on fire, all sorts of bad things! If you have a good ballast you shouldn't have to worry about any of the wiring in your car. cheap ballast owners....it'* a gamble i guess! but the illumination sure is awesome! lol
#16
DINOSAURUS BOOSTUS
Expert Gearhead
Re: magic smoke
Originally Posted by 89SSE
wow, looks like you let the magic smoke out of your switch! was that from your HID lights or did something else cause that? i'm curious, what kind of ballasts did you have? there are some cheap ballasts out there that do not have much protection and will fry themselves. I've got Denso ballasts. They're pretty smart and won't kill themselves, they shut down if they detect any problems... I've also heard that Hella and Osram (Sylvania) have good ballasts, I don't know of anything else, but I would probably stay away from cheap off brand ballasts... Maybe that'* why it overloaded your switch/harness. As for WHY the fuse did not blow, I have no idea. I suppose it could be drawing near maximum current from the fuse, which would not cause the fuse to blow, or it could have been a defective fuse. I've seen that before also. especially when you're drawing near the current limit, i've seen the fusible element do all sorts of things..including glow red hot, catch the plastic around it on fire, all sorts of bad things! If you have a good ballast you shouldn't have to worry about any of the wiring in your car. cheap ballast owners....it'* a gamble i guess! but the illumination sure is awesome! lol
My point is, it doesn't take much and fuses/circuit breakers might not trip. Just basically be careful. We'd hate to see your car get burned up.
#17
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Re: magic smoke
Originally Posted by 89SSE
wow, looks like you let the magic smoke out of your switch! was that from your HID lights or did something else cause that?
One classic case occurs regularly in GM cars of the '70s to '80s in the high-speed blower wiring harness under the hood, in an in-line connector in the power lead between the alternator and the high-speed blower bypass relay on the firewall. The symptom is an A/C-heater fan that works in all speed settings except High: lower speeds run through the resistor pack; High speed runs through the bypass relay. The high current flow causes the in-line harness connector to melt. (The current draw is even higher as the blower motor ages, which aggravates the whole problem.)
-- Andy
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
2000BLKBONNEVILLE
Everything Electrical & Electronic
0
09-10-2009 12:43 PM
ChilinMichael
Everything Electrical & Electronic
2
01-03-2008 11:15 PM