My new HIDs wont light...

[Danjelo]

Just gor my HID kit today and ran down to install them. Everything fits right off.
The lights work fine before the installation, but the HIDs dont work with the truck. When I reconnect the origional lights everything works fine again. There is no way to make connections wrong since all the connectors match. The HIDs are standard 35w 6000K. I changed the fuses for the low beams to 20A. Could there be too little start-up power for the ballasts? Anybody got any ideas as to whats wrong?:umn:

 

[Getwired]

Did your kit come with a fused wiring harness with a relay to connect to the stock headlamp connector? You're risking damage to your electrical system unless you run your HID kit on dedicated wiring... Seems that most HIDs have an "inrush" load exceeding 13A. If the vehicle's electrical system cannot supply that much power (regardless of what fuse you've installed), then the ballast can't do it's job, and you can melt your factory wiring. I've heard of some people using HIDs just fine on factory wiring, and others with horror stories.

Read this excellent write up on how to make a harness. Or, I'm sure you can find one on eBay as well, like any of these.

Good luck!

 

[Danjelo]

No the kit did not come with this...
I've had no problems with starting my ballasts on previous cars with similar kits though.
From what I read, I think prolonged use without a harness causes problems with the ballasts and bulbs. The cars system IS fused at 20A. Shouldnt the kit at least LIGHT?

 

[bzbatl]

I just got some $70 cheapies from ebay for my wife's car. The listing says:

# xact size and fitting to your OEM power source. Polarity insensitive, therefore you can not "fry" the Ballast. Full-proof positive (+) & negative (-) specific connection.
# Fully sealed. Full function DC 12V (9-16 volts).

You think this is still an issue with this kit? I'd rather not have to Frankenstein fit together different harnesses, but I'd certainly like the added protection of knowing that I won't be spending hundreds getting her headlights fixed.

Found another harness for $17 shipped:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...m=190190496195&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009

 

[bzbatl]

No the kit did not come with this...
I've had no problems with starting my ballasts on previous cars with similar kits though.
From what I read, I think prolonged use without a harness causes problems with the ballasts and bulbs. The cars system IS fused at 20A. Shouldnt the kit at least LIGHT?

You got a multimeter? If not, go to Radio Shack (or even Wal-Mart has a cheap one in the automotive section) and get one.

Is the thing actually getting power?

 

[Danjelo]

It should be getting power since the regular bulb has it...

 

[Getwired]

Any way to test the kit's components on another vehicle? I dunno what's up, other than not enough current being supplied to the ballasts, or defective component(s).

 

[Danjelo]

Shouldnt I be able to test the ballasts right on a battery?

 

[Getwired]

Yes, you could carefully jumper the ballast to the + and - terminals if you have the right connector to connect it to on the ballast end. Just make sure your ignitor (if you have a separate one) and HID bulb are connected to the ballast first. Be very careful, as there is high voltage output from the ballast. Make sure your jumper wire is 12 gauge or thicker.

Good luck!

 

[boostaholic]

May have the polarities reversed, I had mine corrected the way the kit stated and they wouldn't light up. I switched the plug 180 and they have worked fine ever since with no issues or failures.

 

[chad_towns]

I had the same problem with my muculloch system. You have to reverse the postive and negative wires that attach to the original bulb harness. Then they will work. Happened with a co-workers set-up and he did what I told him and it worked for him as well.

 

[Danjelo]

This WAS actually the case with mine too! I feel like a real idiot, but I just couldn't see in my wildest dreams that the polarities were reversed. Now they work great and all is well!

 

[Dahlar]

May have the polarities reversed, I had mine corrected the way the kit stated and they wouldn't light up. I switched the plug 180 and they have worked fine ever since with no issues or failures.

. On chevy/gmc you need to rotate the connector and have plug latch on to the square notch instead of the sloped one on the ballast.

 

[sethm]

i had to change the stock plugs on mine were doing the same thing as yours i just went to a jukyard and got 2 replaced them now no problems but i have 10k