HID's Will Not Start...

[rayDC2R]

So I've got a new set of HID's brand new from the box. I'm replacing my old kit as one of the bulbs don't work, so I thought the cheaper alternative was to buy a whole new 'cheap' kit.

I hook up one side, switch it on and it kind of buzzes while flickering very very fast for one second, then it just turns off... as if there's not enough power or something to start it up... however... the driver's side that I have my old kit on still works and starts up fine.

So I go to get the other one and try to install on the passenger side again, and it still does the same thing while my old kit driver's side still works fine. I remove my old kit on driver's side and replace with one of the new kits and it does the same thing, buzzes a few seconds and then goes off. But after it goes off, my alarm then beeps at me... the same sound it makes when I leave a door open and arm it. But I don't even touch the alarm remote at all.

I hook up my old kit to driver's side again and it works fine... So it seems my 30A fuse is still good... Last time, with my old kit on the passenger, I just switched the bulb from driver's side and it worked on passenger side so I don't think it has anything to do with passenger side being dodgy.

Any ideas anyone? Has anyone experienced this before? Do we have any electricians in the house?

[Type R]

most of HIDs are not interchangable.

buy or replace as a whole is the only way

[kavehman]

i dont understand what your testing and how you have done it, can you maybe clarify.

You could have a faulty ballast, or ur stock wiring may be the problem ?

[freakygeek]

Sounds like a faulty ballast on the side that flashes but doesn't ignite... I had a ballast fail in the same way once.

Try putting a known good bulb onto that ballast and confirm the problem. Your testing seems very random and not a process of elimination (unless I am reading your post incorrectly).

most of HIDs are not interchangable.

buy or replace as a whole is the only way

Not true, if you have 35w bulbs like most kits have, generally the only difference is the connectors from Ballast > Bulb. Problem is that much of this cheaply made crap on the market (particularly bulbs) are made with poor/no quality control so you never know what you're getting.

Stick with Philips/Osram bulbs in your HID setups, along with a decent brand OEM quality ballasts and you will have far fewer problems.

[rayDC2R]

Let me explain it again as nobody seems to have read it and understood correctly... okay from the very beginning...

One day my passenger side hid stopped working, but driver side still worked. As a process of elimination to figure out what was wrong with my original set of hid's, I took the driver side bulb (known working bulb) and plugged into passenger side, and it worked perfectly fine on passenger side. So we can conclude that it was the bulb at fault... right? It also shows that the OEM wiring is not at fault because changing the bulb from driver's side worked on the passenger side.

So what I did was, instead of buying replacement bulb for my current hid's, I went and bought brand new kit with ballasts and all...

The new kit came and I removed my set from passenger side and installed brand new kit, but left the known working old kit on the driver's side. When I switch lights on, my old kit on the driver's side still worked, but I get the new kit on passenger side buzzing then turning off after a second.

So next step, I took the other brand new ballast and bulb and tried installing in passenger side. This had the same effect as the other new ballast and bulb set.

All this time, my old kit on the driver's side is still plugged in and working like a charm.

I then took one of the new kits that didn't work on the passenger side to the driver's side. I unplugged my old kit on that side (which was working) and plugged in the new kit and it just buzzed and turned off - same symptom. I remove new kit and plug my old one back into driver's side and the old kit works like a charm... so this means the problem is not my OEM wiring as my old kit still works on both passenger and drivers side.

So the problem obviously lies somewhere else... whether the new kit I bought is just DOA (but both of them have the same symptom), or whether it is another problem such as maybe there's not enough voltage to power the new kit... or something else... and this is where you guys step in to try and help me figure it out.

[tegDC2R]

ok have you try to measure the voltage at passenger head yet? it should be 12v, also check the negative terminal too

[freakygeek]

Are you using a relay switched wiring harness? Or just the factory headlight connector directly into the HID ballast?

Sounds like your new HID kit is faulty if you can't get any of the ballasts/bulbs to work on either side of the wiring in your car.

Are the bulb connectors the same for the new and old kits? ie. Can you try the known working bulb from your old kit on one of the new ballasts?

[rayDC2R]

ok have you try to measure the voltage at passenger head yet? it should be 12v, also check the negative terminal too

no i havent checked voltage, but like i said, my old kit on passenger side works fine using known working bulb...

and which neg terminal? what am i looking for?

[rayDC2R]

Are you using a relay switched wiring harness? Or just the factory headlight connector directly into the HID ballast?

Sounds like your new HID kit is faulty if you can't get any of the ballasts/bulbs to work on either side of the wiring in your car.

Are the bulb connectors the same for the new and old kits? ie. Can you try the known working bulb from your old kit on one of the new ballasts?

oem factory connector...

unfortunately the connectors are different between my old and new kits... so can't test it that way...

i also think the new ballasts are just doa... but thought someone may have had the same experience and knows the resolution.

[MrThanh]

are you turning on the lights with the engine on? if not, try starting the engine and then switching on the lights. some ballasts are not very efficient and try and draw a lot more current than others (i.e. el-cheapo shit).

[rayDC2R]

i tried tonight to start the engine first then switching on lights but still no good...

[kavehman]

i think u answered ur own question man, ur e bay kit is faulty