Distribution Box(engine compartment)

[01LSVT]

So I'm going to install an HID kit this weekend. The kit I bought seems to have a higher demand for start-up wattage, because they don't do anything but flicker, and then shut off. So I bought a relay harness which normally hooks directly to the battery. In the case of the LS, I'm looking to tie straight into the distribution box. I'm no electrical guru, so I'm looking for advice. This harness has a connector, similar to the right end of what is pictured below. How can I tie this to the distribution box? Do I need to cut the connector off and wire/heat shrink directly into a wire coming off of the distribution box? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!
Mark

 

[02V8Sport]

If they flicker and go off that means you have cheap digital ballasts. I had the same issue and ended up using them on my fog lights instead. I used analog ballasts on the headlights and no flicker. A good HID set with bulbs and ballasts will run you over $300.

 

[01LSVT]

If they flicker and go off that means you have cheap digital ballasts. I had the same issue and ended up using them on my fog lights instead. I used analog ballasts on the headlights and no flicker. A good HID set with bulbs and ballasts will run you over $300.

Flickering does not mean that the ballasts are cheap. Regardless, that's not the answer I was looking for, but thanks.

Mark

 

[JWerner2]

If they flicker and go off that means you have cheap digital ballasts. I had the same issue and ended up using them on my fog lights instead. I used analog ballasts on the headlights and no flicker. A good HID set with bulbs and ballasts will run you over $300.

+1! It does mean the ballast is cheap OR defective. Sorry that we cant provide with the proper information but they shouldn't do that.


Go on HIDplanet.com they can help you out a lot!

 

[01LSVT]

+1! It does mean the ballast is cheap OR defective. Sorry that we cant provide with the proper information but they shouldn't do that.


Go on HIDplanet.com they can help you out a lot!

I went to HIDplanet.com. According to what I found(pasted below), it's not accurate to say that it's definitely a faulty ballast. I've read several people have this same issue, and a relay harness(which should be used anyway) solved their problem. I'm just looking for insight on where I should hook into with the battery being located in the trunk.

My HID system does not turn on the bulbs, or bulbs flashes/flickers, or needs the engine to run.

* Start power is up to 13Amps. If power is fed from stock wiring, a voltage drop will happen and 12volt system voltage at ballast goes under 9volts. Install wiring harness as decribed below.

* If you have a proper wiring harness installed, look for corrosion in contact elements.

* If bulb, ignitor or ballast is of non OEM quality(typically HID kits), some or all parts will break within 3 years.

* If you have quality HID parts, you could swap parts from one side of the car to the other. Downside of doing this is that a any defective component can destroy other perfectly working parts.

 

[2000 LS]

Try running a power cable from the battery up to the front to power the relays (1 per side), 8 gauge maybe? Parts Express has some 8 gauge for .59 a ft. I think I used 10 gauge on the kit for my truck but that was a lot shorter distance to run.

Unless anyone else wants to let us know what they did to get them running off somewhere in the front thats what I would do.

 

[02V8Sport]

Good Luck! I had the same issue. Ran a 10 gauge wire right to the battery and my cheap digital ballasts still flickered. The LS has a module to control the headlights and it just shuts them down. I was only able to get HID's to work with a analog ballast w/o spending $300+ on a good digital kit.

 

[JWerner2]

:lol:

Yup, god luck wiring your " plug and play retro fit kit " to your distribution box!

 

[skizot722]

So I'm going to install an HID kit this weekend. The kit I bought seems to have a higher demand for start-up wattage, because they don't do anything but flicker, and then shut off. So I bought a relay harness which normally hooks directly to the battery. In the case of the LS, I'm looking to tie straight into the distribution box. I'm no electrical guru, so I'm looking for advice. This harness has a connector, similar to the right end of what is pictured below. How can I tie this to the distribution box? Do I need to cut the connector off and wire/heat shrink directly into a wire coming off of the distribution box? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!
Mark

Can you post the picture? I built my own relay harness and wired it to the distribution box. There's no need to run a wire from the battery all the way up. I will try to see if I've got pictures at home, but basically there's a 4 gauge wire with a ring terminal on the end of it that's bolted to the distribution box (that's where the main power for that box comes from). All you need is a 10 gauge wire with a ring terminal on the end to slide through that main bolt, and you're good to go.

 

[skizot722]

Here's a picture of my 10 gauge wire coming out of the Auxiliary Junction Box (the thing you're calling distribution box, I believe). You just pop open the lid, and you'll see the bolt and 4 gauge wire I was referring to.

 

[JWerner2]

skizot, didnt you use OE HID's in your project?

Not sure if that would make a difference or not. Just thought I would ask

 

[skizot722]

skizot, didnt you use OE HID's in your project?

Not sure if that would make a difference or not. Just thought I would ask

Yup, I used OEM ballasts, bulbs, and projectors with my set-up. But, cheaper ballasts do tend to draw more juice on start-up. So, that's all the more reason to use a relay harness.

01LSVT, you should still build/buy a relay harness, but another thing to check out is to make sure that you've got a good ground.

 

[01LSVT]

Skizot, THANK YOU! You are the MAN! I appreciate someone giving reasonable answers and not stating that "it can't be done." I did see that bolt, which looks like it can be taken out with a socket or a phillips screwdriver. The way the lid closes over it so tight, I thought "that can't be it!" :Bang
I actually have a relay harness, which is why I started this thread. Just hooking up the HID kit alone caused the lights to just flicker and go out. So I bought the relay, and now I'm looking for a way to cleanly install it. Your setup looks nice! I'll let you know how everything turns out.

Thanks again, Skizot.

Mark

 

[JWerner2]

No one said it cant be done! We are trying to explain that their is a high possibility of it not fixing your problem. Think about what 02V8sport is trying to tell you!

 

[skizot722]

Skizot, THANK YOU! You are the MAN! I appreciate someone giving reasonable answers and not stating that "it can't be done." I did see that bolt, which looks like it can be taken out with a socket or a phillips screwdriver. The way the lid closes over it so tight, I thought "that can't be it!" :Bang
I actually have a relay harness, which is why I started this thread. Just hooking up the HID kit alone caused the lights to just flicker and go out. So I bought the relay, and now I'm looking for a way to cleanly install it. Your setup looks nice! I'll let you know how everything turns out.

Thanks again, Skizot.

Mark

One quick question before you install everything in the car. Have you tried hooking everything up to the battery directly? Hook bulbs up to the ballasts, and the ballasts up to the harness. Then take the ground from the harness, and the +12V and hook that up to your battery using some jumper cables. I had a spare battery in my garage, so this was pretty easy for me. If you're going to use the battery in your trunk for this, you might disconnect the vehicle's positive and negative cables before testing. That shouldn't be necessary; I'm just paranoid and like to be on the safe side.

The lights should fire right up. If they don't, then there's probably something wrong with the ballasts (less likely to be something wrong with the bulbs themselves).

 

[01LSVT]

No sweat, Jwerner. I'm all about hearing from people who have experience with something that I don't. I don't need things sugar coated, but I was hoping to hear a little combination of Skizot's post and 02V8Sport's posts, saying "here is where you can run the positive wire, BUT, you may still have issues with a digital ballast." Regardless, I'm just glad Skizot understood what I was asking and came through huge!

With as many HID threads get started in this forum, we should maybe try and put together a sticky? That picture alone, along with a little explanation of buying a relay harness could save a ton of headaches of future HID buyers.

Mark

 

[skizot722]

Good Luck! I had the same issue. Ran a 10 gauge wire right to the battery and my cheap digital ballasts still flickered. The LS has a module to control the headlights and it just shuts them down. I was only able to get HID's to work with a analog ballast w/o spending $300+ on a good digital kit.

What module are you referring to? If he uses the relay harness, his set-up will not be the same as what you are referring to, as the stock headlight wires (only one is needed, passenger or driver side) will just be used as a trigger for the relays.

 

[01LSVT]

One quick question before you install everything in the car. Have you tried hooking everything up to the battery directly? Hook bulbs up to the ballasts, and the ballasts up to the harness. Then take the ground from the harness, and the +12V and hook that up to your battery using some jumper cables. I had a spare battery in my garage, so this was pretty easy for me. If you're going to use the battery in your trunk for this, you might disconnect the vehicle's positive and negative cables before testing. That shouldn't be necessary; I'm just paranoid and like to be on the safe side.

The lights should fire right up. If they don't, then there's probably something wrong with the ballasts (less likely to be something wrong with the bulbs themselves).

Good idea! I'll definitely try that out before installing everything. Nothing like getting everything installed to find out you STILL have a problem. I'll reply in this thread as soon as I try everything out.

Mark

 

[01LSVT]

For anyone that cares, I got the HID's installed, and everything works perfectly! I used the same positive lead location that Skizot did, and made my own ground with a small hole that was already drilled in the sheet metal. Everything is very well hidden, with the only things visible are the positive wire coming off the box, and a very small sliver of each ballast.

I'll update this thread after a while with the longevity of this kit. For anyone interested, this kit was $40 + $12 shipping, from www.ddmtuning.com. They also came with a life time warranty. The relay harness was $24 shipped off of ebay. $76 total to my door, not bad! It's snowing like a whore right now so I'll take pics when the weather clears up. Thanks to everyone that helped!

Mark

 

[JWerner2]

How was the order and dealing with the company? I heard horror stories on HIDplanet about those guys but mostly over the holidays.

 

[skizot722]

For anyone that cares, I got the HID's installed, and everything works perfectly! I used the same positive lead location that Skizot did, and made my own ground with a small hole that was already drilled in the sheet metal. Everything is very well hidden, with the only things visible are the positive wire coming off the box, and a very small sliver of each ballast.

I'll update this thread after a while with the longevity of this kit. For anyone interested, this kit was $40 + $12 shipping, from www.ddmtuning.com. They also came with a life time warranty. The relay harness was $24 shipped off of ebay. $76 total to my door, not bad! It's snowing like a whore right now so I'll take pics when the weather clears up. Thanks to everyone that helped!

Mark

Glad you got them working.

 

[01LSVT]

How was the order and dealing with the company? I heard horror stories on HIDplanet about those guys but mostly over the holidays.

It was pretty good, actually. Everywhere I read, there were nothing but great things said about their customer service and support. Their site did say that some items may take longer to ship due to the holidays, so I took that into consideration. When I ordered the Raptor kit, I received a phone call a few days later, letting me know they were on back order and that I could upgrade to the Apexcone if I wanted. Otherwise, it may be another 2 weeks before they get their next shipment in. I waited it out, and they were at my house a little over a week later. The owner of the company seems really involved on bimmerforums.com. For the price and warranty, plus all of the positive feedback, it was a no brainer for me. It wasn't worth it to me to spend $300.

Mark

 

[JWerner2]

Thats strange. Everything I have read was the total opposite. Items weren't shipped, emails weren't replied to.

Some people said they got the wrong bulbs and customer service agents actually denied the fact they either A. got the wrong bulbs or B. it was the bulb that was even put in the order.
Some replacements were even shipped back with the same wrong bulbs.

I would post a link for others to see what Im talking about but you need to be a member at HID planet to view the site