HID's failing

dnsherrill

dnsherrill

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I put my first set of HID's in my brown Mark VIII low beams about 7 months ago: VVME's, slim 4300's w/ relay. About 6 weeks ago my head lights (both sides) shut off then came back after about 3-5 seconds (it was raining). Last night they went dead, then came back pretty much the entire time i was driving- it was not raining. There seems to be no predictability to it. Today, in the rain, more of the same.
Could there be any other problem than the ballasts are on the way out? I think they are still under warranty.
 
That's weird..I have those identicle brand HIDs in my car..same 4300k bulbs with slim balasts too and I've never had a problem with them..they light up everytime and I drive the car everyday. I only had one instance where one of the bulbs began flickering but that's when my alternator started taking a sh*t and it wasn't putting out enough voltage. Put in a rebuilt alternator and they worked perfectly again. I'd say return them and get a replacement kit..bulbs and balasts. By the way I didn't put in a relay..doubt that makes a difference but mine work fine without one.
 
was yours flickering on one side or both? I do have an aftermarket alt that I put in <12 months ago...I would think that if the alt was questinable the relay would cancel that overcome the marginal supply levels
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initially I had HID's in both hi and low beams, and had no problems, I recently put halogens back in the brights, so i should have lower demands from my headlights now
 
Lights

A few months ago I installed a kit on my 95, 8000K,35 w. In the morning my wife backs out of the garage, and it seems when she shifts from R to D the lights almost go off and come back on. I,m thinking it might have something to do with the auto light control. I,ll have her turn the lights on manually next week and then I,ll know.
 
Only one headlight was flickering when the alternator went bad..if I remember right it may have actually went out for a few minutes on my drive to work in the morning..I put in the rebuilt alternator right after than so it never did it again. BUT if you use the auto lamps this may be part of the problem..I read on here before I put the lsc lenses and hid kit in that some cars may experience problems with one headlight not lighting up due to voltage drops when you have the auto lamp on. I have never used the auto lamp feature and don't desire to..I like being able to turn my lights on and off when I please..plus I want to save my headlight chrome from burning. Also I know most aftermarket alternators do not fair well in mark viiis, lots of guys have problems with them which is why I went with a rebuilt ford alternator instead of cheap sh*t.
 
Im surprised people actually use auto lamps. I can't stand that feature. Anyway I cant really give you a solid indication of what the problem is. However, my 2 cents is this. double check your grounds make sure they are clean and proper. Then go from their. My new set of lights have not done this to me yet that im aware of. however my old set did it all the time. never did resolve it :) so good luck. I am curious to know what the actual issue is and what your resolve for it is.
 
I'm gonna remake the + BAT connection, and double check/clean grounds...I also don't use auto lamp dial/sw; the alt I put in is new and from DB Electrical, several guys here recommended that brand....
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so b/c both sides go out completely and together, that suggests it might not be a problem with the device (ballasts)? I believe the two sides are energized in series: i.e. the drivers side is plugged into the car's headlight plug on that side then it runs to the pass side, and the + relay goes to the + BAT (I just loosened the ring and jammed the relay wire end inside then tightened it) it's looks secure and has been working previously, but is half-ass nonetheless
 
lts

This morning I had the wife turn on the lights manually and back out of the garage. The lights worked perfectly, never missed a beat. It could be the sensor gets confused going from a dark garage to almost daylight. Loss of voltage sounds like might be the problem.
 
Sounds like your relay that's plugged into the relay wire has moisture in it or water in it. I had a similar issue with mine, lost lights completely and it turned out my relay had water in it due to not mounting it with the connector down and it filled with water. check the relay and fuse that are on your relay wire

You could also try hooking the lights up separately with out the relay wire and see if they fire up, the hid kit should have came with a wire to hook ballast directly to car (most kits do). The wire is usually attached to the bulbs with that rubber gromet.
 
thaywood said:
I LOVE my auto headlights!! I HATE having to manually turn a knob to turn on my headlights :D This is a Lincoln dangit!! It's "What A Luxury Car Should Be"!! But seriously, auto headlights are freakin' awesome!! I am so spoiled...
Click to expand...

I too am a fan of al's. Makes life just that much easier.
 
here's some photos of the wiring, doesn't look like the relay is poorly located, but maybe it is?
P4300313_zpsa0c832c6.jpg

relay:
P4300314_zps26fcefb3.jpg

relay at battery:
P4300316_zpsb61d0fe5.jpg

the relay fuse is under the core support
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grounds on core support:
P4300320_zps7629d272.jpg

P4300321_zps0d9a5d7f.jpg
 
Did you prep the grounds on the core support or did you just push in the wire and tighten the bolt down?

I'd run both to the factory grounds.

Ground directly to the left of where it is now.

P4300320_zps1e869f4e.gif


Ground directly to the right of where it is now.

P4300313_zps3ff2eee0.gif
 
grab a dremel and sand the ground spots or use sandpaper or a wire brush or something. make sure thats clean bare metal. also whats the point of a relay?
 
Relay is so you can pull power straight from the battery and not through the headlight switch that likes to burn up.
 
today I relocated the grounds per suggested by lownslow/SB...so far so good, looks like that was the cause for failure
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also had another grim realization: for awhile now I've been wondering why the reflective coating on the pass side low beam was cooking off. It was in EXCELLENT condition when I put these on my car with the HID's...the driver side still looks excellent. At some point later (prolly when I replaced the grill) I put an oversized screw (from the fender liner) in the chrome brow just above the pass side lo beam bucket. I'm thinking I pierced it and caused the deterioration :Bang
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the light projected from that side is HORRIBLE...too low and totally focused like a spot light
 
update:
looks like i was prematurely optimistic: relocating the grounds did not solve my issue. Upon more driving time, they're still going out/coming back randomly. Next effort will be to remove the relay, maybe that it's causing my FAIL
 
I took out the relay several days ago; the lights are functioning normal now. I've been in touch w/ the distributor: VVME- the whole kit is 8 months old and is supposed to be warrantied for 12 months. They refuse to send a replacement and offered to sell me another relay for $11.
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:q that, I'm taking my business elsewhere
 
dnsherrill said:
today I relocated the grounds per suggested by lownslow/SB...so far so good, looks like that was the cause for failure
Click to expand...

dnsherrill said:
update:
looks like i was prematurely optimistic: relocating the grounds did not solve my issue. Upon more driving time, they're still going out/coming back randomly. Next effort will be to remove the relay, maybe that it's causing my FAIL
Click to expand...

It was worth a shot. :)

dnsherrill said:
I took out the relay several days ago; the lights are functioning normal now. I've been in touch w/ the distributor: VVME- the whole kit is 8 months old and is supposed to be warrantied for 12 months. They refuse to send a replacement and offered to sell me another relay for $11.
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:q that, I'm taking my business elsewhere
Click to expand...

Haven't purchased anything from them before, but I'll be sure to put it on my "Do not buy from" list. These (or any) hid relays seem to cause more problems than there worth.
 
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