Log in
Register
Reply With Quotewhich headlight side went bad? might be a good time to just upgrade to full relay harness since u r running HID.
so one of my headlights stopped working and i get no voltage on the wires...
i have the 35 watt ddm hid's, im thinking the stock wiring overheated or something like that, how would i go about upgrading the wires? where do they even lead to?
any help would be appreciated im trying to get this fixed asap, cops around here are dicks...
which headlight side went bad? might be a good time to just upgrade to full relay harness since u r running HID.
driver side..
isnt it too late to set up a relay? since it doesnt get any voltage at all?
high beam doesnt work either..
if one side works you can run everything of that side... the relay harness will draw power directly from the battery the send it to both sides; it only needs to connect to one side of the OE headlight wires as a trigger.
oh yea thats true. alright do you know where i can get the relays from?
first check the OE wiring on bad side w/ multi-meter to find out if in fact the wiring is not sending power. how did you test them so far? the reason u wanna check is that it is easier to hook up relay harness to driver side, but you would only have to lengthen one wire (positive fused line to battery) to run it from the passenger side OE wiring. wait, how do you have your JDM's wired? do they work where highs stay on w/ lows when you hit high beam or do they alternate? the reason i'm asking is you may be able to fix all of that now by going to a bi-xenon harness conversion from h4.
when i go highs they toggle they both dont stay on, i would like it to work that way just havent gotten around to it, i kinda hate wiring..
and yes i checked it with a multimeter thats how i know its the stock wiring...
I thought HID's drew less current then regular bulbs?Originally Posted by Reelax
AWD Converted Forward Facing 6466 E85 EVO 8 ECU Powered 2003 Galant
This is exactly why you never just slap on HID's without using a relay. Huge FAIL. I hate it when I go to my buddy's shop and dude's come in left and right for engine work and I see HID's, then I check how they were installed and it's straight plug-n-play.... Big Fuckin Fail. And added to the fact it's also the most unsecure connection too, they get the stupid male spade that came on the Ballast harness and jam it into the stock female H3, that's just not right. Whenever I get HID's for myself or a friend the first thing I do is get rid of all the crimped connectors it came with, and the second thing I do is cut out that POS rubber grommet. OMG, I gotta freakin chill-out....
But seriously get a relay, Whether it's a relay harness from the seller of HID kits or a standard 12 volt relay from your local auto part store or audio shop.
What you need to do here is first unplug both headlight harnesses from anything they have attached. Then get your meter and test your low beam on both sides, and then the high beam. When testing either side use a ground on the car and not the harness. Whichever side doesn't meter out replace fuse. Then check the condition of your ground. Once you have everything working decently, verify that you HID's work and re-install using a relay or relay harness. I can show you how to wire a relay if you want. Also What type of HID's you got, plain single beam, dual beam with HID low and halogen high, or the tilting Bixenons?
If you don't have the Bi-Xenon's I strongly suggest you get these
http://www.vvme.com/search-result?ma...1&option_31=-1
The standard kit for 58.99 will do and it will come with everything you need to avoid this again.
I know DDM is the place for HID's trust I have bought from both and I'm happy with both, except now if you order from DDM it takes 2-3 wks for delivery when it used to take 2-3 days. VVME has never taken more than a week for me. I hate waiting as much as I hate Plug-n-Play connections.
That's partially true, they run at less wattage but it's the start-up that frys up wires. That is why it's safest to use a relay.
Last edited by oakrdrs187; 07-03-2011 at 01:20 AM
thanks for the info, i will get to work tomorrow, do you know where the fuse would be located?
cause i looked in the dash and there is just one fuse with a picture of a light and it was a good fuse so iunno maybe the wires are fried not sure..
Underhood fuse box
yes and no. they run less amps when allready warmed up and running (around 3-4amps per 35w ballast), as compared to incandescent (5amps per 55w bulb), but during HID ignition/warmup, they have a HUGE, yet very short, increased draw compared to incandescent. the stock wiring and circuitry was never meant to supply the high amps (up to 20amps per ballast) and voltage jump (20,000+ volts!) required during ignition/warmup, so it can "starve" one side during ignition/warmup as the other ballast monopolizes the juice that the stock wiring can deliver... this is the number one reason ballasts flicker then die and usually it is one side that will die habitually (the side that gets starved).
a relay harness solves this by delivering current directly from the battery to the ballasts through heavy gauge wiring with only a tiny draw from the stock wiring to activate the relay(s).
Last edited by Reelax; 07-03-2011 at 02:31 AM
^^^ I really couldn't have put this better myself.
18 gauge is sufficient right?
i got it all wired up but i figured out i wired the relays wrong, ill fix it tomorrow and put up some pics, i also put a diode in between the low beam and high beam so hopefully my lows will stay on with the highs :D thats the goal anyway.
make sure the diode is on the trigger wires (the wires that attach to the OE side) not on the wires that power the ballasts (from the relay)... if you put the diode on those high current wires, it will burn out.
Huge mistakes dude. 18 is not enough, more like 12 awg. And to have the highs stay with lows use another relay not a diode, shit will just fry.
I just noticed you have jdm heads. You should get a bixenon harness to solve your relay issue and high beams on with lows. It will work just perfect for you since it draws directly from the battery with heavy awg wire and has another built in relay to allow you to retain lows with highs.
i did use another relay and i got a diode in between the relays... less wires.
oh yea forgot to mention the cause of all this mess was a faulty ballast..
kept blowing the fuse. should i send it back to ddm or what?
edit: shit are you serious i really need more than 18 gauage? i might have to re do everything then...
Last edited by dknight3; 07-04-2011 at 03:34 AM
Good luck with dealing with DDM, their shipping slowed way down. And yes dude 18 gague is only good for trigger wires. The ballast plugs are about 14 awg. Be safe.
If you get the bixenon harness that'll run you less than 20the bucks everythin will be plug and play with correct size wiring. Only thing is the high beam you'll have to wire the highs directly too the stock harness.
got it all working good :D
Posting Rules
2003 Mitsubishi Galant ES
Bookmarks