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Need some help with HiDs. Electrical guru's please help.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by BreitrthnU, May 28, 2015.

  1. BreitrthnU

    BreitrthnU Can you smell the premix?

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    My passenger hid comes in when it wants to. I typically have to turn the lights on and off to make them come on, but even after that it may still shut off.

    A little story of how I think it happened. A while ago I bought jdm bumper DRLs and tapped them into the factory DRLs. They weren't the same colors so I decided to tap into the parking light. because it matched the color of my headlights. It didn't work or have enough power I don't know. It did however blow my ballast For the pass side as that's the side I was working on. Put stock headlights on they both worked no problem. Bought a cheap ballast of Amazon for the pass side it worked then 2 months. down the line i realized it was not working 100%. Changed out the ballast again and it's still the same issue. I have a feeing I messed something up in the car itself. Any suggestions.

    Ps sorry for the long story.
     
    #1 BreitrthnU, May 28, 2015
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    In your long post there is never any mention of a relay or relays.

    Good electrical wiring employs relays that only use tapped wires as signal sources to switch/activate the relay, which in turn, draws power from a power source like a battery or fuse block.

    I suspect you aren't getting adequate current by tapping into the parking light or DRL circuits, which typically operate at much lower current draws than your lowbeam headlight circuit. Which by the way, shouldn't be used without a relay to drive HID ballasts either.
     
    #2 xliderider, May 28, 2015
  3. BreitrthnU

    BreitrthnU Can you smell the premix?

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    My question isn't about the DRLs. It's about my HID not staying on all the time. On the DRLs though they did work when tapped to the factory DRLs. But not on the parking light which I understand. I need my hid to function as normal but can't figure out the culprit.
     
    #3 BreitrthnU, May 29, 2015
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Check your ground points for good, clean contact.

    You can also try swapping your bulbs from side to side to see if the problem follows the bulb. If the problem stays on the passenger side, then you can try swapping the ballasts from side to side.
     
    #4 xliderider, May 29, 2015
  5. BreitrthnU

    BreitrthnU Can you smell the premix?

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    so the ballast is brand new which i thought was the reason why i bought a new one. i haven't tried swapping the bulb yet, which is def a good point. Im guessing that when i have my stock headlights in and there are not flickering its not a power issue. The HIDs ran fine for 2 years until i messed with the extra lighting, so I know its not a situation where I need one of those adapters for the HIDS. will check the bulbs out this weekend. Thanks for the help
     
    #5 BreitrthnU, May 29, 2015
  6. BlzzPrl2010

    BlzzPrl2010 New Member

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    I'm sure you have either a defective bulb/ballast. Happens all of the time with aftermarket HIDs. I brought a new HID kit off ebay a few years ago for my old car. Right out of the box they were defective, bulb was bad so it would decided to not turn on when I wanted it to. Ballast are still good, but they're full of sand(that's what they fill them with so they feel heavy).
     
    #6 BlzzPrl2010, May 30, 2015
  7. BreitrthnU

    BreitrthnU Can you smell the premix?

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    Just a little update I swapped the ballast from my right to left. and it followed the ballast. So I thought I had it solved and it was the ballast even though it was a warranty just sent back to me. Then I took that same ballast and plugged it into my camry that also has HIDS, It flickered a couple of times, but came on normally. It definitely had a higher success rate when I repeatedly turned the headlight on and off. Most of the time it came right on a very few times it had a one second delay compared to the ones that were already in the camry. So do you guys still think its the ballast?

    I put the stock headlights back in the prius and they work normally.
     
    #7 BreitrthnU, Jun 8, 2015
  8. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

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    Life is short. Other projects are waiting for you. This ballast is wonky. Get rid of it.
     
    #8 kenmce, Jun 12, 2015
  9. DaneH5

    DaneH5 Member

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    I think you answered it early on when you said you bought a cheap ballast replacement. If problem followed the ballast then the ballast is it!
     
    #9 DaneH5, Jun 12, 2015
  10. BreitrthnU

    BreitrthnU Can you smell the premix?

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    Ok I think its the ballast. I had another ballast that was brand new that I installed and it works fine now. Ive checked them 3 days in a row and it comes on. I buy my HID kits from DDM tuning I have these lights in my 2010 camry which I got new in 2009. I have them installed in headlights and fogs and have been running like a champ for 6 years now. It was 3 years in my prius and I'm the one that caused the ballast to go bad. What I think happened is that DDM tuning has a lifetime warranty and when you send on in they send you back a refurbished one and thats why Im having the problem.
     
    #10 BreitrthnU, Jun 13, 2015
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