HID FAQ Guide

[dmanns67]

-now that I look at it again, the output isn't terrible with the HIDs, but it's definitely sub par to what you could make on your own.

If there was a definition of terrible output, that pic would accompany it

My wife's F-150 had better output with halogen bulbs and fluted lenses Best case, retro in a REAL HID projector. Take the headlights apart and take measurements to see what you are working with.

If not, I would try to return them or sell them.

 

[Theblackarrow]

If there was a definition of terrible output, that pic would accompany it

My wife's F-150 had better output with halogen bulbs and fluted lenses Best case, retro in a REAL HID projector. Take the headlights apart and take measurements to see what you are working with.

If not, I would try to return them or sell them.

The problem that i really thought to use the old headlights set to do my first retro but figured out that the 2 headlights are not same (probably form the first Owner), one is a Gm made in UK and the other is Depo aftermarket so definitely the original one will gave me a hell of a time to be opened also the internal wires looks really fried in both LOL it's torn and too much work to be done on them so i believe i will be stuck with them till i sell the new set and maybe can figure out something with Aarkon hopefully he can find a way to send a new set to me with a reasonable shipping cost

 

[swede]

Is there any HID kits on the market that have the auto leveling function??

 

[Blckshdw]

Is there any HID kits on the market that have the auto leveling function??

Short answer...

Longer answer... that would be something specific to a vehicle. You'll need sensors, motors/servos, connectors, and computers to run them all together. And on top of that, you need a headlight housing that leaves enough room for everything to fit together and move enough in the necessary directions.

 

[swede]

To bad :-(

 

[Sib]

Ok so Im looking for a little guidance here.

Just got my retro from Ryan the other day (Mini D2S 3.0 with D2H bulbs) and went to install it today. Passenger side headlight was not lighting up so I took the little rubber piece off the bulb in the hopes to get a better connection. Well that worked and the passenger light lit up.

Then I did the same for the driver side, but no dice. I had to connect and reconnect everything probably 50 times.

It has to be a connection of some sort correct? I am running a TRS relay. Do I need two relays with projectors? I am using my 9006 ballast and amp igniter, and I have the D2H bulbs connected to the igniter.

I know its not the ballast or the igniter because I ended up throwing my old headlights in so I can drive home tonight and it all works (9006 HIDs).

Oh, and also, on a side not, I added load resistors to the fronts because Ryan added led strips for my parking/turns. Well the f*cking wires tore on the driver side so I have to resolder those bass terds together now.

Could the parking/turn wires that tore have anything to do with the low beams not turning on? I don't think so, but I'm just grabbing at straws at this point.

 

[Sparky]

Signals and low beams are unrelated, so no worries on that.

If you swap components side to side does that driver bulb not work?

 

[Sib]

Figures . I did not think to do that. I was getting so pissed it wasn't working it never crossed my mind.. I will try that either tonight when I get home or tomorrow. Hopefully I did not get a bad bulb and it is just some sort of connection issue I will be able to figure out tomorrow.

 

[Blckshdw]

You can also try flip flopping the plug going into the ballast. I've seen every once in a while, the 9006 plug on the relay harness have backwards polarity.

 

[Sib]

Ok so I'm still having trouble with the passenger side. I was able to get it to light up, but it won't stay lit up. I got it to light by pulling out fuse 3 (I think it's 3) for the low beam headlight in the under hood fuse box. I pulled that fuse, re-inserted it, and the light turns on, but then turns off after about 15 seconds or so.

I took the passenger side light and hooked it up to the driver side and it lit. I also took the driver side light and hooked it up to the passenger side and it did not light?

Would it be wise to put a 20amp fuse in there to replace the 10amp fuse for the low beam lights? Maybe the projector is using too much power at first and the 10amp fuse can't handle that?

I called TRS today and they said to use some bulb grease to help with the connection, so I did that. They also told me to see if the wires in the connector that goes from the bulb to the igniter is properly seated in each plug. I did check that, but I know that is not the case because as I stated above, when I tried the passenger side light on the driver side, it light up.

These headlights are so sweet I want to get them hooked up to show the world! lol. But seriously, I am at my wits end here.

Anything else I could/should try? I am assuming it has to be a connection problem, but as far as I can tell the bulb is connected properly, the wires that connect the bulb to the igniter are good.

I know the igniter works because when I hook up my 9006 hids they light right up with no issue.

The confusing part is that the bulb lights up for a few seconds after I pull the fuse and re-insert it.

 

[Blckshdw]

Ok so I'm still having trouble with the passenger side. I was able to get it to light up, but it won't stay lit up. I got it to light by pulling out fuse 3 (I think it's 3) for the low beam headlight in the under hood fuse box. I pulled that fuse, re-inserted it, and the light turns on, but then turns off after about 15 seconds or so.

I took the passenger side light and hooked it up to the driver side and it lit. I also took the driver side light and hooked it up to the passenger side and it did not light?

So you confirmed the bulb is not the problem. Therefore the issue must be upstream from the bulb. Next component is the ballasts/igniters. Swap them from side to side.

Would it be wise to put a 20amp fuse in there to replace the 10amp fuse for the low beam lights? Maybe the projector is using too much power at first and the 10amp fuse can't handle that?

This would only be wise if you want to run the risk of starting a fire under your hood. If the fuse gets overloaded, it blows, breaking the circuit, and preventing real damage to expensive components. That is its purpose.

I know the igniter works because when I hook up my 9006 hids they light right up with no issue..

Swap your ballasts or igniters anyway, and see if the odd behavior follows one or the other. That's the only way you're going to figure out where the problem is.

 

[Sib]

So you confirmed the bulb is not the problem. Therefore the issue must be upstream from the bulb. Next component is the ballasts/igniters. Swap them from side to side.

I will do that. Figured since my normal HIDs lit up they should be okay but you're right...at this point it won't hurt.

This would only be wise if you want to run the risk of starting a fire under your hood. If the fuse gets overloaded, it blows, breaking the circuit, and preventing real damage to expensive components. That is its purpose.

Don't need no flames

Swap your ballasts or igniters anyway, and see if the odd behavior follows one or the other. That's the only way you're going to figure out where the problem is.

As stated above I will try that.


Thanks man

 

[Sib]

Ok so here I am again....ugh.

I switched ballasts first, and left igniters on same side. Issue did not follow ballast.

I then switched igniters and the headlight that was working before was not working now, and headlight that was not working, did.

So I switched igniters back to original side but kept ballasts in the new spots. The driver side headlight lit up no problem. I put headlights back in and then I pulled fuse 3 and re-inserted and passenger side light turned on and stayed on for the longest that it has. I know I shouldn't have to keep pulling the fuse but since it worked a little yesterday I thought I'd try it again.

I'm now thinking finally...they work.

I decided to go for a drive on a dark country road to check out the output. I get about 3 miles away and passenger light shuts off.

I get back home and pulled/re-inserted fuse 3 again to check and light turned on after re-inserting. I closed hood and light shuts off.

There has to be an issue with a connection somewhere but I made sure everything was superbly connected, since I've been going thru this over and over the past few days.

I don't know why I didn't do this tonight, but tomorrow I will switch the wire harness that connects bulbs to igniter to see if there is anything there.

If that is not the case, is there anything I am not doing/trying that I should?

 

[Sparky]

Quick question...

Are you driving the HIDs directly off the factory wiring, or are you using a separate wire harness that connects the HIDs direct to the fuse box/battery, with its own fuse, using the factory wiring just to trigger its relay?

It sounds like you're using the factory wiring direct to me. And that can cause you all kinds of ugly issues.

My driver side factory low beam connection triggers the relay harness, which then directly drives both driver and passenger side headlights. The factory passenger headlight connector is not plugged in to anything.

 

[Sib]

I am using TRS HD relay. I bought that when I bought my PnP HIDs from them.

Could the relay harness be going bad?

 

[Sparky]

OK, does that one then have two inputs (passenger and driver side) that each controls their own relay for each side? Many aftermarket relay kits have one relay for both lights. I have a TRS relay set in my Camaro but it has been so long I don't recall how that one hooked up. I do know it has 2 relays though.

Try swapping the TRS harness relays, but leave everything else HID related where it is, and see if the problem stays on one side or follows the swapped relay.

 

[Sib]

OK, does that one then have two inputs (passenger and driver side) that each controls their own relay for each side? Many aftermarket relay kits have one relay for both lights. I have a TRS relay set in my Camaro but it has been so long I don't recall how that one hooked up. I do know it has 2 relays though.

It has 1 input that is hooked up to passenger side light but there are 2 relays.

Try swapping the TRS harness relays, but leave everything else HID related where it is, and see if the problem stays on one side or follows the swapped relay.

Not sure I understand.

 

[littleblazer]

I think he means to just swap the physical relays. [emoji106]

 

[Sib]

Ahh. Gotcha. I'll try that also.

If that doesn't work I'm gonna take everything out and just reinstall it all.

 

[Sparky]

Oh ok, that explains the passenger side connection then and why you're pulling that fuse. Why passenger not driver side? Just has a long wire on the input?

If the relay switch doesn't work I'd be tempted to blame the igniter, except I wouldn't think that would have much to do with the lights once they are already on. I'm not overly familiar with igniters though as all I've had are H1 HID bulbs. Does D2S have extra hardware for some reason?

 

[Sib]

Oh ok, that explains the passenger side connection then and why you're pulling that fuse. Why passenger not driver side? Just has a long wire on the input?

That is correct. I don't remember why fuse 3 tbh. My brain is scattered. Lol. I'm gonna have to start writing this stuff down so I can start making a check list so later on I know what I did.

If the relay switch doesn't work I'd be tempted to blame the igniter, except I wouldn't think that would have much to do with the lights once they are already on. I'm not overly familiar with igniters though as all I've had are H1 HID bulbs. Does D2S have extra hardware for some reason?

I am using D2H bulbs and not D2S. I wanted to use my 9006 ballasts since they were still new (bought around Christmas time) as well as to save me about $100.


If switching wires from bulbs to igniters, switching relays, or reinstalling everything doesn't do anything, I am going to call TRS and see what I need to do as far as warranty for the ballasts goes.

I'm sure I'll eventually figure something out but I'm an impatient SOB at times, especially when I get new goodies like these lights. I'm just not extremely familiar with all this stuff so it's trial and error I guess.

Thanks for the input Sparky. [emoji106]🏻

 

[Blckshdw]

I then switched igniters and the headlight that was working before was not working now, and headlight that was not working, did.

If switching wires from bulbs to igniters, switching relays, or reinstalling everything doesn't do anything, I am going to call TRS and see what I need to do as far as warranty for the ballasts goes.

I'm sure I'll eventually figure something out but I'm an impatient SOB at times, especially when I get new goodies like these lights. I'm just not extremely familiar with all this stuff so it's trial and error I guess.

Honestly, if you found out what it takes to move the problem from one side to the other, and confirmed it's the igniter, I would call TRS with that information right first thing Monday morning. They've been great with CS replacing components for me personally, as well as many other members.

 

[Mounce]

I agree with blckshdw. When you swapped the igniters, the problem followed the igniter. There's your problem. Idk why they work with the 9006's and not the d2h's though. I guess maybe because they're new bulbs.

 

[Sib]

I agree with blckshdw. When you swapped the igniters, the problem followed the igniter. There's your problem. Idk why they work with the 9006's and not the d2h's though. I guess maybe because they're new bulbs.

That is the part that confused me, but maybe it is because they are new.


But, here's what I just got done doing...

I unhooked relay entirely and then reconnected it (to the positive battery terminal, the two grounds, and back into the ballasts).

The passenger light turned on without me having to pull any fuses either . So, I'm sure I'm going to jinx myself, but I took it for a little test drive around my work building, and tried to purposely hit some bumps, and when I pulled back around, light was still working. I re-opened my hood and shut it (went off last night when I did that), and it stayed on this time.

Hopefully, it'll stay this way and I can drive at night without worrying. I will wait to call TRS. If it happens again, I'll give them a shout, but if it works fine, I'm going to let it be.

Thanks for all the insight though fellas.

 

[littleblazer]

That is the part that confused me, but maybe it is because they are new.


But, here's what I just got done doing...

I unhooked relay entirely and then reconnected it (to the positive battery terminal, the two grounds, and back into the ballasts).

The passenger light turned on without me having to pull any fuses either . So, I'm sure I'm going to jinx myself, but I took it for a little test drive around my work building, and tried to purposely hit some bumps, and when I pulled back around, light was still working. I re-opened my hood and shut it (went off last night when I did that), and it stayed on this time.

Hopefully, it'll stay this way and I can drive at night without worrying. I will wait to call TRS. If it happens again, I'll give them a shout, but if it works fine, I'm going to let it be.

Thanks for all the insight though fellas.

Maybe a dirty contact? My passenger side occasionally won't fire, normally if I cycle them quick after driving (accidentally of course) I suspect more so it may be my ground (front cross member thingy, ohmed good and load voltage dropped fine too so idk) Keep an eye on it, test a lot, it would suck to go out on a dark rainy night.

 

[Mounce]

Maybe a flakey ground? Idk. Still weird it worked fine with your current bulbs but said FU to the new ones lol.

 

[Sib]

No shit. I need to get some high beam splitters so if they do happen to go out I can at least use my 9005 high beams. Although I'll be blinding everyone.

Drove it home from work with no issues (25 minutes) and drove to my buddies house from home (another 25 minutes) and no issues.

I'm sure now that I said that it'll go out on the way home.

:fingerscrossed:

 

[littleblazer]

I was like "why no high beam splitters" but remembered you didn't do the whole kit cause you had the ballasts already. I tried it with the highs disconnected and it was good, but it does help having them. It's a pain in the ass with that large connector though, barely can get the bulb in the socket, at least on mine. Trust me though, they'd rather just the regular high beam and not the the high on the projector as well. Almost felt bad this guy had his highs on...

 

[dmanns67]

No shit. I need to get some high beam splitters so if they do happen to go out I can at least use my 9005 high beams. Although I'll be blinding everyone.

Drove it home from work with no issues (25 minutes) and drove to my buddies house from home (another 25 minutes) and no issues.

I'm sure now that I said that it'll go out on the way home.

:fingerscrossed:

Don't waste your money on hi beam splitters, especially the ones that TRS sells. I bought two from TRS and neither one of them worked. TRS sells a GM specific hi beam splitter, which I bought, and it did not work. There was a thread started on HIDP about it and one guy tore his apart and found that TRS had either soldered the diode backwards or onto the wrong wire. There was quite a few people in that thread that bought the GM specific splitter and it did not work for any of them.

Even though I had a bi-xenon projector, I went without hi beams for a long time because I did not have any 9005 halogens installed and wanted to use the hi beam function of the projector. Assuming you have a bi-xenon projector.

Cheapest and easiest way to do it is the diode mode on the BCM under the rear seat. Just need one IN4004 diode from Radio shack, two pieces of wire, butt connector (or solder), and two quick splices. If you want the 6hi mod, then you will need (2) IN4004 diodes and the same concept.

I thought that you had already done the 4hi or 6hi mod

 

[littleblazer]

Don't waste your money on hi beam splitters, especially the ones that TRS sells. I bought two from TRS and neither one of them worked. TRS sells a GM specific hi beam splitter, which I bought, and it did not work. There was a thread started on HIDP about it and one guy tore his apart and found that TRS had either soldered the diode backwards or onto the wrong wire. There was quite a few people in that thread that bought the GM specific splitter and it did not work for any of them.

Even though I had a bi-xenon projector, I went without hi beams for a long time because I did not have any 9005 halogens installed and wanted to use the hi beam function of the projector. Assuming you have a bi-xenon projector.

Cheapest and easiest way to do it is the diode mode on the BCM under the rear seat. Just need one IN4004 diode from Radio shack, two pieces of wire, butt connector (or solder), and two quick splices. If you want the 6hi mod, then you will need (2) IN4004 diodes and the same concept.

I thought that you had already done the 4hi or 6hi mod

I think he's referring to the y harness... it engages the relay to move the cut off shield and then goes to the highbeam. No diodes. Do the diode mod.

 

[Sib]

Don't waste your money on hi beam splitters, especially the ones that TRS sells. I bought two from TRS and neither one of them worked. TRS sells a GM specific hi beam splitter, which I bought, and it did not work. There was a thread started on HIDP about it and one guy tore his apart and found that TRS had either soldered the diode backwards or onto the wrong wire. There was quite a few people in that thread that bought the GM specific splitter and it did not work for any of them.

Even though I had a bi-xenon projector, I went without hi beams for a long time because I did not have any 9005 halogens installed and wanted to use the hi beam function of the projector. Assuming you have a bi-xenon projector.

Cheapest and easiest way to do it is the diode mode on the BCM under the rear seat. Just need one IN4004 diode from Radio shack, two pieces of wire, butt connector (or solder), and two quick splices. If you want the 6hi mod, then you will need (2) IN4004 diodes and the same concept.

I thought that you had already done the 4hi or 6hi mod

Hmmm. I do have the 6-hi mod but my LEDs from Kevin did not turn on when I flipped on my high beams. I will have to take headlights out and check the connections. I'll leave it as is for now since the lights are working.

I did see that on HIDP where people were having issues. Not sure when that thread started. Was hoping TRS saw that and possibly fixed the issue. Like I said I'll wait a little while first.

 

[Sparky]

Just do the diode mod for the low+high beams at the BCM, then just do a direct Y connection on the high beams and the solenoids. Cheapest, and foolproof.

 

[Sib]

Ok so a little update after the weekend...

Light fired up everytime with no issue and stayed on the whole time. They have been fine since I re-hooked up the HD relay. I made it so it was a little closer to the passenger headlight so the connection was not tugging so much. Maybe that was all it was.

I still have not messed with the high beam connections though. I'll leave those as is for now. I'll give it a few weeks then take the headlights out and look at them. I still have my projector high beams that work, but I haven't been working that late lately so haven't needed to use them much.

Just do the diode mod for the low+high beams at the BCM, then just do a direct Y connection on the high beams and the solenoids. Cheapest, and foolproof.

This would require a high beam splitter correct? Or is there another way to do it? I have the 6-hi mod done already with diodes in the BCM.

 

[littleblazer]

If you have 6 hi, all you need to do is have the trigger for the projector high wired with the leads for the high beam. Y harness, splice and solder, what ever you would like.

 

[Mounce]

How is the solenoid wired now? Just plugged straight into the 9005 socket? I imagine you could use pre-made splitters but I'd just wire it into the high beam wire then connect the 9005 plug to your high beam bulb.

 

[littleblazer]

Question, would you guys reccomend the xb35 over the regular 3five bulbs? Besides a slight lumens increase I don't really see any reason to do so.

 

[dmanns67]

On paper the lumens remain the same, but I upgraded my 3Five 4300k to XB35 4500k and the XB35s did seem brighter. Possibly due to my 3Fives having so many hours on them. I believe the design changed and based on the comparison TRS did on HIDP forum, the XB35s are comparable in output to the Osram CBIs. That is one of the main reasons that I upgraded considering the Osram CBIs are $190 for a pair

 

[Sib]

Don't waste your money on hi beam splitters, especially the ones that TRS sells. I bought two from TRS and neither one of them worked. TRS sells a GM specific hi beam splitter, which I bought, and it did not work. There was a thread started on HIDP about it and one guy tore his apart and found that TRS had either soldered the diode backwards or onto the wrong wire. There was quite a few people in that thread that bought the GM specific splitter and it did not work for any of them.

Even though I had a bi-xenon projector, I went without hi beams for a long time because I did not have any 9005 halogens installed and wanted to use the hi beam function of the projector. Assuming you have a bi-xenon projector.

Cheapest and easiest way to do it is the diode mode on the BCM under the rear seat. Just need one IN4004 diode from Radio shack, two pieces of wire, butt connector (or solder), and two quick splices. If you want the 6hi mod, then you will need (2) IN4004 diodes and the same concept.

I thought that you had already done the 4hi or 6hi mod

So I took headlights out to try and hook up the LED high beams and I don't know how to hook up the high beam on the passenger side without getting a hi-beam splitter? The driver side I was able to hook up, but the passenger side did not have any extra plugs to use.

How did you hook yours up?

Also, I thought the issue that TRS had with the backwards diodes was with the correctional splitters and not the hi-beam splitters?

 

[littleblazer]

Mine came with 2 pairs of high beam y harnesses. Literally a y pigtail with three plugs. No diodes or anything. Mine were source plug in, one plug to the cutoff shield relay, other to high beam bulb. I did the diode mod at the bcm like you.

 

[Sib]

Mine came with 2 pairs of high beam y harnesses. Literally a y pigtail with three plugs. No diodes or anything. Mine were source plug in, one plug to the cutoff shield relay, other to high beam bulb. I did the diode mod at the bcm like you.

That's what I was lookin at. Mine didn't cuz Ryan just ordered the projectors and bulbs not the whole set. They give free high beam splitters if you get the whole thing.

Those work good for you?