HID question...

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
I tried searching for answers, but I have been unsuccessful. And I wanted to apologize in advance if this is supposed to be in the "Technical" forum instead of here, but I figured to put it here with the other HID threads.

Anyways, I put my HID's in, had to reverse polarity to make them work. We did not remove the little slotted bulb housing in the headlight housing if that makes sense lol? Anyways I didn't get time to do the DRL killer as hubby had to head to work, so that will have to wait until he has a day off this week. Well when I put the truck in drive before I turn the lights off, I notice that one light doesn't come right on. I know they need to warm up, but it doesn't come on at all. Once it was the drivers side, then earlier this afternoon it was the passenger side light. The ONLY way to get the lazy light to come on is to turn the lights off completely and then turn them back on. Is this normal? How do I fix it? Can it be fixed?

Hubby ordered the Lumins(sp) off of Ebay, they are 35w 6000k. We only got the kit for the low beams.
 

03TB93

Member
Mar 25, 2012
341
Voymom said:
I tried searching for answers, but I have been unsuccessful. And I wanted to apologize in advance if this is supposed to be in the "Technical" forum instead of here, but I figured to put it here with the other HID threads.

Anyways, I put my HID's in, had to reverse polarity to make them work. We did not remove the little slotted bulb housing in the headlight housing if that makes sense lol? Anyways I didn't get time to do the DRL killer as hubby had to head to work, so that will have to wait until he has a day off this week. Well when I put the truck in drive before I turn the lights off, I notice that one light doesn't come right on. I know they need to warm up, but it doesn't come on at all. Once it was the drivers side, then earlier this afternoon it was the passenger side light. The ONLY way to get the lazy light to come on is to turn the lights off completely and then turn them back on. Is this normal? How do I fix it? Can it be fixed?

Hubby ordered the Lumins(sp) off of Ebay, they are 35w 6000k. We only got the kit for the low beams.

What happends when you turn your low beams on with the switch? thats the only way mine work for some reason.. Did the lights ever come on at all?
 

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
03TB93 said:
What happends when you turn your low beams on with the switch? thats the only way mine work for some reason.. Did the lights ever come on at all?

Okay lol I will try to explain it better. ONLY 1 light comes on when the truck is put into gear. I have to turn my DRL's off and back on for BOTH lights to work properly. Does that make better sense? I suck royally at explaining crap, and I can't get any pics as my husband has the truck at work until morning(he works nights). Most of the seasoned posters will understand me lol they have had to decipher my lack of explanations for a bit over a month now :biggrin:

It's easier to vocalize my issues than it is to put it into words lol, it sounds better when I actually say it compared to typing it.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
This is sort of normal, since it happens to a lot of us. In my case, my passenger side fog rarely fires on startup when it's dark enough for the auto lights to be on (I have quad lows and fogs) So I have gotten into the habit of toggling my headlight switch from auto, to parking, and back as part of my routine. Every once in a while, one of the low beam ballasts won't fire on startup, but it's rare.

But back on point, it's an issue with the ballast itself. If you can warranty it, and it bugs you enough, then go for it. I just dealt with it in my case, since it only happens when the engine cranks, not when the engine is off, or already running and they lights are triggered.
 

03TB93

Member
Mar 25, 2012
341
lol i get what your saying. mine do this too for somereason.. well, the driver side ALWAYS comes on when the truck starts, the Passeneger side only comes on when it feels like it. lol. i just look in the reflection of the back of other cars to make sure both are working lol but sorry i cant really help with your question, except for one time my pass side wouldnt come on and it would flicker when i went over bumps,, so i swithced out the driver side wires with the passesnger side now they both work great,, how they are suppose to. thats the only thing id reccomend trying but its not a sure fire way..
 

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
Blckshdw said:
This is sort of normal, since it happens to a lot of us. In my case, my passenger side fog rarely fires on startup when it's dark enough for the auto lights to be on (I have quad lows and fogs) So I have gotten into the habit of toggling my headlight switch from auto, to parking, and back as part of my routine. Every once in a while, one of the low beam ballasts won't fire on startup, but it's rare.

But back on point, it's an issue with the ballast itself. If you can warranty it, and it bugs you enough, then go for it. I just dealt with it in my case, since it only happens when the engine cranks, not when the engine is off, or already running and they lights are triggered.

I would have to relay this to my hubby as he ordered them, maybe he can contact who he bought them from and get another ballast? It doesn't really bother me to much, and we did the quad beam mod too...It's possibly something I could get used to as long as it works normally after I toggle the lights off and on.
 

SBUBandit

Member
Dec 5, 2011
597
Got lucky with my truck, and mine do not do this, however my Taurus does. Only when first started while its dark enough to turn them on right then. I think sometimes it has something to do with the power fluctuating on startup. If you kill the DRL, problem will be more or less solved. Occasionally when it gets dark while you're driving one may not fire, but if it happens, turn them off/on with the switch and it will usually fire.

Just curious, why did you have to change the polarity to get the lights to work?
 

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
SBUBandit said:
Got lucky with my truck, and mine do not do this, however my Taurus does. Only when first started while its dark enough to turn them on right then. I think sometimes it has something to do with the power fluctuating on startup. If you kill the DRL, problem will be more or less solved. Occasionally when it gets dark while you're driving one may not fire, but if it happens, turn them off/on with the switch and it will usually fire.

Just curious, why did you have to change the polarity to get the lights to work?

Yeah we are planning on doing the DRL killer this week. As far as changing the polarity, I'm not sure why we had to, but when we first put them in the lights wouldn't come on at all, I suggested polarity and hubby looked it up on the website that he ordered the kit from and they said sometimes the polarity will cause them not to function. It was an extremely easy fix though, I took pics of how to do it, but didn't add them as I don't think a lot of people use the brand my husband bought. The polarity wasn't a huge deal. Maybe Carlton can answer your question? He is more or less the "Light God" lol
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
SBUBandit said:
...Just curious, why did you have to change the polarity to get the lights to work?

Oddly enough, on the last 3 HID installs I've done or helped with, the plugs on the relay harness were put on backwards compared to the polarity of the ballasts, so we had to flip the plugs over. They still fit the same, but the lil nub doesn't get used by the harnesses clips.

Edit:
Voymom said:
...Maybe Carlton can answer your question? He is more or less the "Light God" lol

Flattery will get you everywhere! :rotfl:
 

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
Thank you for the explanation on polarity Carlton! And yes, flattery goes along way :biggrin:
 

kjkim93

Member
Jan 1, 2012
696
Does everybody go with the DRL killer? LOL. I have the VLED DRL module 9006. My HIDS work perfectly with them.
 

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
kjkim93 said:
Does everybody go with the DRL killer? LOL. I have the VLED DRL module 9006. My HIDS work perfectly with them.

I think most people go with the DRL killer...it's a free mod if you do it right!
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
kjkim93 said:
Does everybody go with the DRL killer? LOL. I have the VLED DRL module 9006. My HIDS work perfectly with them.

Usually folks who wanna keep their DRLs go with the capacitor mod, much cheaper than the DRL module. Also, the V-LED DRL module got a bad rap for quite some time on the OS for being flaky and not always working. Looks like they got the kinks worked out finally :smile:
 

Boricua SS

Member
Nov 20, 2011
3,080
Ohio
i see this issue alot with earlier model TB's/Voy's

i personally believe it has something to do with the auto headlights function... my '07 SS, my brothers '07 LT, my friends '08 LT all have the auto headlights, but they ONLY come on once the truck is engaged into gear, not when we start cranking the motor.. so the ballasts get full power to fire...

now my best friends '03 Voy has the auto headlight function as well.. but his lights kick on the minute he starts cranking his Voy... and they dont wait until he puts the truck into gear.. so while the truck is cranking, its drawing power from the battery, therefore not giving the ballasts full power.. he too has to do the magical "kill my headlights real quick, then turn them back on and both lights fire up"

so i just think it has to deal with earlier model GMT360's... '06's and up, usually dont see this problem... thats what i like to think at least :crackup:
 

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
Boricua SS said:
i see this issue alot with earlier model TB's/Voy's

i personally believe it has something to do with the auto headlights function... my '07 SS, my brothers '07 LT, my friends '08 LT all have the auto headlights, but they ONLY come on once the truck is engaged into gear, not when we start cranking the motor.. so the ballasts get full power to fire...

now my best friends '03 Voy has the auto headlight function as well.. but his lights kick on the minute he starts cranking his Voy... and they dont wait until he puts the truck into gear.. so while the truck is cranking, its drawing power from the battery, therefore not giving the ballasts full power.. he too has to do the magical "kill my headlights real quick, then turn them back on and both lights fire up"

so i just think it has to deal with earlier model GMT360's... '06's and up, usually dont see this problem... thats what i like to think at least :crackup:

I have an 03 voy and my lights don't at all fire up until the truck is put into gear, I can crank the engine all day long and my lights stay off until I'm out of park. I did however do the quad beam mod if that has anything to do with it, but my lights didn't turn on with the engine before that either. It's not a big deal as I'm going to kill it on Thursday or Friday. :biggrin:
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
We're talking about the DRLs coming on when you put the truck into gear right? Not the auto lights (when it's dark) :undecided:
 

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
Blckshdw said:
We're talking about the DRLs coming on when you put the truck into gear right? Not the auto lights (when it's dark) :undecided:

Good question LOL :redface:

All I know is that I have NO lights when I first crank the truck up, once I put the truck into gear I have lights that come on. What the hell is the difference between Auto and DRL? I know one is for at night and the other is day light running lights. All I know is that on my light switch I have from left to right

Off, Auto, Parking, and something else lol I keep the lights on the Auto position or whatever is next to the off icon. Uhg now I need a pic to explain it lol

You had to ask that damn question didn't you Carlton :raspberry:

This is not my envoy but the picture shows exactly what settings my lights are on almost all the time, unless off of course.

images4.jpg
 

Wooluf1952

Member
Nov 20, 2011
2,663
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The lights on my '03 light-up as soon a I turn the key, when I'm parked in a garage.
If I'm parked outside during the day, they don't light-up until I put it in gear.
I had the same problem of only one light lighting (usually the drivers side).
Flipping the switch usually got them both on until finally I had to replace the ballast.
I took the bad ballast apart and found water had seeped in.
 

jrSS

Member
Dec 4, 2011
3,950
Doesn't drl's only run at 70% power? And autos run at 100%? Reg. explained to me why I needed the drl killer. If running hid's with the drl's... the bulbs will go bad faster because of the ballasts trying to ignite to full power with the drl on. That explains the flickering with the hid's with drl's on.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Voymom said:
Good question LOL :redface:

All I know is that I have NO lights when I first crank the truck up, once I put the truck into gear I have lights that come on. What the hell is the difference between Auto and DRL? I know one is for at night and the other is day light running lights. All I know is that on my light switch I have from left to right

Off, Auto, Parking, and something else lol I keep the lights on the Auto position or whatever is next to the off icon. Uhg now I need a pic to explain it lol

You had to ask that damn question didn't you Carlton :raspberry:

This is not my envoy but the picture shows exactly what settings my lights are on almost all the time, unless off of course.

Ahh, OK, had to clarify that. So your situation and mine (and most other people's) is slightly different. Mine only has a ballast misfire when they are commanded on by the auto light feature during cranking. Umm, Tami, you realized you answered your own question immediately after asking it right? :duh: :biggrin:

Wooluf1952 said:
The lights on my '03 light-up as soon a I turn the key, when I'm parked in a garage.
If I'm parked outside during the day, they don't light-up until I put it in gear.
I had the same problem of only one light lighting (usually the drivers side).
Flipping the switch usually got them both on until finally I had to replace the ballast.
I took the bad ballast apart and found water had seeped in.

:undecided: Hmm, very interesting. I may have to do some tinkering one of these days and see if anything is going on in my faulty one

silvernclean said:
Doesn't drl's only run at 70% power? And autos run at 100%? Reg. explained to me why I needed the drl killer. If running hid's with the drl's... the bulbs will go bad faster because of the ballasts trying to ignite to full power with the drl on. That explains the flickering with the hid's with drl's on.

Technically, DRLs run at full power (12 volts), but it's a pulsed signal. Think of it as an annoying lil kid, flipping a light switch on and off as fast as they can. With a stock bulb, the result is a dimly lit bulb (this is where that 70% comes from) as it never fully turns on, or off. With a digital ballast (or a mechanical relay) the repeated on/off/on/off will cause them to buzz, flicker and eventually fail. Hope that helps some.
 

Voymom

Original poster
Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
Blckshdw said:
Ahh, OK, had to clarify that. So your situation and mine (and most other people's) is slightly different. Mine only has a ballast misfire when they are commanded on by the auto light feature during cranking. Umm, Tami, you realized you answered your own question immediately after asking it right? :duh: :biggrin:

I didn't realize that, I was more or less asking what the start up difference was, why I didn't get lights on crank up like others instead of only getting lights in gear. I was not aware that the light option my switch was on was both drl/auto I thought they were 2 different light settings. Oh well.....


Blckshdw said:
Think of it as an annoying lil kid, flipping a light switch on and off as fast as they can.

<------- Carlton :biggrin: :rotfl:
 

ItsOnVoy

Member
Nov 21, 2011
2,401
DRL's are just pointless if you ask me...or if you put them, make them a separate bulb for all the cars and not just those that have HID's factory. To me its just another way to waste buyers money and have to buy bulbs more often. I personally did not buy any killers or did any cap mod...I just got myself into the habit of disabling the DRL's every time I get into the car. I have been doing that for 2 years and been working just fine...I do not wanna spend the money on wires I can mess up easy loll i prefer not to play with the cars wires if I do not need to.
 

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