# HID ballasts keep dying



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

I see quite a few HID posts here, but none that fit my problem.
I bought my mkiv gti, second hand almost 2 years ago. the previous owner had installed a klite brand HID kit. They seemed to work fine for about 6 months, but i noticed after that the right ballast didnt always light. I would have to turn my lights off, wait awhile, then turn them on, sometimes more than once to get the right side to light. Over the next 2 months, it got worse and worse until finally i couldnt get it to light at all. I eventually bought Another kit (from neverburnout.com...my mistake), and that seemed to fix the problem. Well here i am a few months later, and my right ballast is out again.....
I dont really know how to test these things, but using a multimeter, i get about 60v from the ballast when it first turns on, and it fairly steadily drops down to less than 1v.
I also tested voltage before the ballast. On the left side i get 13.30v, on the right i get 13.50v. Don't think that small difference is whats killing my right side ballast, but maybe?
[update]
I swapped the new dead ballast, for the left good one from the previous(klite) kit, so even though im running a mismatched set, atleast i have 2 working headlights.
Im thinking about buying 2 new ballasts from http://www.mobilehid.com and replacing the mismatched set. Then maybe i'll use the mismatched set for my hibeams. Still, any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
[/update]


_Modified by Daemonic at 5:16 AM 9-3-2008_


----------



## ryan mills (May 3, 2002)

are you still runing DRL's? They run at a reduced voltae, which can destroy ballasts. If not, check you ground connection which I beleive is on the firewall. If you still have DRL's, you can bend the pin labeled TFL on the back of your head light switch up and out of the way.


----------



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

*Re: (ryan mills)*

Im not sure what counts as DRL's on this car, but i do have 2 dim bulbs in the headlight assembly that i would consider to be parking lights.
My headlight switch only has 2 positions: On and Off.


----------



## ryan mills (May 3, 2002)

the DRL's should be the headlights. They should be on when the car is running with the parking brake down... If you don't have them. That problem is taken care of. I'm not too sure where to go from there, other than make sure you have good power going to the fixture, with a good ground.


----------



## fixmy59bug (Apr 9, 2002)

*Re: (ryan mills)*

Just for future reference, testing the ballast output with a multimeter is VERY VERY dangerous and should never be done.
Those ballasts (when in good condition) put out upwards of 22K volts. If any of that voltage gets to you, it can kill you.
Now on to your car problem. How is the ballast wired up on the right side? Is it wired direct or does it go through a relay?
When you have a good ballast over there, do you notice ANY signs of flickering when you turn them on?
Are your DRL's disabled? I know this before but it is important. In other words when you let down your handbrake, do the lights turn on or do they ONLY come on when the switch is used?
Any of these situations can kill a ballast.


----------



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

*Re: (fixmy59bug)*


_Quote, originally posted by *fixmy59bug* »_Just for future reference, testing the ballast output with a multimeter is VERY VERY dangerous and should never be done.
.........


That much I knew, but thanks for the warning anyway.








I'll have to check for a relay, since im not the one to originally wire these up, im not entirely sure how it was done, nor did i know what to look for.
As for any flickering, I dont notice any on the right side. Infact, oddly enough, im only now noticing that the OLDER, klite brand ballast i have on the right side, light alot faster than the newer one on the left. The right one comes on as close to instantaniously as i can determine, and the left side, while still very fast, in comparison, seems to flicker just ever so slightly before turning on. Now i dont know what that means, as it has been the RIGHT side that keeps going out.
And with this new information, I can say in confidence that i do NOT have DRL's installed. The lights only come on with the switch in the on postion, and only when the key is turned.


----------



## nater (Apr 10, 2000)

*FV-QR*

While I can't give you a direct solution I can tell you that you cannot fix this problem by just getting new ballasts.
It's not the ballasts that are bad here. It's the way it's set up. It's a low voltage situation at the ballast. Low input voltage to the ballast will kill it over time. The flickering is a result of that low voltage...and it'll continue to get worse and worse until it dies.
To find out if your Daytime Running Lights (DRL's) are disabled just turn on your car, put your ebrake down and put it into drive (if auto). If, when the light switch is off - your lamps try to turn on then you have your DRL's still enabled. You absolutely need to disable them - that is low voltage right there.
If not (if they are disabled) then you need to simply relay the setup - that will allow the ballast to pull power directly from the battery upon startup.
If you think you have a "harness" that came with the kit (per PO) I wouldn't trust it. Wire it up yourself so you know it's right.


----------



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

*Re: FV-QR (nater)*

thanks for your post nater.
You may have a point, however it is the left side that is flickering, but the right side that is dying.
I haven't tried the relay setup yet, because it just seems redundant. measuring the voltage right off the harness, just before the ballast im pulling 13.5v. That should be plenty, right?
But maybe im losing voltage at higher RPM's.... 
I'll have to run more tests


_Modified by Daemonic at 4:01 AM 9-11-2008_


----------



## Abramite (Jun 12, 2007)

*Re: FV-QR (Daemonic)*

Since you have an MK4, you should disable the DRL's and make a wiring harness to make sure the kit is getting the right voltage....
Second Aftermarket PNP (plug and Play) kits are known for there crappy reliability, I had a pilot kit once and the ballast went bad after a month.
Best set up is go for Hella gen III ballasts and get a plug adapter so it works with H7 based bulbs.


_Modified by Abramite at 1:29 PM 9-8-2008_


----------



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

*Re: FV-QR (Abramite)*

Thanks Abramite,
I've actually determined that i do not have DRL's, so im pretty positive that isnt the issue here. Also, im running H4 series bulbs now, not sure if that makes any difference.
On another note, i've just finished all ground leads i can find, and they all appear to be in good condition, with less than .01 ohms resistance.
So once again, I am stumped for ideas.
So far the mix match set i have is still working, but it took about 6 months each for the other 2 ballasts to die, so I expect the same to happen again.


----------



## Abramite (Jun 12, 2007)

*Re: FV-QR (Daemonic)*

No Prob, Like I said build a wire harness, and most likely the problems you are having are from your aftermarket ballasts, you can get some new Hella III's for about 270, Sounds steep but I've had mine for 3 years, and still going strong.


----------



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

*Re: FV-QR (Abramite)*

Sounds good, is there a website I can buy a set from?
I did a quick search, but i couldn't really determine the best place to buy from.
Also, how would I go about finding which application would work for me?
From what I can see, Hella's setup is quite a bit different than what im currently using.


_Modified by Daemonic at 11:17 AM 9-12-2008_


----------



## Hectordagreat11 (Apr 8, 2008)

I am having the same problem as the OP, the lights will turn on but if I switch them off and then back on the right side will not turn on.
I have to wait a while about 4-5 min before I can switch the lights back on so both side light. 
I used a relay 
30 to battery w/ fuse 
87 to + side on both ballasts 
86 to headlight harness + and 
85 to - headlight harness 
what should I check?

also there is slight flickering on the right side, ive only checked this when the car is off...
could it be a bad ground?

_Modified by Hectordagreat11 at 11:20 AM 9-11-2008_


_Modified by Hectordagreat11 at 11:21 AM 9-11-2008_


----------



## Abramite (Jun 12, 2007)

*Re: (Hectordagreat11)*

Yeah could be,
Check the bulbs, by putting them on the different ballasts, Most likely the PNP ballasts are going bad...
http://www.HIDPLANET.com, then press the big picture above the forums..... you will also need to cut those wires and put the plug adapters on. They are OEM so they have the D2S plug.
U also need these....
http://www.fashtek.com/picture/adapter1.jpg
not exaclty these but those connectors.


----------



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

*Re: (Abramite)*

alright, so for the first time in the 2 years i've had this car, the left ballast failed to light.... just once. After turning it off, and back on again, the left side delayed about half a second or so and then came on. When I tried them again a few hours later, they both came on as usual... with the left side only slightly slower than the right. Sigh.....
Just as a point of reference, what is the minimum operating voltage for one of these ballasts?

Oh and the hella set looks good Abramite, thanks for the link. You're right, they are a bit more expensive, but if they are as good as you claim, I don't mind paying the extra $$$









_Modified by Daemonic at 11:26 AM 9-12-2008_


_Modified by Daemonic at 11:43 AM 9-12-2008_


----------



## nater (Apr 10, 2000)

*Re: (Daemonic)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Daemonic* »_
Oh and the hella set looks good Abramite, thanks for the link. You're right, they are a bit more expensive, but if they are as good as you claim, I don't mind paying the extra $$$









_Modified by Daemonic at 11:26 AM 9-12-2008_

_Modified by Daemonic at 11:43 AM 9-12-2008_


Do go buying expensive ballasts if you are not fixing the root cause of the problem - which is most likely a low voltage issue. Otherwise you will be out an expensive ballast (or two).
EDIT: "DON'T" is what I meant....


_Modified by nater at 1:11 PM 9-12-2008_


----------



## Abramite (Jun 12, 2007)

*Re: (nater)*

If you have a wire harness to draw power directly from the battery, in conjunction with OEM equipment you will have very few problems if any. Ballasts should last for a good long time... bulbs should go bad before the ballasts.


----------



## alkeli (Aug 10, 2005)

*Re: (fixmy59bug)*

Daemonic, first of all, try switching bulbs from passenger side and driver's side, if there's no change then it's not the bulbs. 
Then swap the ballasts to the opposite sides. If the flickers or delayed lighting switches sides, then it's the ballast, if not, then you have bad wiring going to the ballast.
Also, if you're running a relay setup, test it out; you should buy a toggle switch and hook it up to your relay harness under the hood. START THE CAR and turn on the switch and see what happens. Dont' just run off of battery power alone, the car has to be running. This will totally eliminate the car's stock lighting system and then you'll be able to know if that's your problem as well.
I had problems with the stock lighting system and finally just installed a toggle in the cab that turns on the relay. This also prevents me from flashing people with my highbeams which is bad for the bulbs and ballasts.

Hectordagreat11 : don't run your HID's with the car off, it can harm the ballasts and bulbs since they need so much juice on startup, the battery alone can give it what it needs without the alternator.

_Quote, originally posted by *fixmy59bug* »_Those ballasts (when in good condition) put out upwards of 22K volts. If any of that voltage gets to you, it can kill you.

Voltage doesn't harm you, amps do. In my electronics/electricity course our instructor got us all to touch fingers and ran 50,000 volts through everyone and nobody even felt it because there was barely any amps.

Anyways, I will be doing a complete HID writeup soon for this forum because so many people have problems with them. For now, here's my setup that I came up with:
Since I have 4 headlight bulbs and my highs and lows are separate, I came up with this design so that my lowbeams stay on when I put my highbeams on:








And here is the relay harness I built. You can see on the right is a plug that plugs directly into my stock headlight harness to control the relays.








And the result:








And with HID's installed now:


----------



## nater (Apr 10, 2000)

*FV-QR*

Trust me, the 22000 volts that go through you from your ballast will be felt. It won't kill you as stated, but you'll feel it - trust me.


----------



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

*Re: FV-QR (nater)*

Thanks,
Just to be clear, I don't plan on just buying new equipment in hopes that the problem will just disappear. But I do need a new set of ballasts as the set I am currently running are mismatched, both by brand and by years of use.
I think maybe I confused a few of you when i talked about flickering in one of the lights. The flickering only occurs when the light is first ignited, but then continues to burn solid. The left side(drivers side) tends to take an extra half a second or so to light when compared to the right side.
What I still need to know however, is low is considered low in terms of voltage? Is anything above 12v to an extent, acceptable?


----------



## nater (Apr 10, 2000)

*Re: FV-QR (Daemonic)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Daemonic* »_Thanks,
Just to be clear, I don't plan on just buying new equipment in hopes that the problem will just disappear. But I do need a new set of ballasts as the set I am currently running are mismatched, both by brand and by years of use.
I think maybe I confused a few of you when i talked about flickering in one of the lights. The flickering only occurs when the light is first ignited, but then continues to burn solid. The left side(drivers side) tends to take an extra half a second or so to light when compared to the right side.
What I still need to know however, is low is considered low in terms of voltage? Is anything above 12v to an extent, acceptable?

12V *should* be fine. But you didn't confuse me when you said it flickers upon ignition. Whether or not it *eventually* ignites is not the issue - if it flickers it flickers. It should NEVER NEVER EVER flicker. Not even w/o the motor running. A perfect electrical system (Battery, alternator, wiring/harness to ballasts, etc) means they will ignite with NO FLICKER - ever.
So yea, the fact that yours (at least the one side) flickers for a second and then ignites is definitely not good. It WILL get worse if it continues to flicker. The flickering is actually damaging the ballast. 
Hope this helps.


----------



## Daemonic (Jun 30, 2004)

*Re: FV-QR (nater)*

Well it is only a tiny flicker, but if it is as big a problem as you say, what else could be causing it?
I never drop below 13.3v on either side so it cant be low voltage, and the harnesses im using test fine as far as resistance goes.


----------

