1. Welcome to TRD Forums! A community for Toyota, Lexus, and Scion Enthusiasts. To enjoy all the benefits of the site, we invite you to signup.

HID bulb trouble shooting

Discussion in 'Care & Maintenance' started by Hummer, Feb 1, 2010.

  1. Offline

    Hummer Well-Known Member

    Message Count:
    26,893
    Likes Received:
    1,455
    Trophy Points:
    1,018
    Location:
    Oregon
    Vehicles:
    E39 BMW
    HID bulb trouble shooting

    Noticed tonight while at work one of my HID bulbs is dimmer than the other. I've only had the bulbs for about 5 months (since summer) so im wondering... could it be either...

    1) faulty wiring
    2) bad ballast
    3) bad bulb

    Reason i think it maybe bad ballast is because sometimes when i turn on my head lights they do not both turn on, one side turns on and i have to turn em on and off repeatedly until both of them turn on. However it did just recently start happening and i havent had time to tinker with it and see if its possibly faulty wiring. I think I have a warranty on the bulbs so ill just e-mail the company for replacements anyways.
    Hummer, Feb 1, 2010
    #1
  2. Offline

    RinconRolla98 Well-Known Member

    Message Count:
    1,533
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    248
    Location:
    Rincon , Puerto Rico
    It sounds like its the bulb , Usally you get water in there or moisture , Dont ask me how and there not suppose to but they do , I had a fog light 1 year and my bulb wasnt getting warm , You can just buy the bulbs cheap on e-bay , I always have spare ones just in case , :)
    RinconRolla98, Feb 1, 2010
    #2
  3. Offline

    Hummer Well-Known Member

    Message Count:
    26,893
    Likes Received:
    1,455
    Trophy Points:
    1,018
    Location:
    Oregon
    Vehicles:
    E39 BMW
    iv never needed spare bulbs, been using hids for about 2 years and never had a problem with them, only ballasts which i keep a spare in my glove box :), i have a special order site i get my hid parts from, i think thyre like 12 bucks a bulb 21 a pair
    Hummer, Feb 1, 2010
    #3
  4. Offline

    Goldy Well-Known Member

    Administrator
    Message Count:
    32,002
    Likes Received:
    2,874
    Trophy Points:
    61,468
    Vehicles:
    Lexus IS300
    Well, that's the thing, HID is either on or off. So, it could be your bulb, like it is about to blow or something, or maybe it is your projectors..... perhaps the HID bulb in the non-HID projector damaged the chrome?
    Goldy, Feb 1, 2010
    #4
  5. Offline

    Hummer Well-Known Member

    Message Count:
    26,893
    Likes Received:
    1,455
    Trophy Points:
    1,018
    Location:
    Oregon
    Vehicles:
    E39 BMW
    theres no chrome, plastic cap.
    Hummer, Feb 1, 2010
    #5
  6. Offline

    DjiNN New Member

    Message Count:
    246
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Its the Ballast. I had this happen to me with my HID's. I would turn on my HID's then a few minutes into driving around one of my healdights turns off. I have to turn them off and on to get them to turn on. after I replaced the ballast from the place I bought them at I've never had a problem since.
    DjiNN, Feb 22, 2010
    #6
  7. Offline

    Hummer Well-Known Member

    Message Count:
    26,893
    Likes Received:
    1,455
    Trophy Points:
    1,018
    Location:
    Oregon
    Vehicles:
    E39 BMW
    Yea weird, i replaced my ballast with my spare and it hasent happened since. But still flickers a hella lot upon initial start.
    Hummer, Feb 23, 2010
    #7

Share This Page