Are my HID's ok?
 

Hey everyone just recently purchased HID's from a local shop by me. I dont know if there is something wrong wit them. i Heard they might be digital ballasts or something; But when i turn the car on and the DRl's or suposed to come on nothing happens, the HID's stay off. They only come on when i turn the lights to the fully on position. Idk if this is good since now i have an auto drl fix, or if there is something wrong with them? any info will be apreciated.

I installed them myself so i dint do any tinkering with them before hand, dint do any relays or DRL bypasses nothing. just installed them normal to see what would happen before i started playing.

You need to fix the DRL issue.

Digital ballasts dont do anything to solve your DRLs. The digital ballasts will shut down when there isnt enough voltage coming in (like in your case), preventing damage to your ballasts. So solve this problem without fixing your DRLs you will have to drive with your lights always on.

Without fixing the DRL issue you will have to follow a certain pattern when starting your car to use HIDs.

1. Start you car.
2. Turn you lights on (all the way).
3. Lower your parking brake (If you drive standard this isnt a problem).

and if you are already driving you and want to turn you lights on you will need to stop and switch off your car then follow the steps listed above.

I dont really care if i have DRL's or not, i just want to make sure that if i decide i dont want to drive with my lights on, my ballasts will be ok. Basically im ok with having the drl's off, but by driving this way will it hurt the ballasts. Also if i do decide to turn on my drls ill have to do one of the many listed ways of preventing flicker.....so on and so forth.

You are going to have to upgrade your headlight wiring harness for safety precautions first, To heavier guage wire . They sell these on ebay. And if im not mistakin' you also have to disable your DRL's for your aftermarket HID application. But don't Quote me on this , im almost positive. I have done research on this in the past when installing my own on a car , and stumbled across this same question.:mitsu:

so your basicly sayin its ok for the ballasts to be off like this, i just have to upgrade my stock wiring harness on the lancer itself?

Upgrade your harness? never heard that. HIDs use less current and so you dont need to upgrade them. The ballasts do all the work by boosting the wattage and output from the stock harness.
They come after the stock harness and before the HID bulb so there is no extra current been pulled through the stock harness wiring so need for higher gauge wiring.

I have HID's with digital ballast and no DRL's disabled for almost 1-1/2 years now and no problems. I drive without my lights off during the day and on at night. All that is happening is the digital ballasts are sensing a low output from the stock harness (this is DRLs, not enough to power the ballasts) so they automaticly switch off preventing any problems or damage.

Just make sure you do your research about the brand of HIDs you are buying and make sure 1. they are good quality (reviews etc.) 2. they have digital ballasts 3. Check for any warrantys.

Kelik429, you will be fine with them without upgrading any wiring and without DRLs been disabled aslong as you have digital ballasts.

These are my HIDs im running currenty. They come with digital slim ballasts in either 35W / 55W. They also come with a full lifetime warranty{thumbup}

http://www.ddmtuning.com/products/DD...it-101-60.html

Awesome thanks a lot greedy_son. My only problem is my hids came from a local shop. They seem to be the same hids as in 5 other stores here in NY so i guess they must be good. They came with no instructions or manuals, nothing so i don't know if they are digital or not. i took some pics of them, idk if ppl can tell if they are digital or not just from the ballasts but here are pics anyway.

I guess i just gotta go back to the shop and start askin around. but thanks alot guys.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/DSC00739.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/DSC00733.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/DSC00736.jpg

sorry there so big....

The problem with HIDs that they are all the same, they just brand them different with stickers. I cant tell if the ones you have are digital ballasts. Take them back and ask about them and see what the warranty is like.