For those who have done HID conversions

[wbrissette]

I noticed on my way to work this morning that the HID low-beam on my 2004 RT was not working. High beam (not HID works properly). When I purchased this RT from the previous owner, he mentioned that he bought a kit and split it with somebody. I'm assuming that he bought a car kit and he and somebody else split that. Anyhow, not knowing anything about the HID kit he purchased, I'm wondering if I should buy a whole new kit, or just a new bulb. Do the ballasts go bad? Or should I get the entire kit "just in case"..

 

Thanks,

Wayne

[OoPEZoO]

I would at least investigate a little more before I did anything.

First I would double check the fuse and all of the connections.

Make sure you are getting 12V at the original plug that is now plugged into the ballast.

 

Are you hearing the capacitors in the ballast charge when you turn the key on? It should be a high pitched tone.

 

Ballasts go bad, bulbs go bad, wiring goes bad.....just like anything else. Who knows what brand/quality kit the previous owner installed. Are there any identifying labels on the ballast?

[wbrissette]

Are you hearing the capacitors in the ballast charge when you turn the key on? It should be a high pitched tone.

 

No. hmmmm.... but then I don't remember hearing them before either.

 

Ballasts go bad, bulbs go bad, wiring goes bad.....just like anything else. Who knows what brand/quality kit the previous owner installed. Are there any identifying labels on the ballast?

 

No brands. A generic black sealed plastic square box.

 

I'll have to do some more troubleshooting tonight. The biggest issue is since I didn't install it, I'll need to try and trace lines and figure out what he did when he did install it. And there isn't a lot of room in that area of the bike, so my working conditions are not going to be ideal.

 

Thanks for some thoughts though. I now have a few ideas to work off of.

 

Wayne

[OoPEZoO]

I feel your pain. My bike also had HIDs installed by the previous owner. One day I decided to just tear it all apart so I knew how it was wired. I'm glad I did. I ended up finding two poorly crimped wires that easily could have left me in the dark at any time. Most of the HID setups are pretty straight forward once you start tearing into it.

 

The original bulb wiring goes to the input of the ballast. The output of the ballast gets connected to the HID bulb. Some also have a isolated set of wires that are directly attached to the battery.

[R4ND0M_AX3]

Just watch yourself around the high voltage side.

[UberXY]

I am leaving the stock BMW headlight alone, but am replacing my two PIAA driving lights with the standalone HID units from Trailtech:

 

TrailTech HIDs

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

If your HID is attached to the stock wiring then the load shed realy turns the light off when you thumb the starter. If you have to hit the starter more than once in close succession, then it's possible that you are losing the arc and it's not re-striking.

[wbrissette]

I talked with two companies that specialize in HIDs today. Because the unit worked fine until this morning, both recommended looking at the ballast. According to both, this is the part the usually fails in HIDs more than the bulb. The wiring the previous owner did, but the way, seems to be top notch. I need to verify a couple of things, but I doubt it's the wiring. I'll know more after dinner when I really tear into things.

 

Wayne

[OoPEZoO]

Cool, it always gives you a warm fuzzy feeling when you find something that was done properly. I haven't been so lucky with my bike. Besides my wiring issues, I have also had to fix 4-5 random cross threaded bolts and some poorly mounted equipment.

 

It has taught me to double/triple check everything when I start a project or a repair.