HID kit ordered...anyone done this before?

clark grizwald · April 21, 2015

So, it's been many years since I posted here but I could use some input. I took my truck into an accessory shop yesterday to have some HID lights installed. I was in the waiting area for about an hour. The guy comes in and says, sorry it's a no go. I said, what do your mean. He said every time he went to turn the lights on a 15 amp fuse blew in my box. Said he has installed many of these kits and couldn't figure out what the issue was.

Said he tried over and over but same thing kept happening. He said he put in a 20 amp fuse thinking it would work and that blew as well. Said he ended up "frying" the ballast to the HID kit he was trying to install. Said he would need my truck for a lot longer to work on it and try to figure out why this was happening. Now I'm, thinking, what was this guy doing, what type of kit was it. I don't have any lighting issue in my truck. No bulbs going out regularly, no fuses blowing etc. He said they use very good aftermarket kits. Not the cheap ones you see on ebay and that all the customers that get them are happy.

I was very frustrated because I was looking forward to getting them. I went home and researched some vendors. I came across one that seems very reputable called xenondepot.com. I called and spoke to a guy and he recommended me getting the kit that comes with relays. Hooking the power to the ballasts directly to my battery rather than using the power that goes directly to the headlights to power them. Everything is guaranteed for 3 years. I asked if I fry anything while hooking up he said they would replace it but you just can't return them once installed.

I'm kind of nervous now but all the you tube vids and reviews I've read online make it look so simple and easy. Like a 20 minute job or so. What in the world would have been causing that issue? I've had one of those "4HI relays" hooked up for close to 10 years. It's that little box that splices into the headlight wires that keeps the low beams on when you switch to hi beams. He said he disconnected that and went around it just to see, but he was still blowing fuses. I'm just nervous now that I spent $170 on this kit and I'm going to be running in to the same thing. Unless running the power through relays directly from the battery is the answer. I'm going to call the guy up in a little bit to see what brand kit he was installing and see if he was tapping into the headlight power wires or going from the battery. This might help me out some.

For anyone that can help me out, this is the kit I bought the Phillips bulbs upgrade....

Any help is appreciated!!

http://www.xenondepot.com/9006-HID-Kit-Xtreme-HID-p/xt-9006.htm

clark grizwald · April 21, 2015

anyone?

dewfpo · April 21, 2015

I'm not an expert but by using the relay the power does not go through the headlight switch/circuit so that is a very good thing and is what I would do next.

DEWFPO

clark grizwald · April 21, 2015

I'm not an expert but by using the relay the power does not go through the headlight switch/circuit so that is a very good thing and is what I would do next.

DEWFPO

Thanks I appreciate you responding. Seems like the best way to go considering what happened.

KMGZ400 · April 21, 2015

I'm also no expert but I had the Same exact thing happen on my 2001 Silverado when I installed them and it turns out I had the hids plugged into the harness wrong

clark grizwald · April 21, 2015

I'm also no expert but I had the Same exact thing happen on my 2001 Silverado when I installed them and it turns out I had the hids plugged into the harness wrong

Seems like the installer would know what he was doing but maybe it was just one little thing that was different causing the issue. I figure using a relay and connecting directly to the battery is the way to go. More labor hooking it up but maybe I'll avoid the fuse popping issue.

clark grizwald · April 22, 2015

Anyone else have any input, ideas, experience?

Ianf · April 22, 2015

I have seen the harness wired wrong from the factory on several HID kits in the last couple years. The H11s used to come with two wires that were pins only and if you hooked them up backwards the fuse would blow. Definitely you will need relay kit to ensure no hyperflash later and to prolong the life of the ballasts and bulbs.

clark grizwald · April 22, 2015

I have seen the harness wired wrong from the factory on several HID kits in the last couple years. The H11s used to come with two wires that were pins only and if you hooked them up backwards the fuse would blow. Definitely you will need relay kit to ensure no hyperflash later and to prolong the life of the ballasts and bulbs.

Yeah could very well have been the case. I have no idea what kit he was using but I know he said there was no relay involved when installing. Hopefully that's the issue. I mean it's not rocket science, a couple plugs and they're installed. Can't see why my vehicle wouldn't accept them unless it was an issue with using the trucks headlight wires as the power source for the ballast.

clark grizwald · April 22, 2015

I have seen the harness wired wrong from the factory on several HID kits in the last couple years. The H11s used to come with two wires that were pins only and if you hooked them up backwards the fuse would blow. Definitely you will need relay kit to ensure no hyperflash later and to prolong the life of the ballasts and bulbs.

By then way, I see you're in Canada. The company I bought these from is based in LaSalle ON and the package is coming from Windsor.

02z71Hoe · April 26, 2015

So, it's been many years since I posted here but I could use some input. I took my truck into an accessory shop yesterday to have some HID lights installed. I was in the waiting area for about an hour. The guy comes in and says, sorry it's a no go. I said, what do your mean. He said every time he went to turn the lights on a 15 amp fuse blew in my box. Said he has installed many of these kits and couldn't figure out what the issue was.

Said he tried over and over but same thing kept happening. He said he put in a 20 amp fuse thinking it would work and that blew as well. Said he ended up "frying" the ballast to the HID kit he was trying to install. Said he would need my truck for a lot longer to work on it and try to figure out why this was happening. Now I'm, thinking, what was this guy doing, what type of kit was it. I don't have any lighting issue in my truck. No bulbs going out regularly, no fuses blowing etc. He said they use very good aftermarket kits. Not the cheap ones you see on ebay and that all the customers that get them are happy.

I was very frustrated because I was looking forward to getting them. I went home and researched some vendors. I came across one that seems very reputable called xenondepot.com. I called and spoke to a guy and he recommended me getting the kit that comes with relays. Hooking the power to the ballasts directly to my battery rather than using the power that goes directly to the headlights to power them. Everything is guaranteed for 3 years. I asked if I fry anything while hooking up he said they would replace it but you just can't return them once installed.

I'm kind of nervous now but all the you tube vids and reviews I've read online make it look so simple and easy. Like a 20 minute job or so. What in the world would have been causing that issue? I've had one of those "4HI relays" hooked up for close to 10 years. It's that little box that splices into the headlight wires that keeps the low beams on when you switch to hi beams. He said he disconnected that and went around it just to see, but he was still blowing fuses. I'm just nervous now that I spent $170 on this kit and I'm going to be running in to the same thing. Unless running the power through relays directly from the battery is the answer. I'm going to call the guy up in a little bit to see what brand kit he was installing and see if he was tapping into the headlight power wires or going from the battery. This might help me out some.

For anyone that can help me out, this is the kit I bought the Phillips bulbs upgrade....

Any help is appreciated!!

http://www.xenondepot.com/9006-HID-Kit-Xtreme-HID-p/xt-9006.htm

Personally on my 02 tahoe, I went thorough 4 different hid brands from $60 a pair to nearly $250 dollars a pair and every single one I installed, the ballast would explode so I just went back to standard halogen bulbs. Not worth the hassle.

clark grizwald · April 26, 2015

Personally on my 02 tahoe, I went thorough 4 different hid brands from $60 a pair to nearly $250 dollars a pair and every single one I installed, the ballast would explode so I just went back to standard halogen bulbs. Not worth the hassle.

Thanks for the reply man I appreciate it. I got everything hooked up yesterday and then they look great turn on and off with no problem absolutely love them. Not sure what that idiot installer was doing. You figure he does it for a living and couldn't get it done. I have absolutely no electrical experience and got all my stuff hooked up fine.

Xenon depot is where I got these. They are the 4300 K Phillips bulbs. They give off a bright white no purple or blue Got a ballast getting power through a relay on each headlight. Got a ballast getting power through a relay on each headlight