14 Sierra Morimoto HID Issues

HighSierraAT · December 7, 2019

I have a 2014 sierra with the Morimoto HID kit (50w ballasts 5500k bulbs). Worked flawlessly for nearly a year and now the driver side headlight goes out intermittently. It will go out and then usually I have to restart the truck (cycling headlights on/off won't work) to get it to come back on only for it to go out again randomly. Ballasts don't seem to be getting hot, customer support says to check the polarity while truck is in drive but issue still happens while in park. Ground is tight to battery and where it grounds on the truck, and it's a good ground with no paint. I also have the anti flicker part installed. Sorry if this has been discussed before search didn't come up with anything. Headlights are fantastic when working right

x219c · December 7, 2019

I’ve had similar problems with them in my truck since the beginning. I got two replacements, but it must be something from my trucks side. Every 10 or so times I started my truck, one of the lights wouldn’t fire. It wasn’t only one side, but when I had the bulbs replaced, the problem persisted.

I went back to the OEM after a month or so. They work 100%, every time for me. Not sure why I kept having problems. I got them through a group buy, and I felt like I was being a jerk when I had problems after 2 replacements, so they’re sitting on a shelf. I enjoyed them when they were working.

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truckguy82 · December 7, 2019

Hylux ballast = no problems

HighSierraAT · December 7, 2019

Thanks for the replies guys. Going back to stock isn't really an option for me.

4 hours ago, truckguy82 said:

Hylux ballast = no problems

Awesome, I'm assuming they will work with the morimoto bulbs? Customer service keeps telling me to test polarity throughout the wiring harness but I'm done spending time and money on it, already sent the whole system in once for them to test while I bought factory headlight caps to keep water out the lens while they were gone.

truckguy82 · December 7, 2019

2 hours ago, HighSierraAT said:

Thanks for the replies guys. Going back to stock isn't really an option for me.

Awesome, I'm assuming they will work with the morimoto bulbs? Customer service keeps telling me to test polarity throughout the wiring harness but I'm done spending time and money on it, already sent the whole system in once for them to test while I bought factory headlight caps to keep water out the lens while they were gone.

Yup

i bought hylux ballast and morimoto bulbs from a member here with an online retailer. He specifically recommended them instead of the morimoto ballasts because of issues. I’ve had 0 issues in 2 years. Love them

user on forum (sp?) = fastws6ta

fastheadlights.com is his website I think

(going off memory here)

he was the cheapest retailer I found when doing my retrofit, and he was literally helping me via text message during my retrofit over the weekend. I highly recommend you order from him just because of that.

also you have a ‘14 sierra like me. Oh man you have to do the projector upgrade if you have time. (Took me an honest 7 hours but that was with 0 experience and being super neat and careful.)

I got the d2s mini 4.0, morimoto bulbs, and hylux 35w ballast. Installed for 2 years now and could not possibly be happier with performance and reliability.

Edited December 7, 2019 by truckguy82

HighSierraAT · December 7, 2019

Awesome thanks so much for the advice, definitely a bad feeling having them go out while going down the road! The site I bought from sells the hylux ballasts, going to try to get them to send me some free or at least discounted bc I spent extra to get the 50w morimoto ballasts with my kit. If not I’ll go through the site you mentioned.

HighSierraAT · December 20, 2019

Update:

Got the Hylux ballasts, put them in a couple days ago. Hadn't driven it at night until tonight, and it has the same issues. One headlight out, then both. At my wits end with them, anyone else have any ideas? Ballasts are not near anything hot in engine bay. I'm even open to other light set ups people have that they like, if I can't get them to work I'm getting refunded.

truckguy82 · December 20, 2019

12 hours ago, HighSierraAT said:

Update:

Got the Hylux ballasts, put them in a couple days ago. Hadn't driven it at night until tonight, and it has the same issues. One headlight out, then both. At my wits end with them, anyone else have any ideas? Ballasts are not near anything hot in engine bay. I'm even open to other light set ups people have that they like, if I can't get them to work I'm getting refunded.

I have not heard a single person with issues with the hylux, so it sounds like your problem is elsewhere unfortunately and it doesn’t matter what kit you have. I apologize for the bad advice it was just the most likely fix.

i don’t think you wasted your money though as they are definitely better than the morimoto ballasts

did you buy them from fastheadlights.com? If you did the guy is super nice and will gladly give you some troubleshooting advice.

tgg19 · December 20, 2019

I have the Morimoto lights in my 2014 as well. The problem is the cheap chinese relays they put into the wiring harness. Mine have gone out several times and with the exception of 1 time, where it was the ballast, it was the relays. I finally replaced both relays with Bosch relays and haven't had an issue since.

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-Automotive-0332019103-Normal-Relays/dp/B004Z0VX4S/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=bosch+relay+4-pin&qid=1576867047&sr=8-4

HighSierraAT · December 20, 2019

3 hours ago, truckguy82 said:

I have not heard a single person with issues with the hylux, so it sounds like your problem is elsewhere unfortunately and it doesn’t matter what kit you have. I apologize for the bad advice it was just the most likely fix.

i don’t think you wasted your money though as they are definitely better than the morimoto ballasts

did you buy them from fastheadlights.com? If you did the guy is super nice and will gladly give you some troubleshooting advice.

No I did not buy from that site, would love to pick his brain though lol and no worries on the ballasts, I got them at a discount since I’ve had so much trouble and I can tell they are beefier for sure. It must be the polarity issues that customer service keepers harping about I’ll have to get more information. Just very frustrating, according to them it’s only an issue with them on gm trucks, if I’d have known I would’ve done something different!

HighSierraAT · December 20, 2019

4 hours ago, tgg19 said:

I have the Morimoto lights in my 2014 as well. The problem is the cheap chinese relays they put into the wiring harness. Mine have gone out several times and with the exception of 1 time, where it was the ballast, it was the relays. I finally replaced both relays with Bosch relays and haven't had an issue since.

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-Automotive-0332019103-Normal-Relays/dp/B004Z0VX4S/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=bosch+relay+4-pin&qid=1576867047&sr=8-4

Thanks! Will look into this as well.

Update to the update : Got new relays in (only $20) and once again one headlight went out and then later both. Back to the drawing board Monday. Thanks for the input tho guys no doubt the relays ballasts would’ve eventually became issues, the relays in there were cheapies

Edited December 20, 2019 by HighSierraAT

cjlet · December 21, 2019

Try the igniters

winn0040 · December 21, 2019

I've had a Morimoto kit in my 15 Silverado for about 3 years now and have had to replace several ballasts under warranty. My issues were the same as yours, sometimes one or both bulbs wouldn't ignite. One time it was a bad bulb, the rest of the times it was a ballast. Do make sure to check polarity, as the power to my lights were not red/positive black/negative.