HID Blowing Fuse Issue
 

G'day guys!

I've recently put in a set of Genuine Philips 35w HIDs, however I have an issue with the fuse..

When I initially installed them, the driver side light didn't go on; sure enough the fuse was blown so I replaced it then they were working fine. Not to long ago, same thing happened. No drive side light and sure enough it was the fuse.

However, it seems to be permanent now. Every time I turn the car off and stick in a new fuse, then turn it on and turn them on *boom* another fuse blows.

Originally I had 7.5A in the two slots, and I upped to to a 10A (didn't have any 7.5A at the time).

I've double checked the connections and they all appear fine. I've mounted the slimline ballast horizontally and that doesn't move.

Any ideas on how to fix it?

Do you have proper ballasts installed? They seem to be drawing too much current.

What do you mean by proper? They aren't a knock-off Chinese version, if that's what you mean =b They are legit Philips. It makes no sense to me that one side is fine, whilst the other isn't..

Try swapping the bad one to the good side. See if it blows that fuse. Then you know it's a bad ballast.

Not a bad idea..pain in the a** seeing as I've put like 4 cable ties per side, very tightly to hold them in xD

So your ballasts (in addition to the bulbs) are also Philips?

Correct! I'm sorry..I should have made that much clearer..
Both the ballasts and bulbs are Philips, H1 Bulbs which are fitting into a Hella Projector & Angel Eye headlight.

Did you mount your ballasts to the car body or bolt them to something metal that's attached to the car body? If not that may be part of the problem and may have killed one of your ballasts. Most of the HID ballasts require mounting to the car body because it provides both a ground connection and heat transfer.

Is this the kit you have? Looks like a pretty good set up......

That kit is quite inexpensive for what one might hope for, so I did a little digging. The company's domain name was registered by

SoloTech LLC
suleiman hamed (canzamansultan@hotmail.com)
+1.6128454226
Fax: +1.5555555555
240 spring st # 509
st paul, mn 55102

I have attached a picture of their whois street address. I can find no street address on their website.

One of their suppliers is reportedly Fuan Jianlong Auto Parts Co., Ltd.

Philips Lighting (the huge Dutch company) apparently does not make HID kits, so Solotech must get them from somewhere else. Here's a possiblity to give a flavor of their possible supplier(s): http://www.chinesehid.com/eproductus.asp?id=135

There is also a philips-xenon.com / Xenon Philips who claim they are the only source for German made Philips HID kits. That domain is registered to:

Ryan Schlote
5620 Fossil Creek Pkwy, Unit 3204
Fort Collins, Colorado 80525
United States

It looks to be in a housing development.

If I were to buy from these folks, I would not be surprised to get what I paid for.

More on this topic......http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...e-Counterfeits

It sounds like a ballast issue. I had that problem on my old car.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Bimmer App

I mounted them to by car using cable/zip ties; they are horizontal and don't move an inch! As for the kit, I have a slimline kit, so not the exact one shown. My mechanic got them for me (at trade) price, same kit that he uses in his X3, promises they are genuine.



Trust a German, very detailed and thorough! Interesting too, because my local auto/car shops her in Australia sell Philips HID kits, and they appear to be genuine also. They have that funky Philips Hologram that they use to show that they are genuine.


I might have to cut of the cable ties and swap them around to see if its a ballast issue..

I'm nominally American, although these days I am not entirely sure who I am. :confused:

I pursued your suggestion and found that, indeed, Philips India makes some retrofit kits:

http://www.lighting.philips.co.in/v2...p?id=1012984#0

I may have to fly to India and buy one. :) I have always wanted to visit. (I have been to Oz, although there is plenty more of it I would like to see!)

Is there any way for you to measure the draw (current vs. time profile) of each headlight as it starts up?

I just threw a Philips HID part number at Google, Philips Australia still lists them as well: http://www.lighting.philips.com.au/v...jsp?id=1012984

I wonder why I have not seen them here. Perhaps the headlight washer and auto-leveling requirements? (Although I think the TÜV will at least waive the former.) Or that a car with more than 100 000 km is considered old and decrepit? What are the requirements for Australia?

Haha..my Sister in law is German...she and her Father would have done the exact same thing..our emails consist of no less than 800 words..so consider Germany having an effect on you ;)

You could mail order? But an excuse to fly to India - or Australia, for that matter, is a great one!

How would you suggest I measure the draw? I *should* have a multimeter around here somewhere..

I must have missed this post..I highly doubt that Australia requires any sort of auto-levelling requirements. Not that we are basic, just that it's not something regulated or policed very much. There are plenty of older (5-10+) cars on the road with HID kits in them these days..sad when they are using reflector lens for them.

Well, I have always been the sort who liked to confirm the details on something, preferably once, so I won't have to think about them again. I think living in Germany has encouraged part of that. Or it may be a case of what H.L. Mencken suggested as his epitapth: as he got older, he got worse. :)

If the problem is transient, you would probably need a digital oscilloscope or scopemeter together with a current shunt or clamp-on DC hall effect probe to capture the problem.

If I understand you correctly, the HIDs are blowing both fuses even when they are 10A? How quickly does the fuse blow or the fuses blow?

appriciation
 

hi
very nice posts,i like this forum very much

My apologies for the delay in responding! Boy,..what a week!

I'm sure you're just maturing with age..just like a fine bottle of wine ;)

I had a think after you comments on blowing the fuses..took me back to physics and electronics..what could cause such a sharp spike in A as soon as they are turned on?

Well, I tried swapping the ballasts..that was a waste of time. Turns out, they were fine.
So racking my brain, the only idea I could come up with, was a short-circuit. I rechecked all the connections and cables and I was just about to give up until..the bulb! I popped off the dust and water protection cap and sure enough the connections to the bulbs were touching each other more than a French couple..so I duct-taped one of them so no metal was exposed and - voila! Problem solved!

Thanks for all the help guys! =D

Thanks for posting the solution.