itted aftermarket HID's - strange fault now!

radovr6 · #1 5th January 2012, 10:27 AM

just fitted a set of aftermarket HID's to my PF D2 (as i have done on corrado/ E30 BMW/ Golf MK3) really impressed as usual...

HOWEVER

When i switch them on the instrument cluster freezes, temp and fuel gauge freeze and i lose the LCD information such as gear selection and MPG etc but i still have illumination control...

turn everything off 15mins later everything works again until i put dipped beam back on.

has anyone seen this before in fiting HID's?

Cheers, Scott.

PsYcHe · #2 5th January 2012, 01:40 PM

Sounds like you may have a bad earth (assuming they're wired up properly.

There's an earth strap on the chassis leg behind the driver's wheel which can be a weak point,

SilverS8 · #3 5th January 2012, 02:54 PM

I have a similar oroblem on mine. Had aftermarket HID in the foglights on my FL and they worked fine until one of the digital ballast died.
Replaced it with a cheap ebay NON- digital ballast and everytime i switch them on i loose the Trip counter and time/date.

Are your ballast digital?

Gomna replace mine soon.

radovr6 · #4 5th January 2012, 06:27 PM

ok, after a bit more trial and error investigating it seems the ballasts are drawing more current on start up and for some reason it freezes the instrument cluster display,

gonna have a look at a more direct power supply from the battery rather than using the standard feed from the light harness.

ainarssems · #5 5th January 2012, 07:13 PM

Bad connection or battery getting old. A capacitor wired parallel to ballast should sort it out.

radovr6 · #6 5th January 2012, 08:53 PM

i'm convinced its power related as i can disconnect one ballast and the problem didnt happen but as soon as i operate them both as they should be it knocks the dash out.

all connections are clean and insulated.

ainarssems · #7 6th January 2012, 01:22 AM

Battery must be getting old. Capacitors will get rid of problem or give engine some rpm when switching lights on

ainarssems · #8 6th January 2012, 10:09 PM

I were posting from the phone hence the short reply.
Regards capacitors you are looking for:
1.105C instead of 85C to last longer in the heat of engine bay or lamp wherever you fit them
2. 25V as 16V is a bit too close for comfort
3.4700 uF or 10,000uF. 4700 will be smaller and fit more nicely and should do the job, 10,000 might be needed if battery is getting really weak.

Example: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25V-4700uF...#ht_970wt_1163

They should do the job nicely. Just make sure you wire + and - correctly

HPsauce · #9 6th January 2012, 10:40 PM

I tend to "acquire" capacitors when required (amazing how many just "blow" in computers and power supplies) from my neighbour who is a home-based electronics designer (sensors and the like) and has a HUGE supply.

He refuses to touch unbranded stuff from eBay, but says the Panasonic ones are usually OK.

e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PANASONIC-.../250910933720?

ainarssems · #10 6th January 2012, 11:28 PM

The ones in HPsauce's link are higher capacity but 85C which does not score well with me and bigger and only 16V which is a bit close to comfort for my liking like I said before. If the make is Japanese they should be OK but 25V is a must in my mind