Anyone ever had their factory hid lights blow the 15 amp headlight fuses? I just replaced the passanger side bulb ($237.00) and then the same day the driver side went out. Upon closer inspection, i saw the fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse but it blew out right away upon start up. Anyone????? I think the bulb is fine since the fuse poped , but i dont want 2 pay 200 for another bulb. Any help would be appreciated, thanxx ,the car is a 1998 gs 400.

 

If a fuse pops do a visual inspection to make sure there is no short. You may like to go over the area that was worked and ensure ther wires are not pinched (something cut through the insulation). Genrally after the visual, I would replace the fuse and try again. If the fuse still pops then, it is time to take out the ohm meter to detect the short.

I think you can safely remove the connector to the bulb and try again [I am not absolutley sure that HID require a closed loop .. 98% sure it should be ok]. If the fuse pops again it is the harness. HIDs have a primary side of the circuit connected to the battery through the switch and the secondary (hig-voltage) side of the loop. Can you determine if the fuse that pops is in the primary side or the secondary side?

Oh the most obvious thing in the last .... please check that the replacement bulb is of the proper specification.

Salim

 

yeah sounds like a short to me or something. the factory setup it's 15amp fuse each for one side, that's more than enough

 

check the polarity of the plug. it's easy to switch these around when plugging in the harness into the lights.

 

Thank you that was very helpfull,however i took the harness off of the bulb and the fuse still popped. I think it is something within the factory harness,do these go bad?? I also think it could be the ballast. I don't know what to do with the ohm meter and i don't have that much time to remove the bumper to take out the light assembly. I just thought someone might of had the same problem or maybe they heard about it. The bulb i used was a philips (direct replacement).But the problem is the other side(driver) The one i never touched. I also know sit about polarity, i hope i even spelled it right!!! Thanks all....

 

I hope someone can help soon cause tommorow i gotta take this bad boy to the dealer and u know how much that is. Anyway thanks for the help

 

ummmm, no matter what, do NOT fire the hid with the bulb not on. that's very bad, you can blow the whole ballast

with that said, i still have no idea though

 

Thanks but i think salimshaw said i could try it that way ... I dont see any harm being done to the ballast since there is no closed circuit , but i have been wrong before.. Still i value ur oppinion thanxxxx

 

I do try to give the best advice but maybe romil knows more. .

Harness usually does not develop a short. Usually somethings cuts the insulation to cause a short (like a cover is tightened and the wire gets squeezed and insualtion is compromised). If nothing is done to the wiring, then the most probable culprit is a component. Trouble shooting is easy if the wiring diagram is available ... If enough fuses are available each load is removed till fuse stops popping. The other alternative is to remove all loads and add them one by one till the fuse pops. Scientific approach is to connect an ohm-meter (with out fuse) to the load side of the fuse terminal. The value is matched to a known good value. Lacking the information about the good value, Ohm's law can be used ... for a 15 amp fuse to pop it would be 12/15 = 0.8 ohm or less. Keep removing loads till the meter shows higher value.

Salim

 

OK so i get too the dealer in clearwater florida and paid $107.00 for them to tell me i have a short within the ballast. Theywant $817.00 for it new(OUCH),that does not cover labor. I'll look for a used one. Thanks for everyone's help

 

Wow that's a lot of cash for a ballast

 

Dam that really sucks hope you get it fixed pretty quick so your headache will go away

 

Thanx peeps i'm ging to get 2 off of ebay used for $238.oo . I hope they work....

 

damn a whole new headlight assembly is about 1000, and they want over 800 bucks for the ballast? that thing isn't rocket science.......

look at ebay, they have some for sale from time to time

make sure you get the gs ones

 

I have the same problem on my car 98 gs 400, let me know if you find a solution. driver side keeps popping fuses as soon as you turn the light on, it doesnt even turn on for a split second. Once on,burns fuse right away,that fuse only. please help me too....