For the record all of my kits have been 55W. I've put almost twenty kits in now, most in my cars and some in others.

 

Yea, and if your wiring can't handle that initial surge they don't ignite or only 1 ignites. They can take what 15amps in the initial surge, that's a lot of ask of wiring not meant for it?

Just google "HID initial surge" and see endless people with the exact problem as the OP.

 

The only thing that the relay harness does is used switched power directy from the battery. I have another relay kit laying around from a previous kit that I never used. The stock wiring is what 18-20 gauge, the relay wiring is only 16-18 without putting a gauge on it and just eyeing it.

So recap, the head lights didn't change through the years right? The wiring looks the same on everyone I've seen and even with a corroded ground cable and bad power terminal I still fire up every time without an issue.

From an electrical point one-two gauge difference like that isn't going to make a huge difference.

If you're having problems with your ground and power cables and terminals it will cause this issue.

 

I've got 2 DDM kits in my car (Fogs and lows) and never had the problem.

 

DDM harness is 14 gauge.

I've used the harness in 2 other vehicles both non lexus and both would not ignite properly before the harness. No changes other than the harness and then they worked perfectly.

I'm glad you are using stock wiring, not everyone is so lucky it would seem.

 

You might be looking at the main feed to the relay from the battery being 14 gauge but to each ballast you're still on the same size wire as stock by eyeing it.

I'm not knocking the relay, it's a good band aid but not a fix by any means for being permanent.

I work on computers all day for a living. If a part works in one computer and not the other of the same model then Houston we have a problem and fix it.

 

I disagree. A part working in one thing but not another is all well and good when they are factory parts designed to work together. You are adding an aftermarket part with much higher power consumption than the part it's replacing. So, how is it a bandaid to provide the power needed by the aftermarket part? To me it would be like plugging a power hunger USB device(ext HD) in only using the USB cable and no outside power source.

Even the manufacturer warns against the exact failure to ignite that the OP is experiencing due to factory wiring being incapable.

You wouldn't do an Na-T conversion and use the stock exhaust would you? Sure it may work but it's far from ideal.

However, since it works for you everyone else is wrong I guess?

 

That happened to my old car too - and I don't want this to happen on my lexus so i'm looking for other reputable sellers that are not expensive as well...
So the harness can solve all the problems!?

 

The harness should solve the issue. Most old cars can't handle 55 watt HID's from what I've seen. The harness should give them the power they need.

 

Example: If I have two Dell PowerEdge T310's in front of me and I add in, say, and ESATA card into both. One recognizes and the other doesn't then the second card would be bad. Sure, you could rig it to work but that's not the point.

External HD's don't use the max amperage allowed on a USB hub or else they wouldn't work at all.

Now to twist all of this, if you buy an external USB hub and plug a printer into it, it'll disable the HUB because of too much draw BUT that's expected, and it will happen on every single computer you plug it into, not just some or the other. You COULD plug the DC jack into the hub and everything work right but once again, every computer would need this of the same model and same specs.

DDR warns people that if you wiring harness is too small it could melt on a 55w kit and/or not ignitie but my point behind all of this is.

Our cars were built in a factory, to spec. Everything on our cars started off at one point or another the same voltages, etc.

If my car, and a few others I know running 55W kits have 0 problems igniting BOTH ballast, every single time (other than the mentioned polarity issues) then your car has an issue that needs to be addressed.

I could use the stock exhaust, yes. If someone else used stock exhaust and I got the EXACT same setup then I would have no problem doing so.

For the record, HID's use LESS power. The ONLY power needed is the igniter which is the same if not less most times than stock halogen bulbs run at 100% of the time.

 

use a relay. [/thread]

 

Go on amazon and read reviews of various external USB enclosures. There's a huge mix of people who need to use the external power and people who can run them off just the USB cable. Also plenty of people who claim the enclosure works some of the time and not others. By your explanation they should either just work or not work. I'm also not sure how comparing computer peripherals that are designed to work with a universal interface to adapting car parts to existing equipment. The engineers behind the electrical system designed them around using a certain type of lamp not an after market HID. This would all be different if you are talking about replacing stock lights and having issues, then yes adding a relay harness would be a bandaid as you are not addressing the root problem.


I would bet that the HID kits come from a few different plants that they have a wide range of power uses and tolerances. A HID kit made in one plant could use less power than one made some where else, then they both are sold under the same brand. My last set of HID bulbs from DDM are 2 obviously different brands but billed as identical bulbs. There's no guarantee after market products all meet the same universal specs. HID kits sold under the Bosch name aren't made by bosch. They buy them from the same company as DDM I bet and just pay for higher tolerances.

A quick google search shows a 35w HID can draw 42w on initial surge. Yes, they run at lower wattage once ignited but if you can't supply the power to ignite you aren't going anywhere.

It's clear you want to ignore all opinions and recommendations directly from the people selling the stuff so we will never get anywhere.

 

my girls 09 camry was polarity also, i tried swapped ballasts from one side to the other and the ballast would light the other side so i changed the wires around on the side that wouldn't light and got both working fine

 

I don't need to go on Amazon to read people's reviews. I run a computer business for a reason. There are reasons that two DIFFERENT MODEL/BRAND computers hubs can POWER a external enclosure with no issue and some that require a second USB/DC power source. The USB standard has changed over the years to require certain amperage. If I go to a 10 year old computer, I need two USB ports, if I go to a new computer I only need one.


Bam, you just nailed the point I was trying to make. DDM has revised designs a few times over the years. The tolerances should NEVER just range, on any product. That would be like your TPS having a random tolerance level because it could be made by three different OEM's. It's called QUALITY CONTROL.

I've ordered at least 20 kits from DDM, all slim line, 55W. Some hi/lo, some just lo. 50% of them have been black, 50% of them have been black. They obviously revised their supplier (and if you talk to DDM as much as I do, you'll understand why, with the political motivations needed to export products out of china, etc).

My point is, you may NOT have gotten the same product that you should have gotten. There is NO reason to have to rig a fix, whenever there obviously is a proper part that works every time. In my case, the silver based enclosures work GREAT and every SC I've seen uses the same silver enclosures that work great every single start.

Every MFG is different on igniter designs. You're right though in that sense, but that's my point. If we took a vote on how many people with DDM kits had to use a relay kit, I'm pretty sure that the people who have had to use it (not people who voluntarily put it in, just in case) would be far less than people who don't.

It's not a pissing match, it's good information. If it weren't for the fact that our mis-informed government agency called the NHSTA/DOT decided to ban HID's we wouldn't be in this problem, the product would be directly from USA like in the past.

 

I will take back my last comment, it is good information and I was just a bit moody as the sc300 failed emission for the second time and this time by .2 grr.

I still say for the OP a simple $10 harness to make an aftermarket HID kit to work is the best solution. The alternative is what? Replacing all the wiring to bring it back to factory spec and hope then it has the capability to ignite the high draw initial HID seems pricey.

Just a side note, on my jeep cherokee the factory head light wiring is really poor(even when it was brand new). I added a relay harness and my stock lights seemed literally 2x as bright and worth the 10-15 bucks. I also use 1awg welding cable for the main battery leads, Overkill is nice.

Since you have dealt with DDM so much, are the stories I hear about replacing bulbs under warranty true? I've herd you have to pay to ship your bulbs then they inspect them at their leisure. Then if they decide it's under claim you get the new bulbs eventually. A process that can take over a month. A lot of people said after dealing with their warranty process they would just assume buy a new set of bulbs instead.