natefeezy891

so i had my HIDs in for a few weeks and now my driver side fuse keeps going out. i replaced the stock 10A with a 20A as the instructions said and those keep blowing out as soon as i turn them on. i even tried a 25A and those are getting blown. i put my halogens back in and those work fine. any solutions?

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

The fuses are doing their job - preventing the wiring from melting, arcing, and setting the car on fire.

While HID systems typically draw less current when fully warmed up than normal halogen bulbs do, the ballasts do have a spike of current draw when initially turned on, which is what is needed to strike the arc of current inside the bulbs and produce light.

To properly install HID ballasts, you need to buy and install or make your own headlight harnesses. These will consist of wiring that attaches directly to your battery, with a 20A fuse for each headlight, and a separate relay for each headlight. This way, your stock headlight wiring and headlight switch server only to switch the relays. Then the relays close the circuit so that the HID ballasts draw their current directly from the battery positive terminal.

I made my own harnesses years ago when I did my HID projector retrofit, but you can also find them anywhere online. I made my own so that I could be assured of good quality connections. They haven't failed me in nearly 7 years of service so far.

NEVER, EVER install fuses that are larger than the original fuse rating. This prevents the fuse from doing its job of protecting the electrical circuit in case of a short somewhere along the circuit.

hatmanafro

Do you need to make that harness everytime you have hids? Or is it just for his situation?

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

You should use fused and relay'd harnesses for any car that does not come originally equipped with headlight relays.

IMHO Honda's headlight wiring is pretty dumb. All the current for the stock headlights runs through the switch on the column stalk, which is stupid.

Toyotas have headlight relays to begin with. I don't know what size fuses are normally used, but if they're only 10A for each headlight then you'd still need to run upgraded wiring with relays on those cars, too.

hatmanafro

Oh okay. Now im sure that if i search i can find a diy or some sort of link right?

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Instructions or ready-to-buy harnesses are all over the internet.

deadlydanny

wow that weird i have two set of hid in my 94 integra ls and my fuse never blew out yet it might be a bad kit

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Running HID ballasts without upgraded wiring and harnesses with relays (just sticking in larger headlight fuses) is like playing roulette with your car. A fire could happen at any time if the fuses aren't getting popped.