Lighting HID/Xenon kits, Retrofits and Associated Topics

Quick HID bulb question: when turned on it flickers and dies?

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Old Jan 6, 2008 | 04:58 PM
  #1  
inspireAZN's Avatar
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Default Quick HID bulb question: when turned on it flickers and dies?

So when I turn on my lights, one side turns on nice and bright, but when i turned on the other one the first time, it just makes this tick tick tick tick sound and dies? it should be the bulb right?
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Old Jan 6, 2008 | 06:03 PM
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Check to make sure your connections are good and that nothing is loose. Mine does that when the connection is loose and the ballast isn't sending power to anything.
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Old Jan 7, 2008 | 03:57 PM
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ok update, now it just buzzes all the time...i replugged everything and triple checked it @_@?
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Old Jan 7, 2008 | 04:15 PM
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light doesn't come on at all?
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Old Jan 7, 2008 | 07:00 PM
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I have the same problem.

Try replacing the good bulb with the bad bulb and see which one works now.
This will show whether the ballast or bulb is busted
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Old Jan 9, 2008 | 09:29 AM
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Default Re: (suno)

if it's ticking, the ballast is blown bud.

had the same experience, both with oem and aftermarket
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Old Jan 9, 2008 | 02:06 PM
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Default Re: (mystikz2002)

try swapping the bulbs around and see if you get the same result.
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Old Jan 10, 2008 | 08:36 PM
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ooo didnt know people still posted on my thread, i'll try swapping the bulbs tomorrow morning :D! thanks guys
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Old Jan 11, 2008 | 12:22 AM
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Default Re: (inspireAZN)

check bulbs,,,check connection socket,..my guess would be the ballast or a wire..sometimes u dont get good ground thats why it does that
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Old Jan 11, 2008 | 08:28 PM
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okay so i switched them and the inside of the bulb kept sparking and buzzing like before...it has some kind of brown residue inside it so im guessing it's the bulb @_@ omg time to throw away more money into my stupid car
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Old Jan 11, 2008 | 09:05 PM
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Default Re: Quick HID bulb question: when turned on it flickers and dies? (inspireAZN)

If you bought the kit new...

then it could still be under warranty....

unless you didn't properly install it in the first place...

a new set of chinese hid bulbs will run you about 20-30 dollars if you can't it warrantied..
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Old Jan 12, 2008 | 09:44 PM
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Default Re: Quick HID bulb question: when turned on it flickers and dies? (inspireAZN)

flickers and dies usually means bad bulbs...

they often have a dark spot in them though.
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Old Jan 13, 2008 | 03:44 PM
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Default Re: Quick HID bulb question: when turned on it flickers and dies? (kawgomoo)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kawgomoo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">flickers and dies usually means bad bulbs...

they often have a dark spot in them though.</TD></TR></TABLE>

dark spot indeed O_O! but mine has like some kind of brown residue in the middle

im gonna order a new set of bulbs off ebay -_- the people who i got it from dont even reply

thanks everyone!
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Old Jan 13, 2008 | 08:55 PM
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Default Re: Quick HID bulb question: when turned on it flickers and dies? (inspireAZN)

yeah the ebay guys never reply... was it a xentec kit? petes a total douche bag when it comes to customer service.

an hid bulb has metal salts inside it, when lit the arc melts the salts and forms a plasma inside the quartz tube. that plasma is what gives the bulb its colors. different metals burn with different colors. so when they are cold you will typically see some funk stuck to the inside of the bulb.

once the xenon gas inside is gone though they burn away the tungsten and work no more..... the blinking is the high voltage trying to start the bulb, but the gap is too wide to sustain an arc.

i sell hid kits, so if you need bulbs email me at xbunlocked@hotmail.com and ill see what i can do for ya.

most bulbs are 55/pair and d2s are 65/pair.
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Old Jan 13, 2008 | 11:05 PM
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lol wow how'd you guess that it was a xentec? sh*t didnt even match the kit pictured lol
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Old Jan 14, 2008 | 06:54 AM
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Default Re: (inspireAZN)

lol i know my hid's. you will never hear back from him, and his kits are never consistant. the bulbs are CNLIGHT aka chinalight. they fit ok, but generally suck. i use a different brand which allegedly has real phillips tubes in them. but tubes arent marked, so eh. i can neither confirm or deny that. i will say i put a xentec ballast in my car, just one. because i gave one of my known good ballasts to a customer that was having issues {turned out not to be a ballast at all or anything kit related, just crappy oem wiring} i noticed the xentec ballast made the light it was on a different color than the other one... weird i thought. must not have as much output. the light was much bluer on 6k bulbs.

almost everytime someone has a problem they end up having a xentec kit. there are good and bad products on ebay... its just a roll of the dice what you end up getting. all the kits come from a handful of factories in china, but they offer several grades of kits. his are by far the cheapest. you really are getting a 20 dollar hid kit.
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Old Jan 14, 2008 | 08:50 AM
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Default Re: (kawgomoo)

In addition to what kawgomoo stated, you might want to steer clear from anything made in China/Korea....stick w/ Japanese made bulbs or Phillips (rebased to your car). Some rebased bulbs are still good in that they position the filament where it should be....good luck!
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Old Jan 14, 2008 | 09:54 AM
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the only bulbs that will fit your car will be rebases. "real" hids are only made in D bases... d2s d4r etc.

like i said the bulbs i use claim to be phillips quartz tubes, but i cant confirm it. i do know however they are nicer than the bulbs that come with xentec aka cnlight.

i only know of one brand that make there ballasts in japan, the rest that claim to be japanese are still made in china.

in my efforts to source a reputable supplier i found you can get made in japan or made in germany printed on the ballasts that are still made in china/korea/hong kong. its not so much that chinese are bad, but the really cheap chinese ones are crap. they will build to whatever spec the customers requests, and typically they request the junk ones...

i believe mtec is the only japanese brand, and im not sure they are really made in japan at all.

otherwise oems are the only ones coming from japan.
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