Anyone encounter this odd light pattern after installing HIDs?
I spent too much effort wrestling them in to have such a crappy spread. I thought our projectors were supposed to handle the xenon bulbs better than this based on feedback from other users here. The passanger side seems OK but the drivers side looks like theres someone standing in front of it
Im wondering if when i put the dust cap on it made a wire put pressure on the bulb and make it crooked.
Last edited by 11zukizashi on Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
I have HIDs on my low beams and the output is good. I would suggest you check your bulb alignment in the housing, but it may be a bulb issue.
The best way to check is to take both bulbs out and swap them. See how the performance differs.
While my HID low beams are fine, I have come to notice that one of my HID fog lights casts a poor beam and the color is also a little off. I did not buy or install these kits (came with my pre-owned car), but I really think the poor quality of the cheap eBay-type kit is to blame. Although the passenger-side HID outputs a good amount of light, the beam is totally diffused and barely makes a difference on the road compared to the driver side fog light. I have reinserted the bulb correctly, but it made no difference. I don't think it's a housing/installation issue, but a bulb quality issue. I can tell this kit is a cheap, Chinese-made one by the ballast.
I am not sure what kind of kit you have, but if it cost less than $200, it's not a very good one in terms of quality.
The best kits are German or Japanese made (Japanese kits are actually rare and hard to find outside Japan) and use German Philips bulbs. Most people on automotive forums concede that the Philips HID kits are the best ones, but the real ones are close to $300. If a German Philips costs less than $200, it's probably a fake.
If your kit is rather new, first swap the bulbs. If the problem persists for the other housing, then do a warranty claim on the bulb. Most kits (even cheap ones) come with some sort of warranty. The warranty typically covers the bulbs for a period of time and the igniter/ballast for longer.
Pic not working. Couple things it could be though as I just went through installing HID's myself. The bulb holders on the Kizashi headlights put the bulbs rotated. Doesn't matter for halogen, but puts the return wire on an hid capsule into the beam and creates a shadow. Solved by trimming the capsules base to allow it to sit with the wire on the bottom. Second problem I had was the ballasts. Don't know which ones you have, but I had the G4 mini ballasts and they are crap. Swapped for a pair of fat ballasts and the difference is night and day. The slim mini ballasts don't have enough juice to fully power the bulbs, they were dim and very blue, and had little more output than the halogens. Nothing wrong with the bulbs, just the ballasts.
Great info wylie! Thank you. I did notice the bulbs going in rotated and wondered about the return wire when i put it in but i didnt remember seeing anyone else mention it on here before. We should compile this data along with the complete how to remove the bumper and where the position bulb goes into a nice sticky for the future. I do have mini ballasts and cheap bulbs but my output seems good. Were you able to cram the full sized ballasts inside the headlight assembly? Maybe i will throw in some 55watt ones when i have time to dedicate to another driveway kizashi rhinoplasty.
Fixed pic
I mounted the ballasts using the brackets they came with, under the headlight on the lower rear headlight mounting bolt. Rotating the bulb was as easy as snipping a new flat on the base with a pair of side cutters. I can drop the front bumper in less than 5 minutes. Undo the top screws, and the screw in the corner of each wheel opening. Pop the sides out and tilt it down until it rests on the ground. Unplugging the marker lights of course. It's tight slipping over the styrofoam, but it will go. I have cheap bulbs too, Super Vision, but they work great with the better ballasts.
you didnt undo all the screws along the bottom? Mine has like 10 screws on the bottom and ive broken enough clips on the car already that i didnt want to risk tearing or breaking something if i just stretched it over the foam
