The bulb controller for one of my HID lights burned out (I ******* PUT IT IN YESTERDAY), so I said, "screw this, time to troubleshoot". I unscrewed the eight torx-10 screws that hold it together, then proceeded to take a look at it. I determined I didn't know what the **** I was examining, so I screwed it back up, connected it, and it works again. What the hell? Perhaps there is a God, and he's on my side. That's right, you Chinese sons of bitches, there is no Buddha to save you

Anyways, one thing I noticed was that the bulb controller is mounted right infront of the IC piping that connects to the TB (I have a year 2000; so it has little grooves for ballast mounting) so I'm thinking perhaps when I run my turbo too hard, the IC piping heats up, and so does the ballast as a result?

Upon opening it, I smelled something that had cooked nicely, and saw scorch marks on the inside of one of the frames that holds the ballast together (via the torx bolts). Obviously hope is not lost though; any comments on this, and how to maybe prevent future scares like this from happening? I know that VVME is going to charge me $910313905813095 for S&H for a replacement.

On a side note, I decided to test my theory out before the sun set, so once the ballast was working again (I know it was the ballast because I switched bulbs first, and both bulbs were fine) I decided to take it around for about 20 minutes and drive it semi-hard, to get things heated up in my engine. Worked just fine up until the end. I dunno what happened, or if it was a malfunction that was fixed, but meh. I hope it doesn't happen ever again [&:]

 

great, i just bought HID kits from vvme.

 

I know man, I hate to get you worried, but it's a real gamble. They're either unbelievable in quality and style, or they're a ******* defective piece of ****, which you need to pay to replace.


However, keep in mind most kits are ~ $200+, so your < $100 pricetag + perhaps a $45 additional charge would still be a "good deal"; the tradeoff being the headache you need to deal with.

Personally, I got mine shipped & handled for $72.99, which was a bomb diggity deal.

 

the ic hose isn't gona affect anything unless its touching it. the heat from the engine makes a bigger difference. maybe something's loose

 

I'll give it a look, I hope nothing is causing it to overheat.

The other ballast was just fine, in terms of heat. Turning on my non-existant foglights wouldn't do anything, would it? I removed it with my FMIC and I have the duct-taped connectors sitting somewhere close. (I turn them on so I can use the dual-rear fogs, since I haven't rewired it so I can do rear without front yet)

 

how do you know its overheating?

 

One is cold to the touch, and the other is warm. The first time I examined it, I popped the hood and saw some steam coming from the ballast controller.

Plus, as mentioned in the first post, I saw scorch marks on the inside of the ballast frame. Something smelled like it had cooked in there [X(]

 

well i would think that would probly be a result of the electronics inside going bad. move the ballast (set it on top of something that doesn't get hot), turn the car on, flick your lights on and just let it sit for awhile, then touch the ballast and see if its still warmer than the other one. if it is, then its the electronics inside. if not then its your placement