Radio/headlight interference help

I just installed new headlights and I've noticed that when I turn them on I get a lot of static interference on my radio. Turn the headlights off and the signal clears up instantly. Any ideas on what to do?

 

What kind of headlights?

 

Spyder HID halo projectors with leds

 

This is a semi-common issue with LED's. The high frequency load it puts on the electrical system can interfere with radio frequencies.

 

Ok. so what can be done to fix it?

 

I have the spyder halo led headlights with NO hids and don't have any interference. It may be your HIDs

 

Stream audio from your phone, maybe satelite radio won't have an issue depending on the frequency? There's always CD's.
Is it all stations that have issues or certain ones?

 

I've heard of this before. I would check your grounds for your headlights. They need to be properly secured to your frame. Sand the frame around your grounding points and secure with a large metal flat washer. You might have to use a flat washer on both sides of your frame to get a proper ground. Before spray painting your connections, check your radio to see if it has improved. If it hasn't, relocate your grounding points to another location on your frame. Once you have everything secured, paint with krylon to prevent rust and try again.

-J

 

I just checked. Every station. It's my HIDs that causing the interference. When its just parking lights or my high beams, the signal is fine.

JustAddMud- Where do the headlights ground from? The new ones for the most part just plugged into the connectors.

Would moving the ballasts make a difference?(I don't want to move them because it's a PITA to drill holes in there)

 

same shit happened to me when I had mine... when I got my colorshift retrofit with oracle rings it went back to normal.. I wouldn't say that was the cheapest way to fix it!!

 

I think buying new hids would fit it.. I could be wrong

 

I'll see if I can't find the post about grounds when I get home. Searching on my phone is too slow. IIRC there should be a black wire somewhere in your circuit which would be the grounds coming off of your ballast. Disclaimer: Don't go cutting wires just yet. Let me see if I can't find that post first. You might have to relocate your ballast as well.

-J

 

if it is a poor ground Try to keep your ground wire(s) less than 18" long and of the same guage or larger than the power. Use a star washer for your ground not a flat washer, a star washer actually digs into the metal of the body and of the ring terminal you are grounding.

 

Switching power supplies are noisy if all else fails go to Radio Shack and buy snap on toroid chokes loop as many turns of the wire that goes to the power supply as you can in the toroid.

 

Ok so now that I'm home and not using my thumbs on a small phone, I did some research. Initially I thought you did a retrofit with a kit for true HID lighting. Now to get started, I'm under the impression that you have installed the PRO-YD-TT05 Sypder headlights in your 08 Prerunner? If this is the case I can see what you mean by a plug and play setup. I looked at sypder's included installation guide on their website for the 05-11 taco and it seemed fairly straight forward to me. Now what isn't clear is how the LED surrounds are connected. Were they just loose wires that required you to find your *TURN* signal wire feeds and your *PARK* light wire feed from your existing wire harness on the Tacoma side of the connections? I watched their Youtube video regarding this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKzWl6-Fac0&list=PLtRI8AIsQYHSi5_J09llNi3xxQ_O3JGZ1

After watching the video, it looks like to me that they have you find your sources using a volt meter. How did you connect up these wires? Are you 100% positive you selected the correct wire leads for the appropriate application? I would double check your LED hookups a second time. Once you have verified the connections, I highly suggest soldering the connections together. If you do solder, make sure your using appropriate electrical grade solder. I like to use solder that has the Flux embedded into the solder as this saves me a step. Environmental splices work too, to an extent. Heat shrink the connections to protect against the elements and make sure the wires aren't in anyway touching the opposite wire as a short or arcing might happen.

Bottom line, I believe it has something to do with your LED wiring. If you take the LED's out of the picture (Read: disconnect them) and your radio problem fixes itself then you have narrowed down the problem. Hopefully this helped a little or at least gave you a starting point.

-J

 

I thank you for your time and effort, but I know that the LEDs aren't the problem. It is the HIDs. The LEDs are on during every light setting. The only time i get interference is when I have my low beams(HIDs) engaged.

 

Have you tried unplugging just one headlight and trying to see if you can't narrow down the issue? If the sound gets better maybe you can narrow down the trouble headlight. I'm unfamiliar with their ballast setup. Have you tried to contact Spyder regarding this issue?

-J