HID + pothole = HID off. WTH?

Sometimes when I hit a bump or speedbump, my driver side HID bulb turns off. Usually I have to turn the lights off, then back on to have both turn on again. I find this very annoying, but even worse, sometimes I try to flick the lights off and on, and then BOTH of them don't turn on.

Is this a sign of a bad bulb or balast? Bad connection? Ground?

BTW these are HIDs from Slim's very first Group Buy on Toyota Nation, so 2.5 years ago.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Are these HIDs getting all their power from the stock headlight wiring or directly from the battery?

 

The power is from the battery. They are hooked up to the driver side headlight, but only to trigger on/off.

 

BUMP.

Now my lights don't work at all. But I bet if I go over a big speed bump, they turn back on.

Anyone know anything about this? Or is it time to get a new pair?

 

BUMP

 

Yeah. Actually the other night I went to check the fuses, hoping it was just an easy fix. I checked all of the 4 headlight fuses (R,L, & high beams) . After taking them out and puting them back in, only to see that all of the fuses were still good, my lights starting working! WTH right?

Then 2 days later, they stopped working again. I'm stumped

 

That's my guess. Good luck!

 

If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem...

Check your connections, usually if things go out when you hit a bump it means something is loose. Hard to tell if it's your ground or the hot wire since you need both to run the lights. I'd start with any non-factory wiring as it'll probably be easier to trace. See if any connections have corroded, wires rubbing and chaffed off their shielding, make sure grounds are tight, connections are still in tact, etc. Start with the simple stuff and go from there.

 

im gonna say the bulb went out, had this happen on my lancer two weeks ago, id pop in some new bulbs and try that 1st depending where you purchased them you might have a warranty on both the ballast and the bulbs

 

Thanks for all the tips. I'll be working on all of this soon and I'll update how things went.

 

sometimes it could mean the ballast too might wanna check that out maybe switch them and see if it does it too the passenger side good luck

 

Make sure your grounds are not on a painted surface. its got to be a loose ground. I grounded mine to the same ground the stock headlights are going into.

 

sounds like you have a short.. try changing your ground.

 

I think you guys are right about the ground.

I know exactly where it's grounded to and it isn't a very secure spot. In fact, the HIDs in my Hellas are also not working, and guess what, also grounded to the same spot.

Looks like an easy fix. It's just so damn hard to work on the truck during the holidays

 

When I had HID's in my previous vehicle I grounded them at a bad spot and it caused all sorts of electrical abnormalities. Strangely, the HID's worked still, but the rest of my lights and stuff acted all goofy. This happened using a factory ground location.

I'd try and find a separate ground location for the aftermarket lights if you haven't already.

 

I just wanted to update the thread.

It ended up being a loose ground. Easy fix. Thanks for all the help guys!