Projectors always take a second time to ignite now.

Ok so I've got the morimoto 35w hid kit with projectors. I've had them installed for about a year and a half. A few months ago I started having problems with the hids igniting. I've told Trs about the problem and they said to test the ballasts first by connecting it straight to the battery. This was after they told me to check the little gold box , the connector, for any signs of damage or loose connection but it still looks brand new..
Now, this problem is kind of intermittent. I want to say its the ballasts, but I suppose it could be many things. I just don't know where to start to diagnose it. I heard a while back that people were having problems with their ballasts in cold situations, but mine seems to be the opposite. Seems the warmer it is the harder it is for them to ignite. But for all I know it could be a bad connection somewhere. But I really don't think so. I made sure all my wiring was done with the best connectors and took my sweet time installing it.
What happens, is the hids don't ever ignite the first time when I turn the headlights on. I have turn the switch back off, then the second time they will ignite. There have been about three instances where they wouldn't ignite at all for about 5 min.s when I sat there switching it off and on a thousand times until they finally ignited. This mostly happens when they've been on for an extended time and if I turn them off then back on they won't ignite for a while. Almost like it has to cool down before they'll ignite again. There has been one instance where they were on only momentarily, then they wouldn't come on again If shut off. Lately it just seems to take two times for them to work. Getting annoying and want to fix this. Hoping someone has had a similar problem or maybe what could be causing this.

 

Bummer.... Where is the ballast Mounted for each side, and with what?

 

On the fender wall each side. Mounted with the little metal bracket they supplied. I was wondering if that may be an issue. Because the bracket only has one point to mount on one end, and the ballast kinda vibrates/wiggles against the fender because it's so heavy and the metal bracket is pretty thin and flimsy. But I've kinda tapped em when they wouldn't turn on and it didn't do anything.

Edit: And I live on a pretty rocky/bumpy dirt road so...

 

On a side note, I purchased the kit in Nov 2012. Although I haven't had them installed for that time. Like I said about 1.5 years. Whoever I spoke to at Trs said they didn't have the ballast issues since April 2013. So I'm wondering if maybe they thought I had purchased them after the new generation ballasts had been redesigned, seeing as I emailed them after that. But I would think they wouldve looked it up in their records. Idk. I'm just leaning towards ballasts. I don't see how the bulbs could cause this. Maybe the relay box but like I said it is nice and clean.
Other thoughts are, I do have a lot of wiring in that general area where the moto control box is mounted. For example my stereo amp wire, and my main battery cables are bunched up close to each other in that area but I don't see how it could cause interference given they are all fairly high quality and have sufficient insulators. Just a thought anyways, not sure if that'd be a cause. Um, my battery is fairly new. Optima yellow top. I have big 3 upgrade.. Idk just listing things that come to mind that may help describe my setup.
Maybe Andrew can chime in on this. Any help would be appreciated in diagnosing this.

 

Both not igniting at the same time? That seems like either the harness controller/truck battery going bad, or a grounding problem. Have you checked to see if your ground cables have corroded or anything?

Can't really diagnose any more without isolating components and trying them out separately.

 

Yeah both not igniting. Hmm didn't think about it like that. Guess those probly wouldn't both go bad at the same time. So I suppose it must be the controller or perhaps bad ground. And no it's not the battery. Or the cables themselves like corrosion. Everything is nice and clean and all new except the hid kit, but I don't see anything, and everything on it is waterproof... Maybe I'll pull the grounds and double check all the hid kit connections. Just a pain.

 

Are you running a relay kit for the HID's? If so, then either they may not be getting enough voltage (corrosion, faulty connection) or they could be sticking/worn out.

 

Mine started doing this about 3 months ago. Turned out my relay kits cover to keep dust and crap out of it came off and well, dust and crap got into it. I took it out, cleaned it really good with rubbing alcohol and its working great now.

 

Hmm alright well I guess I'll go pull the relay box out and clean it up. Last I looked it seemed pretty clean though. And I'll check the ground. I'll let you guys know soon. Gonna go do that in a little bit here. Thanks.

 

Well I took out the box. And it's still clean. No dust or gunk or anything. Really surprised actually from all the dust storms and rain and floods out here lately. But yeah, no change. Think I made it worse actually. After I plugged it back in it started working flawlessly. But then when I bolted it back down to the fender and tried it again, it wouldn't turn on at all. I pressed the connector in while it was bolted down too just to make sure it hadn't come loose. FINALLY got them to ignite after about 30-40 times. I even took the ground off and scraped really good around the fender so it had an even better contact and no change. Still comes and goes and isn't a pattern. Sometimes it works second try, sometimes takes a bunch of times till it ignites. My only other thought is I have about four other things grounded on that same spot. Could there be some kind of interference from something else that is grounded? Shouldn't be an issue right? Idk what else to do besides tear the entire thing out and re do everything.

 

Actually I just re-read your post and was wondering, were you just referring to the little rubber boot that covers the connector? Or the actual box itself you took apart and cleaned inside it? Because I saw a few tiny screws on there but didn't want to chance messing anything up inside that thing...

 

Bump. Anyone have any more suggestions before I tear all my wiring out? It actually got worse. Now it takes like 3-5 times to ignite.. Just haven't had time to take everything out. I got so many wires bundled up in there and it's gonna be a days worth of work just to re do it all probly. Am almost tempted to buy a new moto control/relay box and swap it.

 

replace both ballasts. throwing parts at it but you'll have the old one as spares which is prob a good idea to keep in the truck anyways...

 

Have you tried replacing just the bulbs yet?

HIDs are very similar to fluorescent bulbs you see in buildings. Over time these need to be changed as well.

The ballasts could be getting weak due to high voltage degrading some of the components but I suspect your bulbs are simply worn out.

 

Since a bad ground can cause all SORTS of weird problems, I would consider getting a dedicated ground point JUST for these. Also you can take a test light and connect it to the input to the ballast from the relay and check to see if it is supplying power every time. That will help narrow it down.

 

I have a consistent problem with the wires coming loose at where the ballasts plug into the harness. The plugs dont come loose but the wires inside the plugs do. It causes similar problems that you're describing. Could be your problem

 

Well I took a test light and tired a few different things. It turns out it is the moto control box/relay box. I tested power wires and it constantly gets power every time in, but not out to the ballasts. I took it out and took the whole thing apart. Again the connector did not show any signs of corrosion, burning/fading/blacking, no dirt was still clean. I took the guts out of it and there's no way to service/clean it. It's completely encased in a big block of some kind of gray rubber. So I put it all back together. So far, it seems to be working every time. But time will tell. At least if it happens again I know what exactly the problem part is and can claim a warranty replacement.

 

Well Trs is sending me a new moto control box. Seeing as the symptoms came back the next day. Thank goodness.