HID Reliability

Searched around a bit and couldnt pick up any info on this particular subject.

Hopefully going to be doing a retrofit at the beginning of the year and just wanted to see what experiences people had with the reliability and longevity of their HID setups compared to the halogen setup.

Bulb life, ballast life, ect. This would be my first time gettin into HID lighting so just trying to get as much info as I can before I jump into this one.

Thanks Guys

 

Ddm slim ballasts and 35 w bulbs. 2 years no problems.

 

DDM slim ballast are hit or miss, my civic has no problem at all since 2008 but on my 2010 highlander, I have to turn it on and off to make it work thats why I retrofit it with Morimoto D2S from TRS which a night and day difference. You know what is funny, I didn't even have a Tacoma yet but I'm going to buy one as soon I got home next May and I already have a set of FX-R waiting at home.

Try this one. 25% off. I used one of the group buy for my set of FX-R.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/gr...buy-25-off-lets-see-list-thanks-matt-trs.html

 

Ddm 2yrs no issues

 

DDM.

1 Issue in about 1 year and a half and they were very helpful very fast. Had no problems with their lifetime warranty and I am as far as you be from them.

 

I've had my DDM HIDs for a year with no problems so far.

 

So then I guess this leads me to my next question.

Get the full kit from TRS or just get the projectors and shrouds and get ballasts and bulbs somewhere else?

 

i have a plug and play DDM kit i got at sharphid.com (35w 4500k slim ballast)

they had great customer service, the kits seems good and i have had issues for about 8 months.

I think that the plug and play kits are a complete waste, they do throw more light and its much whiter, but its so scattered and its blinding, not really any sort of improvement over stock. I would not recommend getting one. just get some good replacement bulbs unless you want to do a proper (expensive and time consuming) retrofit projector project. like i said i have a plug and play, but it was a real waste. people here had pics and stories about how great and easy those kits are but to be honest, maybe they are opk for off road, but i say save your money and do it right, or dont do it at all, or give me your money and you can have my kit

 

get a true retro-fit projector kit or just stay stock, the plug and play HID kits that just go in the stock lense / bowl are crap

 

Im just wanting info on how the bulbs and ballasts last compared to halogen to see if its worth my money. If I do end up gettin HID, im doing a retrofit.

 

i think that they will both last longer than a high priced halogen

people spend $50 on "high quality" "brighter " halogens and they last 6-12 months

guys here have run 3+ years with HID bulbs / ballasts

 

anyone have problems with HID's being slightly different in color regardless of having matching bulbs?

 

FWIW, those 'high priced halogens' you're referring to state right on the box that the brighter bulbs have a much shorter bulb life. Next time you're at an auto parts store, pick up the Slyvania Silverstar bulbs and look at the ratings. They clearly state the bulb life is on the order of 1/4 of the standard bulbs so people buying high priced, brighter halogen bulbs expecting long bulb life need to do their homework. They are much brighter but there's a downside. Sorry, didn't mean to derail your thread OP.

I'm running HID's on my motorcycle, 1 year strong so far and they have a harder life than those installed on a truck because of the uneven voltage at start up and pulsing voltage when the bike is idle at a stop light.

 

No worries, my questions are still gettin answered

 

trs morimoto or oem period i personally would choose the trs ballast i have run them exclusively on my truck and they perform awesome can't complain. i did however have a plug corrode one time form water making it way into the plug the fix for this is as so.

if your concerned about reliability invest in a tube of dielectric grease and hit every plug of your harness and then a light coat of liquid electrical tape.

in general you could expect from a quality system around 2 to 4 years of trouble free operation i replace my bulbs every year or 2 to avoid a dulling color shift to keep things fresh and bright. the halide salts in them lose some potency after a certain amount of hours. hence the color shift.

the morimoto ballast are completely water proof and fully potted in silicon on the inside just like a g-shock watch there internals are very nice and mine have been very reliable i recommend them 100% most of the oem ballast are not sealed at all since they are mounted inside the housings in a lot of cases just an fyi. you could seal them your self with some butyl rubber and silicon or just go the morimoto route either way you will not be able to tell the difference.

the matsushida ballast i had did not take so long to warm up as my 3fives did but the 2nd gen morimoto ballast seemed to even correct that as well now i truly can't tell the difference at all.

 

Looks like ill be doing a retro, my new headlights fogged up on me so I think im going to take the DTRL lenses outta these and put them in the OEM lights to replace the cracked/ melted ones. So since i have to rip em open might as well do a little upgrading ahaha.

 

Since this is a reliability thread I'll stick this question in here... My biggest concern is the longevity of the projector itself, especially the ones in our Tacomas since it has a moving part when you switch from low beam to high beam. How long do they typically last, do you have to tear apart the headlight every couple of years to service them (lubricate for example). The fear of the projector itself malfunctioning and having to redo the retrofit has been the biggest deterrent for me personally.

 

I used a single xenondepot phillips kit (made in germany) for 8 years and it never had a problem, aside from the fuse that became corroded and eventually blew. I spent more on that kit than I would like to admit. It still was working, but the fatty ballasts became slightly corroded on their edges, and some of the connector pins also became corroded. The degraded reliability wasn't worth installing it and then having to remove and reinstall with something else at a later time.