HID Flicker

Ya, when I get some things ironed out and things get settled.

Right now I've got too many damned projects going and none are getting done. It took me 3 months to get to installing the retros (the new Depo housings sat in the garage COMPLETED that long), I never have installed the power door locks that I bought almost a year ago.

 

Do you use a relay harness that draws power directly from the battery?

 

Following up... understand that the lights work, and do the job... you would never know it 'candle flickered' unless you drove up to a wall or in your garage and stared at the wall to see the movement. It doesn't get darker it just 'moves' within the lighted pattern.

 

Well as many who don't like DDM Tuning ballasts or any other product from them, I am a firm believer in their products for the price. I have had 0 issues with any of their products and will continue to buy parts from them.

As far as the flicker goes, does it stop when the brights are on or is it constant?

 

If you wired CCFL halos directly to the DRL, the flashing from the turn signal blew them.

 

Have you dealt with their customer service?

I used DDM products in a number of vehicles, and other than one ballast, I had no quality problems that couldn't be traced to bad grounding.
And I apologize to the other people on the road that had to deal with my splattering headlights.

Anyways, in 2009, they actually yanked their phone number. Posted on the web site they did it so their reps could take care of customers in the order problems were reported.
Toward the end of 2010, they announced that they were no longer selling retrofit systems as of March 2011... March 2011 came and went and they didn't stop selling them, so I'm assuming there was a management change, or perhaps things went better for them after they relocated to Huntington Beach from San Diego.

I had a ballast replaced during the time their phones were "off" and it was a major hassle.

OP reported it's on both, which would be expected since burner power is not switched.

 

It doesn't start until they are warmed up, and continues as long as I had them on in my garage.

 

My passenger side did the same thing except it only lasted about 15 mins. I spoke with andrew regarding this and he stated "they've been having numerous prob's with the quality of the latest batch of V. Regs". They sent me new ones the same day....no questions asked. I don't know if the CCFL halos have the voltage reg. but I'm assuming that you have the LED ones..... Either way, give them a call... Great customer service in my book.

Oh and I too have the flikr described....It's identical...like a candle waving in a very slight breeze. I can see it while driving though and it's pretty annoying.

 

LED should not have been a problem even flashing.

And I'm not sure where this "relay harness required for halos" came from... Andrew said that it was not required for warranty, so if they have failed, you're in good shape.

 

The candle effect is the arc flickering in the HID envelope. It may go away after a good long burn time as the electrodes wear a little, or if it doesn't probably time to replace them. I've seen this in a few of the really cheap HID burners in the past when retrofitting rechargeable spotlights. Easy to spot there. Sometimes hard to spot on the car with the engine running...

 

A relay is never a bad idea.

So what's the breakdown on flicker...
Morimoto?
Philips?
Osram?

 

Have you looked into these... IVe done plenty of HID installs in different vehicles and every kit ive done with the D2s Came with these in a full kit

Antiflicker

not the Ebay kind but they shouldnt be bad. But regarless they should help with the flickering after warm up

 

Not needed on most Toyota vehicles.

That device "fools" the BCM into seeing the proper resistance so it does not trigger a "headlight out" warning. Most Toyotas do not have this circuit.

It will do nothing to impact "flicker" in these situations. The harness is providing constant power to the ballast (which is where this goes). The issue is in the lamp itself having an unstable arc.

 

Gottcha

 

Can someone tell me why you wouldnt just buy the complete headlight package from someplace like protuninglab (and if you have, are they worth it), they sell complete HID kits with the ballasts pre-wired for $300. And they claim to be plug and play. I didnt price the individual parts through TRS so I may be talking oout of my a$$

 

The projectors in aftermarket headlights are substandard at best. I haven't seen a good output shot from any of the aftermarket projector headlights. Also, aftermarket headlights are notorious for leakage. As far as the ballast that is offered I am sure it is a step down from a Morimoto ballast.

 

you get what you pay for

those are crap

 

Is it your passenger side, drivers side or both? Becasue my passenger side does the same thing...

 

Philips only makes a bulb in 4300k temp range. Anything other than that as you found out has to be sourced from another manufacturer. I guess the new Osram CBI bulbs are the cat's meow.

 

All good to know info, thats kind of what I expected to hear, I just wanted to hear it from someone that has actually dealt with the subject/parts/pieces involved. When they try to sell you a warranty and have a disclaimer about leakage on the first page of their web-site its saying something. I'll stick with factory for now and spend my $$$ on other mods.