i did a quick search on google and on here and couldn't find a good answer for my question. i'm hoping for some help on this one.

short and simple i had purchased some hid projection headlights for my balt last march. everything worked fine until about 2 months ago. with the cold weather around the headlights will randomly turn off as i'm driving (only when it's roughly 25 degrees or colder out).

i did some research online and found that they need the constant power or instead of fading like hologen bulbs they'll just cut out. with the cold weather the car has bigger changes in the volts it produces and the hids work harder to stay going needing more power. with the cold weather and the drop in volts (even when simply releasing the gas to coast) the headlights will turn off on me and it gets worse the colder it is.

i am hoping someone has had this problem and fixed it themselves or that someone knows the solution. i've heard one way to fix this would be to insulate the hid ballast because it sounds as though it didn't come pre-insulated. if this is the case i need help finding out how others have done it. i would need a material that won't draw in and hold moisture to the ballast and something that's not flamible that will hold in head for them to stay running in the cold and not cut out.

any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

go back to stock.

i <3 u

 

either your alternator isnt supplying enough power, there is a bad/poor connection OR the HID electrical box isnt liking the cold weather and is defective.

 

ya my hid's have no problems in the winter, they've never once cut out on me.

 

can you check you Volts whial driving? remember your alternator/battery light wont come on till like 10.7v

 

r u running on a relay setup or a plug and play????

 

can't sold my stock headlights to p and i wanted brighter lights for my trips down to visit you

you stole my headlights i've read there's ballasts that are not insulated and i think mine are not cuz it only happens when cold

i know about 8-10 other people who have this problem with their hids

i'll have to find a way to check

i had to splice into my stock wiring and wire it. no plug and play and i just started looking into a relay to see if that'll fix the problem but i'm not sure yet. still think the biggest problem is being uninsulated since there's insulated and uninsulated boxes and it only happens when it's cold.

the week in my when got back into the 30s i did lots of driving and they didn't cut out once at all and that was over a few nights, as soon as it dropped back to low 20s they started cuttin out again and now that it's below 0 they do it a lot. it gets more common the colder it is and isn't a problem at all when it's warm out

 

i'm sorry but that just doesn't add up. it should have nothing to do with the cold. mine worked perfectly in -50c weather. but then again mine are plug and play. how did you connect the wires to your harness? did you use quick connects or did you do it the correct way and solder them.

 

just sounds like ur trying to draw too much power from ur battery. ur alternator could be cooked cus its not working hard enough to supply a good level of power at lower rpm's. i went thru 3 alternators on my explorer from my stereo and i knew they were going when id have to rev my engine to 1500rpm at lights to keep my lights from fading when my stereo was on.

 

damn i wish i could help you out but... socal...

on another note, i have stock mitsu HID's and ebay HIDs in my headlights and going up into the snowy mountains i have never had a problem...

where did you get the HIDs from???

 

Using a relay harness will ensure constant power directly from the battery. Because of the larger draw on the battery in the winter with the rear defrost and heat running constantly it could be drawing too much power and fluctuating the power to the HID's. It all depends on the HID kit, some are better than others when it comes to the power required to keep them running. I would recommend using a relay harness almost anytime you do HIDs.

 

they are spliced into my stock wires. i took it up to the mechanic who installed my stage 2 and other aftermarket gm parts and he pulled up the wiring diagram and did the connections and soldered them while i was watching

i've read all over it's the cold. you probably have an insulated ballast which doesn't require as much work to keep the power flowing. i'm assuming mine are uninsulated. like i said too, the warmer it is the less it happens if at all. the colder it gets the more frequent the problem is.

that's a possibility and somoething i can look into but nothing else fades and i've unplugged my subs to make sure that wasn't the problem

no worries, glad yours are workin. stock mitsu hids are the insulated oem ballasts so i can see them workin fine all the time. i got the first gen projection hid halos from ebay. they work 100% fine when it's warm out.

i'm going to look into doing that myself. it sounds like a solid solution to keep the power flowing to them. appreciate the idea, i'll have to figure out a way to set that up

 

it wouldnt be the box most are good for crazy temps i think mine are good in a range from like -50c up to over 100c and i couldnt see the battery or alt being an issue since they only draw 35w or 55w (nothin more than a low beam halogen) maybe the conections are bad. I would check those maybe slap some dielectric on the conections.

Is it some ebay special hid kit?

I would recommend a ddm kit comes with harness, relays, ive had no issues with mine in -10f weather plus they come with cool 100hp stickers. 2 of them thats 200hp :-) but no i would suggest the ddm kit 50 bones and a "lifetime" warranty"

 

yea i know the Mitsu ones are. i was just wondering what brand and where you got your HIDs from.

i have ebay ones for my foglights and they work just fine in the cold also. post up a pic of your ballasts

 

200 hp, that's just what i wanted them for! i like the lifetime warranty thing. i'll have to check into that. thanks for the suggestions

they are from ebay. i'll post up a pic in the next day or two, i probably won't get any free time to do so right now.

this is the exact set of headlights i bought for my car. same seller, same model, everything. i got them back in march and only have troubles as it gets colder

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HID-0...Q5fAccessories

 

still lost... it was below 0 out a few days ago in the morning and on my way into work they constantly went out (probably 7 or 8 times) and yesterday it was about 10 above out and they went out only twice. today on my way into work it was 23 degrees outside and they didn't shut off on me once

i hope to get that relay in soon, i'm hoping that'll give them the power they need or i think i will just need to find an insulated oem ballast

appreciate the ideas in this thread, hopefully i'll find somethin to work soon

 

I've been havin problems with mine too. The worked fine for the first couple months but now they come on for a second then go right back off. I checked all my fuses and my connections and I can't find anything wrong. I got a plug and play set up and the only time they work is if I plug a halogen bulb into the other socket which I didn't have to do before.

 

Hey there Zehrenreich,

I'm sorry to hear of this concern with your vehicle. I will be glad to look further into this for you. Please feel free to contact us via private message if any extra help is needed. I look forward to hear from you!

Kristen A.
Chevrolet Customer Care