Guys, I'm not sure if this is normal or if this is something wrong with my wiring harness.

But my lights only turn on once in one setting. So for example; I turn on my car and it's dark so my HIDs turn on great. Lets say I need to turn them off for a second because I'm waiting to pick up my fiance from something so I let the car idle but turn off the lights. She comes out and I try to turn on the lights again and nothing but halo. Turn it off and back on and one light comes one. Do it again and the other one comes on, but the one that was just on turns off.

During all this on and off, I get a quack type noise coming from the car. No idea what it is.

I turn off the car for a few and then turn it back on and the HIDs work again. It's like I can't have the car on and turn off the lights. Oh and when I have the HIDs on or Halos on my DIC (I think that's what it's called) doesn't respond as fast. So if I try to switch displays from fuel range to coolant temp, it's a very slow long process. I have to push and hold the info button and wait for it to switch then it does and I have to repeat it slowly.

I noticed the wiring harness I got from BuyHIDs looks different than the picture. So I'm thinking that it may be the source of the problem, but I'm not sure.

Here's a video for visual and audio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHX1NTZulw0

 

ask mike, he might be able to help
i have the same exact setup as you and i dont have that problem.

 

Pics of your fiance. Jk , so you got them from buyhids. Has to be the wiring.

 

well luckily I bought another wiring harness like an idiot when I bought my fogs. It looks different than my other one so I'll try that out today.

 

You're new harness you bought isn't gonna have connections for the high beam solenoid.

 

Are you sure, it has the exact same connections as the one shown in the installation instructions

The original one that came with my retrofits has Chinese writing on the box and has 3 ground wires (one for fuse box 2 for frame of car) The HIDs won't work unless both frame grounds are in place. It's way different than the photo

edit*** oh the big blue connection I gotcha. yeah you're right it doesn't have that. son of a..... well I'll call TRS tomorrow and ask them for a new harness. Maybe that'll fix the problem. I even get a little flickering on my diverside HID

 

well I spoke with Mike and he said he has the quack issue as well he's not sure what it is. he's gonna email TRS to see what's up with it.

he said just leave it off for about 30 seconds then try again and they will work as intended.

I just tested it out and I get quack noise and after waiting 30 seconds it worked again. its weird for sure.

 

i smell a refund

 

I think that "quack" noise your talking about is a bad/loose connector to the bulb. Does it almost sound like an electricity zapping noise? That's what happened when I turned on my headlights with the ballasts fully connected and powered and only one headlight plugged in.

 

You got them from Buy HIDS. thats the problem.

I've had to reseal my retros, replace the bulbs, and now build my own harnesses because they died and had loose wiring....

 

It's more a quack than an electrical noise. I'll youtube it so you guys can see what I'm talking about. I'll wait until it's a little darker so you guys can see the alternating working HIDs.

 

Well where should I get them from? Asian guy or what ever his name is?

Oh here's the video so you guys can get an idea.

YouTube - Cobalt SS Turbocharged Issues with Retrofits

 

are these the G3 Retros? If so i hated mine and they never worked for more than a week

 

No idea ordered them Feb 7th got them 90 days later.

 

Those are the mini h1s. Pull your headlights out and look at the plugs for the hid bulb. Tug on both sides of the connectors, I bet one of the wires pulls out

 

What do you mean, I guess I don't understand this post. They are mini h1s, but why is this relevant to my issue?

 

If the connectors are loose or not getting a good connection, you'll get a sort of "zapping" sound for a quick second. Check these connectors I've circled. I had it happen on a fog light bulb once. The entire wire + pin pulled out.



It's worth a shot at least checking out if you pull out the headlights.

 

Oh nice, thanks!

I'll definitely have to try it out!

Yeah I'll check it out tomorrow to see if this helps. What I find weird is if it was a loose connection why would it take 30 seconds of it being off to fix? It works if the light has been off for 30 seconds? So when I start my car and turn on my HIDs it works, but if I for some reason turn it off even for a second one stops working for a bit. Then to get it back on I have to turn it off wait 30 seconds and turn it back on.

That doesn't seem like a connection issue, does it?

 

I don't really know, might be something like the car isn't letting the light come on for 30 seconds. Loose connections can be finicky. It's the only thing I can think of really. I've never heard of this issue you're having, so I'm just trying to come up with ideas. If it turns out to be a loose wire, do what I did, and just shove the wire as far in as it will go, and tape the hell out of it. Worked for me.

 

Well this morning at around 6am I turn off my lights and waited 30 seconds and they still wouldn't come on, this time both lights wouldn't, but the halos did. It was bright enough outside to be okay, but if this happens during pitch black night I'm screwed.

It's super unsafe. I need to get a refund or get it worked out asap.

I wonder if mike will exchange the retrofits with

I hear these have less issues. What are these?

 

Those are 3rd gens. They do have lens issues like all the rest. You'll be very unhappy with the output of those compared to your retrofits when they're working. If you can't figure them out, since mike made them, send them back and see if he'll fix them. It could be a bad relay too. Did this happen after a heavy rain?

 

Yeah the day I installed them we had heavy rain. But I tucked the relay behind the fender so it should have been safe. Not sure who, but someone said the wires are water proof. But the first day i had them installed it rained and got my inverter box wet and the halo stopped working.

 

get in contact with mike. hes a good guy. i bought a set of retros from him and he sold me them as is for only a paint flaw reason and i had a problem and i talked with him and he let me send them back and he fixed them for me.

 

Okay guys, after taking out the headlight and trying to pinpoint the noise I've discovered it's the bulb itself making the noise. The buzzing noise is the bulb. Now I'm gonna switch my fog ballast with my HID ballast since they're the same and see if it's the ballast. If so then well faulty ballast if not, my guess and assumption is the bulb.

Wish me luck

update***

I think it's the ballasts. They're making the buzz. Maybe their good for one ignition of the HIDs per second then they need to build a charge to ignite again. Or maybe I have a faulty ballast?