Lights flickering on the passenger side

octoberfestfan2008 · 12-08-2008, 08:42 PM

Hi folks,
Coming from Acura TL with HID, I figured I would put the HID Plug In and Play into my 2009 Civic Si Sedan. The vehicle is stock with the upgrade of HID. It was done about 10 days ago and today I noticed when I start up the car, the lights flicker a bit, and while I was driving, the passenger side flickered pretty intense. The light never went out, but it has this rapid flicker constant for a good 10 minutes before it became steady. The driver side was fine so my question is

A) Is it doing that because it's 28 degrees out? And needs to power up? (my TL which came with the factory HID never flickered.)
B) Is the right side balister(spelling?) a defect?

I called my carrier, he said the brand is from Europe and is a good private brand called (something DIGITAL...I forgot the name.) It is not one of those cheap product from ebay. He is a very reliable carrier who does alarm, turbo, s/c etc., He said it might need some additional harness since the right side isn't getting enough voltage...

is that true or BS? I am thinking if this is going to give me trouble, I might as well go back to stock Halogen. I still have the stock bulbs with me and I am afraid the flicker will make the bulb go out?
and by the way, after 10 minutes the light never flickered again.... so I am baffled.
Please help, I don't know too much about HID lights.

octoberfestfan2008 · 12-08-2008, 08:44 PM

btw it's a 6000k bulb, not the typical crazy 8000 or above HID. I went as factory look as I can.

thanks for your input in advance.

***db8typer*** · 12-08-2008, 09:09 PM

Do you have a HID relay?

VictoryIsMine · 12-08-2008, 09:19 PM

My guess is that regardless of what the guy told you, the brand is just another cheap brand. I had a similar problem with my kit that I ordered through Fashtek, which sells German products supposedly. I tried switching the bulbs, and the same thing happened regardless of the bulb. So, I finally took the ballast out and it was full of water. These ballasts were supposed to be waterproof. I would start out switching the bulbs and see if the problem persists. If the other bulb flickers, then it is the ballast. Good luck. I'm getting to be a pro at taking my front bumper off because of these damn headlights.

si_civic · 12-08-2008, 10:05 PM

Flickering can be caused by lower-end conversion kits that are universal in design. Now, not to say your kit is lower end, but it may be.

I had this problem too in my conversion kit when I had my 07 Civic Si, and it was the ballast that was to blame. Warranty replaced it and it didn't flicker as much.

I believe there should be a relay installed to eliminate fully the flickering problem. Remember you're going from 55w to 35w.

Darryl

octoberfestfan2008 · 12-08-2008, 10:33 PM

Yes, I believe it has something to do with the heavy rain on saturday night while I driving (over an hour and parked for about 6 hours.) The HID kit is suppose to be WATERPROOF, yet flickering began only on the passenger side day after the rain. I am heading to the shop and get my stock bulbs installed back. I don't want trouble and problems so I am just going back to original halogen lights and suck up the less visibility.
I am not about to have the bumper taken off, change the bulbs, more flicker, take bumper off, change ballast, it will drive me crazy. HID lights isn't worth that much trouble.

***striker_1818*** · 12-09-2008, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by octoberfestfan2008

Yes, I believe it has something to do with the heavy rain on saturday night while I driving (over an hour and parked for about 6 hours.) The HID kit is suppose to be WATERPROOF, yet flickering began only on the passenger side day after the rain. I am heading to the shop and get my stock bulbs installed back. I don't want trouble and problems so I am just going back to original halogen lights and suck up the less visibility.
I am not about to have the bumper taken off, change the bulbs, more flicker, take bumper off, change ballast, it will drive me crazy. HID lights isn't worth that much trouble.

that's why OEM > ebay kits.
All great websites that sell you "OMGZ QUALITY HIDZ" are just relabeled ebay ballasts

octoberfestfan2008 · 12-09-2008, 11:29 AM

^ Negative. READING IS YOUR FRIEND. I bought it from a trusted authorized dealer under warranty, not from ebay.

***striker_1818*** · 12-10-2008, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by octoberfestfan2008

^ Negative. READING IS YOUR FRIEND. I bought it from a trusted authorized dealer under warranty, not from ebay.

Sorry to tell you this but your "trust dealer" just bought a bunch of ebay ballasts as wholesale and rebaleled as their own.
Knowledge is your friend

feichai · 12-10-2008, 02:26 AM

i just had the same problem a couple days ago, my ballast got water in it and started flickering pretty bad until it went out.

***striker_1818*** · 12-10-2008, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feichai

i just had the same problem a couple days ago, my ballast got water in it and started flickering pretty bad until it went out.

its most likely the connection that's getting corroded with the water coming in from bad weather.

feichai · 12-10-2008, 04:03 AM

my problem was that i had gotten in an accident a while back, and took the ballast apart, so now it doesn't seal correctly, and so water got in and got effed up

***striker_1818*** · 12-10-2008, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feichai

my problem was that i had gotten in an accident a while back, and took the ballast apart, so now it doesn't seal correctly, and so water got in and got effed up

theyre cheap nowdays so ehh it's like tossing a halogen bulb nowdays lol

octoberfestfan2008 · 12-10-2008, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by striker_1818

Sorry to tell you this but your "trust dealer" just bought a bunch of ebay ballasts as wholesale and rebaleled as their own.
Knowledge is your friend

true. I am now back to stock.

Red_Devil · 12-10-2008, 02:26 PM

ewww stock *shudders*

octoberfestfan2008 · 12-10-2008, 03:43 PM

It's not that bad having stock. I am tired of dealing with HID flickering issues. I have seen plenty of eye headlight HID wannabe car out there. Our Si isn't that easy to change the ballast or the HID bulb itself. You have to take the bumper off or go around it, it's such a pain in the ass. NO THX.

HTX · 12-10-2008, 04:27 PM

Pnp kits make ur car look tacky and cheap. Retro or gtfh...

i bought a pnp kit and never installed it after seein so many shitboxes with them running around town. The new hottest mod among ricers and jackoffs in turbo diesel pickups... the only pnp kit i would use is for yellow fogs and thats still a slim chance.

octoberfestfan2008 · 12-10-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HTX

Pnp kits make ur car look tacky and cheap. Retro or gtfh...

i bought a pnp kit and never installed it after seein so many shitboxes with them running around town. The new hottest mod among ricers and jackoffs in turbo diesel pickups... the only pnp kit i would use is for yellow fogs and thats still a slim chance.

Totally agree. There are many folks on this forum that use PnP HID kit and works fine. I give them props but I just don't want the headache. Coming from 2004 Acura TL, I missed the HID so I figured I would go to my trusted dealer to get a kit. The kit I have is very bright, and great quality but the flickering got me frustrated. 4 yrs I had on oem HID kit in TL never once flickered.

I can live with halogen bulbs, the fog lights that came with the car makes it visible enough.

mistergizmo007 · 12-10-2008, 06:00 PM

well all i did is cut the plug and play and rewiring the whole thing and its actually better... no more water goes in the socket.. i had them for 3 yrs with no problem... except one of my ballast died on me.... and that was it... the rest is fine...i did a research and they said that ballast dont really last long....

12-08-2008, 08:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
octoberfestfan2008 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NorthEast Posts: 543 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Lights flickering on the passenger side Hi folks, Coming from Acura TL with HID, I figured I would put the HID Plug In and Play into my 2009 Civic Si Sedan. The vehicle is stock with the upgrade of HID. It was done about 10 days ago and today I noticed when I start up the car, the lights flicker a bit, and while I was driving, the passenger side flickered pretty intense. The light never went out, but it has this rapid flicker constant for a good 10 minutes before it became steady. The driver side was fine so my question is A) Is it doing that because it's 28 degrees out? And needs to power up? (my TL which came with the factory HID never flickered.) B) Is the right side balister(spelling?) a defect? I called my carrier, he said the brand is from Europe and is a good private brand called (something DIGITAL...I forgot the name.) It is not one of those cheap product from ebay. He is a very reliable carrier who does alarm, turbo, s/c etc., He said it might need some additional harness since the right side isn't getting enough voltage... is that true or BS? I am thinking if this is going to give me trouble, I might as well go back to stock Halogen. I still have the stock bulbs with me and I am afraid the flicker will make the bulb go out? and by the way, after 10 minutes the light never flickered again.... so I am baffled. Please help, I don't know too much about HID lights.

12-10-2008, 04:27 PM	#17 (permalink)
HTX Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Houston Posts: 2,121 iTrader: 3 / 100%	Pnp kits make ur car look tacky and cheap. Retro or gtfh... i bought a pnp kit and never installed it after seein so many shitboxes with them running around town. The new hottest mod among ricers and jackoffs in turbo diesel pickups... the only pnp kit i would use is for yellow fogs and thats still a slim chance. Last edited by HTX; 12-10-2008 at 04:33 PM.

12-10-2008, 06:00 PM	#19 (permalink)
mistergizmo007 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NYC BrOOkLyN Posts: 254 aNdRe iTrader: 0 / 0%	well all i did is cut the plug and play and rewiring the whole thing and its actually better... no more water goes in the socket.. i had them for 3 yrs with no problem... except one of my ballast died on me.... and that was it... the rest is fine...i did a research and they said that ballast dont really last long.... Last edited by mistergizmo007; 12-10-2008 at 06:02 PM.

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12-08-2008, 08:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
octoberfestfan2008 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NorthEast Posts: 543 iTrader: 0 / 0%	btw it's a 6000k bulb, not the typical crazy 8000 or above HID. I went as factory look as I can. thanks for your input in advance.

12-08-2008, 09:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
*db8typer* VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Torrance/Southbay Area Posts: 11,438 iTrader: 43 / 100%	Do you have a HID relay?

12-08-2008, 09:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
VictoryIsMine Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Muncie, IN Age: 31 Posts: 154 Brian iTrader: 2 / 100%	My guess is that regardless of what the guy told you, the brand is just another cheap brand. I had a similar problem with my kit that I ordered through Fashtek, which sells German products supposedly. I tried switching the bulbs, and the same thing happened regardless of the bulb. So, I finally took the ballast out and it was full of water. These ballasts were supposed to be waterproof. I would start out switching the bulbs and see if the problem persists. If the other bulb flickers, then it is the ballast. Good luck. I'm getting to be a pro at taking my front bumper off because of these damn headlights.

12-08-2008, 10:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
si_civic Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: B.C. ,Canada Age: 32 Posts: 4,611 A/Cst.D.F.Abate iTrader: 10 / 100%	Flickering can be caused by lower-end conversion kits that are universal in design. Now, not to say your kit is lower end, but it may be. I had this problem too in my conversion kit when I had my 07 Civic Si, and it was the ballast that was to blame. Warranty replaced it and it didn't flicker as much. I believe there should be a relay installed to eliminate fully the flickering problem. Remember you're going from 55w to 35w. Darryl

12-08-2008, 10:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
octoberfestfan2008 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NorthEast Posts: 543 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Yes, I believe it has something to do with the heavy rain on saturday night while I driving (over an hour and parked for about 6 hours.) The HID kit is suppose to be WATERPROOF, yet flickering began only on the passenger side day after the rain. I am heading to the shop and get my stock bulbs installed back. I don't want trouble and problems so I am just going back to original halogen lights and suck up the less visibility. I am not about to have the bumper taken off, change the bulbs, more flicker, take bumper off, change ballast, it will drive me crazy. HID lights isn't worth that much trouble.

12-09-2008, 11:29 AM	#8 (permalink)
octoberfestfan2008 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NorthEast Posts: 543 iTrader: 0 / 0%	^ Negative. READING IS YOUR FRIEND. I bought it from a trusted authorized dealer under warranty, not from ebay.

12-10-2008, 02:26 AM	#10 (permalink)
feichai Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: washington Posts: 3,119 sam iTrader: 9 / 100%	i just had the same problem a couple days ago, my ballast got water in it and started flickering pretty bad until it went out.

12-10-2008, 04:03 AM	#12 (permalink)
feichai Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: washington Posts: 3,119 sam iTrader: 9 / 100%	my problem was that i had gotten in an accident a while back, and took the ballast apart, so now it doesn't seal correctly, and so water got in and got effed up

12-10-2008, 02:26 PM	#15 (permalink)
Red_Devil Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Oregon Posts: 3,283 Ethan iTrader: 0 / 0%	ewww stock shudders

12-10-2008, 03:43 PM	#16 (permalink)
octoberfestfan2008 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NorthEast Posts: 543 iTrader: 0 / 0%	It's not that bad having stock. I am tired of dealing with HID flickering issues. I have seen plenty of eye headlight HID wannabe car out there. Our Si isn't that easy to change the ballast or the HID bulb itself. You have to take the bumper off or go around it, it's such a pain in the ass. NO THX.