Problems with HID Retrofit Install

10secdream

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Sep 11, 2007
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I just got my H4 HID Hi/Lo kit in the mail the other day and I am having a problem trying to get the kit to work. I plugged the HID harness into my factory harness and only the halogen hi-beam component worked. I then tried rearranging the pins in the HID harness to see if that was the issue but I could not get both the hi-beams and lo-beams to work. Right now I have the HID lo-beams working but I have no hi-beams.

I was told I might need a relay to get this working properly. Does anyone have a diagram or a link to an install that can help me with my problem? If it helps the 3 pin connector on the HID has a red wire for the igniter on one pin, a red wire for the hi-beam part on another pin and finally 2 black wires for the grounds on the final pin.

Thanks in advance

Steve
 

10secdream

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Sep 11, 2007
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BorHor;1073288 said:
Are you sure this kit has HID High Beams?

It does not have HID hi beams. Rather it has HID low beams and Halogen hi beams. I just can't figure out how to wire it up so I can get the factory controls to operate the low and hi beams.
 

becauseican

Supramania Contributor
Mar 31, 2005
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What kit did you get, EBAY?, some of the HID kits have a relay for full battery voltage, and just use the original wires as the trigger. I know those kits can be finicky with lower (12V or less) voltages and bad grounds.
 

10secdream

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Sep 11, 2007
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I got the kit from a local group by. The system does not use a relay but rather plugs directly into the stock headlight harness. It has the same 3 prong connector.

I sat there with my multimeter for a good half an hour trying to figure out how the stock harness provides power to the lo and hi beams but I was unsuccessful. BTW the lighting works just fine with a regular H4 bulb.
 

BorHor

2JZ-GZE
Jan 10, 2006
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K thats what I thought. Mine I the same way but I do not remember how I wired it to work. It was something like you have to route the Hi beam bulb wires to the signal wire. It has been over a year and a half so I don't really remember, Sorry.
 

sneakypete

Regular Member
Jul 18, 2007
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Central NJ
so there are two plugs which fit into the factory harness? because those are the ones which should receive the hi beam signal. also be sure to test the ground wire on the kit. turns out the harness i got had a bad ground connector and gave me a huge headache and a ballast.
-pete
 

10secdream

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Sep 11, 2007
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Its not 2 plugs just 1 single plug that has the both the hi and lo beam signal on it. I checked all the grounds and they are good. The HID low beam and the Halogen hi beam share the same ground and each has a separate wire for the 12V source.
 

10secdream

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Sep 11, 2007
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BorHor;1073476 said:
K thats what I thought. Mine I the same way but I do not remember how I wired it to work. It was something like you have to route the Hi beam bulb wires to the signal wire. It has been over a year and a half so I don't really remember, Sorry.

That is too bad you do not remember. I might just put the hi beams on a switch with a relay or something.
 

sneakypete

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Jul 18, 2007
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10secdream;1073541 said:
Its not 2 plugs just 1 single plug that has the both the hi and lo beam signal on it. I checked all the grounds and they are good. The HID low beam and the Halogen hi beam share the same ground and each has a separate wire for the 12V source.

i had the same harness. same thing happened to me. do your foglights work? have they ever worked? if not, try to foglight rewire... that fixed my problem. not really sure why, but it did
-pete
 

Facime

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Jun 1, 2006
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Nocheez;1073496 said:
This is part of the reason that HID's shouldn't be retrofitted on cars that didn't come with them...

By that rationale Mk3's shouldnt have front facing intakes, big brake kits or any number of things "they didnt come with". :nono:
 

10secdream

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Sep 11, 2007
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sneakypete;1073562 said:
i had the same harness. same thing happened to me. do your foglights work? have they ever worked? if not, try to foglight rewire... that fixed my problem. not really sure why, but it did
-pete

My fog lights work just fine but I think it is because I have a JZA70 Supra. I can run the fog lights independently from the headlights.
 

Jenya

SupraBoii
Feb 8, 2007
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10secdream;1073662 said:
My fog lights work just fine but I think it is because I have a JZA70 Supra. I can run the fog lights independently from the headlights.

Haha off-topic, but I noticed you are in Edmonton. I have never seen your car around.. it's very clean. Do you go to 780 meets ever?
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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becauseican;1073354 said:
What kit did you get, EBAY?, some of the HID kits have a relay for full battery voltage, and just use the original wires as the trigger. I know those kits can be finicky with lower (12V or less) voltages and bad grounds.

Mine is a really expensive 55w kit and has these issues :(
 

Nocheez

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Apr 17, 2005
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theWeezL;1073630 said:
By that rationale Mk3's shouldnt have front facing intakes, big brake kits or any number of things "they didnt come with". :nono:
The rational is because aftermarket HIDs are illegal to retrofit to cars that did not come with them for the factory. They blind the crap out of people because they are very difficult to do correctly, but selfish people insist on doing it anyways.

I never said that HIDs were inherently bad, just that they aren't meant for retrofits. Big Brake kits, FFIs, etc. don't affect the people around you and are an improvement for your car. HIDs might illuminate more but are more than likely blinding oncoming traffic and might even make vision in rain and fog even worse than using the factory halogens.
 

sneakypete

Regular Member
Jul 18, 2007
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Nocheez;1074246 said:
The rational is because aftermarket HIDs are illegal to retrofit to cars that did not come with them for the factory. They blind the crap out of people because they are very difficult to do correctly, but selfish people insist on doing it anyways.

I never said that HIDs were inherently bad, just that they aren't meant for retrofits. Big Brake kits, FFIs, etc. don't affect the people around you and are an improvement for your car. HIDs might illuminate more but are more than likely blinding oncoming traffic and might even make vision in rain and fog even worse than using the factory halogens.

maybe your just assuming that people who retrofit hids to their car have 20,000K bulbs or more. i know my stock headlamps sucked and i could barely see. i tried different types of bulbs and had no visibility. 6000K bulbs are close to stock and i dont think they affect anyone else on the road (providing if the headlamps are aimed properly).