If your retrofits "go out."

Nix

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Lew-vul, KY
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This is just info for anyone who runs into the same problem I had and to give you a place to look that might be a common weak link. I think this may be a common part with all HID kits so even if you don't have retros this may be helpful.

DISCLAIMER: Customlightz does great work!

I had my retros go out on me recently. Low beams only. It was an intermittent problem that turning the car on and off and hitting the headlight switch a few times seems to make them work. It seemed odd to me that both would go out at the same time. This indicated that it wasn't a burned out bulb or ballast. Finally after they "went out" permanently and I had a day I was able to drop the bumper and troubleshoot.

1) Check your fuses first. Get one of those pointy screwdriver looking things, or other circuit tester, with the cable that hooks to the neg battery terminal and start poking around.

2) Pull apart all your connections and test those with the light switch on to see if its a wiring problem.

Mine ended up being a relay. Its a little black box that all the wires hook into. I have to say the way Bjorn does the wiring makes testing and troubleshooting very easy. So big thanks to customlightz for a very smart setup. It's easy, straightforward, and it works.

I went to NAPA and was able to pickup a relay that works. The one you need should be a 4 prong. NAPA part/bin #194. Apparently the 4 prong aren't very common, said the guy, so you may have to go to more than one NAPA/pepboys or wherever. I did.

Here's the one that went bad.
relayfront.jpg


The back. As you can see there is corrosion around one terminal.
relayback.jpg


Better shot. From what I know, if one terminal looks like this the inside is most likely completely destroyed.

relaybackcorrosion.jpg


When I put the new one in I got a tube of dielectric grease from the store. I highly recommend you get some and put it on all your connections like this and your stock connections. It will seal them better so you don't get corrosion. I live in a frequently wet and soon to be salty area. I've had my retro's in for 6 months. I don't fault customlightz at all. The work is great and this is just a part failure due to weather. I don't think the relay itself is sealed very well so I may be replacing another one after the winter. I'll keep you all updated.
 
Good info for people.. I had relays go bad myself, granted it lasted like 5yrs. I tried to wrap the entire connection with electrical tape and mount it higher to avoid any water. As with anything though, it's exposed to the elements/temperature changes/etc etc.
 
Had the same happen to me. I wrapped the new one in electrical tape.
 
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