Issue with TOP PSI low beam HID upgrade

[cyklic]

I have a 2005 Cadillac CTS with about 23k miles on it so far. I have done quite a few mods and finally wanted to get around to upgrading to HID lights for my low beams.

I searched the forum looking for reputable providers of HID upgrade kits and saw that PSI performance parts had been used by other persons with success.

I ordered this kit:

http://www.toppsi.com/product_info.p...products_id=25

for my low beams.

I am not handy with cars whatsoever so I took the Katsuro 35W HID Kit- 4500 to my mechanic to install. I even had the LED corner lights puts in at the same time I did my HID upgrade.

Everything worked great for about three weeks and then the trouble started. Now for no rhyme or reason the passenger side HID low beam light will flicker and then shut off. This can happen when I just start the car and idling for a few minutes, the passenger side light will flicker and then turn off. I can be driving and the passender side light will flicker and then turn off. I turn on my windshield wipers (with the snow today in Chicago) and the low beams will come on, then in a few minutes the passenger side HID low beam will turn off.

I hope that makes sense. I can turn the low beams on and off and they will both be on, but then a few minutes later the passenger side one goes back out.

It is extremely frustrating!

I have emailed TOP PSI several times with no response over the last couple of weeks. I do not see a phone number on their web site to call for help. I am feeling screwed. Their website says the bulbs have a lifetime warranty and the ballasts a two year warranty!

Does *anyone* have any idea on how to fix this? I guess I am giving TOP PSI the benefit of the doubt here, but maybe they haven't gotten back to me because I am just stupid and doing something wrong somehow?

Please help!

[CanadianTS]

I have the same kit but from a different supplier. It almost sounds like something not quite related. Regardless of the fact you installed the HID kit in the car, turning the windshield wipers should not have any effect on the headlights. It may be a ground issue, maybe a crossed wire?

[cyklic]

Canadian CTS sorry I was not very clear with what I meant. I was trying to say I leave the CTS lights to "Auto" all the time. When you turn your windshield wipers on it will automaticaly turn on your low beams.

I think it is the law in the US that your headlights be on when your windshield wipers are on. Most cars when set to "Auto" will turn on the low beams for you when you are using the windshield wipers.

I think the manual states exactly how long the wipers have to be on for this to happen.

I hope that makes more sense.

[snooplbc]

My HID have the same problem except both sides flicker and then turn off. So I put my stock bulbs in until I get them fixed. I got mine from Intense HID and they are a great help. You can even talk to them through AIM...Anyway, they said it might be because the car isn't getting enough power to the HID and thats why it's doing. He said american cars usualy have that problem. Or he said it might be because im missing something called a flicker harness. I tried installing those and they still don't work. So I'm supposed to send it all back and they are gonna test it and warranty me new ones. He said it might be bad ballists. You should deffinetley get a hold of top PSI...good luck

[cyklic]

Snoop, what brand HID did you get from Intense? I wonder if the Phillips or McCulloch (sp?) are better put together and actually work. Very frustrating. I just want to get my HID low beams working properly and take a break with the mods for a while!

[jstein12]

Originally Posted by cyklic

I have a 2005 Cadillac CTS with about 23k miles on it so far. I have done quite a few mods and finally wanted to get around to upgrading to HID lights for my low beams.

I searched the forum looking for reputable providers of HID upgrade kits and saw that PSI performance parts had been used by other persons with success.

I ordered this kit:

http://www.toppsi.com/product_info.p...products_id=25

for my low beams.

I am not handy with cars whatsoever so I took the Katsuro 35W HID Kit- 4500 to my mechanic to install. I even had the LED corner lights puts in at the same time I did my HID upgrade.

Everything worked great for about three weeks and then the trouble started. Now for no rhyme or reason the passenger side HID low beam light will flicker and then shut off. This can happen when I just start the car and idling for a few minutes, the passenger side light will flicker and then turn off. I can be driving and the passender side light will flicker and then turn off. I turn on my windshield wipers (with the snow today in Chicago) and the low beams will come on, then in a few minutes the passenger side HID low beam will turn off.

I hope that makes sense. I can turn the low beams on and off and they will both be on, but then a few minutes later the passenger side one goes back out.

It is extremely frustrating!

I have emailed TOP PSI several times with no response over the last couple of weeks. I do not see a phone number on their web site to call for help. I am feeling screwed. Their website says the bulbs have a lifetime warranty and the ballasts a two year warranty!

Does *anyone* have any idea on how to fix this? I guess I am giving TOP PSI the benefit of the doubt here, but maybe they haven't gotten back to me because I am just stupid and doing something wrong somehow?

Please help!

Could be a simple law of physics.

You don't get something from nothing.

You want more-you pay more(energy).

These bulbs will draw more current from the circuit.

If you employ as many as you do, the circuit and draw will go down, causing flickering, failure, and blown fuses.

Sounds like an engineering problem IMO.

[cyklic]

Originally Posted by jstein12

Could be a simple law of physics.

You don't get something from nothing.

You want more-you pay more(energy).

These bulbs will draw more current from the circuit.

If you employ as many as you do, the circuit and draw will go down, causing flickering, failure, and blown fuses.

Sounds like an engineering problem IMO.

Jstein12, thank you for the comment. I have one 35w HID for each of the low beams. The halogen capsules originally were 55w I thought. I have not put HIDs anywhere else but the low beams.

I have put in LEDs following the FAQ, but I thought that the LEDs drew less power over all. I am not sure if that would make any difference.

Would a larger battery (if this is possible? I have the stock battery that came with an 05) solve the problem of my passenger side low beam going out in your opinion?

Anyone who has done a low beam HID conversion successfully please comment. Thanks.

[DKNYCTS]

The ballasts are no good.

[druboi31779]

yup...sounds like a ballast issue...like when u get a bad ballast in office lighting...flicker-sometimes work- sometimes no- sometimes flicker....

[BishopRuger]

I agree with some of the other mbrs, sounds like issues with the HID kit you bought. I'd try and get the ballast and possibly even the bulbs replaced under your warrenty. Also HID's do not draw more current on a continuous basis, only during start up, once they are running the current is only 35 watts, compared to the constant draw of 55w from halogen bulbs. I also suggest not using the auto-on function for your headlights. HID's do not respond well to constant turning off and on (especially aftermarket kits), it can cause damage to the ballast and/or cause other electrical issues.

[cyklic]

Thank you for the replies everyone. There is so much great knowledge on this forum.

I will keep trying to contact Top PSI. The warranty is pretty clear from their website, but they do not respond to emails.

I will follow up to this thread and let people know how they resolve this warranty issue.

[Playdrv4me]

Originally Posted by jstein12

Could be a simple law of physics.

You don't get something from nothing.

You want more-you pay more(energy).

These bulbs will draw more current from the circuit.

If you employ as many as you do, the circuit and draw will go down, causing flickering, failure, and blown fuses.

Sounds like an engineering problem IMO.

Amen to that.

I do not for the life of me understand why people buy aftermarket retrofit HID kits for cars that have READILY available FULL OEM complete assemblies available on Ebay or other sources. These aftermarket kits at best will blind oncoming traffic if not installed properly (and are not legal for road use), or at worst will fry your wiring and in this case, possibly even be faulty to begin with.

For the difference in price, go with the factory headlights. It looks better, performs better, and its legal. As the cars become older, the factory assemblies become harder and harder to find, but the CTS ones are READILY available right now.

[cyklic]

I agree with the previous post completely. If I were to do this all again I would go the OEM route for sure.

To wrap this up, I was able to get a replacement ballast from TOP PSI and it is working fine. I sent the old one back and was refunded promptly.

I had to pay for shipping of the replacement balance both to me and for the shipping of the broken balance back to them.

The replacement ballast was a slight different size and had different markings on it. My mechanic pointed it out to me. They are installed properly and working well despite the difference. I am glad I have a mechanic right down the street from me.

If I had to do it all again I would hit up ebay and go OEM.

[jjsocrazy]

I have that same flicker problem in my 2007 STS. I can't get access to his website or with him and I need a new kit!

[GT!]

Originally Posted by Playdrv4me

Amen to that.

I do not for the life of me understand why people buy aftermarket retrofit HID kits for cars that have READILY available FULL OEM complete assemblies available on Ebay or other sources. These aftermarket kits at best will blind oncoming traffic if not installed properly (and are not legal for road use), or at worst will fry your wiring and in this case, possibly even be faulty to begin with.

For the difference in price, go with the factory headlights. It looks better, performs better, and its legal. As the cars become older, the factory assemblies become harder and harder to find, but the CTS ones are READILY available right now.

The results of aftermarket HID kits on the CTS are generally pretty good - lots of forum members here have them. I believe it was Jon who did a comparison between his CTS with aftermarket HIDs and his V with factory HIDs and reported that they performed almost identically. I'm also not sure why you say the factory ones look better - they look the same to me.

I paid $140 for my HID kit. How much would a set of (used) OEM HID assemblies run on eBay? I'm guessing it is many times that amount.

-GT