I spend the whole day installing my new High Beam HIDs. Well not really, an hour or so to install them, and the rest of my time trying lots of things to get them to work properly while muttering WTF. I used the same brand and kit as the Low Beam HIDs that I installed a while back. Everything is identical except the high beams are H1 and the Low Beams H3. Anyway, to cut a long story short ? this is the problem. The HID high beams are on whenever the HID low beams are on. If I leave the lights off and use the high beam flasher, both high and low beams flash. Checked the clearance fuse ? it is OK. I haven?t done the Pex conversion to keep low beam on while using high beam (but I will once I sort this out) so the Dimmer relay and its wiring are in the original format. Now here?s the weird bit ? if I disconnect the high beam HIDs and reinstall the original (non HID) high beam globes, and touch nothing else everything works as it should. High beam, low beam, flasher. If I pull out the dimmer relay completely, no headlights work which is correct. If I then connect pin 5 to earth I should get low beam but no high beam, and that is what happens. But if I replace the ordinary high beams with the HIDs I get both high and low beams on once more, even though the dimmer relay is out of its socket, and it is that relay that earths the low side of the high beam sockets to turn them on. Obviously they are getting power some other way, but I can't see how. I know others are running HIDs in high and low beam, so what?s the secret?
What did you mod to make the hi and lo beams stay on together? Did you use the relay kit that came with the HID's?
Hi Karl, I didn't make any mod to make the high and low beams come on together, it happened all by itself as a consequence of installing the two sets of HIDs (high and low beams). I am aware of the mod in the Tech section that makes that happen (earthing pin 5 of the dimmer relay), and I plan to do it, but I haven't yet. As for the relays, there were no relays provided in that kit. It has two spade terminals that connect directly into the existing bulb socket to provide power direct to the ballast. The output lines of the ballast are hard wired to the HID bulb. I installed the low beams that way and they work great. Could this lack of relay isolation be the problem? - the car definately doesn't like having more than one set of HIDs.
I have no particular reason for suggesting this Barry, but have you tried reversing the spades in the bulb socket? I just wonder if it is somehow earthing through the low beam wiring. I fitted mine without any drama(and have since performed the pexzed mod)and all works just fine. I hate these bloody cars(but I'm still "hooked").
Yep, Lloyd, tried that. It immediately blew the headlight fuse. What really beats me is that (with the Pex mod) the high beam ballasts are getting power even though the dimmer relay has been pulled from its socket! But given the well known effect where a blown clearance lamp fuse will light up the high beams even though the light switch is off, it seems the Zed lights wiring is very weird science indeed. I am now thinking relays.
is the Globe base a non metallic (like mine - see post tonite). If so could it have something to do with the OEM being metal and being 'earthed' ....whereas the no metallic replacement is 'not' earthing via the housing?? Just a guess? I haven't been able to 'fit' mine as yet ...so I haven't got to this stage yet .. it may be an issue once I fugure out hot to 'clip' mine in. good luck Coolum
I didn't use any relays with the install of my lows. Did you use a relay? I'd be suspecting if you don't use any relays for the installation of the low beam HIDs, then there is technically no difference to the current paths as far as the car is concerned. Maybe if relays are used in the low beams, then an alternative current path has been created somewhere, either by accident or by design??? That'd be my guess:zlove:
That's exactly what I am thinking, especially as the high beams stayed on even after I pulled the dimmer relay out. That would take the high beam earth path completely away, which would make it impossible for the highs to stay on, but they did. So the high beams must be finding another earth path back via the low beams earth line somehow, because everything goes out if I remove the pin 5 direct earth for the low beams. Aren't Zeds fun?
you should try just sitting the original globe back in the sockets and try it does high beam come on if so you know you have cut into or have a wire touching earth that should not be. or the hid casing is earthing out some how? try having the cases off the body while its on and try original globes ?
if u read his post u will see u said he allready tryd putting the old one bak in and evrying worked asif it should
Yep, done all of that Bryan (I spent all day playing) The answer is (believe it or not): - HID low beams/halogen high beams - everything perfect - HID low beams/HID high beams - high beam and low beam always on together I even swapped the HID ballasts around but the answer is always the same. It is bizarre. This is what I will try tomorrow:
sounds strange but i have both hid highs and lows and i've had play around with mine when i put the ballast boxes touching together they both work ? how far away are your transformer cases?
I had the same thought too, because the ballast pair from each side were mounted together that maybe ballast A was setting off ballast B by induction. So after I pulled everything out, I loose laid all the components across the top of the car with everything separate and insulated from the bodywork. Same result. The Zed is trying hard to beat me. Off to buy some relays.
Victorious!!! angrybear 1 Zed nil, or maybe AB 10 Zed 9 might be more realistic. The relay approach, as per my circuit of last night solved the problem. Thanks to Karl for the clue. The Zed has a funny lighting structure in that both HB and LB have power applied at all times when the lights are on, and which set is illuminated is determined by the dimmer relay which switches the earth between the two. In my first setup without the relay, the power went to the ballast because there was nothing stopping it, and it apparently found its own earth path somehow and lit itself up. Here is the sketch of the final setup, with the LB HIDs directly connected and the HB HIDs isolated by a relay. It works great! Note the Pex Mod in red that keeps the LBs on when the HBs are selected. Coolum, you are using the same brand of HIDs as I have, so I think you are going to need this to get your HBs going . ...and here is the install (one side) with the twin ballasts bolted together and the relay bolted to the body and the wiring zip tied to it: And now a postscript and warning. This fixup today took virtually all day, because when I installed it as per the circuit above, it didn't work! The HBs were on whenever the LBs were on, just like before. I couldn't believe it and went down dozens of blind alleys trying to outthink the Zed. Finally when I was sitting there looking at it (thinking about a box of matches) I decided the connections to the relay just didn't look right. So I looked up another resource to check the pin configuration. Guess what, the information supplied with the relay was wrong! :bash::bash:. In the diagram pin 87 is show as normally connected and 87a as normally open. The reverse is true! I have had a little bit of experience with relays in the past and I eventually smelled a rat (after a couple of hours of frustration!), because having the pin in the middle connected just didn't look right when remembering stuff I had done in the past. I swapped the connection to pin 87 and everthing worked as it should. Here is the mistake - digitor owe me many hours of wasted time: I hope all of this is of some use to others. Now for a long, dark, country road.
This one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Xenon-HID-Conversion-Kit-H3-4300K-6000K-8000K-10000K_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742Q2em153Q2el1262QQcategoryZ36476QQihZ006QQitemZ160322984540QQtcZphoto which is the plug and play H3 kit for the low beams. I got the 4300k version and the bright white light is superb. As mentioned earlier in the thread, doing the high beams is much more difficult as fabrication (and destruction) of the existing bulb holder is required to get them in. Given the work required it really wouldn't matter whether you got H1s or H3s or anything else.
I got the 4300k low beams from this guy for ZXTCY,still going great 6 mths later pex has a good picture of the bulb base mod he did,he sent it to me,but stuffed if i can find it
