Ok I was just wondering if someone could offer a little insight here. I have a 2008 dodge ram 1500 that I installed HID low beams with halogen high and HID fogs into. The fog lights are a 9006 bulb and they work fine.
The headlights are a H13/9008 bulb and i'm uncertain if they are working properly or not. I understand chrysler vehicles use a canbus system that detects a halogen bulb on the end of the circuit and will fluctuate power and cause HID's to flicker. When I installed these I used a 40 amp relay that would basically use the factory harness as the switch and I then got power off the battery directly and grounded to the battery as well. For the location of the ballasts and the relay the battery was the easiest ground. From the battery the factory has three grounds coming off of that. One directly over to the body on the inside of the fender.. One down to the block and one to the frame. All within less than 2 feet of the battery.
Every once in awhile when i'm driving down the road both headlights do a slight flicker simultaneously. I don't notice that they actually shut off but it just looks like when you turn them on they brighten up really fast then kick back down.
I have searched online and find tons of info about HID's and chargers and just the general LX platform. Their solution is to put anywhere from a 470 uf cap to a 4700uf cap in the relay to smooth out voltage. I figured ok go to the radio shack and grab a few try it out. If i put the cap in the problem gets worse. The lights will turn on and then literally shut off not flicker shut off and then back on after a few seconds. It doesn't stop after a few minutes it will continue to happen. So obviously the capacitor isn't the fix. So someone else said put a 8 ohm 20 watt resistor inline before the relay.. So I was leary of that I figured that resistor would get wayy too hot and be a danger. But i wired it up and tried it and let it go for 5 min with a zip tie around the resistor to see what would happen. After a few min that resistor melted the zip tie. In those few mins the lights didn't flicker or do what will happen when i'm going down the road. but that isn't a confirmed fix because sometimes I go days without seeing them do the little flicker.
If the resistor is the fix can anyone recommend one in particular that has like a heat shield or something on it and that is meant for continued use so that i wouldn't have to worry about it.
Or if anyone has any other insight about this all. I am 100 % on all my connections i have grabbed the relay and the connections around it and shook it and can't get them to flicker. I have tried moving the ground and over time it will still happen so it isn't the ground.
I didn't buy the cheapest kit i could find these were about 100 bucks each. Maybe in the HID world that is cheap but if so can someone point me in the direction of something high end. I've got the money and I don't mind spending it if they'll be more reliable.
Appreciate the help guys no one here has ever steered me wrong.
2008 Dodge Ram 1500
MECP Certified Advanced Installer CEA 191700