hid wiring issues

I bought a fleabay hid kit a few months ago from a store recommended by another member (denaliano i think) and i'm having some problems. I hooked them up to the factory wiring figuring i'd just let 'em run like that until I got around to doing it right.
Well they kept getting worse until last night (wednesday night) I only had one headlight and the other would come and go. I figured hey, bad ground, too small wire, w.e.
So tonight (thursday night) I made a harness for both of them and the passenger side one was doing good while the driver's side one did it's crack dance until it would shut off and only come back on and do the same thing after power was removed and reapplied. Then the right one started flickering and went out aswell. They DID NOT ever cut out at the same time so It's not the relay.
I put a relay in place for both of them. Large rear prong in the underhood fusebox, 30 amp fuse, prong 30 on the relay, then 14ga walmart speaker wire (nothing else open and I ran out of the good stuff) on prong 87 (I figured doing it this way would keep me from worrying about 87a ever getting power). The relay is connected 86 to a ground and 85 to the fused side of the passenger side headlight fuse. Everything is soldered together and the ground is grounded on the factory firewall ground to the block. It one solid piece of wire from there to the passenger ballast with the pin 86 and the driver's side ground being shoved through, wrapped around and soldered. The positives are the same way from prong 87 to the passenger ballast hot lead.

1. Could the relay being wired like this be an issue? (30 constant hot, 87 to ballasts)
2. Is 14awg too small?
3. Could using speaker wire, walmart at that, be an issue?
4. Could using one relay / wire / fuse for both cause issues?
5. Anything else sound wrong?
or is it just the cheapo kit?

I'm sending the kit back for a replacement but would like to see what you guys say while I wait for my new set.

Check to see what your output is on the bulb side of the ballast. It should be 36 volts and if there is no voltage, then it could be your ballast or it could be bad bulbs as well. I'm having the same problems with a customer's vehicle where the lights are intermittent but can not isolate whether or not it's the bulb or the ballast. I've replaced the ballast on one side and the problem is still there but it's only on one side ( the passenger side ) so I swapped out the good side bulb with the bad side and the problem doesn't migrate over, but stays the same on the passenger side. It's not the wiring either cause it's been checked with a DMM when it fails and the voltage is correct.

Changing out the entire system for a new one may solve your problem instead of trying to figure out whether or not it's the ballast or the bulb. If the problem persists then I would consider checking your OEM wiring voltage.

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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA