hids, 93 camry

hello. i have a 93 camry. i bought 35w 6K HIDs (9006 bulb/lows) from DDM tuning. i installed only one the the bulb/ballast, the bulb turn on then it flickered then it turned off. then i switch off my headlights and turn them back on then my car didnt start :[. i had to jump start my car. my digital read on my cap read "10 volts" (battery dead). should i have installed HIDs, start car, then turn on HIDs?

There is a general principal with any load - don't flatten the battery.

Another principle is to disconnect power when installing or working with electrics. And not to reconnect until the install etc is completed.


HIDs take less power than normal halogen etc headlights.
But their "ballast" provide them with constant power (voltage) from input voltages of about 9-16V.

Yours probably shut down when the battery dipped below its lowest tolerance.
I'd expect them to stay off until power is recycled or the supply voltage exceeds some threshold (maybe 12V, maybe 13V etc).

oldspark wrote:

---

There is a general principal with any load - don't flatten the battery.

Another principle is to disconnect power when installing or working with electrics. And not to reconnect until the install etc is completed.


HIDs take less power than normal halogen etc headlights.
But their "ballast" provide them with constant power (voltage) from input voltages of about 9-16V.

Yours probably shut down when the battery dipped below its lowest tolerance.
I'd expect them to stay off until power is recycled or the supply voltage exceeds some threshold (maybe 12V, maybe 13V etc).

---

wow! this is best helpful response! thanks!

my HIDs work fine now :]. i installed, cranked up the car, then turned on headlights. but when i turn on headlights with engine off, the voltages decrease (reading from digital capacitor). it goes from 12.6,12.5,12.4 and so on, then i just turn them off because it might of drained my battery. <---is that normal?

i will make sure i will turn off headlights before i leave my car. thanks alot!

You are welcome. And thanks for the compliment!
Alas I could only answer based on the info you gave.

But now with your extra info, I'd check the cap whilst you are at it.
I've read about it elsewhere - a cap's duality - how it creates power but can also add too much load to a system.

Your battery is obviously stuffed, but what caused it?

In this case I suspect the caps voltmeter because the engine wasn't charging. Being digital, it can be either volts or amps - I have seen both types on caps, but never simultaneously.
It's possible that its config has been scrambled after one of your outages, hence thinking it's an ammeter instead of a voltmeter.
It could then place its shunt across the load instead of being series with it - ie, the shunt will be from across the 12V like a voltmeter.
That would cause a hefty drain on any battery.
You should then feel the meter get hot unless it has those "cool blue" displays - they absorb heat quite well. (Red as you know dissipates heat - especially its longer infra red.)
And still reading voltage, I suspect is is using blue or maybe green digits, and not the usual red for current.    


There are other likely causes also - like loose battery terminals, connectors and fuses - but those occurrences are way too common to worry about.

If you provide more information, I'm sure I could isolate the problem.

Or maybe someone else knows what it is?

yea this definetly aint normal, i have no problem turning my HIDs on first then my car and my cap dont drop but then again my HIDs are stock in my 02 maxima

-------------
"JaXtEr"