HID Problems

[BLUKTY2]

Hello all. I have a problem with this recently installed HID kit and I could sure use some help troubleshooting the cause: HR HID. These are installed in a 2017 3500 with projector headlights, low beam. As these photos clearly show, the right bulb is much brighter than the left:



Switching the bulbs and ballasts from one side to the other resulted in no change which leads me to conclude that the issue is not with any of the components of the HID kit (great customer service from Headlight Revolution, btw). Prior to installing this kit I had LED's in the low beams and this problem did not exist- they were very bright, most importantly equally as bright (R and L side), but the beam pattern was terrible, too much light scattering for my liking. Hence my move to HID's.

Questions and key points:
1) The headlight lenses are in great condition with no signs of clouding or yellowing.
2) I have not changed the vehicle lighting settings to HID using Alfa OBD. Could this be the cause of this issue? There are no error messages displayed on the dash, but I do have an OBDLink MX+ on order so I can change the settings just in case that this is the cause and figured it would be good to have on hand even if the vehicle settings are not the cause.
3) I cannot determine what fuse(s), circuit breaker(s), or relay(s) supply power to the headlights. The owners manual only lists the fuses found in the Power Distribution Center, but this lists the relays and circuit breakers as well: PDC. For the life of me I cannot find a listing for the headlights. I initially thought that it might be F10 but the low beams remained on when I removed this fuse so this is not it. What am I missing?
4) If the low beams are powered through separate relayed circuits, is it possible the the left side relay has some internal corrosion causing resistance and leading to a drop in amperage? Grasping at straws here.....

Any and all thoughts greatly appreciated!

 

[One Mile Up]

I see the dim light on the drivers side in the pics... when you swapped the bulbs / ballasts over to the passenger side... did the "dim lit" light move as well? Did you try using the bulbs with each of the ballasts in each side of the truck (just to troubleshoot)?

Also, to answer your question about using the Alpha OBD app with OBDLink MX+ : You WILL 100% want to change those headlight settings to HID --> AS WELL AS making sure that the "feature" that makes the lights blink and stay on for a few seconds upon unlocking the vehicle with the key fob / Keyless Enter-N-Go is turned 'OFF'. I also have H.I.D.'s (GTR Ultra 55w/6000k) and I believe that one of the ballasts was burned out due to this damn feature (Though HR replaced it under warranty!)! These lights apparently shouldn't be turned on and off in rapid succession as they need ample time to "warm-up" --> is what my customer rep at HR said.

 

[BLUKTY2]

Thank you for the reply One mile Up. I started troubleshooting by switching the bulbs from one side to the other- no change (the dim light did not follow the bulb). Then I switched the ballasts around and again no change (the dim light did not follow the ballast). Hence my thought that all of the components of the HID kit work properly so there must be something else causing the left bulb to be so dim.

I should receive the OBDLink MX+ tomorrow and my next plan is to change the headlight settings with it and see if that corrects the problem. Thanks for the tip on not using the headlights as an unlock indicator; I will make sure that this feature is turned off.

I was initially planning on getting a 55W kit such as you have but was advised against the 55W kit by HR due to the fear of excessive heat. Have you been monitoring your headlight housing assemblies and wiring for overheating? Any issues? IIRC you have had this setup for several months now at least.

Thanks again for the reply and I will report back once I have the chance to change the vehicle settings.

 

[One Mile Up]

I've been using these ballasts / bulbs for months now... haven't noticed any excessive heat issues

TBH, I highly doubt that changing the settings via AlphaOBD will correct your issue. Its starting to sound to me like a potential "current" issue (or something else --> that I'm not all that qualified to know ).

Wish I could be more help man... sorry!

 

[danielmid]

It's the projectors, the driver side outputs different light than the passenger side.

Ram Projectors w/HID - Uneven Brightness Left to Right

I recently did quad to projector conversion with a GTR 55w 6k HID kit. My question is the drivers side supposed to be dimmer than the passenger side? Here’s what I’ve done: 1. Swapped bulbs left to right with no difference. 2. Swapped ballasts left to right with no difference. 3. Tried a NEW...

www.ramforum.com

Factory Projector Spread

Hey guys, I have a set of Morimoto HIDs installed in my factory projector low beams. I notice that the light pattern on the driver side does not match the passenger side. I have tried turning the bulb in the holder while the lights are on to try and get the light spread to change. It does...

www.ramforum.com

 

[One Mile Up]

Heh, interesting. Thanks for posting that up @danielmid!

 

[BLUKTY2]

It's the projectors, the driver side outputs different light than the passenger side.

Ram Projectors w/HID - Uneven Brightness Left to Right

I recently did quad to projector conversion with a GTR 55w 6k HID kit. My question is the drivers side supposed to be dimmer than the passenger side? Here’s what I’ve done: 1. Swapped bulbs left to right with no difference. 2. Swapped ballasts left to right with no difference. 3. Tried a NEW...

www.ramforum.com

Factory Projector Spread

Hey guys, I have a set of Morimoto HIDs installed in my factory projector low beams. I notice that the light pattern on the driver side does not match the passenger side. I have tried turning the bulb in the holder while the lights are on to try and get the light spread to change. It does...

www.ramforum.com

Thank you danielmid!!! I have spent HOURS trying to figure out what was causing this variation in light output. At one point I even questioned if this could be a factory setting thing to keep from blinding oncoming traffic but quickly dismissed the thought as I had never heard of it before. So again, thank you!

One Mile Up: I thank you too, sir, for your information, in particular with your experience with the 55W kit. Despite the cost of buying another HID kit, where I live I need all of the light output from the low beams that I can get (without blinding oncoming traffic, of course). The sooner that I can see a moose, the more time that I will have to avoid it. I might switch to the 55W kit in the future. With the high beams on I have all of the light that I need; but the low beams so far have been lacking. Now that darkness is descending here in the north country, I will soon put my current HID low beams to the test.

 

[danielmid]

Thank you danielmid!!! I have spent HOURS trying to figure out what was causing this variation in light output. At one point I even questioned if this could be a factory setting thing to keep from blinding oncoming traffic but quickly dismissed the thought as I had never heard of it before. So again, thank you!

One Mile Up: I thank you too, sir, for your information, in particular with your experience with the 55W kit. Despite the cost of buying another HID kit, where I live I need all of the light output from the low beams that I can get (without blinding oncoming traffic, of course). The sooner that I can see a moose, the more time that I will have to avoid it. I might switch to the 55W kit in the future. With the high beams on I have all of the light that I need; but the low beams so far have been lacking. Now that darkness is descending here in the north country, I will soon put my current HID low beams to the test.

With Alfa you can swap the headlights to HID, it'll help keep some potential flicker out but it won't change the output levels.

 

[One Mile Up]

For what it’s worth…

My LED fog lights are what REALLY make my setup BRIGHT. I’d check into that if you haven’t yet!