HID Conversion Problems-2014 Sport

[jmaldonado]

Hello Guys,
I am the proud new owner of a 2014 Ruby Red Explorer Sport. A week after driving around with the horrible headlights, I decided to do an upgrade. I ordered a 9005 6k kit from coolbulbs.com after reading the great DIY write up. Since the first day I have had problems. Bulbs not igniting, bulbs turning off while driving, etc. Andrew from coolbulbs.com has been great with replacing a ballast, and a bulb...but the problems persist. I have gone over all the wiring many times. I thought it may have been a power issue, so I added a harness, and still have the bulbs turning off. I need help here. I cant be the only one with problems. I just want reliable headlights that I dont have to worry about going dim while driving.

 

[mctee]

No problems what so ever with mine to date. Its only been a month, tho, but I went thru a local business - This Canbus kit installed and warranty'ed for 1 year:
http://nmotionauto.com/product/hid-9005-canbus-kit/

35 Watt
6000K bulbs
2 digital CAN Bus ballasts
Solid so far!

 

[Canuckguy]

To improve your chances of getting a quick answer, might want to head over to a site like hidplanet and post the same question there.

Do you have DRL? If so, you have to disable them, or switch them to the front amber markers. HID doesn't play well with DRL.

 

[Jzales]

I have a 14 sport and I have the same issues. Relay harness installed here as well. I think that a time delay relay will help with the lights not turning on when set to auto.

 

[Canuckguy]

Option already exists to delay the lights via options on the dash cluster.

 

[jmaldonado]

I dont have DRL. I have been going over threads at HIDplanet...nothing yet.

 

[Jzales]

If it is dark when you turn the car on and the lights are set to auto they will turn on instantly regardless of the delay setting time.

 

[jmaldonado]

It's to the point now, I am going to uninstall everything. I need reliable headlights. I hate going back to the stock bulbs, but at least they turn on and stay on.

 

[Canuckguy]

If it is dark when you turn the car on and the lights are set to auto they will turn on instantly regardless of the delay setting time.

Don't have my explorer yet, but assumed this is what the feature did (delayed auto lights). If it comes on immediately, what is the delay option for?

 

[Jzales]

The delay is for when you go under overpasses and into parking garages during the day when the lights should be off.

 

[Boostking]

Hello Guys,
I am the proud new owner of a 2014 Ruby Red Explorer Sport. A week after driving around with the horrible headlights, I decided to do an upgrade. I ordered a 9005 6k kit from coolbulbs.com after reading the great DIY write up. Since the first day I have had problems. Bulbs not igniting, bulbs turning off while driving, etc. Andrew from coolbulbs.com has been great with replacing a ballast, and a bulb...but the problems persist. I have gone over all the wiring many times. I thought it may have been a power issue, so I added a harness, and still have the bulbs turning off. I need help here. I cant be the only one with problems. I just want reliable headlights that I dont have to worry about going dim while driving.

I quite literally had the same issue on my 13 XSport. The kit installed perfectly as described. The first night was a brief trip a few miles down the road and I was loving the HID's. The next evening my wife had the XSport and came home with one bulb out. I went out and started the vehicle and both came back on, so I thought it was a fluke. The next day my wife called me and said the light was out again. I had her bring it home and I troubleshot my installation. Everything was still perfect as far as that goes. I could get both bulbs to come on when the car started or when I cycled the headlights, however as soon as I went for a drive, a few hundred feet later the one bulb would go out. (driver side every time)

I contacted Andrew and he promptly sent me a new ballast (one) to see if that was the issue. He really has been great to work with. This story is somewhat inconclusive as I have not got to test the new ballast yet. I hope to install it tonight or this weekend. I sure hope I do not end up with the same issue again or these will be going back.

Its disappointing because compared to the numerous kits available in the aftermarket, the cool bulbs kit seemed like the best option, and was one of the more expensive kits available. Andrew assured me before purchase that it would not need any additional relays and would work with the auto dimmer and such. I sure hope this new ballast resolves my issues. I will be sure to follow up once I test the new ballast.

 

[Jzales]

My driver side is also the culprit on my setup. I am swapping my ballast out tonite as well. I have had hids in many other vehicles and never had this many issues. I am curious if it has anything to do with temperature. It has been brutally cold here the past few weeks.

 

[jmaldonado]

I have tried everything. Changing bulbs out, ballast, installing a relay...capacitors. Nothing works. Unless I have gotten two bad ballast and two bad bulbs I dont know. This kit was one of the most expensive systems, but looks alot like the much cheaper DDM systems. I just got off the phone with Andrew from coolbulbs.com, and he is a very cool guy, but we are both stumped at this time. His only suggestion is to go have someone check the voltage in the system...That's not what I wanted to do with a plug and play system. He offered a full refund, which Im leaning towards, but not sure yet. I am looking at some systems recommended by the guys over at hidplanet.com. Let me know if you guys figure it out.

 

[Jzales]

Ballast swapped out and its working 100% so far.

The retrofit source carries real quality stuff. I regret not buying a kit from there from the beginning but I was impatient and bought from a local shop instead.

 

[johnnybravo]

I was thinking I was the only one. I have a kit from houseofhid and my passenger side has gone out twice. I initially thought it was the bulb as well and it turned out to be the ballast. I've been told not to use the auto-on feature as it draws less current. So I have been manually turning on the lights and so far (2months) it is working fine (knock on wood).

 

[Boostking]

I didnt get a chance last night. Surely later today I will have time when the wife brings the Xsport home. To note, I do not live in a cold climate, nor sure it have really anything to do with it.

I will give it a go later.

 

[Jzales]

I spoke too soon. Driver side is not working again even with the new ballast. I have some old ballast that do not have the separate igniter nor are they slim that I am currently using. They work 100% of the time. I think I could make the slim ballast work with a different relay harness. The one I have now has one relay for both ballasts and the power wire is only 16 gauge... do not really want to mess with it anymore as my old ballasts are working great.

 

[Motoarzan]

about 2 months since my install (as per the write-up I did) and they are working just fine.
I have no relay harness, my lights are always in Auto mode and the delay setting in the cluster is set to I think 20sec or so (to prevent firing up when momentarily in a tunnel, overpass or garage).

If someone can report removing whatever they were originally using and having problems and immediately installed another kit from another manufacturer...if the problem went away then it would be safe to assume it was the original kit and not the vehicle.

 

[morfhious3]

just got my 14 xsport 4 hours ago and this is the first upgrade im planning to do going for a hid kit.but since reading this problems im kind of hesistant now.does anybody here had their hid kit installed with no problems at all?if so what brand did you go for?

 

[jmaldonado]

I just sent my kit back to coolbulbs, I could not deal with the unreliable headlights. The stock halogens suck, but they turn on...and stay on. May look at another kit, but need to have something reliable.