H.I.D. Shuts Me Down

[Apache]

This is my issue i have CB7 Community. My wife car (CD9) has shut off around idle or while standing still. We have come to the conclusion it has been every time we turn on the lights. The car has 12k HID on it. I don't think it the HID by itself. So far it has happen four or five time already.

Is this sign that my Distributor or Alternator is going bad?

Loose ground wire some where?

Or what?

Any advice would be appreciated........

Thx....................

[benstuh]

The HID's itself is out? or your car shuts off?

[Apache]

The car shuts off...........

[cb7rush]

have your battery and alternator tested at autozone or kragen..its free..if its the battery or alternator they will let you know. If not, try disconnecting the HID's and seeing if that is it. Its most likely battery.

[deevergote]

Do you have an auxiliary harness running from the battery to the HID ballasts? Or are you just powering the HIDs through the stock wiring?

You may have damaged your stock wiring harness if you don't have an auxiliary harness for those HIDs. That may be the cause of the problem.

[RyderzUnlimited]

Do you have an auxiliary harness running from the battery to the HID ballasts? Or are you just powering the HIDs through the stock wiring?

You may have damaged your stock wiring harness if you don't have an auxiliary harness for those HIDs. That may be the cause of the problem.

yeah but that wouldnt shut his car off. most likely its your battery.
With this cold weather, your battery is slowly dying. Feel your batteries sides,
you'll be able to feel it fatting up. Like others have said, get it tested for free.

[deevergote]

If the electrical system was damaged, lots of crazy things can happen.

But yes, check all battery connections and grounds.

[Apache]

Thx everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will check it out...............

Thx again.............

[H22Artman]

if its shutting the car down i would pay close attention to the alternator.

if it was charging at full potential then the condition of the battery wouldnt matter, ala disconnect your battery while the car runs and it should continue to do so if your alternator is functioning properly.

if the hids are causing enough of a surge to freak the alternator out it could certainly make the car die.

batteries cant do their job unless the alternator does its job. sounds to me like both might be getting weak in your case.

test the whole charging system and double check that the hids are installed correctly as deev said before.

[The-Gr8-Ox]

H.I.Ds wont harm your wiring, it pulls less power and less strain than halogens, the problem lies with bad wires, sometimes it has a hole in the outer covering from rubbing or contact and each time you turn your lights on it discharges that power causing a short.
that is unlikely, but with cold weather and the year of the car, its possible.
but check the easy stuff first. battery, alternator, especially your battery wires and connection.
i had all sorts of issues with my electrical, the culprit....bad connection,
you should service your connection every time you do an oil change, just get a terminal cleaner and do a good cleaning. i guarantee it will help.

[Leung]

i've heard HIDs draw a good amount of power when powering up then when they are lit that they draw less power.

[deevergote]

i've heard HIDs draw a good amount of power when powering up then when they are lit that they draw less power.

Exactly.

The power they pull at first can be double that of the halogens that the system is designed to run. Once they're warmed up, they draw less power.

I don't know if newer systems have changed this... but to my knowledge, that's how they work. I will ALWAYS get an auxiliary harness for any HID system added to a car.

Honestly, if the harness wasn't needed, why would reputable companies like 3bspecialties make them? They certainly don't add to the appearance of the engine bay!

[The-Gr8-Ox]

they make the wire harnesses for safety, I'm not saying they wouldn't be needed, but the amount of power is fine through stock wires, its the ones that are worn and bad that cause all your issues.
yes, high voltage can destroy your wires, but the power output is with in the tolerances of our current gauge wires AS LONG AS THEY ARE IN GOOD CONDITION!!!

if you want to be safe, and are not sure of the condition of your wires, then, by all means do it.

[gloryaccordy]

Shoulda used a relay + installed new wiring direct from the alternator... sounds like fried stock wiring, possibly a ground meeting a positive wire

Disconnect the HIDs and see if it still happens... if so say goodbye to the stock wires.

[Losiracer2]

when I did my TSX retrofit w/ HIDS I had a 9006 plug go into the stock harness, that ran through the HID ballast/ignitor box and then another wire come out of that box w/ a D2S plug. Its been running fine like that since April 2008.

If you can start your car fine, then its prob. not your batt. Try to get a volt meter that plugs into your cig. lighter and see what voltage your car has at idle. I know I had my alt. crap out on me this past summer, i was pulling only 10.8 volts and my HIDs were flickering and not turning on. The car would eventually died from the batt. not getting charged. So I would lean more towad your alt. not charging correctly.