I've posted on here before with HID problems however I have gone a little more in depth this time in order to figure out what could possibly cause the issue. What happens is that for about the first 10 minutes of riding or even sitting still my HID will cut in and out. After the first 10minutes however it will have no further problems. I originally had thought the issue to be the battery, because the other lights would fade in and out periodically. The old battery was completely dead to the point where a charger couldn't get it to start. I put in a new battery which did solve the fading of the gauge lights etc... however not the issue with the ballast. I then wired in a cutoff switch so I could keep the ballast off until the bike is warmed up. Still having the same issue and flicking the cutoff switch on and off does absolutely nothing except a flicker from the bulb and then once again after 10 min it works just fine. Any help or suggestions will be much appreciated! Thanks.

 

my guess would be an issue with the bulb. if it works fine after 10 minutes the bulb could not be warming up properly. shouldnt take more than a few seconds to warm up.

 

Tested the bulb, used two separate bulbs, one from the same manufacturer and one from a different and still getting the same problem. I'm wondering if it could possibly be the voltage regulator? Maybe sending surges to the ballast tripping the sensor and making it shut down? I have no idea how to even go about testing that though.

 

Crap ballast? Do you have another you can swap in?

 

Did that already...tried 2 other ballasts and all same issue again. Went a little pricey on the second ballast too (shock proof, dust proof, water proof) and was quite disappointed to have the problem again. Checked all the wiring as well and the relay.

 

I assume you've tested the voltage drops when you start the bike vs. when it's been running for a couple minutes? Your R/R could be causing some issues with the core electrical system?

HID's and ballasts in particular are fickle, and generally like a voltage range that's pretty stable. The flickering your getting before the 10 minute mark sounds to be a lack of power.. you see that on cars that run with daytime running lights... hid's flicker or pop on and off. It's a safety built into the digital circuits i believe or generally means they're not getting a sustained flow.

What gauge of wire did you use, are you using a relay, are you using the existing headlight wiring and spliced into there? 90% of the cases I see that have something similar to what your describing, is just not enough power getting to the ballast to ignite the bulb.

As a true test, I would wire up your ballast right to your battery. If you're still getting issues you could have a more serious problem with your hardware. This step is the first thing I do to test HID's. Makes sure the ballasts aren't faulty, bulbs work, and base electrical systems are ok.

Pending that, test your electrical for V drops. Your R/R could be showing signs of needing to be replaced? There are posts on here that describe exactly what V you should be getting at all stages of the bike starting / running / charging. Maybe you have a short someplace that's causing an unnecessary V drain?

Good luck.

 

When wires straight to the battery it works beautifully. I will have to look into testing the "R/R" it seems. I have the system wired up using the factory headlight plug, that connects into the wiring harness which is directly wired to the battery which I was hoping would make it more stable. Im honestly considering dropping this project and going back to stock.

 

well, its possible your charging system that is making the electrical system unstable.

You may in fact have some power drainage going on if you've had to replace the battery initially. I have my HID's plugged into my stock headlight assembly.... don't have a problem. Start at your R/R, get someone with a multimeter, do some continuity tests, voltage tests from a cold start to that 10 minute mark.

What you "could do" is wire your HID's directly to the battery, and use that switch you installed to be your ground cut off. This is definitely not the best solution, but if you're intent on getting this done quick and dirty, then I would do it and come back to the issue at hand. Because if your R/R is bad, then your going to have problems down the line anyhow.

 

Thank you for the help by the way I appreciate it. I'll post after I run some tests on the system and let you know what I find. I'd rather have it wired up the right way.

 

What you need to do now is use a relay between the battery and the ballast. Use the existing headlight positive signal to trigger the relay. If you are still experiencing a flicker issue (which i highly doubt), then you will need to add a power conditioner (either COTS or homemade). I can help you create one if needed, I'm a EE.

Let us know the results a soon as you can