mborkow

i was part of the rennlist HID group buy and one of my headlights is now extremely dim (i am assuming that the bulb is dying). when i first switch the lights on it fires right up, but then it very quickly begins to dim until it sort of emits a reddish glow (and not much light). i was wondering if anyone else (who was part of this group buy) has had this problem, and how they resolved it.

thanks,
matthew

Chuck W.

Matt...I would switch the bulbs then the ballast until you identify the defective part. Then email the seller and see what he will do for you. Please keep us posted. Good luck.

mborkow

yeah, that is what i plan on doing, but it is raining here now, and i don't have any place to work on my car in doors at the moment...i also emailed the vendor (thelegend321@aol.com) to see what he thought. i was hoping someone might have an educated guess as to what was wrong based on the symptoms (the bulb fires up fine and bright, but then quickly dims to a reddish glow).

Chuck W.

I am guessing it's the Ballast. In the past the vendor has been very good with replacing defective parts. But that was shortly after folks had purchased the units. I hoping he takes care of you. Nothing like being a trailblazer!

mborkow

is there a way to swap out the ballasts w/o pulling all the wiring through the grommet again, or will i have to snake that cabling through all over again :-( ?

mborkow

well, i heard back from thelegend:

hi, thank you for your email. the problem is your bulb, everyhting else is fine!

i have again emailed him my symptoms to make sure he really thinks it is the bulb, and to find out how much replacement bulbs are...i will post his response when i get it. i was under the impression that these bulbs should last for ever; i have had this bulb for less than 1 year (i was part of the bay area HID install) which makes me wonder about the quality of these HID kits (although at $300 i think we were all wondering about the quality of these kits from the get-go).

edit: i was just looking on ebay and the vendor does state there is a 1 year warranty

kkim

If you bought these less than a year ago, shouldn't they be under warranty?

Please keep us informed on how this matter is handled as there are a lot of us that have the same kits and it would be nice to know how good the customer service is behind this product.

Thanks!

mborkow

i just called stan (thelegend) at (917) 532-6836 (in case anyone else needs his number in the future) and he says that if i send him my defective bulb that he will send me a new one. i have asked him to email me his mailing address and will ship out the bulb asap. i'm still concerned the problem is the ballast, but i described the symptoms to him over the phone and he thinks it is the bulb...

Chuck W.

Considering the number of HID kits we bought from him there have been few problems. Also, he seems more than willing to made things right.

mborkow

yes he does...i just hope he is right this time. now i just need to remember how to take the headlight unit out and get at that bulb (i am not a natural born DIYer!)

Chuck W.

Matthew, Just PM'ed you....

pguy

mborkow,

I did the installation myself so I'm pretty much know my way around. PM me if you need any assistance.

Also I'll come in the office in Sunnyvale tomorrow. If you can come down, I'll be more than happy to help out.

-pguy.

mborkow

i pulled the bulb out (i cut the two wires that lead to the bulb rather than pull all the wiring out) and i can see that that the little ball in the bulb looks burnt, and there are a couple of white lumps (looks like a spot of white powder) caked onto the ball in the middle of the bulb (i assume this ball is where the xenon gas is located). stan sent me his mailing address so i will be send the bulb to him today.

mborkow

i would like to take this chance to say what a really great group of people comprise the rennlist forum; although i was able to get the bulb out myself, i had two personal offers of help with getting out the offending bulb within 30 minutes of posting on this board.

mborkow

i am so frustrated! i overnighted the bulb and:

Notice Left, December 28, 2005, 10:17 am, BROOKLYN, NY 11235

he wasn't there to get it! and now he isn't answering his phone or responding to emails (including the one i sent yesterday telling him i had overnighted the package and giving him the trakcing #)...i suppose he might be on vacation, but he could have told me that yesterday when we spoke!