vern1

This just as much an FYI but am also seeking some opinions.

Background: bought a 55w slim ballast system from Retro-Solutions. Had them in for 18 months and one stopped working. Narrowed it down to the ballast and sent it back as they have a lifetime warranty

Response: "Ballast sent in for testing is locked out of operation under the power management protection system. We are providing a one time courtesy replacement as this is not a manufactured defect in the ballast but engagement of a safety mechanism. We strongly suggest the use of a relay wiring harness to prevent this from recurring again."

And when i questioned him on this as no one here seems to use a wiring harness i got the following: "The slim ballasts are actually not designed to fit within the housings, if anything it extremely rare that a headlamp housing even offers such room. In the case of your vehicle it is merely coincidental that they do fit in there.
To install a relayed wiring harness you would need to mount the ballast outside the headlamp using the provided rubber grommet on the bulb wiring to seal a hole made to allow such fitment.
Thanks, Todd Strong - Retro-Solutions, LLC

One more query from me: "I have a 1996 Porsche 911 and everyone I have talked to has the slim fit because they fit in the housing and therefore they bought them so they don't have to cut a hole in the headlight housing. I have never heard of anyone having to install a wiring harness for a HID system (slim or regular ballast) and have checked the main Porsche forum Rennlist and Pelican.

And last response from Retro: "It actually common because that is how people prefer to install them on the 911's. The factory headlamp wiring is really not the best, it was never designed for HID in these years either, and the goofy bullet connector they used in there does not help matters. But, with the ballasts designed the way they are to protect the vehicle at all costs, that ambient heat from being in the headlamps predisposes engagement should the supply voltage drop too low. Once engaged the IC will not allow the ballast to operate any longer, it simply boots up and immediately turns off. They are not programmable, nor can you access them as they are sealed in potting material if they were say a chip that could be flashed.
The wiring harness itself is easy to install. You just have one connection to the ballast on each side, a ring terminal to ground on each side, a ring terminal for the + battery source, and one connector that picks up the signal from the stock wiring system to turn the lights on/off. This is where using a 9006 harness works well, because it mates directly to the existing plug delivering +12v power to your ballast now."

Sorry for the long thread but i started this discussion before and wanted to close the loop.

My choices are to put the harness in (as they obviously wont replace the ballast again if i trigger the "safety device") or just buy a new ballast if this happens again.

I havent heard of anyone else coming across this issue and i dont really want to cut through the headlight so i am incline to take the risk and buy a new ballast if i have to next time.

Thoughts/experiences?

Mike J

Ok, so they are saying the ballasts overheat in the headlights, and they shut themselves off because of that?
Or is he saying the connector to the headlight assembly does not support the current drain of the units, and thus there enough of a voltage drop to the headlight that the ballasts cannot operate properly?

I have not seen this, but my ballasts are outside my headlights (old style). They have been on the cars for years now with no issues.

I will be interesting to see what people say here. Best of luck!

Cheers,

Mike

e9stibi

I have two 993, one with "big" (4 years) and one with small ballasts (1 year) both in the housing without relay. No issues at all so far but I am not using the headlights a lot. Cars are low mileage mainly driven in nice weather conditions in the heat of Texas if this helps.

Stephen Fisher

I had the same problem, only I was charged for the replacement ballast.

I have not yet wired in the harness and am not yet decided what to do.

SF

vern1

Stephen, i guess i am in the same position (except having to pay for the replacement ballast)

i run with my lights on almost all the time just for the increased visibility.

i dont believe it is a heat issue but rather a power fluctuation issue that triggers the shutdown ie. the original Porsche wires dont handle the sudden surges as well

Surfer2001

I had exactly the same problem with my 55 watt Retro Solution kit. I sent back my bulbs and I’ve been waiting months for a refund. They did send another set of bulbs; however I had to pay 60 something bucks. I’ve since moved the 55 watt kit to the high beams and added the relay harness. I’ve also switched to DDM for two addition 35 watt setups. I’m now running 8000K 35 watt on the lows and another 35 watt 3000K on the fogs. I went to 35 watt kits because DDM said the 55 watt kits are not dependable. So, maybe it’s not Retro Solutions fault, I’m not sure. DDM is less than half the cost of Retro Solutions, I will never purchase anything from those guys again.

By the way, I think it's the ground that is the weak link, running a dedicated ground wire may eliminate the need for the relay kit.

vern1

i have not had a problem with Retro. They sent me the replacement ballast and answered all my questions (although i am not sure i follow all their reasoning.)

Bottom line is they wont replace the ballast next time unless i have a wiring harness in. Ballasts seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper so maybe i will just get a back up vs cutting holes in the housing and hooking up the harness

vern1

Latest update:

Car was stored for the winter and when I got it out this week I put the new ballast in. It lasted 4 hours.

Guess I am going to a 35W system as I dont want to keep buying a new 55W ballast every week

Any suggestions on a good slim fit 35W system?

P-daddy

I bought my kit from DDM Tuning but they no longer sell the slim ballast. I also have a kit by Xentec that has been trouble free for two years now. They're not expensive either.