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HID Fix for Calibers that actually works and is plug and play

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hids mods
11K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  stratoulyj 
#1 ·
#2 ·
That looks like the business, thank-you.

What do I use for motorized projectors ?
 
#3 ·
You can retrofit your EU motorized ones with a kit of DIY projectors from Gizmo retrofit or have them build it for you with your headlights.

I have the US headlight on mine. They are not motorized adjustable anymore but can easily be adjusted from the motorbay via a a Torx screwdriver.

Stop buying the Ebay crap and get something that works.
 
#4 ·
Does this fix the starter issue as well? I have AACs HIDs in my cali and ever 2-3 times i turn the headlights on the starter engages. Mine hasn't had this problem this bad til recently and i was gonna switch back to stock headlights when i replace my headlight fixtures with my AAC headlights sometime in November. Im willing to try this relay but I stopped working to go back to college and can't spend much money.
 
#5 ·
IMHO (electrical engineer - 34+ years), the starter issue is so serious, I would recommend going back to the stock lighting system. Reliability and safety are far more important than fancy lights.
A starter stuck on can start an underhood fire, or even cause your battery to overheat and explode.
The device presented by Martin K. is a "mystery black box", unless its manufacturer guarantees that the starter issue is solved by this device, I'd say it is still lurking beneath the surface.
 
#6 ·
Yeah i was just wondering. I got my lights back from AAC and once i am home fire a few days I'll put stock headlights back in.
 
#7 ·
OK so did some research and have a theory regarding some of the issues with HIDs and our cars. Also what some of the Mystery Black Boxes as well.

Some of the supposed plug and play fixes for the HID problems are listed and Code Erasers or whatever. I have found some of these products listed as HID Interference Filters.

I have noticed when I turn my HIDs on i get a short whine over my radio while the lights are powering on. This is caused by some electrical intereference comming off the balast. The TIPMs in our cars are easily susceptible to intereference (Possible cause of the starter issue).

The flickering issue has been addressed and mentioned and can be fixed with the proper relays and/or resistors. Looking at some of these other plug and play fixes some consists of "error cancellors", "Filters", some just try to trick the computer by matching the resistance.

The box from Gizmo looks like it is just a Relay with a filter on it and maybe some resistors inside. I think i have some filters at home im gonna try when i switch my headlights back out and if i experience the starter problem again I am going back to Silverstar traditional headlight bulbs.
 
#8 ·
I have noticed when I turn my HIDs on i get a short whine over my radio while the lights are powering on. This is caused by some electrical intereference comming off the balast. The TIPMs in our cars are easily susceptible to intereference (Possible cause of the starter issue).
I would say probable cause.

HID lights are high voltage devices, your car's electrical system is low voltage.

The ballast contains a DC to AC inverter, and current limiting control for the bulb.
The inverter chops the DC into AC and passes it through a step up transformer to provide the proper voltage to the bulb. Electronic circuits monitor the bulb current and adjust the inverter's output to maintain the proper current through the bulb.

The chopping action draws current from the 12V system is short rapid slugs rather than continuously as if an incandescent bulb were the load.. The TIPM does not like this type of load.

Also, this high current square wave voltage passing through a wiring harness can induce similar waveforms into other wires in the harness (this is called induced voltage). If these wave forms reach the TIPM or PCM inputs, these devices can confuse this electrical noise for a valid signal, and possibly respond in strange ways.
The transformer in the ballast is probably a low-end unit with high magnetic leakage. This means that a fairly strong magnetic field may extend a foot or more from the transformer. As this magnetic field cuts across nearby wires, it will induce the same type of noise mentioned above into those wires.
Finally, the lamp itself is a gaseous arc lamp. Every time the arc restrikes (hundreds or even thousands of time a second), the arc generates "broad spectrum" radio signals. This is called Radio Frequency Interference, this signal can carry many feet in all directions. Every wire crossed by this signal acts as an antenna and sends the interference all over the car's electrical system.

Why don't OEM HID's have any problems?

The systems were designed by engineers, tested and perfected by technicians.
The lamp fixture has proper EMI and RFI shielding
Low leakage transformers are used.
Complex math is used to design the input filter of the ballast.
The ballast is built into a case designed to minimize radiated magnetic fields.
Hardware and software filtering are used to block any spurious signals from getting into the car's electronics.
Proper grounding techniques are used to eliminate ground loops (with electronic systems, a "ground" is not just a "ground" - there is much more to grounding than meets the DIYer's eye)
 
#9 ·
Wow. That impressed me. And was am incredible explanation. Sometime this week I'm gonna swap my headlights back out.
 
#10 ·
To put it plain English:

HID lighting is a special system, totally unlike incandescent (standard bulbs) lighting.

Unless the HID lighting system and car's electrical/electronic system were designed as a "unit", you can expect problems.
 
#12 ·
The brains of the electrical system are off when the ignition is off. So it's not a surprise you had issues when you started the car. There are several options, and none are 100%. The aftermarket lights and the devices are not always easy to match to get a good outcome. You may well spend twice what you paid for the lights before you find a good match. There's always the chance none of them will be a match.
 
#13 ·
Officially, Chrysler engineering stated that the Caliber/Compass/Patriot were not designed for "exotic" lighting systems. So with HID's you are kind of on your own.
There are lots of different methods, and tons of posts here, but as Brad said, no "sure fire" method or fix.
 
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