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I recently bought a new ballast after my passenger headlight started flickering and then eventually died. The new ballast I bought was a xenon one off amazon. After the install (this past weekend), the headlight was working again but I could still see ever so slight flickering. This morning before work I was checking to see if it was still good and it turned on for a moment then died. Popped the hood and could smell a burning odor. Popped the bulb out of its location and the connector inside is melted/fried. The ballast wire cap is also fried. Just seeing if anyone on the forum knows what happened.
I've changed the ballast before on the driver side and its still going good so I dont think I missed anything aka user install error. Didnt know if I just got a bad ballast or what?
Bad ballast, or possible loose connection somewhere (either the wiring from the car to the ballast, or the bulb to the connector). Was it a real Denso D4S ballast?
I had to replace both my ballasts..both headlights started flickering..replaced ballasts and hid bulbs from Amazon as well..everything was working flawlessly until one morning..my drivers side ballast went out. Under closer inspection I discovered pretty much the same issue you are having. Do not know what caused it..I know it was raining pretty bad that following week..but didn’t see any moisture or water anywhere near the ballast..however I called Amazon, and they got me in contact with the manufacturer..I was able to get a free one under warranty..unfortunately you do have to send the bad ballast back in order to get a free replacement..which I can understand that this process can be highly inconvenient. Good luck.
Was the plug disassembled? We are talking High Voltage here and one tiny strand of either wire left uninsulated and in close proximity to the other would lead to arc-over and subsequent meltdown.
All it needs is a path of least resistance and this could happen. It could be failed insulator or material defect but more likely is workmanship.
Perhaps cut it back and install one of the old used plugs and see if the ballast is still alive. Tho this may have impacted its reliability. Be careful...
The plug wasn't disassembled, the unit was installed simply plug and play. But I was able to work with Amazon and request a refund stating I probably may have gotten a defective ballast. So at least I get something back for the ballast but am out a HID bulb. Guess I'll just stick OEM instead of Xenon ballast from Amazon. I guess for all other users to just be wary if you decide to purchase a ballast from Amazon, not that eBay is better but I've never had any issues buying car parts from eBay.
Switched out to an OEM ballast from toyota and headlight is working again. GenXenon was the brand that failed but already shipped it back so didnt check the model number. Not sure if it makes a difference but below you can see a pic in the difference in play of the wire from the GenXenon brand on the top and OEM on the bottom.
Question about new ballast
