HID Fog Kit - Sometimes does not "light up"
 

So I installed an HID kit from xenondepot.com a number of months back. I leave the fog light switch on so when the headlights turn on, the fogs come on as well.

Occasionally when I turn the car on, the fogs don't "fire up". They come on briefly like they are trying to start. It appears the car is drawing much of the batteries juice trying to turn over, and that prevents the HID ballasts from kicking on fully.

Any thoughts on how tp prevent this?

Right, you need to wire them directly to the battery with a relay so they get constant 12v

They are actually. The kit comes with a wiring harness that has positivies that connect directly to the battery.

If they still dont work sometimes you have to switch the positive and negative wires on the ballast. Trust me it wont burn. HID kits are weird like that sometimes. I dont have mine hooked up to a constant 12v, its just wired straight from the harness and it works everytime.

Hi,

Are your fogs turning on when the car is started or does the car start and then the fogs turn on?

Steve

I have the head lights set to "ON" and the foglight switch is set to on as well.

So when I turn the ignition to from "OFF" to "ON" the headlight/fogs come on. In the same motion, I then move the ignition from "ON" to "START". This is where the fogs are shutting off on occasion.

So they kick on during accessory on, but when the car turns over they shut off. Like the cars stealing juice from the ballasts. The "FOG Lamp" light is lite up, so the car "thinks" they are on.

Hey Cory,

I replied to your email.

Steve

I actually have that problem with my aftermarket kit....

so, Im already use to it....all I do everytime I fire up the car is turn fogs off and back on.

I would like to be able to turn just fogs on if anyone has any input on that

Gato.. The only way to run only the fogs is to rewire your switch. But doing that then it will be a separate switch on its own and wont turn on and off on the auto mode.

HIDs need a constant 12V when starting up. The power supplied by your OE harness may fluctuate at startup hence the ballasts may not get sufficient power to ignite.

Steve

Just got off the phone with Steve (xenondepot) a moment ago.

Bascially like he mentioned in the post above and explained on the phone, the ballasts are not getting the constant 12v supply while the car is starting. This drop in voltage keeps them from lighting up sometimes.

He has a "module" that is plug-n-play with the existing harness that will delay the start up of the ballast for 10 second. This allows the car to start up and suck up all the juice it wants, then once everything stabalizes, the ballast get all the power they need.

Only pain in the but part is I will have to take apart the fender wells again. :D I turned down the aim on the fogs too much last time so I've been wanting to raise them up a tad again. Sounds like a good excuse to get to it.

It was nice speaking with you Cory.

Steve

Speaking of Fogs, has anyone noticed that inside the foglight housing, there is a plastic piece similar to what is in the headlight housing that distributes the light across the housing? I know when I had the LS400, some of us removed this piece and got better light output with our fog lights. I've not tried it with the LS430 since it's much harder to pull the housing out.

Just a thought.

I would not suggest doing this to avoid blinding other drivers. Your fogs do not have a "cut-off" like your low beams meaning that the light would just go everywhere.

Steve

I would not recommend it either, at least not if you have a set of HID's in there. With the fogs at factory set height, the HID's were so bright I had to adjust them down. I would get flashed by every other car. And if you were in a dark area and you turned the fogs on, you would see the light deflection all the way up in the trees, and way off in the distance street signs would light up like christmas.

If you want more light output, talk to Steve and order youself up a kit. :D