HID Plug and Play WARNING!!!!!!!!!!
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: az
HID Plug and Play WARNING!!!!!!!!!!
To all my SC300/SC400 owners BEWARE OF PLUG AND PLAY HID's!!!!!
Last week on Tuesday my car caught fire. Today the adjuster came and looked at the car and took his pictures. After he left I got to work and took what I could (that's not notice able lol) and took off the hood and saw where it started. From what i was looking at it looks like the fire started with my "plug and play" HID's....dont get me wrong they look very nice especially with the new Halo Projector headlights too but BEWARE!!!!! Let my loss serve as a warning to everyone.
There is nothing salvageable in my engine bay at all...car will be totaled.
See links for pictures of parts and pictures of the engine. (also included the album with before pictures showing how the HID's looked)
http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc396/arroj00/
http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/...arroj00/Parts/
Last week on Tuesday my car caught fire. Today the adjuster came and looked at the car and took his pictures. After he left I got to work and took what I could (that's not notice able lol) and took off the hood and saw where it started. From what i was looking at it looks like the fire started with my "plug and play" HID's....dont get me wrong they look very nice especially with the new Halo Projector headlights too but BEWARE!!!!! Let my loss serve as a warning to everyone.
There is nothing salvageable in my engine bay at all...car will be totaled.
See links for pictures of parts and pictures of the engine. (also included the album with before pictures showing how the HID's looked)
http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc396/arroj00/
http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/...arroj00/Parts/
Must be your eBay headlights, that's why nobody should buy knock-offs. But as far as the HID's, I don't really see where it would start fire/heat to cause fire, because all the wires used are high tension wires unless, yes, you did it wrong and some wires where exposed.
Oh thats BS...Ive been using 4 sets of Xentec PNP HID's for several years now, not to mention the other 2 that are on my truck and have seen water, salt water, mud, etc., and I have not had one issue.
So either they were China made HID's, or didnt hook them up properly, or like Luxor said, ebay headlight with the inverter powered halo rings. Sorry, but PNP hid kits have been around for a while now, and very very few people have any sort of issue like that unless they are cheaply made.
I think title should be "WARNING, AVOID CHEAP STUFF!! IT MAY CATCH FIRE!!"...
BTW, who made your HID's anyway? Cause if it can be proven 100% that they were the cause, and can be proven that they were installed properly, you might have a court case...MIGHT.
So either they were China made HID's, or didnt hook them up properly, or like Luxor said, ebay headlight with the inverter powered halo rings. Sorry, but PNP hid kits have been around for a while now, and very very few people have any sort of issue like that unless they are cheaply made.
I think title should be "WARNING, AVOID CHEAP STUFF!! IT MAY CATCH FIRE!!"...
BTW, who made your HID's anyway? Cause if it can be proven 100% that they were the cause, and can be proven that they were installed properly, you might have a court case...MIGHT.
First off. . Its a blessing that you or anyone was hurt during the filming of this horror movie.
Do you happen to recall what brand you went with for your HID kit? Halo? Can I recall your installation steps. I would gather all the info possible , and cross reference any similar incidents online involving the same products that you used.
Do you happen to recall what brand you went with for your HID kit? Halo? Can I recall your installation steps. I would gather all the info possible , and cross reference any similar incidents online involving the same products that you used.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: az
I installed them all myself and i didnt have any open or exposed wires...the HID's were Xenon 12k HID's and the halo's werre from this website (http://www.ilovebodykits.com/product...ck.html).....i didnt cut any wires i used those wire connectors to add the halo and parking lights together didnt have to do anything to the turning signal bulb and the HIDs needed a slight modification to the back of the headlight to fit (the only thing that didnt fit right was the rubber cap that goes behind the bulb) other then that i didnt do anything crazy during the install and the headlights and HID's were not cheap nothing cheap deserves to go into a Lexus....i thought i was buying quality stuff....this is just a warning to be careful with what you buy and to prevent someone from going through what i am going through insurance companies dont realize what we have!!!
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Plug and play HID's, or any HID kit, have the potential to start a fire when installed on a car that did not originally come with HIDs. The problem is that the stock wiring is not rated for the high power draw required to initially fire up the ballasts. That's why whenever you do HID's on a car you have to put a relay harness so that properly rated wire is used and draws power direct from the battery.
Will every car start on fire without a relay?, no. But for $5 a relay is great insurance for protecting your car from burning to the ground.
Will every car start on fire without a relay?, no. But for $5 a relay is great insurance for protecting your car from burning to the ground.
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Driver
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 152
Likes: 4
From: fl
Plug and play HID's, or any HID kit, have the potential to start a fire when installed on a car that did not originally come with HIDs. The problem is that the stock wiring is not rated for the high power draw required to initially fire up the ballasts. That's why whenever you do HID's on a car you have to put a relay harness so that properly rated wire is used and draws power direct from the battery.
Will every car start on fire without a relay?, no. But for $5 a relay is great insurance for protecting your car from burning to the ground.
Will every car start on fire without a relay?, no. But for $5 a relay is great insurance for protecting your car from burning to the ground.
Pole Position
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 344
Likes: 0
From: ca
Damn THNX BENDER25 for that tip...your right 5$ can go a long way
i have a 95 sc and ran HIDS before then i got new headlight with different bulb fitment so i havent got a new HID system yet...But i will def get a relay for any future HID plans...
i have a 95 sc and ran HIDS before then i got new headlight with different bulb fitment so i havent got a new HID system yet...But i will def get a relay for any future HID plans...
Plug and play HID's, or any HID kit, have the potential to start a fire when installed on a car that did not originally come with HIDs. The problem is that the stock wiring is not rated for the high power draw required to initially fire up the ballasts. That's why whenever you do HID's on a car you have to put a relay harness so that properly rated wire is used and draws power direct from the battery.
Will every car start on fire without a relay?, no. But for $5 a relay is great insurance for protecting your car from burning to the ground.
Will every car start on fire without a relay?, no. But for $5 a relay is great insurance for protecting your car from burning to the ground.
For the fifth time I've had to say that on this website about HIDS. I really wish that the mis-information would STOP popping up.
I deal with electronics all day, there's a zero chance when a properly installed HID system could cause a fire unless the power and ground inside the unit short together which would melt the harness, not burn the freaking car down.
I custom soldered my DDM HID kit into my STOCK harness for my fog lights, it's a 55W kit by the way but during the process I purposely left the connections lose to test this theory and could hear the set shorting out but it never over heated the harness.
If your HIDs could not provide enough voltage due to old and worn wiring, it simply would not turn on or flicker on and off.
http://theeshadow.com/files/volvo/hidcomp.html
A relay harness is good if you've got wiring issues/low voltage in our cars, but that's not anyones fault but the owners for not repairing and band-aiding the issues instead...