Headlight beam shaking

[Rocket61]

Good afternoon Gents,

I'm at the point where this headlight beam issue is really starting to bug me. I upgraded to HIDs a few months ago and have noticed that my beams shake sideways when hitting bumps/washboard. It's not limited to shaking side to side but that's the most noticable movement. I never had this problem with the stock halogens. The bulbs are screwed in tightly and won't move around in their sockets even by hand. I'm pretty sure the entire headlight assemly or projector is shaking. Ballasts and all wiring are secure as well. Would appreciate any and all tips on how to fix this annoying problem. Thanks!

 

[blindside]

mine moves as well whenever i hit a good bump, maybe not as bad as you described but noticable.. i have HID's as well both headlights and fogs.. im trying a diff set of ballast to see if that changes anything ill let you know

 

[Rocket61]

mine moves as well whenever i hit a good bump, maybe not as bad as you described but noticable.. i have HID's as well both headlights and fogs.. im trying a diff set of ballast to see if that changes anything ill let you know

yea please let me know what you discover. I wanted to try putting the stock halogen bulbs back in just to see if its a problem with the headlight assembly or the hid kit but i misplaced the stock bulbs.... If yours are kickin around that'd be a good way to narrow down the problem.

 

[nevada]

mine moves as well whenever i hit a good bump, maybe not as bad as you described but noticable.. i have HID's as well both headlights and fogs.. im trying a diff set of ballast to see if that changes anything ill let you know

why would a different ballast change anything?

 

[Rocket61]

why would a different ballast change anything?

Defective ballasts tend to flicker when shaken.

 

[nevada]

Defective ballasts tend to flicker when shaken.

ah.

but, i thought it was shaking. thats not the same thing as flickering.

if its a bad ballasts, couldnt you just bump it with your hand to duplicate the probem?

 

[Rocket61]

ah.

but, i thought it was shaking. thats not the same thing as flickering.

if its a bad ballasts, couldnt you just bump it with your hand to duplicate the probem?

Hard to say. I'm having trouble narrowing down the problem myself. The body of the beam looks like it's moving around and it's hard to tell whether the actual edge of it shakes - which would suggest the assembly or projector is loose. Really wish I could find the stock halogens to test...

 

[nevada]

Hard to say. I'm having trouble narrowing down the problem myself. The body of the beam looks like it's moving around and it's hard to tell whether the actual edge of it shakes - which would suggest the assembly or projector is loose. Really wish I could find the stock halogens to test...

im unfamilair with the kit thats being used to retrofit these rigs...

but, if all you need is a halogen bulb for testing...they arent expensive. you could just buy new ones.

 

[krupnation]

I have a similar issue on my passenger side but I know it's because my projector is a little loose. I did the retro-fit so it's a little different than what this thread is referring too, but I can physically see the projector "wiggle" a little when I close my hood. Try looking for movement with your HID's on and close the hood. That should tell you if the projector or headlight housing is moving or it's your HID bulb.

 

[riceandpho]

First thing to check, take the bulb out and see if its broken or loose, cheap kits are that, also make sure u are using ac type ballast, dc are cheap garbage and flicker and dimmer.

 

[saskrunnerpro]

Are updates on this issue ?

 

[SoSoRunner]

Good afternoon Gents,

I'm at the point where this headlight beam issue is really starting to bug me. I upgraded to HIDs a few months ago and have noticed that my beams shake sideways when hitting bumps/washboard. It's not limited to shaking side to side but that's the most noticable movement. I never had this problem with the stock halogens. The bulbs are screwed in tightly and won't move around in their sockets even by hand. I'm pretty sure the entire headlight assemly or projector is shaking. Ballasts and all wiring are secure as well. Would appreciate any and all tips on how to fix this annoying problem. Thanks!

I noticed this too when off roading...the headlights are mounted into the brackets via pointy screws into a plastic mount. Sometimes overtime or from over tightening those plastic mounts can get stripped and won't tighten down fully all the way.

I just went to my local Lowes and got some springs nuts x2 packs https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-4-Count-8-Black-Phosphate-Standard-SAE-Flat-Spring-Nuts/3013171 I put these on the bottom of the pointy screw once they pass through the plastic mounting so that it has something to catch and can actually tighten down. It's kind of a pain to get your hands up under the brackets but it can be done just be patient, I did them to the top x3 screws on each side. Now my head lights don't shake at all anymore.

Hope this helps :fro:

 

[Rocket61]

Are updates on this issue ?

lol I posted this 6 years ago when I had a 2007... put HIDs into my 2017 and still have the same issue. Not as bad, but still shaking going over bigger bumps, potholes.