HID lights only fire on one side of vehicle at startup

[matthewkristof]

my hids, in general, are working well. i have the morimoto in the headlights and foglights, 35w, 5k coloring. no issue when the car is running and i need to turn the dial on the stalk while driving.

my issue comes at startup. i have the auto headlights mod, so i keep the stalk in the 'auto' position all the time. i like the 'auto' feature a lot. sometimes, when i start the vehicle up, only the driver side headlight and fog light will fire. the engine doesn't skip or hesitate. if i flip both the headlights and fog lights 'off' then flip back to 'auto' again, everything ignites like normal. often times, if i don't flip the stalk at all, the headlights will eventually all turn on. i've checked all the ballasts, bulbs and connections. everything ok there. i'm guessing its a power draw when the car first turns over but i'm not sure. my battery (second one since i purchased it new) is 5 years old.

it's not a huge deal, but since i drive my car almost everyday, it's starting to get a bit annoying to do that each time i start, since i am usually in a dark garage or underground parking whenever the vehicle is started.

thank you in advance for assistance

 

[riceandpho]

are you using a harness? also you might want to find a time delay relay. but i do suggest you to leave everything off and start the truck and turn it back on, you get back some cranking amps from the hid power draw.

 

[matthewkristof]

thanks for your advice.

you are right though...when i leave everything off and then turn the lights on after i fire up the rig, i get better results.

i know there is some debate on whether or not to use a harness for hids. i actually purchased one for each of the headlights and fog lights but never installed them. i've read people who don't use one and it starts up fine, and others who swear by it. i have no issue running one, except that i don't know where to get power in the engine block. do you know where?

 

[MikeyMike]

I have an Morimoto kit as well. The same thing happens to me when I get back to my vehicle after I leave the headlights on with the ""auto-off" feature. Not sure why it's doing this but it's not a big deal to me.

 

[mvp2765]

This happens with my acura TL after I installed HIDs in the foglights. I had to use a relay harness and when I leave the fogs on sometime at startup, only one turns on. I've never had any issues when i do not use a harness though like in 4runner.

 

[riceandpho]

I just install the harness, it's included for a reason. I don't have much problem with my kits.

 

[ddnww]

Ditto

Not all the time,but sometimes.

I always keep them off and turn them on manually now.