HID question? Is this normal?

O

orangeblast22

New member
Hey guys, I installed my Xenon Depot Phillips 4300K kit over the weekend. Great product...but had a question.

I've noticed that when driving around at night (of course) I notice the light flutter sometimes. They don't turn off or anything like that...but they flutter...like...shake sometimes. I notice the light kind of...bounce around here and there. It only lasts for a less than a second. Possibly related to the pavement condition and whatever bumps I'm driving over? Is it something loose? Is this perfectly normal? Should I go back and make sure the little voltage box and ballast are secure? Its okay for those things to shake alittle bit right?

any insight will help! thanks!
 
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it shouldn't be shaking.... check to see if anything is loose. the ballasts shouldn't be shaking around, the should be secured down somewhere. they are made to withstand a good shake, but that doesn't mean you should let them sit in a spot where they aren't fully fastened down.
 
so what are some things to check? Harnesses? make sure all things are connected snuggly? The ballasts should be completely in place? The light bulbs should obviously snug...

What would cause it to flutter or shake like that?

It doesn't happen for more than a second...and it only happened twice tonight. They are not strobing or flashing, they just kind of vibrate...shake...flutter.

I'm Just a bit concerned.
 
I had this happen to my HIDs I had installed in my Taco. I would say it is from the arc of light in the gas that is vibrating ever so slightly in the tube. I checked everything on my Taco and all was secured. I would say your ok as long as all is secured.
 
My hids flutter also. I aimed my lights at my garage door and the lights flutter with the car in park and the engine off.
 
Alright, well I double checked all the wiring and connections, everything is nice and snug.

While the lights were on, I flicked and moved wires and connection points...tapped the voltage box and resistor...the bulb wires and ballast...nothing flickered or fluttered. I have no idea what causes it, maybe it IS the gas in the bulb or maybe just the road.

Also, anyone know what a 4300K HID Phillips bulb should look like? I ordered the 4300K Phillips kit from Xenon but the bulb itself has no Phillips markings on it. Was curious as to how I can confirm its a phillips bulb.

thanks!
 
They should not flutter...and its NOT the gas moving around lol.

Something is loose. Either the bulb or the entire housing itself. All my OEM HID equipped cars never had a flutter.
 
SO whatever is causing the flickering is actually the bulb itself and NOT one of the components like the ballast or something right?
 
Having this issue too. It's the bulb that's causing it to happen. Some bulbs are worse than others. I have one bulb that is almost perfect (doesn't move around unless I hit a very big pothole) and then I have another that's constantly moving. It has to do with how the HID capsule is rebased onto the H11/9006/etc base. The bulb that moves around has a lot more free motion on the base itself.

I'm going to be doing a full retrofit soon because I can't stand it anymore.
 
I have the Phillips bulbs....there suppose to be one of the best HID bulbs available.....so I suppose this isn't the case given its shaking everywhere?? I don't get it...

Kind of disappointing. Its one of the last things I would have expected.
 
Philips doesn't make rebased bulbs to fit halogen headlamps, they only make the standard HID bulbs (D2S, D2R, D4S, D1S...etc). Most Philips rebased bulbs start out as a Philips capsule on a D2S/R base. The base is then taken off the bulb and then aligned on another base so that it can be inserted into a halogen headlight housing. So, you can have a Philips HID capsule on a non-Philips base. Hope that made sense.
 
thats what he said

Yes, it is the bulb, as 'tkr128' indicates. As the element shakes, the curvature in the projector lens will manipulate the light differently, which make it noticeable (and annoying) when a shadow of an object is cast.

Does anyone think whether epoxy or some other resin can be added to the inner base, for added support? I would have thought it was the rubber grommet/seal around the connector fins, not being tight enough, but I have not received my kits yet so cannot provide a more accurate opinion. Hope I don't suffer the same fate.
 
I'm still interested in a fix for this. My right bulb seems to be shaking way more over bumps than the right bulb. I hardly ever notice the right bulb shaking, the left one is all over the place.
 
Why haven't you contacted Xenon Depot with this question? I'm waiting on mine too, and I'd like to hear what they have to say.

Try this:

Steve
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Customer Relations Department
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 1.905.660.0124
 
Hi orangeblast22,

Have you examined the bulb at all? Is the glass portion loose? The glass bulb should not be loose at all in the base. If it is, please contact me so that I can rectify the problem for you. In the past, we have had some customers contact us thinking that the bulb is loose however the issue was a function of increased light output and a sharp cut off from the projectors. The increased light output and sharp cutoff gave the illusion that the bulb was loose.

Please view this page for more information in regards to why your bulbs do not say "Philips" on the base:

HID Technology FAQ. Informative articles about Xenon and HID technology.

Philips bulbs do have a unique shape to them though so you can identify a true Phliips bulb by looking at the outer shape of the bulb and the shape of the inner glass capsule.

Regards,

Steve
 
Hey Steve, thanks for dropping by. When I have some time this week I'll go ahead and pull the bulbs out and see if I can actually wiggle them the base. I'll report back in this thread and email you directly.

-thanks
 
No problem buddy. Please do email me directly as emails & PM always get priority. Unfortunatey, I have had some issues recently with the board failing to advise me of PM or thread reply notifications so I apologize if I did not reply in a timely manner.

Steve
 
I also have had problems with shaking hid bulbs , double checked everything was properly secure , everything was good . I guess that’s just how it is .
 
saskrunnerpro said:
I also have had problems with shaking hid bulbs , double checked everything was properly secure , everything was good . I guess that’s just how it is .
Click to expand...

XenonDepot chimed in on this topic the other day in the 5th gen section, I'm having the same issue. They recommended checking the o-ring on the bulbs, perhaps swapping the included o-rings with the rings off of the original halogen's. I haven't swapped them yet so can't comment, but it's worth a shot. Best of luck.
 
JSparky said:
XenonDepot chimed in on this topic the other day in the 5th gen section, I'm having the same issue. They recommended checking the o-ring on the bulbs, perhaps swapping the included o-rings with the rings off of the original halogen's. I haven't swapped them yet so can't comment, but it's worth a shot. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

I tried swapping with the original o rings still the same issue .
The o rings that came with seem like they fit in really well , seems like the headlights on the 4Runner arnt mounted totally solid so that could be the problem, not much that can be done about that . Xenon depot told me its just the sharp cutoff and brighter light that I’m noticing it . It is kinda annoying I’m thinking about going to better halogen bulb .
 
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