The Oldsmobile Connection

[91parkave]

Just wondering, it happens from time to time on my car where the passenger side light will flicker off at any given time for about 5 minutes then cut back on, i tried making a ground for the headlight harness but it didnt help the problem, Ive had them for about 2 years now and ive been having this problem since december of last year, TIA guys

[Brando]

Don't have an HID kit...but could be a faulty ballast.

Try switching the passenger's side ballast over to the driver's side and see if the problem occurs on the driver's side instead.

TOC Admin
Brando

[91parkave]

yea i forgot to post that, it will still do the same thing on the passenger side even when switching bulbs....on another forum someone mentioned making a switch capable of handling steady voltage to both headlights, I will try and post up results for anyone else who might encounter this problem thanks brando for the input

[88delta88]

91parkave wrote: yea i forgot to post that, it will still do the same thing on the passenger side even when switching bulbs....

He meant switching the ballast, not the bulb. Unless of course, your hid bulbs have built in ballasts, but I have not seen those before.

91parkave wrote: a switch capable of handling steady voltage to both headlights

Why wouldnt the stock headlight switch be capable of exactly that? Your stock headlights would be of different brightnesses if it were not. What is the wattage required by the HID bulbs vs. your standard 55/65w halogen?

[91parkave]

I switched the ballast already and to eliminate the bulbs as a possibility i switched them as well., as for the wattage H.I.D's require 35watts as compared to halogens 55watt system. A couple of othe rmembers from another forum suggested the same thing so i have nothing to lose by upgrading the wiring, I honestly dont know why the H.I.D's have this problem on my car now as opposed to when they were first installed.

[andrewk]

If they require less wattage than your stock bulbs, you will gain nothing by 'upgrading' any wiring.

When the light goes out, is the time the bulb remains off constant, or does it vary?

[91parkave]

andrewk wrote: If they require less wattage than your stock bulbs, you will gain nothing by 'upgrading' any wiring.

When the light goes out, is the time the bulb remains off constant, or does it vary?


it varies but no longer than 5minutes. I also drove without my system on just to see if the if it was causing the instability of the headlights but still the same thing happens.

[andrewk]

91parkave wrote:


it varies but no longer than 5minutes. I also drove without my system on just to see if the if it was causing the instability of the headlights but still the same thing happens.

I would be looking at connections/wiring if it were mine. Specifically the condition of the terminals in the wiring harness, and the condition of the headlight wiring harness. What I think is happening is that you have an open, or a bad connection at that light, which as you are driving, it vibrates, the circuit opens, then it vibrates some more, and the connection becomes intact again.

I would take a VOM and check the continuity of the circuit, while gently tugging at the harness at various points, to see if you lose continuity. Once you find the offending wire, replace. Check the pins in any connectors, and see if they are loose from the wire, or corroded, etc.

[andrewk]

Did you figure it out?

[91parkave]

andrewk wrote: 91parkave wrote:


it varies but no longer than 5minutes. I also drove without my system on just to see if the if it was causing the instability of the headlights but still the same thing happens.

I would be looking at connections/wiring if it were mine. Specifically the condition of the terminals in the wiring harness, and the condition of the headlight wiring harness. What I think is happening is that you have an open, or a bad connection at that light, which as you are driving, it vibrates, the circuit opens, then it vibrates some more, and the connection becomes intact again.

I would take a VOM and check the continuity of the circuit, while gently tugging at the harness at various points, to see if you lose continuity. Once you find the offending wire, replace. Check the pins in any connectors, and see if they are loose from the wire, or corroded, etc.

I was thinking that to, that maybe vibrations or pot holes might have screwed up my ballast but its hard to replicate that situation when the light goes out by shaking it, i didnt have a chance to do the wiring today as it was raining but i did check it with my VOM while trying your suggestion but it showed a constan 12.41 volts the whole time :( Im going to pray the wiring does the trick as other memebrs have highly recomended that mod with the h.i.d kit , but thanks for the advice andrew ill post my results on here when i get around to doing this .

[andrewk]

You might have better luck testing the resistance of one side versus the other- Just a thought-