HID issues on the golf, Any Ideas?

Went to fit the HID kit on the golf but they didnt work, nothing. Checked the ballast and bulbs on james car and they worked fine. Im thinking that the car is not supplying enough Voltage to start the lights up. I found this info on the web:

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To determine what is wrong, you will need to find out exactly what is happening. Normally, when you power up the HID's, you will hear a high-pitch tone coming from the ballasts. This tone is generated by the high frequency / high voltage generated inside the ballasts. However, when the HID's don't start, you should hear nothing.



If you hear a ballast clicking it means it is generating high voltage but finds an error at the high voltage side.




If the burner does not ignite .and. doesn't flicker, there is something wrong in the connection from the ballast to the burner.
This could be caused by too much tension on the wiring (ballasts fitted too far away from the lamps, wiring broken or connector broken. Best way to investigate is to swap the burner from one side to the other and see if the problem stays. (assuming one side is igniting). If the burner ignites after the swap, you've got to investigate the wiring and connectors of the burner.

If the burner does not ignite but flickers, the burner is probably broken or there's a resistance in one of the wires. Swap the burners from one side to the other and check again. The problem will probably travel to the other side which means the burner is at fault and needs to be replaced.



If you don't hear any sound coming from the ballast, it means it is not generating high voltage. The problem should either be found in the ballast, the connections or the car



First thing to check is if there's any power on the input pins of the ballast. When the lights are switched on, you should measure 12V DC on the input pins. A 'classic' on the Elise S2 is a blown fuse. According to the service manual, both lamps should be equipped with a 15 Amp fuse, yet we found quite a few cars with a 10 Amp fuse.
Although the running power of an HID kit is less then a normal Halogen bulb, the startup current is a lot higher as the high voltage needs to be generated for a short while. This causes the 10 Amp fuse to blow (it's actually very close to 10 Amps, so you might see one side blowing while the other side works without problems!)



If you find 12V DC at the input pins, you need to check the polarisation of the connectors. Although not easy, it is possible to reverse the power connector on the ballast.
You will find two notches on the power receptable of the ballast. One is square and protrudes a lot further then the other one. The lip which is found on the connector should click over the smallest notch. Although the electronics inside the ballast is protected against polarity reversal, the system will not ignite.



A specific problem which we've found on the Elise S1 is voltage drop. The rush-in current caused by the ballast while generating high voltage is quite high. As this current is drawn during a very small period, fuses are not blowing (there is not enough energy to actually blow the fuse). However, wiring on the Elise S1 and Exige S1 has proven to be very thin. Thin wiring and high currents don't combine. If enough energy applied, the wire will light up, but as the ballast only draws this rush in current for a very short period, the wires will cause a resistance in the system. Extra resistance simply means that the voltage will drop. If the voltage drops to a level below 9 Volts DC, the ballast will generate an error and the lamp will not be ignited

Try different bulbs or check you got the right ones!

prehaps you need to make a relay backed harness for them so the voltage does'nt drop?

I would PM Fitzy mate. He might be able to help you cos he had them on his old black VR.

spoke to fitzy and barry...

by the sounds of things its the wiring. we had both bulbs and harnasses working, maybe gota buy the adapter that taken them straight from the battery!

Get a Multi-meter onto them? See what the Voltage is?

Voltage is fine, both at 11.6V

I GIVE UP!!!!

See u got it sortd buddy, looks sweet, should get sum for urs vr6brew!

So did you get it sorted then dude? What did you do?

the lead tht went from the ballast to the headlight wiring loom had split inside the casing, so it was the hids tht were faulty, james nd adz managed to fix the wire and nw the VR rocks white lights!

yer... if you can imagine... when you have wire strippers and pull the outer casing off the wire so you can put a spade on it, well it pulled the wire completely apart from itself, but inside the insulated case on the positive, so you couldnt physically see it.

so a fault from the factory

we found this out after putting every wire through the voltage meter and then using spare wire to put in place of it and they worked .

bit of soldering...and we have light!

thank god!

Good work chaps!! glad to hear its all sorted...pop down ad and show me what there like dude!