Flickering Xenon's thoughts from a mechanic

[mikemechanic]

Hi all, I am a Chrysler mechanic working at a dealer for 16 years. I had a member contact me asking about his flickering aftermarket xenons, I don't really frequent the forums here so I was unaware of the problems but was asked if a tech could use the StarScan to tell the car that it had xenons in order to prevent the flickering. I looked through the StarScan but did not come across anything so I did some more investigating as to what the problem everyone was having. The member informed me that the kits were of good quality and are basically just plug and play. My initial thoughts were the kits were not up to any sort of standard and may have required different transformers, etc for the higher operating voltage.

I quickly viewed the wiring schematic for a 2007 300C SRT8 to see what would be different from one with HID's and one without. I see that according to the schematic that the only real difference (besides one or two wires) was a relay. The front control module (FCM) recieves a signal from the headlamp switch telling it that the headlamp mode has been selected. The FCM will then send a power signal out. Now if you have basic headlamps power goes from the FCM to the headlamps. If you have HID's power goes to a relay in the power distribution center and thus turns the relay on. This relay then feeds power to the HID lamps which will turn them on. This protects the FCM from any high current drawn by the HID's.

My thoughts here are that the aftermarket kits are plugged directly into the regular headlamp connector and the added current of running the xenon's is causing the FCM to attempt to protect itself by cycling the power to the bulbs or turning them off altogether. My recommendation (if it was my car) is I would set up the system like the factory HID's and add the relay in the PDC and run the wires from the FCM to this relay and a power wire from the relay to the aftermarket xenons. I see that several companies sell harnesses with capacitors in them, I would assume that this works but still may cause problems with the delicate circuitry of the modules in the circuit. I have not tested my theory so I can't comment on if it works or not. Please see attached schematic as it should clear up any confusion from my descriptions. I hope this helps someone down the road and helps create an alternative to purchasing more parts to make the lights run properly.

Mike

[firemandan]

my lamps flicker but are originals , since day 1 i have complained to the dealer about it but to no avail as they said they havent heard of it at all nor could see it flicker !!!!! but in the dark its plain to see and also the beam is dull and flat , anyhow the other week they rang me to say ...... the flicker is caused by the bulbs , if we replace them it will cease . i asked why now do you believe me , the answer ..... cos others have started to complain , iv only been complaing since dec 2 2006 !!!! now they are super bright and real sharp !!!

[stealthsrt8]

mike, thank you for this great information. this one is going in my "reference" file for the future.

my company wholesales HID conversion kits to shops throughout texas. our clients have not been able to pinpoint the problem either. some cars work with a harness, some don't. some work with a capacitor, some don't. the common problem is that if a car blows a ballast, it will continue to blow a ballast.

[TonyGMF]

i had a 2005 touring and had aftermarket hids they were probly the worst thing ever! they flickered like a strobe light LOL, i did a step up relay to the jump starting terminal and it cleared right up(i assume there is a lower voltage input to the headlights)now i have a 2006 300c with Hids in low,high and fogs with not a single problem... i didnt step voltage up on any of them and i have a HUGE system with about 100amp drawl on a stock battery i heard there was a problem with the 2005 headlight harness i dont know if yours is a 05 or not?

[Gmanigio]

Caliber guys have the same problem with low beam with a high/low beam kit.

They take one of the wires from the HID kit and run that to the parking lights. And it works for them.