[Fynn]

At the beginning I’d like to welcome everyone here.
If I chose wrong place to start topic, I’m sorry but haven’t find anything better matching than this.

I got problem with my factory low beam HID. Let’s get into it.

Lights were ok, little weak if we talk about brightness but they were working. I started noticing some flashing going off and on while driving. Then passenger side gone off completely. Now just driver side works, but also sometimes go off completely for a few sec then turns back on. I thought that bulb itself went away so I bought pair to replace both. Turned out that as the old one 2 new don’t work at all no flash nothing. So it got me thinking, it’s the ballast time. But then my dad went and checked both headlights then switched the sides. Connected one permanent not working to the working side and it turned out it turned on! But for a second or so then went out again. Connecting back the right one, it’s also not working, but after turning light off and on with switch got the driver side work again. But on the other hand, the driver side headlight connected to passenger side doesn’t work at all like the one that should be there. So we got to the point where non of the headlight work on the passenger side but on the driver side one works and one flashed. So I’m now confused what’s really goin on. In addiction to that, we’ve checked the voltage in incoming harness to both headlamps and drivers side got ~14v and the passenger side got ~13v while the car is running. That got me thinking that maybe ballast isn’t the problem. But what is then?

Any help would be appreciated. We have been struggling with this for some time now and it’s going to be nightmare when the autumn and winter will get me before I do it, especially in place where I live.

One mechanic that deals with mopar and other am cars said he never experienced fired ballas but it turns out it gotta be it.

 

[CtCarl]

Since your car is a 2008, it's possible that the bulbs were original equipment. That's important because as HID bulbs age, they require progressively higher voltage to "fire", meaning that they draw more current from the ballasts, which draw more power themselves as a result.

This can lead to overheating and "burning" of the HID circuit fuses. I don't know where they are on a 2008, but you can check your owner's manual. On earlier cars, it's a good idea to change the HID fuses in case they're damaged and not carrying as much current as they should.

If you've replaced the bulbs and that didn't resolve the issue, and you're sure you're getting enough power to the left and right HID circuits, you've probably got a ballast problem.

 

[Fynn]

Thanks for response. Unfortunately I’ve installed new ballast with new bulb and I got no light on the passenger side. When we attach passenger side lamp to driver side harness it works flawlessly so definitely ballast was the problem. Earlier was just a quick flash and no light now it stays on. Anyway both of the laps are working connected to the driver side harness but they don’t on passenger side. Any idea? It makes me think about that voltage, but haven’t seen any fuse according to manual found across the web. Maybe I’m not experienced enough with mechanical words to find it.

pdf linked below, if I cannot post any links in here just let me know, I’ll delete it.

Captcha

edit.1 When engine is off, harness on the passenger side gives ~9v and the drivers side ~12,4v. Thats really weird. When we turn on engine we got 11.4 and 14.4 so definitely we got problem in voltage but what can it be if I cannot find any fuse or relay that is responsible for HID circuit?

 

[devilmaycare]

The Front Control Module (FCM) also plays a part in headlamp operation:

Extract from Service Manual:

"• Minimizes voltage variations to the headlamps to extend bulb life and to equalize the light output from the lamps, which might otherwise differ due to variations in wiring resistance"

Might be worth checking connectors and wiring associated with this module.

 

[Tr8rNines]

I literally posted this very same issue on my 07 C, but got no answers. Its like its a taboo subject.Mopar dealerships, independant garages, and even forums wont talk about it. FINALLY, some answers that may solve the issue. Now, to locate the fuses.

 

[Fynn]

And that was it! Well, not exactly but it had impact to other electronics in my car. Probably would make HID gone anyway due to corrosion in connectors underneath fuse box. However the main issue was ground. Turned out checking the current and trying ground from somewhere else got us stable ~12v (after spending few hours inspecting all connectors to FCM individually). That’s weird because we’ve cleaned ground cable behind the headlamps that leads to em (according to information found across the web). At this point we tried just uncovering little bit of cable, soldered one wire temporarily, to gain ground from place where we got clean connection, and lamp started working immediately. Well, that was it. FCM wasn’t problem itself, thankfully. Be sure to check all of your cables guys. Well be searching for broken wire between intended ground point and connector to the headlamp but for now, it works flawlessly. Thank you for the support. I hope it’ll help others!

 

[Bagged Anchor]

And that was it! Well, not exactly but it had impact to other electronics in my car. Probably would make HID gone anyway due to corrosion in connectors underneath fuse box. However the main issue was ground. Turned out checking the current and trying ground from somewhere else got us stable ~12v (after spending few hours inspecting all connectors to FCM individually). That’s weird because we’ve cleaned ground cable behind the headlamps that leads to em (according to information found across the web). At this point we tried just uncovering little bit of cable, soldered one wire temporarily, to gain ground from place where we got clean connection, and lamp started working immediately. Well, that was it. FCM wasn’t problem itself, thankfully. Be sure to check all of your cables guys. Well be searching for broken wire between intended ground point and connector to the headlamp but for now, it works flawlessly. Thank you for the support. I hope it’ll help others!

Hey, Fynn can you explain what you found and what you did to make this work again? I am experiencing almost the exact same thing to the T. Passenger side Factory HID Low Beam stopped working. I too thought it was the ballast. I know it wasn't the bulb because it worked in the driver side. After receiving the new ballast and plugging it all back in still nothing. Placed the passenger side light near the driver side and plugged it in and it worked. So this made me break out the multimeter. While the switch was on I was getting 11.5 V at the driver side with the car off. I was getting a complete 0 at the passenger side connector. Both 30amp fuses are good, Relay for HID is good as well. What I did find was that there was a lack in power to one side of the relay while testing with the multi meter. It was getting about half the voltage than the other one. In theory it makes me believe that its not enough to power both the driver side and the passenger side. I am really racking my brain here.

I guess I could always rerun everything to a single switch with an inline fuse but this seems really ridiculous to do for freaking factory things that should function properly from the factory. All other lights function properly.