How do I know if my hid ballast is bad? How do I determine if the ballast is the culprit when my HID lights won’t turn on? Do I need to buy a new system if my lamps won’t fire?
When you have this question, I know that you are experiencing light failure. There are many reasons for this, and one such reason is the HID ballast failing.
To know the condition of your ballast, you must check and troubleshoot it. What you see will say the state of your HID ballast.
Table of Contents
Signs That Your Ballast is Bad
Before going out and buying a new ballast for your lighting system, you should check it first and see if it is the point of failure. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time and money.
Dimming or Flickering Headlights
If your HID bulb cannot produce its full brightness or strobe periodically, this is most probably a ballast problem. When a ballast begins to fail, it may have problems regulating and providing a stable current, hence the dimming and flickering of your light source.
Strange Sounds
If you hear strange sounds, like buzzing or humming noises, in your HID bulb, even if it is off, then that means your ballast is continuously working. Your ballast might be struggling to maintain the current and is causing an audible voltage regulation problem.
Headlights Not Working
If your headlights are not working or not responding to your switches, check the whole system. If there are no loose parts and the bulbs still have their filaments intact, then there’s a big chance that your ballast is in bad condition.
Changing Light Colors
If you are experiencing inconsistent hues or extra brightness, your ballast might be on the fritz. As the system ages, the ballast might eventually have sporadic voltage surges. If you don’t replace them soon, there’s a chance that it might cause your bulbs to break.
Constantly Blowing Fuse
Constantly blowing a fuse probably means a faulty ballast. When your ballast can no longer properly regulate the voltage, it might cause an increase in the current of your electrical system, thus causing your fuse to isolate it. So, if you’ve been recently replacing your headlight fuses more than usual, consider looking at your ballasts.
Check The Ballast Itself
Aside from the signs that your ballast is in bad condition, you can also consider checking the ballast itself. When you see these signs of a damaged ballast, try to reset your ballast or replace it with a new one.
Damaged Casing
A damaged or swollen casing is primarily due to voltage overloads. Be sure to check your ballast power supply and fuse as well because they could cause problems to your replacement ballast if they are not addressed.
Burn Marks
You will see these burn marks when you open your ballast cover. It is caused by a sudden voltage charge which could cause its capacitor to blow. This component is the most commonly damaged part because it regulates the voltage level that passes through the system. It is also an easy-to-replace part, so you don’t need to worry if you find it damaged.
If you want to replace your HID ballast capacitor, watch the video made by Kelvin Ang.
Water or Oil Damage
When you open your HID ballast and see moisture or oil inside, your ballast may not work correctly. It can also cause a short in your lighting system and make it fail.
When you see some of these damaged signs, your ballast is in bad condition, and it needs a replacement. To help you find a reliable ballast, I highly recommend the top-rated HID Ballasts that I’ve used before.
Conclusion
If you are experiencing the above signs in your HID lighting system, take a look at your ballast. It might be high time to replace or repair them. You should catch problems before they appear because losing your lights on a dark, rainy night is not a good situation to be in.
If you find your ballast needs a replacement, check out this article on The HID Ballasts for your car. These are the ballasts that I choose from when upgrading or replacing HID ballasts for my customers. Furthermore, check my reviews about the top-rated 1000 watt ballast and the reliable digital ballasts if you need them.
I am Edwin Jones, in charge of designing content for Galvinpower. I aspire to use my experiences in marketing to create reliable and necessary information to help our readers. It has been fun to work with Andrew and apply his incredible knowledge to our content.