NP993

To make a long story short, back in 2004, the previous owner of my car had Intersport install HID's. When I bought the car a couple of months ago, he told me that one of the HID bulbs burned out and that his mechanic (he had moved from DC to New Hampshire) had simply plugged the stock bulbs back in.

I ordered a couple of new HID bulbs last week and today got to work reconnecting everything and installing them. And it turns out that the problem wasn't a bad HID bulb, but a bad ballast resistor. I know this because I can swap the good ballast between headlights to make each one work.

Does anyone know whether I need to buy an exactly matching ballast, or whether any ballast that is designed for 35W H1 lights will work? And also, does anyone know where I can find just the ballast? I looked on Ebay and did some cursory internet searching, but didn't come up with much.

The problem is that every riceburner on the internet calls his blue halogen bulbs "HID's" so that when try to find a vendor who specializes in genuine HID parts, you come up with little but Fast and the Furious garbage.

Garth S

Are you looking for factory HID parts as shown .... or aftermarket HID kit parts?

NP993

Aftermarket -- as I said in the first post, these lights were installed by Intersport in 2004.

kkim

I'd just go buy a new set off ebay. Now days you can get hid kits for about $100.

Robin 993DX

I 2nd that..... They are really cheap now days.

Garth S

Must be a regional thing - for 'intersport' conveys zero meaning here: regardless, aftermarket it is .... at the low price of complete HID kits, there is a good chance of getting extra bulbs, ballasts, etc cheaper than buying one ballast.

NP993

It's not the money -- it's the labor. I don't feel like reinventing the wheel here and spending several hours tearing out perfectly good equipment and wiring and then re-installing new parts. All I need is a single ballast resistor, not a complete kit -- a piece that can be swapped out in, oh, about four seconds.

Do you guys replace all four tires when you get a nail in one of them? I didn't think so.

rcwelch

The plugs have to match...just any old resister may not plug in. Why can't you contact the original manufacturer and get a replacement.

Pickled Piper

I've bough three different aftermarket kits from different vendors. The connectors on the ballast resistors have been the same and the parts have been interchangeable. It may just be luck on my part, but there appears to be some standardisation with the aftermarket products. I would guess that most of them come from the same factory in the Far East.

Hope this helps.

pp

Dudley

Ohm out the connections before you buy anything. The connectors seem to be the weak point on the after market systems.

george_k

Post a photo of the resistor and any info thats marked on it as well, that may help. I deal with quite a few electronic component supply companies and I'd be happy to check them out for you to see if the part is a stock item.

NP993

Here are pics -- should have posted these in the first place, but couldn't find my camera!

george_k

Is it the ballast that you are switching to get the light to function or the resistor that you mentioned, if its a separate resistor, post photo of that as well.

NP993

Hi George,
My HID knowledge is very poor -- the part I can switch to get the lights to work is that blue box pictured above. There is one mounted inside the front trunk, on the inner fender, for each headlight. Is it properly called just a ballast, or a ballast resistor? Thanks for your help!

george_k

Noah,
That part is the ballast, I would say that you have to find another ballast like this one which is going to be difficult, I did a search myself and found nothing. There is an e-bay seller who lists them but they are being shipped from china and the cost is high $99. You would be better off buying another 35w HID
kit and just using one of the ballasts from the kit as a replacement. You may have to swap the connectors from your old unit to the new wiring harness to make it work.
sorry I could not be of more help.