fried HID harness relay

[cosism]

I am creating this thread just to underscore my findings so it may help another user who is appropriately using the search function.

Most folks know to use a relay harness when running an HID setup. I am currently running a retrofit which consists of: TSX clear lenses (color modded), Phillips 85122+ burners, and Gen 3 Hella/Phillips LVQ-212 300s ballasts.

A few days ago my lights did not come on. I checked the 30A fuse right after the + side of the battery and was good (continuity checked). I found 12V going into the relay from the battery and only 200ish mV coming out towards the ballasts. I disconnected the relay from the socket and found this...





Turns out, a lot of these relay plugs are not water tight. I went to Pep Boys and found another 12V/40A relay for $10.99. After plugging the new one in, the lights fired up. Turns out, the PLACEMENT of the relay was not all that great. I do have an SE model and have that splash guard down there (by the fogs) but water sure found it's way into the relay.

I used sealant on the new relay where the leads go into the receptacle (female socket) and where the relay itself (plug) meets the socket. I also moved the relay to higher ground and tied it "prongs down", so water would not fill it, as I had the relay "prongs up" and the water filled the relay and was not able to escape with gravity.

I hope others can use this as a trouble shooting tool when searching the boards for problems with HIDS firing up. One thing i should mention is that I checked all of the leads for continuity while I was down there, and this should be a part of your troubleshooting checklist.

[lammydi]

This is very helpful! It nice of you to think of others....

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by cosism

I am creating this thread just to underscore my findings so it may help another user who is appropriately using the search function.

Most folks know to use a relay harness when running an HID setup. I am currently running a retrofit which consists of: TSX clear lenses (color modded), Phillips 85122+ burners, and Gen 3 Hella/Phillips LVQ-212 300s ballasts.

A few days ago my lights did not come on. I checked the 30A fuse right after the + side of the battery and was good (continuity checked). I found 12V going into the relay and only 200ish mV coming out. I disconnected the relay from the socket and found this...





Turns out, a lot of these relay plugs are not water tight. I went to Pep Boys and found another 12V/40A relay for $10.99. After plugging the new one in, the lights fired up. Turns out, the PLACEMENT of the relay was not all that great. I do have an SE model and have that splash guard down there (by the fogs) but water sure found it's way into the relay.

I used sealant on the new relay where the leads go into the receptacle (female socket) and where the relay itself (plug) meets the socket. I also moved the relay to higher ground and tied it "prongs down", so water would not fill it, as I had the relay "prongs up" and the water filled the relay and was not able to escape with gravity.

I hope others can use this as a trouble shooting tool when searching the boards for problems with HIDS firing up. One thing i should mention is that I checked all of the leads for continuity while I was down there, and this should be a part of your troubleshooting checklist.

Thanks, that is very helpful indeed. What brand was the relay harness (or did I miss that)?

[JSM1284]

Wow, that thing was drowning in a pool of water!

[cosism]

Originally Posted by lammydi

This is very helpful! It nice of you to think of others....

Just following your example Wally.

Originally Posted by Tobeit

Thanks, that is very helpful indeed. What brand was the relay harness (or did I miss that)?

You are welcome Tolbeit. I omitted that info, sorry. I purchased this relay on ebay. By the looks of other relays (like relays that are sold on these boards) most of them do not seem to be sealed. When someone is installing their harness for the first time (or when troubleshooting), sealing and moving to higher ground should be a recommendation.

[cosism]

Originally Posted by JSM1284

Wow, that thing was drowning in a pool of water!

Yeah, pretty nasty. The relay itself was not submerged but the opening where the leads from the battery, the ballasts and the frame/ground(-) was facing up. We had a downpour out here a little while ago, and we have some streets that get a tad flooded.

[LOV]

Thanks for this info, now i will move my relay a bit higher.

[Netforcer]

Hey, thanks for the info... this should get stickied

[glenn14]

Originally Posted by cosism

Yeah, pretty nasty. The relay itself was not submerged but the opening where the leads from the battery, the ballasts and the frame/ground(-) was facing up. We had a downpour out here a little while ago, and we have some streets that get a tad flooded.

cosism,
The same thing happened to me when I had my FX35 bi-xenon retrofit in my
Altima, what I did was enclose the relay in a waterproof box made out of plastic and sealed it with silicone. And I never had that problem again. And if the relay malfunctioned I could always cut open the box with a razor knife where I sealed it off. I thought that I would throw this info out there too for
anyone who needs an Idea on how to keep the relays dry. I am going to to
do this on my Camry once I install my retrofitted lights.

Glenn