I got my 2k2 headlights installed with the DDE's and everything work fine for about 2-3 days, then as I was going through the base gate the security forces police told me my daytime running lite was out ( which I don't have) come to find out it was my driverside DDE's. Passenger side works fine, I tried switchin power with no luck, could the ballast just have blown like that? Anyone run into the prob? Is it possible to just order another ballast only?

 

make sure all wires are connected. Then call Matt @ Umnitza

 

Check and make sure your connectors are not melted. Mine melted along with a couple other people i know. When they melt they will short out and the lights will not come on.

 

I personally don't like any of the connectors umnitza has (no offence matt)

I simply cut them off, hardwires and soldered. Best solution possible!

 

Yeah, I don't like the connectors either I just haven't had time to hard wire everything. I checked the wires everything seem to be in good condition, Its just the drivers side though, unless the wires inside the housing has melted or something. I'll have to check more in depth this weekend, then if no luck I'll call Matt.

 

I agree

 

I had the exact same problem. It was the ballast that fried. I contacted Matt and he sent me a new ballast. Since then they work perfectly.

 

I was one of those whose melted after the second day with no water getting in there. it was those little black connecters that connect the rings to the ballast. just replaced those with some better connetors and no problems now!

 

What cause the melt down, mine didn't look melted. I really hope its not the ballast.

 

crappy connecters? i dont know. my passenger DDEs were off and when i opened the hood i heard some crackling noise and when i unplugged the connectors they started smoking and melting.

 

I hard wired the cables much nicer looking. As for the lights, crispykid is right it is your ballast. I spoke with matt on saturaday and on Monday evening I had them working again.

 

My ballast went bad just a few days ago after a month or so of trouble free operation. Matt is replacing it for free

Problem is, when removing the bad ballast I must've pulled on the wire to one of the rings, snapping it in two. Made me wanna beat myself with a rake. Oh well, it's in the mail as well.

Oh, and I highly recommend hardwiring the rings as well. I had issues with the connectors.

 

I think i may need to just call him, I did the electric tape deal you recommended, is it still possible that the wire may have been, cut inside the insulation

 

Weird, I was just going to post about this..2 hours ago mine went out on the pass. side only. Checked connections, everything's ok on that end. At least it's only a prob w/the ballast..would hate going thru taking out the rings & crap

 

Yeah sounds like your ballast, because if there was a short anywhere, most likely the rings would still light, but only half as bright. That happened to me. When i got em all installed and wired up one of my drivers side rings was only half as bright as the other rings. Turns out that when I twisted the dust cap over the wires, it cut the insulation and the wires were touching. I still gotta clean up the wiring on mine a little and im also gonna hardwire those connectors. Also, be very careful when twisting the dust cap on, dont pull the wires too tight before u put on the dust cap as when u twist the cap it will pull the wires even more. When I twisted mine on, it pulled the wires too tight on the drivers side light and popped one of the rings loose at the bottom so now one of my rings is just kinda swinging around cuz its still attached at the tops......


-Steve

 

You know that it is the ballast thats not working?
Matt told me to send him $6 for shipping and he'd send me a new one.

 

Yeah i had to crack my light open like twice after sealin git back cause the rings came loose. When I put back on my dust cap I used a little bit of dish soap as lub so it wouldn't pull as much, seem to work fine that way. I guess i'll go ahead and order the ballast again.

 

Not 100% sure, will check tomr. using the ballast that still works. I'm assuming it's the ballast from what crispy said.

 

I just dropped my $6 for a new ballast, I hope that fixes the problem

 

i keep hearing about this matt character. Who is he and what is his relationship with DDE's? Does he sell them and if so , how much?
jbg

 

He owns (IIRC) Umnitza -- the company that makes DDE. Price at his website: www.umnitza.com

 

thanks. Does everyone here reccomend this accessory and how hard was it to install?

jbg

 

I thinks it makes the max look sweet. The install was not hard at all only time consuming. Take your time and follow the direction and you should just fine. If you need any advice on it hit myself, housecor, studman and few others.

later

 

Preview of the install process here: www.innerbean.com/housecor/angel_eyes.html

 

It sounds corny, but I had a dream that I cleared my headlights and installed DDE's and loved them. I may hold off on the stillen rear lip and get these bad boys.

 

Instead of twisting the dust cap and pinching the wires, which worried me, we drilled a hole thru the center of the dust cap then ran the wires through the hole and sealed it with silicone. This way there is no way of pinching or cutting the wires.

 

I'm seriously considering doing this as well. Though I'm considering drilling though the area right under the cap - one very small hole for each wire. This way the cap can still be twisted on and off at will without twisting the wires as well. I'm growing concerned that running the wires through the cap will eventually wear through the insulation even with tape around the wires to protect them.

 

Thats probably a good idea, I had to take my cap on and off a few times and I had that same worry.
I won't drill the cap and silicon it cause the the wire would be stuck right?

 

Right, once you silicone the wire it will be very difficult to remove the cap. That's why I'd recommend drilling holes under the cap. I plan to do this when my new ballast arrives.

 

Same here!! Much thanks for the tips and how-to's

 

Guys, we identified the issue with these ridiculously misproduced ballasts.

The design was incorrectly done where the section of the circuitry is coming into contact with metal short circuiting the internal board.

Suffice it to say, a lot of screaming and yelling finally made its way to our manufacturing team and we are fixing it on the fly. Unfortunately, as with many things, it was discovered too late to prevent any new shipments from going out or being able to easily identify the problem in any specific batch.

So, we can't proactively, but reactively replace your ballasts EVEN IF IT'S PAST THE 30 DAY WARRANTY.

Yes, there is a 30 day warranty on the electrical, but there is NO way to check for which ballast it is.

So, for EVERY single person that may experience this past the 30th purchase (we have at least THAT tracking) we are replacing them for free.

The connectors we use are standard connectors and are relatively reliable (running on my car for 8 months with no issues) it's the feedback from the short circuited ballast (not an engineer, don't claim to be) that has cause the connectors to malfuntion <-- our fault.

So, when you email, we just send you new ones.
Period

 

So will it be two new ballast to replace the current ones? Or do we wait to see if the other goes bad or not?

 

we have to wait.
It's actually related to load. If one is taking the "load" and blowing up, then the second one will usually be fine for as long as you need.

However, if both are perfect, there won't be an issue with either one...it's a bit complicated, but our experience has shown that.

 

I received a set on Monday, is that part of the new batch?

 

Only installation can tell.
The good news is that the ballast swap is a 5 minute deal.

 

Matt - I really appreciate the update. I'm relieved to hear you've hunted down the root cause. Again, top notch service.

 

Well not exactly. You could just remove all the silicone. But housecor is right. It would be easier and more convienient to just drilla small hole for each wire right under the dust cap.

 

Just wanted to say thanks for the speedy service, I got my new ballast in today, so I installed it at lunch, everything seems to be working fine now. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

Thanks Chris

 

 

could i also be experiencing this bad ballast's issue since some of my rings still dont light up all the way off the first ignite?