So I finally get an opportunity to put some HIDs in my '01 Maxima. I had a pair of 35w slim ballasts I took out of a '98 Accord I sold. They worked flawlessly from the day they were installed until the day I removed them. Since the max uses 9003 hi/low bulbs, I ordered some 9003 hi/low bulbs from DDM. Thinking it was just like the 9006s I took out of the Accord, that wasn't the case. They came with a bi-xenon relay kit. Here is the pic of the relay.



This kit has 2 grounds and a fused + wire. I put the + on the battery. For the grounds, I got my dremel out and sanded those down to the bare metal.

The car was parked in the garage. Before I put everything back in place, I wanted to test them. With the car off, I turned the headlight stick to low beam. They came on and looked great. I went back and forth from high to low beam. Everything worked flawlessly.

Since it was really dark, I decided to take it for a spin. I didn't think about it and clicked the headlight stick to the "Auto" position. What could go wrong right? I turned the ignition on and the driver's side light flashed and went out (it was really quick). The passenger's side light came right on. I turned the switch through the parking light and down to the low beam indicator. At this point, both lights came on and worked as normal.

I have read several things online about DRL and HIDs. I figure since the car has a battery save option, I'll just leave the switch on low beam. After all, the lights will go out after 45 sec (without opening a door or when I open the door). Well, it behaves the same way it would have if it was left on "Auto".

The only thing I can think of is that one circuit is trying to power 2 ballasts. All of my connections are secure and there is no flickering. The passenger side comes on without fail. I keep reading, you need a bi-xenon relay. According to the pic above, I believe I have that. Is there another bi-xenon kit I need to use. Also, could going with a bigger headlight fuse help?

 

Did you check for a blown fuse? The low/high beam HID kits are different from the regular low beam or high beam alone kits. If your set is just a low beam set then it wont work for a high/low beam set up.

 

That's the correct harness. I don't like those generic ones anymore though. I only use TRS harnesses:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/index.php?cPath=28

 

Since I've had success with all the other stuff from DDM, I figured the bi-xenon relay would be the same.

 

Also, these are in stock housings (for the foreseeable future).

 

It may also be a wiring issue. On those generic harnesses you may have to re-pin the connector(push out the pins and switch them around till you find a combo that works). That is what I had to do with mine.

 

You got something wrong...like a revesred wire! Recheck your work or order a 9003 wiring kit!

 

Do you mean the pins going into the 9003 stock connector?

 

Lets start from the beginning, check the wire harness if it is positive or negative switched.

 

5th gens are negative switched so the harness has to be as well. That's what I like about the TRS ones, they'll work for both.

 

This
Same thing I had to do. Pull the pins out of the connector and plug them into the stock harness. If there are 3 pins per connector, generally the outside 2 should be switched. One for high, one for low, and one for ground.

 

i mean the pins on the HID bixenon harness connector

 

The same one I use (and the only one I'll use from here on out)

 

OP: for what it's worth to you, I've gone through 3 of those generic relays. I forgot what it is about our 'AUTO' select on the headlight stalk, but it eats away at the relays longevity (I think the amount of power draw is a bit different on the 'AUTO' select but I forgot)

Even using my faaaarrr more stable TRS relay, I still avoid using the AUTO select.

 

Did you leave your headlight switch on auto or just turn them on manually?

 

hmmmm the OP never mentioned his location, but if his DRL module is active, then what's happening is in the auto position his DRL's are trying to run, which is your High beams at Half Voltage, the headlights run in series from the Right headlight to the left. This explains why the Left one flickered but didn't have enough power to fully fire, then the Right side fired. Sounds like somehow the headlight found a ground through the harness set up.

I'm not saying this IS the problem, but if your car has DRLs it could be what's happeneing.

 

Instead of using the current ground on the driver's side, couldn't I use the same ground as the passenger side? All I gotta do is solder in a longer wire.

 

I dont own a 5th gen, my dad does, and I was wondering if anybody has tried to turn off their auto off switch? there was a thread a long time ago about this and a few were interested for some reason. A simple solution in my opinion would be to disable the door switch that enables the timer correct? if the lights think the doors havent closed yet with the ignition off then it should stay on or do whatever it was they wanted it to do.

 

I think you're misunderstanding.

All I really need to know is if your car has DRL (daytime runnig lights). This means that when the car is in gear and running the lights are on for safety.


Either way it sounds like you wired it wrong, but check if you have DRL's and post back. Where is the car from? Northern USA and Canada have DRL's active, as well as some states, although, anyone CAN have them activated as the modules come with all 5.5 maximas they just need to be programmed to run.