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Radio static with HIDs

Will

Will

Boobies make me happy
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Location
Mt. Pleasant, IA
I put 3 new sets of HIDs in my truck the other night and ever since then when they are on I've noticed that I'm picking up alot more static over my radio then I did before. It doesn't do it during the days when the lights are off, only at night. They are all local channels that always came in clear before hand. So why would HIDs do this now?
 
The HID's draw more current than the stock lamps am I correct?

Clean your grounds with a wire brush then leave a nice coating of anti-ox paste on the connections. My mothers Malibu used to change radio stations for no reason. I cleaned up and redid the cars grounds just cause and added a little anti-ox paste. Now not only does she say radio comes in more clearly, but also it doesn't change stations anymore.

Just to let you know its an 07, so age wasn't the issue, and Jersey isn't a salt infested wasteland
 
I don't believe they do. I'm not sure why the grounds would have anything to do with it. I didn't have the problem before the install. It's all plug and play into the factory harness but I will check them out.
 
The HID's draw more current than the stock lamps am I correct?
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Negative sir. They draw substantially less.

I have heard of this before but I have no idea if there's a fix for it. Its rare too. Not sure what to tell you other than maybe change brands but I'm sure you dont want to do that.
 
Unit453 said:
Negative sir. They draw substantially less.

I have heard of this before but I have no idea if there's a fix for it. Its rare too. Not sure what to tell you other than maybe change brands but I'm sure you dont want to do that.
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Yeah I'd rather not do that. I REALLY like them. One thing I heard was to remount the ballast to something other then metal. Maybe do like you did and find a place to zip tie them to.:confused:
 
Will said:
One thing I heard was to remount the ballast to something other then metal. Maybe do like you did and find a place to zip tie them to.:confused:
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I would give that a try.

I checked mine tonight (only lows) and everything is fine even on an AM station. You might want to also try to use one ground and make sure its a good one. You could poke around at the12volt.com for a possible answer also.
 
Unit453 said:
Negative sir. They draw substantially less.

I have heard of this before but I have no idea if there's a fix for it. Its rare too. Not sure what to tell you other than maybe change brands but I'm sure you dont want to do that.
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Ahh thanks for the clarification Nick :thumbsup:


I'm curious to see what the solution to this is...
 
I would think that the ballasts are not shielded, ground the shield and I bet the problem goes away. Not sure how the ballasts are grounded internally but I would stay away from a floating ground.
 
Do you think that instead of using the metal holder for the ballast I would be better off finding a place that I could use zip ties instead?
 
Turn the HID's On, and put your Radio on a Station that gets Static.

Unplug each Ballast ONE AT A TIME and find out what one is giving you the Static.

Then take one that does NOT give Static and put it in the Spot of the one that was giving Static. If the Problem goes away, it's the Ballast. If it is still there, then it's in the Factory Wiring and you either need a Wiring Harness or a better Ground.
 
Mad Maxx said:
Turn the HID's On, and put your Radio on a Station that gets Static.

Unplug each Ballast ONE AT A TIME and find out what one is giving you the Static.

Then take one that does NOT give Static and put it in the Spot of the one that was giving Static. If the Problem goes away, it's the Ballast. If it is still there, then it's in the Factory Wiring and you either need a Wiring Harness or a better Ground.
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I'll try that James. I'm just about 100% sure it is my fogs that are causing it. Tonight I turned on just the fog lights and had horrible static. With the low beams on I had no problem. Looks like I'll have to find a better place to mount the ballast while I install something else on the truck tomorrow.
 
CtChevy427 said:
Glad to hear that it was an easy fix. Where did you mount the ballast that was causing your problem?
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Originally I had it mounted on a bolt that was to the side and in front of the washer fluid tank. It was where the bumper curved around. If you pull the front of the drivers side fender line aside and look straight toward the bumper you'll see it. I was able to move one of the other ballast around and now it is mount below the turn signal/drl housing with one of the other ballast. The one I had to move is mounted behind the turn signal/drl housing.

I like this setup alot better as the ballast are now much more protected from rain, salt sand etc.
 
Well I spoke to soon. have the problem with my high beams on. This is really frustrating me now.
 
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