Headlights and Electrical Issues

[SHOtime-95]

1995 Blue MTX SHO, mint condition except electrical issue. And a couple other things..

So ive been having a problem with my headlights. When I turn them off, with the key ON, im still getting power to my high beam lead where it plugs in to the ballast (I have HIDs). So when I am driving, with my headlights OFF, there flickering on and off. Ive been trying to figure this problem out for a while now, and now I am determined to fix this anoying problem! I actually only have one head light because one of my ballasts burnt out most likely because of this electrical issue. So when im driving in the day I unplug the ballast so I dont get pulled over for one headlight, because if I turn the headlight off, its flickering!
So while trying to figure this out, I removed the high/low beam and blinker switch from the steering colum and took it apart because I figured there was something wrong with it. Everything looked fine, and I would NOT recommend taking this stupid thing apart because it was like taking apart a clock! I was very lucky to get it back together and it was a pain in the ass lol. I also realized I was looking in the wrong area of the problem anyway.
I then removed the dash bezel, and noticed the connector going to the headlight switched was a little bit melted in the middle. I remembered then, that when I would be driving sometimes, that switch area felt Hott! I dont know why I never thought much of it. I then manually, with a piece of wire, tested all the light settings at the connector and the flickering headlight wasnt flickerings anymore. So I figured maybe its the headlight switch itself. Took it apart. I could see that it got Hot inside, but it was still a good functional switch. I plugged the switch in and the headlights still flickering.
So on a side note, about 30% of the time I close my door, the doors will Lock! But ONLY when key is on or the car is running (how convenient). Also, with the key on, about 30% percent of the time I turn the interior lights on with the dimmer switch, then when I turn them off, the doors lock! So I took the dimmer switch and Auto Lamp switch out for testing, but havent tested them yet. Thats as far as I am. It seems like these issues are all from the same source. When the interior lights are on (like when the door is open) then go off (close the door, or turn off dimmer switch), THATS when the doors randomly try to lock me out. But ONLY with the key ON, just like the headlights not turning off and flickering.

So here is my question, has anyone ever had this happen or ever heard of this?? Could it be the dimmer switch or auto lamp switch? Im pretty lost here and im guessing its a short somewhere or something. I dont know. A few months ago I had problems with the doors locking and unlocking while driving, the horn randomly go off briefly, and the trunk would randomly pop open too. I pulled the horn and door locks fuses for a while, which stopped the chaos, then put them back in and havent had those 3 problems since. Except the doors just lock when I close the door now.
Anyways, i just need to get this fixed and actually have good working headlights for a change and not get locked out. And i dont want my car to burst into flames over an electrical short. (I keep large fire extinguisher in trunk Sorry this is so long and any help is greatly appreciated!! Thanks for reading!

 

[SHOdded]

When did you put in the HIDs? What wattage, 35W or 55W, and whose kit are you using? It is common with newer vehicles where lighting is computer controlled and power is PWM that if you use 55W HIDs, you can easily tax the wiring and computer module. The solution being to put a large capacitor ("relay") in line with each ballast, and drawing power directly from battery. A separate, fused circuit (approx 20A for both, or 2 10A) could also be implemented.

 

[rubydist]

it sounds to me like you have a short somewhere that is causing the intermittent door locking issue and that is also shorting to the headlights some of the time.

 

[SHOtime-95]

When did you put in the HIDs? What wattage, 35W or 55W, and whose kit are you using? It is common with newer vehicles where lighting is computer controlled and power is PWM that if you use 55W HIDs, you can easily tax the wiring and computer module. The solution being to put a large capacitor ("relay") in line with each ballast, and drawing power directly from battery. A separate, fused circuit (approx 20A for both, or 2 10A) could also be implemented.

The car had HIDs high beam, and halogen low beam when I got it, but had a burnt out ballast and broken lamp when I got it. When I turned off the head lights, the HID lamp would flicker like it does now. I put in 2 new 55w ballasts and lamps, and It had the same issue. I know that HIDs flicker when the ballasts dont get enough voltage. So some voltage is getting to the ballasts when the lights are off. Now I have only one ballast because one burnt out. Just like when I first got the car. So this electrical issue is also burning out my ballast. I dont think the problem is related to the ballasts though. I put my multimeter on the connector for the headlights under the hood with the ballasts unplugged. From ground to the high beam lead, with the headlights OFF and key ON, I had over 11 volts. It doesn't matter if its set to high or low beam. Always power going to the high beam side no matter what if the key is on and headlight switch off. When I actually turn the headlights switch on, then the headlights works normally. No power to high beam when set to low beams, and vice versa.
These are the kind of ballasts im using.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-AC-Digit...ash=item3d1056eb61:g:YhEAAOSwnLdWrHhC&vxp=mtr

 

[SHOtime-95]

it sounds to me like you have a short somewhere that is causing the intermittent door locking issue and that is also shorting to the headlights some of the time.

I noticed my doors haven't been locking lately. Maybe its because I started unplugging my headlight in the day time? If thats so then all of these electrical issues are all definitely coming from the same source.

 

[SHOdded]

Must be driving on dark roads to need HIDs on the high beam! Normally, HIDs are used on low beam, retaining halogen for high beam.

Anyway, do you know what the wattage on the bulbs is? If they are 35W, the ballasts are likely strong enough, but if the bulbs are 55W, these ballasts (of "unknown origin") may not be enough. I'd get ballasts from DDM, The Retrofit Source, Opt7, or HIDextra.

Try putting regular halogen bulbs in the hi beams and see if there are any issues. The headlight switch should also be checked out, common for them to get fried with generic HID kits.

 

[SHOtime-95]

Must be driving on dark roads to need HIDs on the high beam! Normally, HIDs are used on low beam, retaining halogen for high beam.

Anyway, do you know what the wattage on the bulbs is? If they are 35W, the ballasts are likely strong enough, but if the bulbs are 55W, these ballasts (of "unknown origin") may not be enough. I'd get ballasts from DDM, The Retrofit Source, Opt7, or HIDextra.

Try putting regular halogen bulbs in the hi beams and see if there are any issues. The headlight switch should also be checked out, common for them to get fried with generic HID kits.

The bulbs are in fact 35w bulbs. They have a little solenoid in them that pulls them in for low beam and out for high. I'll put some halogen bulbs in and see what happens. In theory, they will be on with the headlights off/key on, and a little dim. I did take the headlight switch apart to see if something is wrong. But nothing seemed to be wrong except that I can see it got hot. There doesn't seem to be much that can go wrong with the switch. It's very simple. But like I said. It got hot, and the connector to the switch is a little deformed lol. Anyways, I'll see how the halogens go.

 

[SHOtime-95]

Must be driving on dark roads to need HIDs on the high beam! Normally, HIDs are used on low beam, retaining halogen for high beam.

Anyway, do you know what the wattage on the bulbs is? If they are 35W, the ballasts are likely strong enough, but if the bulbs are 55W, these ballasts (of "unknown origin") may not be enough. I'd get ballasts from DDM, The Retrofit Source, Opt7, or HIDextra.

Try putting regular halogen bulbs in the hi beams and see if there are any issues. The headlight switch should also be checked out, common for them to get fried with generic HID kits.

Ok so I put the new halogens in and I figured out what the problem Isnt. The head light switch. I plugged the halogens in, turned on the key, and without the headlight switch even plugged in, the lights were on, just a little dim. I then plugged in the switch, and turned it into the headlights ON position, and the lights brightened up. So just as I figured, there still on no matter what, when key is on. I believe the issue is tied in with the locking doors/interior lights issue. Do you know of anything in the electrical system where the door locks, interior lights, and headlights meet into some sort of power distribution box or something ? Or where the headlights, door looks, and interior lights wiring come close to eachother? I seriously hate electrical issues lol

 

[SHOtime-95]

So there is definitely a short to ground on the high beam wire. With the key on, headlights off, I took my multimeter from the high beam wire at the connector and went to ground. 6.3 Volts. So when I am driving, there is always 6.3 volts going to the high beam, and thats why my headlights are always on.

 

[SHOdded]

This was at the connector to the bulb?

 

[SHOtime-95]

This was at the connector to the bulb?

Yes, on the high beam side.

 

[SHOdded]

Should probably check out the MultiFunctionSwitch also then ...

 

[SHOtime-95]

Daytime Running Lights...