Matt Stehle
Active Member
I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way to do this. I'd like to keep my headlights from flashing when I lock the doors with the remote. Ideally, I'd keep the running lights flashing, but I'm guessing they're tied together.
I'll try to keep it brief, but here is the situation. I've got a full HID retrofit in my trac ('04 gen 1) using OEM components from an acura tl. Xenon headlights are more efficient when running, but naturally they take a long time to get to full output (example: gymnasium lights). Obviously this isn't acceptable for auto use, so in vehicles there is a large current boost when the lights are initially turned on (which is why a lot of the cheaper rebased HID kits fail, a lot of them [not all] run through the vehicles standard wiring harness and not the battery, so the initial boost fries the stock wiring harness after a while). It's not good to "flash" the lights, like when the door lock is hit, because it creates that short burst of current.
I recently had an ignitor fail, and I suspect this could be the reason. Swapping ignitors isn't terribly expensive, but since it's a retrofit, the components need to be water proofed (in the OEM system these components are integrated into the headlight housing, so they are not exposed to the elements, but in some retrofits this isn't possible). This makes swapping components more difficult. That, and if a ballast went bad it's much more costly to fix. I know that the components remained water tight, so that isn't what caused the problem.
So long story short, I want to keep the headlights off when locking the doors so I don't stress the system. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
I'll try to keep it brief, but here is the situation. I've got a full HID retrofit in my trac ('04 gen 1) using OEM components from an acura tl. Xenon headlights are more efficient when running, but naturally they take a long time to get to full output (example: gymnasium lights). Obviously this isn't acceptable for auto use, so in vehicles there is a large current boost when the lights are initially turned on (which is why a lot of the cheaper rebased HID kits fail, a lot of them [not all] run through the vehicles standard wiring harness and not the battery, so the initial boost fries the stock wiring harness after a while). It's not good to "flash" the lights, like when the door lock is hit, because it creates that short burst of current.
I recently had an ignitor fail, and I suspect this could be the reason. Swapping ignitors isn't terribly expensive, but since it's a retrofit, the components need to be water proofed (in the OEM system these components are integrated into the headlight housing, so they are not exposed to the elements, but in some retrofits this isn't possible). This makes swapping components more difficult. That, and if a ballast went bad it's much more costly to fix. I know that the components remained water tight, so that isn't what caused the problem.
So long story short, I want to keep the headlights off when locking the doors so I don't stress the system. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
