Interesting. I was reading somewhere that someone with a stock system had HIDs screw it up.

I have had 3 different sets in my truck so far. The first set had problems and I got another set. The next set was also problematic. The high beam quit on one of them and sometimes on the "good" one.

Went to a Retro Solutions one and so far it is better. All 3 sets had no issue with my F5 or F6. I wonder why that is?

 

Just finished installing the ferrite beads. I put 2 inline without doubling, hope it is enough.

 

My guess is the manufacture of the HID ballasts. some are probably shielded better than others or use different cicurity all together eliminating the RF output to reasonable levels. I will try to take a picture of the spectrum analyzer going nuts when i turn the HID's on.. and chances are if someone had a problem with a stock truck with no tuner my guess is his HID ballasts either put out huge amounts of RF and would interfere with the PCM or he had a wiring issue to begin with. If I unhooked my DP I had no problems whatsoever. as soon as i hook it up it killed the truck every single time i turned on any of the lights.

 

I had this same problem when I flipped the switch to my air compressor. Thanks. Reps sent!

 

HIDs are tough. I've run 3-4 different brands and had similar issues with all of them. The worst time ever was in my 6.0L (no F5 chip in that one). I was driving into the tunnel we have downtown, traffic got heavy and just as I had to get on the brakes hard the auto-lamps kicked on (timing is everything). The HIDs wigged out the PCM (stuttered the engine) and the ABS computer (ABS applied brakes unevenly and truck almost changed lanes)...scared the crap out of me.

I've learned to put the ballasts as far forward in the truck as possible, away from anything that is PCM and ABS related. In my 6.0L, I moved the wiring and relay to the passenger side battery and moved the ballasts and it never did it again. When I did my current truck, I did the same thing, ballasts way forward and wiring on the passenger side battery...not a single issue in this truck ever.

The fix shown above is great, for anyone experiencing this problem its a great option and I hope it works for everyone. As a backup though, consider my comments above with regard to the location of the ballasts and wiring...a little "insurance" can't hurt.

 

Which begs the question. Where does everyone put their ballasts? I have always put them as close to the headlight as possible. Does anyone run them all the way towards the firewall?

 

I don't have a tuner (yet...) but I installed DDM HID's in my OBS. Ballasts are mounted on the back side of the header panel, wiring connected to passenger side battery, no issues with anything ever.

 

I have 4 ballasts so far (hi and low beams x 2) and are mounted near batts on both sided of truck. No issues with DP or TS chips..

 

Wonder why. I have 2 ballasts. Seems like when it wants high beam it sends a signal to the bulb itself and it retracts or extends something and you get it.

Could that be it? When you engage high beams you have 4 ballasts running and that might, in some cases be kicking out way too much RF and screwing things up?

 

I've never had an issue...

I don't have those cheep retro HID's - I have 4 bulbs. In low-beam, 2 are lit up and in hi-beam all 4 are lit up. (from electrosport.com) Literally 2x as brite as retro's... We did a comparison a couple weeks ago. My lites also provide a much more useful WHITE lite.

 

How do you have 4 bulbs? I have 2 H13s because I changed the housing.

55W H13 9008 DIGITAL BIXENON HID LIFE WARRANTY

That is what I have. How did you fit 2 bulbs in that spot?

 

Each 'bulb' has 2 elements. I'll take a pic when I get home this weekend - if I have time.

Its 'actually' bi-xenon - Lol. I wish I could still find them, they are FREAKIN' AWESOME lights - and are actually less annoying to other drivers than the retro's since they make better use of the optics in the lens/housing. FWIW, the retro's are waaaay better than alot of the junk out there, but no comparison to what I got from electrosport...

 

Please do. You have my undivided attention. After all I am looking for a set of lights for something else so maybe, just maybe

Saying the Retros are way better isn't saying much. I have had so much trouble with other ones I am pulling my hair out.

 

This thread has officially been

I believe the 80/100watt Hella bulbs and a relay harness in the '02+ lenses put out more usable light than the retro's. I said the retros are better because they aren't as annoying to other drivers - the light output is weak IMHO. I will have my Excursion (with 80/100's and '02 lenses) next to a truck with retro's in a couple weeks - we WILL take some pics (Mike has a better camera than me ). My F350 has the electrosport HID's and '05 lenses and there was literally no comparison with Mike's retro's in '02 lenses...

I think the 80/100's are very close to the HID's in color and usable light - I wish I had never 'upgraded' to '05 lenses. I kept chewing up pigtails with those stupid H13 bulbs and finally got mad enough to buy the HID's!

 

Just installed my HID's yesterday and sure enough they killed my motor. I installed the bead that Bryan sent me and it worked like a charm! Excellent find Bryan, and Thank You for the ferrite bead!