One of my HID lights gives off a different color then the other. I thought this was a sign that it was going to blow out ...but its been a good 6 months and its still glowing. What I really need to do is swap the bulbs to see if its the bulb, the housing, or somehow the ballast.

Before I do that, does anybody have the answer of what they think it is? I have had the HID kit on my car since I bought it so its going on 4 years old. The set I had were mccullough hid's - The build quality is pretty high - I see that a lot of the other brands on SL are lower quality compared to them. Which ones are the highest quality out of the sponsor sales ones on SL?

 

4 years of usage is probably the high end out of a HID set.

Best HIDs on SL would be MobileHID.com and Operatic.

 

yea it happens after awhile it will eventually change color and then eventually die out but takes awhile

 

color shifting and its normal, but you're losing lumens.

 

wow - nice - i came back home and got a lot of nice feedback - sooo the you guys think just the bulbs are going or the ballasts also?

 

normally, its the bulb color shifting (getting older). but thats what i know on OEM HIDs, not aftermarket HIDs? so it could be something else, but if it still works then id say its fine.

 

Yea - i guess its just the bulb getting old then - I wasn't sure if they color changed or just would blow out when their life was complete.

 

you could swap out the bulbs isde to side and see if the issue migrates with the bulb or stays.Ballasts do wear out as well,but I would honestly think it would outlast the bulb in most cases.

 

^thats exactly what I am going to do. That will surely tell me if its the bulb or not

 

dimming or discolour is caused by the electrodes burning off onto the inside of the capsule which is a sign that the lamps are worn out and one day they will not start and only flash repeatedly / lots on off / on cycles burns HIDS out.
4 years is a bit short unless you do a LOT of short trips

 

well - every night when i come home from work .... plus all the trips ..... ive driven my car a lot

 

I was referring to more like hot shot delivery or taxi type of use

 

nah - but then again im one of the older members on this forum so maybe more lights will start failing. When I just got the car I did drive around w/ the lights on sometimes (yea ... its not cool - ha - but i was happy I had the car).

 

i just bought a kit from HIDExtra and installed it this past friday. last night i noticed one of my bulbs is different. i installed a 5000K kit in 05-07 reflector housing. one bulb is white and the other has a slight tint of yellow in it and ive only had the kit installed for a couple of days. has anyone ever come across something like this in a short period of time?

 

No - that surely is not normal - sounds like you got jipped