HID headlight problems

[Cali'sDub]

Hey guys
Having a hard time figuring out my headlight problem! Lately when I drop my e brake my running lights should kick on but for some reason they struggle sometimes. Sometimes I will have to pull my ebrake back up and put it back down to get them to kick on. Now for some reason the left one will go on but the right one (passenger side) won't... It does a small flicker then stays off!
So really I'm just wondering if anyone has a solution to this or a place I can check to see what's going on? I have checked the wires and the ballast and all seems to be fine and the bulb doesn't seem to be shot! If anyone has had this problem and found a solution that would be great!
Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

[xJOKERx]

Hey guys
Having a hard time figuring out my headlight problem! Lately when I drop my e brake my running lights should kick on but for some reason they struggle sometimes. Sometimes I will have to pull my ebrake back up and put it back down to get them to kick on. Now for some reason the left one will go on but the right one (passenger side) won't... It does a small flicker then stays off!
So really I'm just wondering if anyone has a solution to this or a place I can check to see what's going on? I have checked the wires and the ballast and all seems to be fine and the bulb doesn't seem to be shot! If anyone has had this problem and found a solution that would be great!
Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Sounds like your ballast is going out... HID bulbs don't really burn out they change to a pink color when the salts are gone. But being that they are not turning on and then they turn on would be the ballast.

[whatnxt]

There is not enought voltage getting to the ballast is you are running these as DRLs. Turning the headlight switch "on", they work fine, correct? You will need to disable the DRLs or provide full voltage to the ballast for them to work properly. Low voltage can damage the ballast and cause the issues that you are having.

[Cali'sDub]

Thanks for the input guys!
As for the ballast I have taken the passenger side ballast and plugged it into the driver side bulb (the one that's working) and it powered that up with no problems!
And as for turning on my light switch the passenger side still will not kick on! So I'm really unsure I haven't taken the passenger side bulb out yet but looking in through the headlight is seems to be fine not blown and before it stopped working it wasn't a different colour!
I spoke with a vw guy here in town and he says that it could quite possibly be the DRL switch under the e brake that is causing this problem... But I'm not sure how accurate that is!

Cheers

[HanKdKranK]

I have had the same problem. Got my HID kit from Retro Solutions - came with harness and relay. Installed and worked great. I noticed that when I started my car the lights would flash twice - once when I turned the key to "ignition" and once when I released the starter. After a while I noticed that only one light was on so have been aware that some times I have to re-try the lights (engage / release parking brake) while watching them in a reflection on on a surface. Often times they will both come on for about a second or so and then one goes out. Re-try a few times and they will both work. I wonder if the DRL's are a problem here?