Retrofit headlights won't turn on

I had a wiring harness made for my s2k retrofit w/ toyota oem ballasts a few years ago, and after changing the car battery it suddenly won't work anymore.

I had to change my battery cuz I didn't drive my car for 2 years, the lights were working just fine on my old battery, except that on some bumps on the road the lights would flicker, indicating a loose connection. I then changed the battery because it was totally dead anyway, and on the new battery, car starts just fine but the headlights won't turn on anymore.

I checked all the connections, and they're all where they're supposed to be. The relay keeps making that clicking sound it always did when I moved it around, so I don't think the relay's the problem (not sure if this is how to diagnose it).

All fuses okay too. I noticed that the positive wire going to the battery came loose, but I fixed that and it still wasn't working. I started playing around with it and all of a sudden there was a spark and the fuse on the wire going from the positive battery terminal to the relay blew. I replaced that and it's still not working.

I then notice there are 2 connections going from the relay to the 9006 stock harness. 1 is fine and the other broke off. It was soldered but I dunno somehow it came off. Is this the problem? I tried pushing the wire against where it's supposed to go anyway but it still wouldn't turn on (there is a very small spark though). I figured if this was the problem it should turn on when I push the connection going from the relay into the harness area it was originally soldered too, but it didn't work.

Doubt it's the ballast cuz the fuses are all okay. Bulbs are fine too, and the headlight fuses are okay because I tried a stock 9006 bulb in the socket and it lights up just fine.

Any idea what's wrong? Thanks for the help.

hassan

Is the wire that broke off, or the connection point oxidized? if so that could create a lack in the current making under powering the ballast and causing it to not turn on?

DarkSideAccord said:

hassan

Click to expand...

strong post

ejreams said:

Is the wire that broke off, or the connection point oxidized? if so that could create a lack in the current making under powering the ballast and causing it to not turn on?

Click to expand...

How do I know if it's oxidized? It's a silverish color, but I thought that was because of the soldering?

pyaarawala said:

strong post



How do I know if it's oxidized? It's a silverish color, but I thought that was because of the soldering?

Click to expand...

Well, it should be a matte or shiny silver color, but if it has bubbles or is tinting a copper color at all it should be re soldered. I don't think solder alone is as strong a conductor as copper wire (the solder is more for holding the copper wires together rather than bridging the connection).
So I would get a 15 watt soldering iron with some desoldering braid (copper braided wire that you can 'suck copper into' by heating it with the iron and touching it to the solder), then re-do the connection and see if that clears things up.

Check all of your connections, even if they 'look' stuck together they may be corroded.
If they are corroded, make sure you strip the wire back a little and cut off the previous wire used, start fresh, then re-solder.

You could always test your ballasts with a multi meter as well.

Check your fuses too, you never know, sometimes they appear to be okay because they aren't visibly broken. I've had times where they have been burned (often causes oxidation) and the current going through the metal in the fuse doesn't carry enough to correctly power a unit. This could be the case because I'm sure your ballasts call for more wattage than stock bulbs in the housing.

Make sure on your soldering connections, if they're wire that they have the amount of strands they should as well.

This is obviously not okay.


Another thing! that could have happened, check your ballasts because if there are soldering points between the ballasts and the power that do not include a fuse (I'm sure there are some); if they were electrical tapped or not covered at all then water could have hit or the wire could have been hitting the metal frame of the car causing it to ground and short out the ballast either immediately or over time.

If you do re solder anything, or use clips of some sort, please make sure that you use heat shrink.
Its so easy to use, cheap, all you need is a lighter (heat gun preferred) and it is actually seal tight and wont come off like electrical tape will. If you feel the need for electrical tape, it should be place over top of heat shrink.

And if you feel inclined, snap a few pics and post them up, I as well as other members can try and help you spot anything.

Good luck!
Wiring is a tricky son of a ***** sometimes (I worked for AT&T) on cell phone sites. Some of those sites are 30 years old and the ac and dc wiring still gives me nightmares... lets not even talk about the T1 lines.. haha