Outer Limits 4x4 Board

ive got a set of spoties with a chineese hid kit in them, i noticed this morning that they cause interferance in the radio, just wanting to know if all hids do this and is there a solution? the spots dont bother me too much but i was going to convert the headlights too, but if its going to cause issues i might look at other options.

Are you running the power cables for the spotties anywhere near youre radio's antenna?

Quite common to get RFI from those HID kits. Try shielding the HT wires, that usually makes a pretty big difference.

No - the noise isn't normal. For over 50 years there have been laws which basically state that electrical devices are not permitted to emit interference above a certain level, and that other devices must be immune to interference at said level.

Something is wrong.

It could be the HID kit or it could be your radio. I would put (a little) money on the HID kit being the culprit - it's creating too much noise.

Worst case, it's simply a non-compliant piece of crap. Don't believe it complies simply because the paperwork says it does, or they provide a certificate claiming it does. I spent a couple of months troubleshooting a non-compliant machine before I determined that the problem was a "compliant" monitor that wasn't even close to meeting the standards to which the manufacturer certified. Then I left the job.

If the kit isn't simply crappy, and bearing in mind that I've never seen an aftermarket HID kit:

Where are the ballast(s) mounted and how are they earthed?

First step, I would try earthing the ballast(s) to the body of the vehicle by the thickest, shortest wire possible - "braid" is better, if you can find some. Long &/or thin wires are crap conductors of HF noise, and the HF voltage drop helps it act as a radiating antenna.

Then I would look at shielding the HT wires - after ensuring they're as short as possible, and running against bodywork (not strung across the engine bay anywhere.)

ive had two diff sets of hids chinese ones and ipfs both played havoc with listening to the radio but i just put up with it didnt bother listnening to cd's

these chinese kits prolly dont comply or upto aus standards. ...

i would very much doubt they comply to aus std, there only cheap ebay gear. i haven't looked at the wiring, i just pluged it into the existing harness, one day the whole lot will get rewired with pretty relay boxes, etc.

grinch2 wrote:i would very much doubt they comply to aus std, there only cheap ebay gear. i haven't looked at the wiring, i just pluged it into the existing harness, one day the whole lot will get rewired with pretty relay boxes, etc.

Where are the ballasts located? Are they earthed? Can you earth them?

the housings themselves aren't. they are just behind the grill, with a bit of effort they could be, they only came with a crappy wrap around bracket.

grinch2 wrote:the housings themselves aren't. they are just behind the grill, with a bit of effort they could be, they only came with a crappy wrap around bracket.

Try earthing the housings (even temporarily) to see if that makes a difference to the noise.

I've heard HID's emitting high pitched "noises" on farm machinery which isn't very nice for your ears.

Not had an issue with my kits, i have two of them. ones in a 05 subi and the other in a 85 sierra, both worlds apart in electrical complication.

are u running these of relays? and watch where the earths and power are hooked up.