Just like other parts of your vehicle the hid bulb ballast is also not exempted from getting damaged over time especially if it s exposed to moisture.
Hid bulb ballast.
In order to sustain this brightness an hid bulb ballast must be used to regulate its voltage.
Hid lamps require a ballast to operate.
Full light output is reached after the arc tube temperature rises and the metal vapors reach final operating pressure.
If you do not use the ballast there will be nothing to regulate the electrical power and the bulb may use more energy and burn out quickly.
You won t find the same type of circuitry in other vehicle lights.
Too much power and your lamp will die out faster and may actually explode.
Instead i started this bulb using a special matsushita super high voltage ignitor for an acura tl car from about 1999 that is wired to a e26 socket pigtail commonly used in led.
Typically the hid ballast sometimes with the addition of a capacitor and igniter serves to start and operate the lamp in a controlled manner.
This is because the xenon gas inside the bulb needs time to cool down before it starts receiving a strong high voltage current again that turns the light back on.
Hid lamps take several minutes to warm up.
Hids lights must be capable of turning on and off quickly in order to function without overheating.
Hid ballasts also act as dc to ac converters.
The hid ballast has special circuitry installed that helps restart the lamp quickly after turning it off.
The hid ballast has to be able to regulate the current in your hid lighting system very precisely.
An hid bulb gives off a higher light intensity compared to other types of bulbs.