RS Headlight Flicker - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

l008com · 04-23-2013, 09:20 PM

I've got a set of RS headlights that was fine at first, 3 years ago. Maybe a year or so ago, they started to occasionally flicker. These days they seem to be doing it more often. I'm hoping I don't need all new light assemblies, those are so expensive. Is it possibly just a bulb replacement or ballast replacement? Is this a common issue?

Jmiller · 04-28-2013, 02:58 PM

Are they flickering at night or during the day while they are acting as your day time running lights ?

l008com · 04-28-2013, 03:01 PM

I notice it at night. I try to turn them off during the day, but I often forget. But I can't really notice if they are flickering or not during the day. The problem flickers are at night.

Jmiller · 04-28-2013, 05:15 PM

Where did you buy your harness to make the hid's work? Offer or someplace else. Usually they flicker during the day because the daytime running lights run at 5v and hid's require 12v to run properly. Check your voltage when you turn your headlights to the on position. They should be at 12v if not that is your problem.

SSMickey · 04-28-2013, 05:16 PM

Sounds like your ballasts are getting ready to go. Are you running the HID's as your DRL's? That's a no-no. There not designed to run at low power. Need to get relay's in there to cut them off during the day. The harness from Gen5diy is bulletproof.

Jmiller · 04-28-2013, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSMickey

Sounds like your ballasts are getting ready to go. Are you running the HID's as your DRL's? That's a no-no. There not designed to run at low power. Need to get relay's in there to cut them off during the day. The harness from Gen5diy is bulletproof.

If they are running at 12v and flickering is still happening then I do agree with SsMickey it's sound like your ballasts are going bad.

2SSRS@Gen5diy · 04-28-2013, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmiller

If they are running at 12v and flickering is still happening then I do agree with SsMickey it's sound like your ballasts are going bad.

There both wright, and if you get new ballasts the lights will work like new for some time, but it will come back.

l008com · 04-28-2013, 06:54 PM

Relax guys, the whole point of the harnesses is that it gives full power to the lows, the HID's are not getting low voltage power during the day. I got the harnesses from Ottobody on this forum. I emailed them once and haven't heard back, I'll have to try again. Some thing the relays in the harnesses might be going bad, but clearly some also thing the ballasts might be going bad. How much do new ballast's cost and how easy is it to replace them?

l008com · 05-02-2013, 09:53 PM

I need more time to verify, but I THINK the lights might be flickering more in the day, not at night. If that's the case, that would suggest that the problem is more likely to be bad relays in the harnesses, and less likely to be bad ballasts, you think?

SSMickey · 05-02-2013, 10:09 PM

Relays tend to be pretty reliable. That being said, they do go bad on occasion and are relatively cheap to replace. I would throw some new relays in there and see what happens. If your lights still flicker, start hunting for some new ballasts.

l008com · 05-02-2013, 10:12 PM

The relays are inside the harnesses, not easily replaced as far as I can tell. But I suppose the easiest way to tell what the problem is, is to wait until the next time it happens, and simply turn the low beams on. That will up the voltage to full 12v, I'll see if that stops the flickering.

l008com · 05-11-2013, 10:52 AM

So I noticed them flickering today, in the daylight, with what should have been just my DRL's running. I turned the lowbeams on and the flickering stopped. I turned the low beams off and the flickering started again. At another red light (at red lights, I can clearly see my lights reflected in the car in front of me

), i tried turning on the high beams, and the same thing. No flicker with high beam, flicker started again as soon as I turned highs off.

To me, this strongly suggests that the problem is not in the ballast or the bulbs, but in the harness that is supposed to be feeding the lights full low beam voltage instead of DRL voltage.

Agree? Disagree?

I emailed Ottobody about it twice and they haven't responded. Now that I"m pretty confident the harness is the problem, I'll have to start emailing them more aggressively.

SSMickey · 05-11-2013, 02:50 PM

I agree, it sounds like you have a harness problem. Your RS lights should ALWAYS be getting 12v. The ballasts do not like DRL voltage and will flicker as you have found out. That is why GM has separate DRL's on the RS package.

l008com · 05-11-2013, 03:14 PM

My harness is supposed to be giving them 12v all the time, that's the point of the harness. I'll have to call otto and have them fix it. I hope they don't make me send my harness in for repair, that means i'll ahve to strip my bumper off and put it back together TWICE.

04-23-2013, 09:20 PM	#1
l008com Drives: 2013 1LT Crystal Red/Beige Manual Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stoneham, MA Posts: 735	RS Headlight Flicker I've got a set of RS headlights that was fine at first, 3 years ago. Maybe a year or so ago, they started to occasionally flicker. These days they seem to be doing it more often. I'm hoping I don't need all new light assemblies, those are so expensive. Is it possibly just a bulb replacement or ballast replacement? Is this a common issue?

04-28-2013, 02:58 PM	#2
Jmiller Drives: 2013 Camaro 2SS 1LE Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Moreno Valley, CA Posts: 260	Are they flickering at night or during the day while they are acting as your day time running lights ? __________________ ADM LSA Supercharger Conversion, ADM air intake ,Stainless power 1 7/8 long tubes w/hi-flow cats, Chunnningham Motorsports stage 2 cam and custom Dyno tune from Starkweather Performance. 624 RWHP, 524 RWTQ

04-28-2013, 05:15 PM	#4
Jmiller Drives: 2013 Camaro 2SS 1LE Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Moreno Valley, CA Posts: 260	Where did you buy your harness to make the hid's work? Offer or someplace else. Usually they flicker during the day because the daytime running lights run at 5v and hid's require 12v to run properly. Check your voltage when you turn your headlights to the on position. They should be at 12v if not that is your problem. __________________ ADM LSA Supercharger Conversion, ADM air intake ,Stainless power 1 7/8 long tubes w/hi-flow cats, Chunnningham Motorsports stage 2 cam and custom Dyno tune from Starkweather Performance. 624 RWHP, 524 RWTQ

04-28-2013, 05:16 PM	#5
SSMickey Drives: 2010 IBM 2SS Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Columbia S.C. Posts: 1,455 View My Garage	Sounds like your ballasts are getting ready to go. Are you running the HID's as your DRL's? That's a no-no. There not designed to run at low power. Need to get relay's in there to cut them off during the day. The harness from Gen5diy is bulletproof. __________________ ProCharger P1X, Vengeance Racing Kaotic Cam, ARH Headers and Exhaust with Borla ATAK mufflers, MGW Shifter, MTI Drop Springs, Forgeline RB3C Wheels, 3.91 gears, Night Owl LED Control System

05-02-2013, 10:09 PM	#10
SSMickey Drives: 2010 IBM 2SS Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Columbia S.C. Posts: 1,455 View My Garage	Relays tend to be pretty reliable. That being said, they do go bad on occasion and are relatively cheap to replace. I would throw some new relays in there and see what happens. If your lights still flicker, start hunting for some new ballasts. __________________ ProCharger P1X, Vengeance Racing Kaotic Cam, ARH Headers and Exhaust with Borla ATAK mufflers, MGW Shifter, MTI Drop Springs, Forgeline RB3C Wheels, 3.91 gears, Night Owl LED Control System

04-28-2013, 03:01 PM	#3
l008com Drives: 2013 1LT Crystal Red/Beige Manual Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stoneham, MA Posts: 735	I notice it at night. I try to turn them off during the day, but I often forget. But I can't really notice if they are flickering or not during the day. The problem flickers are at night.

04-28-2013, 06:54 PM	#8
l008com Drives: 2013 1LT Crystal Red/Beige Manual Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stoneham, MA Posts: 735	Relax guys, the whole point of the harnesses is that it gives full power to the lows, the HID's are not getting low voltage power during the day. I got the harnesses from Ottobody on this forum. I emailed them once and haven't heard back, I'll have to try again. Some thing the relays in the harnesses might be going bad, but clearly some also thing the ballasts might be going bad. How much do new ballast's cost and how easy is it to replace them?

05-02-2013, 09:53 PM	#9
l008com Drives: 2013 1LT Crystal Red/Beige Manual Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stoneham, MA Posts: 735	I need more time to verify, but I THINK the lights might be flickering more in the day, not at night. If that's the case, that would suggest that the problem is more likely to be bad relays in the harnesses, and less likely to be bad ballasts, you think?

05-02-2013, 10:12 PM	#11
l008com Drives: 2013 1LT Crystal Red/Beige Manual Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stoneham, MA Posts: 735	The relays are inside the harnesses, not easily replaced as far as I can tell. But I suppose the easiest way to tell what the problem is, is to wait until the next time it happens, and simply turn the low beams on. That will up the voltage to full 12v, I'll see if that stops the flickering.

05-11-2013, 10:52 AM	#12
l008com Drives: 2013 1LT Crystal Red/Beige Manual Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stoneham, MA Posts: 735	So I noticed them flickering today, in the daylight, with what should have been just my DRL's running. I turned the lowbeams on and the flickering stopped. I turned the low beams off and the flickering started again. At another red light (at red lights, I can clearly see my lights reflected in the car in front of me ), i tried turning on the high beams, and the same thing. No flicker with high beam, flicker started again as soon as I turned highs off. To me, this strongly suggests that the problem is not in the ballast or the bulbs, but in the harness that is supposed to be feeding the lights full low beam voltage instead of DRL voltage. Agree? Disagree? I emailed Ottobody about it twice and they haven't responded. Now that I"m pretty confident the harness is the problem, I'll have to start emailing them more aggressively.

05-11-2013, 02:50 PM	#13
SSMickey Drives: 2010 IBM 2SS Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Columbia S.C. Posts: 1,455 View My Garage	I agree, it sounds like you have a harness problem. Your RS lights should ALWAYS be getting 12v. The ballasts do not like DRL voltage and will flicker as you have found out. That is why GM has separate DRL's on the RS package. __________________ ProCharger P1X, Vengeance Racing Kaotic Cam, ARH Headers and Exhaust with Borla ATAK mufflers, MGW Shifter, MTI Drop Springs, Forgeline RB3C Wheels, 3.91 gears, Night Owl LED Control System

05-11-2013, 03:14 PM	#14
l008com Drives: 2013 1LT Crystal Red/Beige Manual Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stoneham, MA Posts: 735	My harness is supposed to be giving them 12v all the time, that's the point of the harness. I'll have to call otto and have them fix it. I hope they don't make me send my harness in for repair, that means i'll ahve to strip my bumper off and put it back together TWICE.