I followed Jay's and Kevin's advice to visit Alex at Fuzion Teknique for HIDs. I was surprised that the eurotech kit he uses doesn't have a relay. Upon further research, the xenonsupply kit doesnt have a relay either. After the install, we tested the system and heard an electrical krackle/zap. Initially, Alex didnt realize that I had the auto on/off feature. He explained that the computer instead of gradually sending current through the system, the computer sends it all at once. Alex reassured me that the prius doesn't need a relay and theres a lifetime? warranty. I drove home and had no issues. Today, I tested the lights by rotating them from off to on etc. I heard the krackle again. I also noticed that my left light was dead. Rotating through the switches didn't help. Five minutes later after turning off the car, I restarted and the left light worked again. Should I be worried about the left light in the future? Do owners with the auto on/off feature need to buy the hid kit with relay? Is there something that will delay the power to the bulb? And should I also worry about blowing a fuse if I leave everything alone? I have the tanabe stb installed; so its a pain to access the fuse box.
U need to install a relay or just keep the lights off when u power up. I had the same issue on my 12 Prius after installing them. What happening is the ballasts aren't getting enough power on startup When u power up, it takes a few secs for the OEM light harness to get full Pierre from the traction batteries so during these few secs is when the ballasts use the most power for warm up. U can see the power difference when the halogen bulb are in place. W Turn on the headlights with the car off. Next turn the car on & u'll notice the lights get brighter. What I haven't been able to figure out is if its the ballast that stops or if it the BCM cutting the power to the headlight plug cause it sees a huge power increase upon powering up.
sfv - thanks for the advice. im wondering if i was too cheap and should have gotten the trs morimoto hid kit with the relays. Is it easy to an install the relays? Are the relays built into the wires?
Installing a harness is super easy. All that needs to be done is connect ur OEM headlight plug into the harness, connect the ground, connect the power (there are 2 locations in the fuse box) & then the 2 plugs for the ballasts......that's it. U can use the TRS harness: Low Beam: H8/H9/H11 - Relay Harnesses from The Retrofit Source Inc
