VAG HID kit fault has emerged after 20 months...

[Bibby]

Hi folks,

I fitted a VAG HID kit in Feb last year, haven't had any trouble with it until today.

When I got home I had only one lamp on. On checking, when I turned on the headlamps the ballast for the lamp that was out made a whining/buzzing sound for a few seconds as it was trying to ignite the bulb (which gave off a bit of light) then it went out, noise stopped too.

Tried again, stayed on a few seconds longer. Third time, seemed to stay on.

I removed the earth, cleaned it up and refitted just as a matter of course, but it has not eliminated the problem.

Has anyone come across this before and if so, how was it resolved?

Cheers.

[Jas11n]

It could be the bulb.
Try switching the bulbs, if the problem switches to the other side, then that'll tell you if it's either the ballast or the bulb.

If it stays on the same side, it'll most likely be the ignitor circuit of the ballast.

[Bibby]

Looks like it's a ballast. Seems a very short lifespan for something so expensive.