Lighting Question..(Rather Urgent)

X

x DeadTaco x

:
2003 Mazda Protege5
Alright guys, reaching out to you all since my dad and I have tried everything and cannot seem to find the EXACT issue at hand here.

Some back-story, (short but sweet I promise):

Driver side headlight went out, tested my HID light on other side ballast, worked, assumed ballast was the issue.
At the same time, the low beam light on the driver side stopped working as well, as well as the high-beam dash light stopped illuminating
So at that time, I had passenger HID headlight, and one fog light (which i replaced and works wonderfully)

Now, replaced Driver side HID ballast with brand new one, problem didnt go away. The white plug that the leads go into is getting 12 volts, ballast works on passenger side, HID light works too, but when my dad got a connection that stayed briefly, the HID illuminated somewhat, and the high beam also lit up rather dim. Toggled high beams, and the high beam went out, opposite of what is supposed to happen.

So I am at a loss as to what is the issue. All the bulbs involved are fine, ballasts are fine, plug is fine, so I have NO idea what is going on.

And to add to all this, I get a funky crackling sound for a second whenever I toggle high beams on then off.

Hope someone can help me find a solution, Thank you in advance!!
 
Have you tried plugging in a plain old set of halogen bulbs? I mean just to completely rule out the ballasts and stuff?
 
Yep. Plugged in my original halogen H7's I have sitting in the garage still, they worked fine, connection is solid on those but the high beam still lights a bit with those.
 
Have you checked your stock connectors? Sounds like a similar issue I had a few years back. Turned out the connector had some corrosion, got it cleaned up and it's been working fine since. This is what mine looked like.

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That first photo is more of what mine looks like (albeit on the other side) when i have my high beams on.

By stock connectors, do you mean the white plug-esque connector that the normal H7 goes into, and on my DDM kit, the + and - lead feeds into?
If so, we did check it, and the previous owner must have done something to it, as the negative side has a hole in it, but even when using wire to ensure a connection between the leads and metal in the connector itself, no dice.
 
Isn't there a high beam relay in the fuse box under the hood? Could that be it?
 
But my high beam still works on the passenger side, so I don't see how that would leave one still working, and causing the low and high beam on my drivers side to not illuminate, and when i got them to, to light up at the same time but dimly.

Also would it maybe explain why the light on the gauge cluster does not come on anymore either?
 
Yeah, it was very interesting to say the least..

The only possible solution at this point i see, is cutting off the stock connector and soldering the wires to the leads..but obviously thats a rather permanent solution, and the DDM H7 bulb would have to have the solder removed in order to be replaced..
 
i12drivemyMP5 said:
Isn't there a high beam relay in the fuse box under the hood? Could that be it?
Click to expand...
I think I found what you are talking about:
daytime-running-light-DRL-wiring-diagram.png

If the part: HEADLIGHT HIGH RELAY, is what you are talking about, it could explain how the high/low are out on one side and the bright dash indicator is out, as the high beam driver side runs to that relay and to the dash light, so if the relay is busted and not grounding out then no circuit so no lights on driver side and no dash light.

Now if that is the case, where is this relay and where can i get a new one?
 
Bump...as this really needs to get fixed, and id love to fix it myself for less than send it to a shop and pay $100+.

So if anyone knows of that part, and thinks that based on the diagram that it is the source of my issue here, id appreciate the feedback.
And if it is the source of my problem, where i can get a replacement part and an idea on how to replace it.
 
Pics of the problem: First is low+fogs, second is high's (hard to tell as phone camera is average at best, plus HID's are bright lol).
15304177452_1a4da0da31_z.jpg

15281486666_510426d933_z.jpg
 
Just a general comment: Aftermarket HIDs are never as cool-looking as their owners think they are. [emoji4]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
katapaltes said:
Just a general comment: Aftermarket HIDs are never as cool-looking as their owners think they are. [emoji4]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Haha well I thought they looked nice and i like the color they give off (6000K so not too blue just a bit). Would look a lot better though if I blacked out my housings and or proejector retrofit them but I have neither the skill nor time to do either of those haha.

But also I know some people REALLY dislike them. No worries though, not gonna like get all defensive and what-not like others tend to do.
 
I appreciate you being more classy in your response than I was above. [emoji4] I wanted to go HID on mine way back when, especially with the P5 chewing through headlight bulbs. But seeing so many aftermarket HIDs not done right cooled my enthusiasm (I too didn't have the skills to do it right).

I'm grateful to users on this forum who suggested dielectric grease for the headlight bulb woes, and pleased that the normally staid Consumer Reports referred to the 2002 P5 headlights as "ballin'." *

* OK... maybe not. [emoji4] But they did call out the P5 headlights by name in their annual auto issue as being better than anything else on the market at the time.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Hmm, go P5 for having good stock headlights!! (When coupled with dielectric grease).

The more i think about this issue though, it seems that it has to be a wiring thing, whether its the stock plug or a relay or whatever.

I looked on rockauto and all they sell for relays is a "Headlight Relay" no high or low relay like the diagram i posted has..but if there is only one apparently, then two questions arise.
1. Is my diagram from maybe a different spec P5? Like non-US?
2. If there is only one then it cant be the relay as the one side still works, right?
 
Bump...i wish with better news. Literally I have no idea at this point. Have tried everything, even got a brand new OEM relay and didnt do anything. Guess scheduling an appointment at the local Mazda dealer is my only option at this point. Wondering though if they would see the DDM kit and claim that as the problem, take my money, and say have a nice day...
Honestly wouldve rather wanted to fix this myself but i have no other ideas
 
Have u tried the HID forums? They might have some insight?
 
I personally have not, didnt think it was the HID's though, as my passenger side ones have been solid since i installed then, and the ballast is new as well, also the entire light has been checked and works fine on the other side so wiring is good for the HID light itself.
 
I would think all of the headlight guys there might be able to offer up some other troubleshooting tips. Might be worth a shot since your out of things to try.
 
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