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Retro solutions??

2K views 21 replies 6 participants last post by  Stroke4Fun 
#1 ·
Anyone running retro's hids? any issues with the lights flickering a little when turned on? Mine have this problem trying to figure it out all connections are good. Any issues with them since you installed them and how long have you had them?
Chris
 
#2 ·
I've had mine installed for about 3 hours and no issues yet. :) Once I was done I fired the truck up and turned the lights on and left them on for 20 min or so to align them and to clean everything up. I understand this basically counts for nothing, but I will report back in a few days after some extended night driving. I modified alot of things on mine, mainly to beef and extend the wiring seeing the harness is way to short to connect the light farther away from the relay. Also reloomed, cut out the open fuse holder and put a water tight inline holder, and used heavier duty ring terminals with alot more heat shrink. It really is a very nice ket, I'm just very picky on my wiring and how it is setup, connected, and weather proofed. What wattage and heat range did you go with?
 
#6 ·
Well, last night was my first time driving with them, and all I have to say is wow.I should have done this 3 years ago when I bought the truck. One thing though, when I turn off the head light switch the headlights stay on now for maybe 10 second after then turn off. It's no a problem to me, but is this something that they all do that is a characteristic of HID's?
 
#8 ·
I have had mine in for a month or so. only problem I have had, which was my fault, was a bad ground location. got that fixed and all is good.

mine stay on for 5-10 seconds after I shut them off also. no issues.

really a nice kit. I have the 55w 6000k also.
 
#9 ·
Well thats good to hear mine are not the only ones that stay on for a few seconds afterwards. I was starting to worry as this is my first expirence with HID's. I was very impressed with the kit as a whole. I showed a few guys at work when I was installing it and they were also impressed... I think I made them jealous. lol
 
#11 ·
I think to many problems in to short of time (1 1/2yr) for the price they cost i went with more expensive kits to avoid problems that didn't work to well! The harness's with these kits are very cheap and don't hold up they are not sealed and let moisture in the first ones corroded in no time i die greased the second set heavily and they are not a warrantied item just the bulbs and ballasts! Retro has my ballasts and bulbs right now found one ballast bad but telling me he cant get anything to flicker he stated i should have sent the harness too! When i know that is more than likely not the issue being it fairly new and clean i believe it's the other ballast but based on the way the conversation is going the last thing he is going to do is send two ballasts atleast not without me paying for the other and he requested me to send the bulbs and ballasts for testing found bad parts and sent me a paypal for return shipping! I paid to ship them and there was faulty parts found Retro's guidelines state if bad parts are found they cover shipping back to buyer but all are not faluty so i have to pay to ship them back that's BS!! I do like these lights and would not run without them but i would expect a little more in the service area it seems Retro really grilles you on the install ,grounds, ect almost to the point i think he is looking for some reason to say not warrantied installer error!!!! The whole problem could be the weak harness's not not sending the constant current to the ballasts who knows! there are a few posts on line when i googled them that say the same thing!
Chris
 
#12 ·
As I mentioned earlier, the connectors, bulb themselves, ballast's seem very nice and quality. The wiring itself was cheesy which was why I cut mine all apart and rewired them sealing them ALOT better than what it was, also extending the ground wires to the battery instead of trying to use the 4" of wire they provide to find a ground. Also I was shocked to see they provide a open element inline fuse holder for an engine bay?!?! I would never run one of those inside the cab, never mind in a place where water, snow, dirt ect. can get to. This is a very ncie kit, if you have the expirence, tools and resources to rewire this when you buy it brand new and make it correct. I dont know I'd trust it as is to be installed.
 
#14 ·
Well i still dont have any resolve to the issues i must just be very unreasonable with my expectations Todd has stated that he can not replicate the problem and still wants the harness for testing and if that dont pan out he will send them to the maker of the kit and of course i would have to wait for this for who knows how long:doh: but he did say if i want to throw parts at the problem at my cost go for it but that will then terminate the warranty then he stated quoting there policies for shipping which are in a gray area along with the rest of the one sided guidlines (there side)! Maybe its me but i am feeling like he is doing his best to get out of doing any warranty work for someone that sells the so called best kits with the best warranty the right thing would be replace the kit if you tested it and could not find the issue not send it to China or where ever it came from. Many guys on here and other sites say the kits are the same as the cheap ebay kits dont waste the extra $$$ i am really starting to believe this to be true. I feel sorry for anyone in the future with issues because you will feel my pain! Sorry for the rant but it's really irratating!
Chris :banghead:
 
#16 ·
HMMMM! I got the 55w kit from Retro Solutions for Christmas and installed it myself. The only problem I have had is the passenger side light does not come on about 1 time out of 20. I know its the ground so I can fix it. I have been thinking about getting 2 more kits for my fog lights and 3 kits for my wifes car. Maybe I might have to try DDM tuning? Todd from Retro: you are a sponsor on this sight Can you reply to this guy on here to tell us your side? And not in a PM:dunno:
 
#15 ·
I have DDM's with no issues what so ever. There is a thread on here about the 55w kits that DDM offers and a rep. for Retro Solutions replied basically bashing DDM saying they have never offered a 55w kit:blahblah1::blahblah1:, so I replied back, where is the proof since he is a competitor and he replied saying if I wanted, just PM him. Guess what, PM'd and still no reply. DDM offers a great kit at HALF the price of Retro. Just my :twocents:
 
#17 ·
I know Retro-Solutions is a vendor on one of the other Ford Diesel websites, has anyone tried contacting him over there?

For what it is worth, I've used my 55w Bixenon kit for 2 or 3 hours a day for the last 4 days and have had zero issues. Even used them durring monsoon like weather yesterday and they were fine. I'll report back after another week or two as I use them often.
 
#18 ·
Well I dont want any confusion, I love my Retro solutions kit. Everything from ordering to shipping to install and use for the past almost 4 months on my work plow/personal truck has been perfect. I spent the money to get a high quality kit that included the lifetime warranty. I havnt had to deal with warranty issues and hope i dont have to jump through hoops like the OP has. Like i said i want 5 more kits.
 
#19 ·
I did not have issues right away either time it's like the 8 month mark when things seem to happen. Todd was more than helpful selling me his kits i have one in my fogs that works fine however it seems after the sale he is more laxed in responding when there is a problem. I should not have to jump though hoops he is at the point of being no help at all right now and evades questions i ask because he feels no matter what the answer i will not be happy! Well i am not happy right now i just want hids to work correct like when i bought them thats all but he can't seem to make that happen not atleast without charging me! Todd said out of a courtesy he is replacing a locked out ballast and the pair of bulbs instead of just doing the whole kit and that will insure the problem is corrected. He even implies in some emails it could be installer error god knows it can't be the equipment! It's like what ever he can to get out of the warranty! I will not buy or recommend his kits like i have done many times in the past at all to anyone!
Chris
 
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