DDE Lightning™ Plus Problems

[Billan]

I just got a chance to hook up my DDE rings today. They came "Pre Installed" with the headlights I bought. When I turn them on they have a slow startup time and then only one gets bright. On the drivers side the outer ring gets bright and on the passenger side the inner ring gets bright. I have them wired to the 12v constant on the side marker. See picture below that I just took of the problem. Any ideas?

[SG_M3]

did you contact Umnitza?

[Billan]

Originally Posted by SG_M3

did you contact Umnitza?

No I have not contacted them yet. I was trying to see if other people have had this problem. Could it be that they are not receiving enough power from the side marker wire. The factory wires used in the car are not a very heavy gauge wire. If I were to connect them to another power source does anyone know an easy way to get them to turn on and off with the lights? Thank for the help.

[SG_M3]

i don't think its the power source as the other ring seems to be working fine, my guess would be the other ring was damaged during shipping. Call or email Matt, I'm sure he will be more than glad to help.

[E36DJ]

Matt will ship you another ring when you call him up, unfortunately you will need to take the housing out and take the light/lenses apart to get to that ring. It doesn't take too long just make sure the damn lenses are CLEAN before you put it back together. I'm still too lazy to open mine up and take out this piece of hot glue i left in there lol.
It is not a power problem, it's an issue with the gas charge inside of the ring/tube. The lights draw very little current (they are high voltage after the inverter however.)

[clor0x]

Is your car running? Try starting it up. I had this problem and Matt told me the rings were looking for the extra power from the alternator.

[Chi]

I've seen this problem on several installs. The first few times will often need a 'warm up' period and yes having the car running helps.

Either that or check your wiring. Once had a problem where the connection wasn't properly fixed and as such full power wasn't going to one ring.

[Billan]

Thanks for the help. I turned them on this morning before I left for work and they were still dim. I left them on and by the time I got to work (about a ½ hour) all 4 of them are now bright. I will keep an eye on them to see why there was such a long startup time. Hopefully I do not have to open the lights.

[nicom3]

Hey Clorox could you post pics of your lights. You have the Inpros right? with the Lighting enhanced DDEs?

[Dado]

Originally Posted by clor0x

Is your car running? Try starting it up. I had this problem and Matt told me the rings were looking for the extra power from the alternator.

I had the same problem, drive it around a little bit.

[clor0x]

Here are 2 pics of the DDE Basic installed into the Inpro housings. They are VERY bright, compared to the stock Inpros which you cannot see at all, and so much brighter than the LED upgrade. Whereas you couldn't see them on cloudy days with the LED upgrade, they stand out very bold with the DDEs. At dusk, they just look pure badass. These shots aren't great because my camera sucks, but I will post some more when I get back from school.

[E36DJ]

OK you got lucky then, not that this happens a lot, but usually when they are dim they need to be replaced (being the second car with these before production.. yeah ask me how I know haha.) I haven't had any problems with them since I upgraded to the production version.

This was (obviously) taken in bright light too.

[The Phatman]

Sorry for the thread hijack..
ClorOx, what do you think about the DDE basics? Good quality? How long have you had them, were they easy to fit, and have you got any night time pics? And how come they look so much bluer in your sig?

[Billan]

Everything is great now. They start right up at full brightness right when I turn the lights on. I guess I just needed to give them time. I posted a some updated pics of my car I took tonight in the members rides section. You can see more pics of the lights there. Does anyone know how long the life is on these rings? Thanks for all the help.

More pictures:
Updated pics of my car

[Midnight Shark]

glad everything worked out for you.