DDM HID Kit - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

LandYaghtLover · #1 10-03-2012, 09:47 PM

Wondering if anyone ever ordered one. Specifically the high/low combo with magnetic retractor.

My kit came today but the lamps are very, very loose in the lamp holder itself. I called, but support is closed. Problems will be that the lamp will hang and thus not be aligned right. Other issue will be the appearance of flickering over bumps in the road with the lamp flopping around. In short, I will not install this no matter what they say is normal.

Probably going to return them. But wondering if anyone else had a similar issue.

On a side note... does the H4 have equally aligned low/high filaments? I read that somewhere I think. Which would also mean a HID kit with a retractor that moves the lamp would not work right anyway.

JohnM. · #2 10-03-2012, 10:56 PM

I'm also looking for a (QUALITY) HID kit for my W124. Looking for guidance too....

LandYaghtLover · #3 10-04-2012, 08:45 PM

They said to install. Well GUESS what? Yup, they flicker over bumps and stuff.

Not only that, but they are not the same color temperature. One is much more "pink" than the other. The other being pretty much true to 5k.

And to make things more fun. These retract when the high beams are on, pulling them deeper into the base tube. Well since this are so loose they sorta hang down about 5 degrees when on low. But the fun part is that after turning off the high beams one side sorta stick up. Probably at a true straight angle out. But then when you hit a few bumps, it falls to the "right" height.

What a crap set of lamps. Loose in the base and they do not match in color. I called them again and left another message. Speaking to them this morning they said the usual BS about selling 100s of kits and never having issues.

I will update when they find a way to resolve this.

MEPEH · #4 10-04-2012, 08:53 PM

I purchased through DDM a long time ago lots of kits for cars and bikes.
That's a chinese company that manufactures the kits in house. But have office(s) here
I go their personally since they are not too far from me.

Well, Customer service SUCKS. I rarely had to deal with the CS, but all their reviews are awful. Prices are cheap and quality is hit or miss. Though All my kits were working.
Don't want to sound racist, but their support is what you would expect from any chinese company.

Pay 10 more bucks and get better support. (Though quality may be the same)

"These retract when the high beams are on"
That's what they should do. The closer to the bottom of the lamp, the more focused the beam is.

Buying a 50-80$ Bixenon kit will bring you similar problems no matter who you purchase them from. BiXenon kits must be expensive or you will have problems with quality.

I've installed hundreds of kits in my life and resold about 50 of their DDM kits. Issues on the MonoXenon they sell are extremly rare. I've never had quality issues with monoxenon
But i always keep in mind that i paid 40$ 2 ballasts and 2 lamps, so even if i do have an issue, i'll just take the loss and buy replacement.

My bike has Monoxenon from DDM, and i had 0 issues for about 1 year since i installed them. (I do keep a pair of extra bulbs just in case)

LandYaghtLover · #5 10-04-2012, 09:24 PM

I too have have monos. Never an issue. The issue here is more or less just the lamps. The rest seems okay. If they lamps would sit tighter in the base and not move around then my ONLY concern would be the color match. Had a friend look at them too. He even drove in front of me and told me the color difference is bad. And the flickering too...

BTW, I know these are cheap. I went with DDM just to have a little more insurance than going through eBay. Looks like I could have just gone the eBay route...

MEPEH · #6 10-05-2012, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LandYaghtLover

I too have have monos. Never an issue. The issue here is more or less just the lamps. The rest seems okay. If they lamps would sit tighter in the base and not move around then my ONLY concern would be the color match. Had a friend look at them too. He even drove in front of me and told me the color difference is bad. And the flickering too...

BTW, I know these are cheap. I went with DDM just to have a little more insurance than going through eBay. Looks like I could have just gone the eBay route...

Do you get flicker at start up ? Or flicker after the lamp is fully ignited ?
The loose lamp is common on the bixenon kits under 100$.

ps2cho · #7 10-05-2012, 01:46 AM

I used to have the DDM kit on my 260E and it was fine. Flickering is most likely poor ground connection. HID's are extremely picky about grounding.

LandYaghtLover · #8 10-05-2012, 09:03 PM

The flicker is caused by lamp movement. So its not so much as an actual flicker as it is the light shifting around fast. I can tap the fender and get them to bounce.

I have nor problem spending a little more for a better kit. But I DO have a problem spending more on a kit that should be priced under $100. MANY seller just price em high to give the elusion of quality when, in fact, is the same stuff in a $50 kit.

As this point I may just look for better lamps. I have the guts, so spending a little more on lamps only is something I would be okay with.

By the way, I hate DDM and do not recommend them. The customer service does indeed suck! Time to do a bunch of online forms to get the lamps replaced....

Gilly · #9 10-06-2012, 09:48 AM

If the ballasts work i guess that's 1/2 of the system that's OK. Hopefully a pair of good bulbs will get it working again.
I installed a kit in my bike, just an H7 kit, not bixenon. Was the cheapest one out there on ebay and that was 3 or 4 yrs ago and never an issue. False-started once when it was around 30 degrees out.

LandYaghtLover · #10 11-26-2012, 08:05 AM

So after cutting BOTH lamps to get a color matched pair, they tell me to only cut one. Will see what arrives in the mail, one or two lamps. They site says they are color match in pairs for the kits - so how will they send me one lamp to match the color of the one I have on hand that I liked?

If I get one lamp I will dispute the charge.

lsmalley · #11 11-26-2012, 02:01 PM

I'm not sure what part of your HID is loose, but if its the actual bulb in the housing socket, why don't you try cutting a thin strip of double sided tape and attaching it to the base ring of the bulb and then sitting it snug in the housing. If something is loose or doesn't fit, there are many ways to remedy it. Take a few pictures of the problem and post them up. Also would like to see how the actual lighting looks.

LandYaghtLover · #12 11-26-2012, 04:58 PM

That is not what is loose. The lamp is loose within its own housing. The housing bases are fine.

I will get lots of pics when this is all straightened out. I will say that 55 watt may have been overkill in a set of Euro style housings. Fortunately the euros have a nice cut off and I have only been flashed at once. But once is once too many. I have some 35 watt ballasts I may swap in. The lamps work on 35 or 55 watt.