Well I tried to install my H8 35watt Hid set up with bulb out cancellers from ddm tuning. Bad part is I didnt know which wire on the car side was the ground and which was the positive. I hooked both L+R foglights up and turned the car on and hit the switch..........nothing. No bulb out warning and no fog lights either ?
Went to the front of the car to see if I can switch polarity but too late. There was a huge bang like a gunshot and this is what I found

I F'd up and didnt have it properly polarized . So which is the ground and which is the positive? Theres brown with yellow wire and just a brown wire.
I cant remember which I had it on and didnt look after the pop cuz I just yanked the whole set up off before it did anymore damage. Ive never dealt with this bulb out stuff.
Im usually really good with mods and stuff like this but I was feeling sick and wanted to get it done before I got worse. The smell of the bulb out canceller blown actually made me puke lol
So now Im home and feeling like crap cuz of being sick and of what stupidness Ive done.

 

Should you be doing electrical work if you can't tell a hot wire from a ground?

In general, on German cars the brown wire is the ground - think of it like dirt - dirt is brown, so is the ground.....

 

Yes I should
Im a telecommunications technician and we use different color codes and the wire/sheathing/tag/cladding with the stripe or dual color is always the ground or neg.
Thanks for the insight about the ground on the mini though.

This mod will be done eventually. Just never have any time, this is my only day off

 

From The DDM Website :
Some cars will generate a bulb out warning message or even turn the headlight/foglights off when connecting HID to them. Our cancellation modules fool the computer in the car and allow the HIDs to work flawlessly.

You will receive 2 at this price. These work on 93% of vehicles with computer related issues.


NOTE: Certain vehicles will require these to run HID's properly. ex. Dodges (except Ram), Newer BMW's & Mercedes etc...

Warning: Some vehicles may have reverse polarity. Reverse polarity can cause a BOW to explode. We recommend wearing safety glasses and closing your hood before testing the BOW on your vehicle.

 

They arent kidding!

 

Just because it's done one way in one industry doesn't mean the same applies in others unfortunately. For example, in US cars the black wire is the ground, however in 120V house wiring, black is hot and white is the neutral. And I don't have a clue how the Japanese or Koreans orgainze their wiring color codes!

My point is absent a set of accurate instructions from the manufacturer, you always meter something out before you hook it up. And if you don't know what you're doing, don't do it! And always put a meter on it first if you don't know whether it's a hot lead or ground.

On these modern cars it's too easy to blow a very expensive computer by hooking something up wrong, and it only takes an instant.....

I find it very interesting how eager people are to tackle complex repairs and upgrades on these cars with just a "How-to" from the internet, and no basic underlying experience or understanding of what they're doing. Brave folks.....

It's like people believe that plug and play has gone from just the computer industry into everything - take my word for it, it hasn't! You really should know what you're doing before tackling a project that could risk your or someone else's lives - IMHO of course.

 

Yeah each field is different thats true, very foolish of me and I got 2 or 3 meters at home too. Just sickly and rushing, definitely not the way to tackle a project.

 

What is that that blew out of there? I don't have my glasses on but it looks like crumpled up money! I thought you were joking at first. Good luck with your project.

Hey maybe open that canceller up and see what happened. Nothing to loose at this point right? Now that I think of it that may be a blown electrolytic capacitor or something cheap that you can fix.

 

no way to fix it. Its sealed and its just destroyed inside. Looks like a capacitor of some kind. I will try again soon and let you guys know.

 

Oooh! Electrolytic capacitors are fun to blow up! I worked at an electronic equipment manufacturer, someone would blow up a big capacitor weekly!
Everyone would jump in their cubicals!

Aaah, good times!

Dave

 

Come on a $4 multimeter would have told you the polarity!! Or an LED!

And I don't know this for sure, but verify the fog lights have a factory relay and are not wired directly to the FRM module. If the fogs are wired direct to the FRM you are really running the risk of blowing that module due to the startup current required to light an HID. It is about double the current of the 35W bulb.

 

Strobeyprobey

Off topic question. With that cable of yours can you reprogram the rear fogs to come on if you retro fit them into the stock harness and add the switch?

Will it also work on a 2010 clubman?

 

Yes it will. As long as you have the wiring in the back. To activate the lights a change to Vehicle Order and a "default" coding to the FRM module will activate the lights.

 

Awesome, I have one switch left over from the outmotoring kit. The 09 comes with the wiring so I could add the switch and go that route. On the 2010 clubman, not only is the wiring there but the fog light bulb is even there stock. Adding a switch and a re-program is all I need there. Now, when is the next program party in the SO CAL area?

 

I thought this error eliminator kit from ddm tuning was plug and play? I was interested in buying it and researching on these forums and came across this. Has anyone else had this problem? I have a 2011 MCS.

 

I just tried hooking these up and the plugs don't exactly match the fog light plug on the car. The car ones are spaced further apart so to get them to fit the DDM canceller you have to squish them together so to speak. It seemed to fit, but I can see how the OP got it wrong. Without looking at the wiring and following the colors through the plug, it's a cinch to get it wrong. I forgot all about this thread and gave up on the project because of time concerns. Now I'll remember when I go back to do it! PHEW!

 

Ok, I understand what your talking about. I would like to know your outcome of the install before I purchase them. thanks in advance!

 

You may be waiting a while. I am wrench free til probably June at this point. Travel and such. Just a head's up.

 

If you use the kit I bought, you don't need cancellers. It has CAN-BUS ballasts, which have the correct resistance built in. Go here for more info: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hlight=hid+fog