Well, I installed my XenonDepot 4300K H7 kit into my Protege'5 last week, and although all went okay, and it works fine, I suspect that I may have been sold defective merchandise. The harness and ballasts are perfectly fine, however what caught my attention was the bulbs. After much research on the topic of HID bulbs, I learned a few things common to all genuine Philips bulbs. (XD claims to sell only Genuine Philips bulbs with their 4300K kits.) First off, the salts inside the capsule (when new even) should be a light lime green color. In the bulbs I got, they were light brown. Okay, no big deal, maybe I just have to break them in a bit. But the biggest thing that struck me as off, was the return wires on both bulbs. Both appear to have been broken off and soldered back together, and one of them is even epoxied into the base crooked to the point that it actually touches the glass part of the bulb. All genuine Philips bulbs have a 1 piece return wire that is evenly spaced form the bulb all the way along it. After having the bulbs in my car for about 5 days now, I've noticed that one bulb is a bit bluer than the other. Thinking it was possibly just the headlight or ballast, I switched the bulbs around, but the blueness stayed with the bulb, meaning that the bulb in question might have more hours on it than the other.
I'm lost for what to do. I've had the bulbs installed in my car already, so I think the warranty is voided, but I can't contact XD this week due to SEMA. I hate to sound hostile, but I want to solve this in as quick of a manner as possible.
I feel as though the bulbs that I was sold that were marketed as genuine Philips bulbs are in fact NOT Philips bulbs, or if they are, have since been broken and re-sold as new units. All the pictures I've seen of XD kits, (here and elsewhere on the net) do not have soldered return wires. They're all one piece, as they should be. I seem to be the the only guy with broken ones. I'm hoping that once XD is back from SEMA I can get his resolved, and that I'm not out of luck because I installed the kit already. I think other than the questionable bulbs that the kit is superb. All connectors, etc are properly done and the install was farly easy.
If XenonDepot can rectify this matter for me, or provide some solution for me, that'd be great. I'm not asking for a refund or anything, because I do like the kit, but the posibility of exchanging the bulbs should be considered.
I'm lost for what to do. I've had the bulbs installed in my car already, so I think the warranty is voided, but I can't contact XD this week due to SEMA. I hate to sound hostile, but I want to solve this in as quick of a manner as possible.
I feel as though the bulbs that I was sold that were marketed as genuine Philips bulbs are in fact NOT Philips bulbs, or if they are, have since been broken and re-sold as new units. All the pictures I've seen of XD kits, (here and elsewhere on the net) do not have soldered return wires. They're all one piece, as they should be. I seem to be the the only guy with broken ones. I'm hoping that once XD is back from SEMA I can get his resolved, and that I'm not out of luck because I installed the kit already. I think other than the questionable bulbs that the kit is superb. All connectors, etc are properly done and the install was farly easy.
If XenonDepot can rectify this matter for me, or provide some solution for me, that'd be great. I'm not asking for a refund or anything, because I do like the kit, but the posibility of exchanging the bulbs should be considered.