Do I need a CANBUS HID Ballast?

If your car's lighting is controlled or monitored by a CANBUS data system, you may require a CANBUS-style HID ballast for it to function correctly.

Understanding the function of the CAN BUS network in an automotive electrical system is a prerequisite to fully comprehending the uses of a CAN BUS ballast for HID lighting. For automotive, industrial, and medical equipment, Bosch developed a communication standard called CAN, which stands for "Controller Area Network," and BUS, which refers to route or data transfer channel. In CAN-BUS networks, devices can communicate with a single central CAN-BUS controller using the same channel or pathway. Today's OBD-II (On Board Diagnostics) system, which causes the dreaded "Service Engine Soon" light to appear on your dash, supports five vehicle diagnostic standards, including CAN.

Numerous Electronic Control Units are employed in modern automobiles to regulate and keep an eye on the multiple subsystems. The engine, A/C system, airbags, door locks, tire pressure monitoring system, and headlights, if they are monitored or controlled by a CAN BUS device, are all either remotely controlled by an ECU or collaborate via a CAN BUS system. The purpose of a car's CAN BUS lighting system is to detect whether a specific lightbulb is operational. An error message may be displayed to the driver, there may be a flashing issue, or there may be no power at all when a traditional light bulb is replaced with an LED or HID system because they won't "read" the same to the CAN BUS controller, which will assume the light bulb is burned out.

Why do my HID headlights flash?

A CAN BUS system may impact an aftermarket HID conversion kit's functionality in the following ways: In order to try to get the light bulb to turn on, the CAN BUS system will first determine that whatever is hooked into the original wire is most likely a broken lightbulb and will begin repeatedly pulsating the energy. There would be no repercussions if it turned out to be a defective manufacturing lightbulb since the broken filament would prevent the energy from moving. This fast-moving current will cause the ballast to strobe on and off when using a HID system.

Installing a warning canceler module or a CAN BUS HID ballast will resolve this issue. Instead of sending pulsating power down the cable, both of these devices will fool the car's computer into believing that a good, functioning lightbulb is plugged in!