Retro Solutions Experiences

Fly By Night

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I am about to order some HID's and really want to go with RS, but have found a sizable amount of not so great reviews online, what have you guys experienced with them? Also is there a number I can contact them at? Its so much easier call sometimes then try to do things via email.
 

JMart

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You want to start this thread in their vendor section?:doh:

You probably won't get much negatives but, I will say I had a negative experience, that was never resolved until my 6 month old kit went into the trash.
 

Halvy85

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I bought mine from them about a year ago and have had no problems with them at all. I just PM'ed him on here and he got back to me right away with all the part numbers I needed to order off their site. The only issue I did have with the kit was the one set of wires that runs from one headlight to the other seemed a little short. I got everything to work but a little bit longer wires would have made a big difference.
 

O2ShootTheJ

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Went through 3 relays on my kits. Kept telling me I needed to apply the dielectric grease. Never got any. Ended up taking black RTV to the last one to seal it from the elements and it was fine.

The wiring was also too short. Had to splice it and extend it
 

retrosolutions

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Number one problem with any HID kit installation is protection from the elements, preparation of electrical contact areas and prevent degradation (corrosion) over time. Unfortunately instructions are sometimes missed, or not used/followed and it does harm reliability/longevity beyond anything a manufacturer can prevent in equipment. In addition, like any light source HID do not last forever, they do naturally extinguish over time with normal use. Some kits average lifespan in 1-2 yrs, others 2-4 yrs, and some 4-7 yrs.

The worst part about experiencing an issue, is that the 1 in 10 that experience a problem under the natural lifespan, over 60% of those that occur are for those previously mentioned reasons and are avoidable damages or engaged ballast fail-safes. Even worse, those same face a 70% recurrence rate of the avoidable issues. While the 3 different brands we offer directly from different manufacturing all have different manufacturing defect rates, the same 60% of report troubles in any brand are non-manufacturing related, and the 70% recurrence of those troubles are the same across all brands, all manufacturers.

We understand the frustration that occurs when a light does not operate, but a good 5 mins. of careful and complete installation can save an hour or more of troubleshooting and having operational issues more often than not. Unlike any other vendor out there, we can provide real technical help to avoid problems from getting worse, recurring, etc. and assist with any warranty claim to any of the manufacturers. Throwing parts at a problem as many would prefer to do and naturally think fixed all problems, unfortunately stands less chance of fixing a problem than they often aware and ends making for costly unnecessary replacements.

Our suggestion would be to contact tech ( [email protected] ) at the first sign of any troubles. They are there to help you anytime. If you run into troubles they will provide you with all the necessary steps to check everything over with you completely to make sure to get you squared away once so it is only once. Its up to the customer to use those to their advantage if they like, and we suggest they do for their sake, but not required. Most operational issues are power transmission related and often easily fixed, but we can not recommend letting them go as it will lead to equipment damage! Tech will also help facilitate any claims with any manufacturer, provide installation assistance, or help with vehicle application questions.
 

Fly By Night

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Does anyone have a phone number I can contact them on? The Dielectric thing seems fishy to me, none of the electrical connections on my truck have di electric grease on them 15 years and 300k miles later darn near everything is working fine.
 

retrosolutions

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Does anyone have a phone number I can contact them on? The Dielectric thing seems fishy to me, none of the electrical connections on my truck have di electric grease on them 15 years and 300k miles later darn near everything is working fine.

[email protected]
-OR-
[email protected]

Where necessary the manufacturer of the truck would apply that usually for you to prevent environmental damage to contacts over time. Where not done then can be a cause of common make/model/year vehicle problems, some that result in recalls.
Application is a step that during installation must be taken to avoid corrosion of exposed contacts overtime and maintain longevity and reliability, or it will become and issue at some point.
 

JMart

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Does anyone have a phone number I can contact them on? The Dielectric thing seems fishy to me, none of the electrical connections on my truck have di electric grease on them 15 years and 300k miles later darn near everything is working fine.

Yeah they told me that was why my parts where having issues. Even though we hadn't had rain in MONTHS(major drought here in Texas) and I hardly washed my truck.

But mine where installed by a vendor on here so I was screwed two times.
 

GO BIG OR GO HOME

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First off let me say that this is just my experience with their products and I am in no way affiliated with retro.

I have installed 9 sets of their lights on my personal trucks as well as other people's trucks. I always used electrical parts cleaner and Di electric grease on all connections. I always make sure the ballast are protected from the elements and vibration. That's just how I do it and always will.

I have yet to have any trouble out of any of the lights I have installed.... crossing fingers

That's just my experience and opinion and I can't speak for others so take it for what it's worth. I will continue to buy all my hid's from retro

sent while doing burnouts somewhere in the country
 

superstroked

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I am pulling the RS fogs and the headlights out currently...I never could get the passenger side fog light to kick on right away. I even added the extra relay they said would fix the problem. It finally quit working all together. Now the passenger headlight is not working. I think I am done with HIDs in the truck. The kit is over a year old but, the fog issue was from day one.
 

Dieselboy.

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I installed my 6000k 2 years ago. Still working. Buddy installed his in his lightning. No problems.

Never used any dielectric. But I wore medical gloves and was very careful handlin the bulbs.

My only bitch is the harness could be a bit longer to allow better mounting locations for the ballista and relay in my opinion. My relay and ground are tucked down by my windshield washer container.
Not my first choice.
 

HOOV3R

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Well, my retro solutions hids are going in the garbage first thing tomorrow. Just lost another ballast, I don't have time to ***k with these lights anymore. 3rd headlight ballast to fail, everything else tests out perfectly, and they're mounted solid away from heat. I give up on these.
 

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