It has recently come to my attention that certain sellers are trying to sell knock-off HID/Xenon ballast replacements bearing the Hella name.  With prices ranging from $50-80, it may seem like a bargain.  Real ballasts cost from $80-120 used.  They may even claim that the ballasts are actually made by Hella, have similarities to Hella ballasts (such as layout, shape, breather hole) or that they are made in Germany.

Comparison

The above photo shows the counterfit "HALLW" ballast.  To deceive customers the ballast has German print and numbers which closely resemble those which Hella puts on their OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) ballasts.  Unfortunately, this is not a real Hella ballast. Also notice that the entire label is printed vertically across the ballast.

The above photo is a real Hella ballast.  Here you can see that the fake ballast above borrows exactly the same text.  Even a similar looking logo is employed to further deceive the buyer.  The label is printed horizontally (ballast must be sideways to read the text).

Why Are They Bad?

The simple fact is that millions of dollars of research and development go into building an OEM ballast. Hella and companies like BOSCH, Koito/Denso, Matsushita, Mitsubishi and Valeo have proven their equipment to be solid and reliable in the extreme conditions automotive ballasts normally face.  Most of the time OEM ballasts will outlive the life of the car.

The same cannot be said for aftermarket knock-off ballasts.  Much less R&D gets dedicated to their production and little to no quality assurance.  Sure they may work great for a while, but they will eventually fail.

Aftermarket ballasts also have a tendency to lower the life expectency of HID bulbs.  By using longer warmup sequences, they put additional stress on the bulb and your wiring.  So while you may think the problem is only isolated at the ballast, it may have spread further. 

Save yourself the hassle and purchase a quality original ballast. It will cost you much less in the long run.