LD78704

After trying to replace my D2R bulb my light still does not work. Does anyone know where to get an affordable power inverter? Is that most likely my problem?

Part #33144S3MA01

Thanks in advance for your advice.

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

There are three components that comprise the xenon lighting system:
1. Bulb
2. Igniter
3. Ballast

We can safely assume at this point it's either going to be the igniter or ballast, but can be other things as well. First (with the headlights on), check the fuse of the headlight that's not coming on. Make sure it's not blown. If not, you still have an issue of which one it might be. If you're not going to diagnose the actual issue to identify the faulty component (or have someone else do it) then just buy both. You can buy both new from Acura for a lot of cash and your first unborn child or buy them together on eBay and get out at a fraction of the cost. You can also go aftermarket and buy from the highest quality place that I know of...theretrofitsourcs.com there you can buy both ballast for around a $100 or so.

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

Correction on the recommended source for aftermarket ballasts:
Theretrofitsource.com

LD78704

Thanks yungone501. Do you know if the D2S (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=244) is compatable w/ D2R or did I look in the wrong place? Also I assume the fuse is in the fusebox passenger side under the hood. I did not check the fuse to begin with however when I took out the existing (old) bulb it had what appeared to be a burn mark on it. For now I located a ballast for $200 and got a quote from a local Dallas auto shop for install around $50-$75. Does that sound reasonable?

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

First of all, the difference between the D2R and D2S (other than the base) is that the D2R has a coating around roughly 50% of the bulb to reduce the amount of light thats being emitted and the D2S has no coating allowing 100% light transmission. Youre probably asking why reduce the output but these 2G TL's have reflector style housing that would blind someone if they allowed full light output...trust me.

Projector style headlights (like 3/4G TL's have) create focal points along with cutoff heights to prevent blinding oncomers and also create optimal lighting for the driver...doing this allows the use of D2S bulbs.

So, the answer is: yes in short. You CAN use them but should you...only if youre selfish (who isnt?) and wouldlike to see EVERYTHING but blinding others in the process of doing so.

Also, theretrofitsource has "universal" fitment for their D2 series bulbs and this allows the base to fit in either a D2S or D2r socket.

As for the fuse, only if the plastic portion of the fuse is melted, dont replace it. More than likely the heat damage you see is just from the fuse carrying the power for so many years that the heat marks shown are very little in terms of problems.

Estimate is very reasonable if the paryt is new considering you have to remove the front of the car (essentially) to replace that F*cker!!!

Catfisha

I have the same model/year car as you, and I JUST did those damn lights on both sides...I went ahead and replaced every last bulb in the front 'cause I don't want to the bumper off again anytime soon!!

I bought Morimoto 3Fives with 5000 K D2R bulbs, and after taking the bumper off and my car's "eyeballs" out, figuring how to mount them was a muthaf'in pain in the ARSE!!! I can give you pointers since installation instructions are severely lacking!

I can post the pictures too, if you'd like...

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

Well, that's the OCD procedure. You dont HAVE TO remove the front bumper but
It gives it that nice untouched OEM appearance. You can mount the ballast in the engine compartment (fenderwell is best due to metal to metal heat removal not to mention excellent grounding properties) and simply cut holes into the service caps big enough to accommodate the passing through of the igniter/socket. Be sure and use di-electric grease inside the sockets because aftermarkets ones have a tendacy of burning especially when running any wattage over 35w. Also, no relay harness is required on our cars because it's designed to run HID's from the factory...obviously.

NighthawkBlue

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...hlight=Ballast
"Inverter and HID low beam available after market?"

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

DDM has awesome warranty on their components, yes. Also, Civic knows his shit when it comes to HID lighting...one of the very few here who actually says anything correct about HIDs. I too, personally, have used DDM in the past and use their products on damn near EVERY install here at my shop and that was mostly because of the 'No questions asked' style warranty. They are definitely above almost every other aftermarket company I've seen in the past. IMO, however, Morimoto makes one damn fine product in terms of being in close relation to not only the engineering but also quality (one makes the other I suppose) I've noticed a lot less warranty exchanges using the Morimoto instead. One thing about ballast is that there are ISO regulations that say the bulb must be a certain brightness by a certain amount of time to be considered safe and obtain their certification. Morimoto carries that. Also, amperage ramp on Morimoto as opposed to DDM while initial ballast saturation is incurring is very minimal which reduces wear on the bulb and of course increases over all life on both ballast and bulb. And their (Morimoto) bulbs are designed and created by the basis of the king of light bulbs: Philips. That's because Philips have long been the pioneers of the whole HID thing and if it weren't for them, HIDs either wouldn't have existed or would have just now been thought of.
Aside from the quality and design, the customer service that's displayed at theretrofitsource.com (aka: TRS) is unparalleled in every aspect. Anytime I've ever called these guys in the past, it's been an extremely pleasant experience. There's a forum called hidplanet.com (in which TRS hosts) and every member is a dedicated followed of Morimoto products for one reason: because they're BADASS!
I've been in the headlight science thing for going on 5 years or so now and have done MANY retrofits, conversions, swaps, mods, upgrades, halo's, you name it. I've dealt with every aftermarket company/product you can think of and these guys are paramount in their products and knowledge.

denny0wayne

Completely frustrated with my car right now! The driver side HID light does not work. The passenger side does and hi-beam lights work. When you turn on the headlights, the fuse for the driver side headlight blows. From what I can tell, the ballast must be bad. I've tried researching this and I'm confused. Can anyone please help me figure this out?! My email is dhumphreyaz@gmail.com TIA!

sdm64

I realize your post regarding the headlights is 2 yrs old, but if you still have pics showing how you did it, that would be awesome. I have the same car, and
I was feeling the same way, just replace it all at once, so I wont have to jack with it again
Thanks