Is there a specific headlight I need to get and are there any alternatives? Can it only be replaced by a shop?

 

Are you talking about the entire unit or just changing bulb, ballast, etc?

 

just a single low beam bulb replacement

 

Depends if you know for sure it is the bulb or ballast. I needed to remove the bumper to upgrade my HIDs to OSRAMs. It is about a 30-45 minute job for me to replace the bulbs. It might be worth flip/flop the HIDs to make sure it is just the bulb. Amazon has a 30 day return policy and I've used it when I tried OSRAM Nightbreakers and didn't like them and returned for a full refund for the OSRAM Cool Blue 5000-5500 kelvin HIDs.

 

just be careful on Amazon, there have been a lot of 'fake' Osram bulbs sold on there.


www.theretrofitsource.com has cheap HID bulbs and you don't have to get Osram. The cheaper Morimoto house brand are solid bulbs

 

I just replaced mine with these cheap ones from Amazon. Fine so far and have a nice pure white light around 5000K. You will have to remove the bumper cover to get a clear shot at them.

 

What they said - bulb can definitely be DIY, but make sure it's not something else. On HIDs, a color shift generally points to an aging bulb, while a dimmer output or flickering is more likely the ballast. Generally speaking, an OEM HID bulb should last the life of the car as long as the housing itself has not been compromised and you don't cycle your headlights needlessly. (despite the car's auto setting, I always leave the lights off unless I need them on) Ballasts definitely come and go though.

 

My 08 RDX doesn't have the auto setting for headlights, but for my other cars that do, I don't use it. I don't want the HIDs to needlessly turn on in the garage when I start the car. Even time you turn on the HIDs, you just shortened its lifespan.

 

Exactly. Everything I've read says that excessive on/off cycles wear HIDs out far more than actual run time. And cranking the car while they're on can really fuck with them. They're a lot more complicated than just running a current through a wire.

 

I found ballasts on Amazon for $50 and it came with the igniter and 2 day shipping. Been working fine so far.