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Headlamp out, water intrusion, DIY repair attempt.
Greets! My new-to-me '11 AWD Tech recently had the passenger low beam go out. I'd seen water accumulating in the housing, so this did not come as a surprise. After pricing out new housings ($575 each) and scrapyard housings ($200-$600) I decided to at least try a DIY fix.
for the reseal. Took the bumper off, removed the housings from the car, and verified that it was in fact the ballast by installing the replacement and connecting 12VDC, correct polarity. Bingo. Again, this wasn't a surprise- the factory ballasts are not sealed from water intrusion at the igniter connector so if water gets in there, look out.
Once this was done I tried to find the leak by drilling a small hole in the housing to supply pressurized air. This didn't work as the air leaked out through each of the bulbs and also through the 'seal' around the DRL/Highbeam bulb. If it had worked I probably would had simply used epoxy to seal the leak and been done with it. Since it didn't, disassembly was the next step.
There are a million of these techniques on youtube, I watched
, then decided it didn't look too hard, and if I really jacked it up I could replace the housings. [Full disclaimer- might still need to, haven't reassembled yet!]
My gas oven won't regulate below ~280F, so I had to play the oven on/oven off game, keeping sharp eyes on the timer and the temperature, but I got both housings apart after two cycles each of about 8 minutes in a ~270F oven. I used the house oven, and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. There was a little smell but nothing horrific or lasting. Kind of messy but not horrible.
I then looked over the housings and lenses. The HID projector lenses were water spotted, so I popped those out and polished them with a soft cloth. They're glass so I didn't drop them. Also, they only go back in one way. The main housing lens is dirty in (water spotted) and out (environmental damage comes with age) so I intend to use
, which will arrive today. I've done several sets of lenses from the outside, but I'm not sure about the inside, so I got a product intended for the purpose vs. the sandpaper and polishing compound I've used in the past.
I also found that our housings are vented. Here's the vent, which sits underneath this cap.
Clearly mine are either not working or are overwhelmed. Either way, Something Needed to be Done.
So I put the lensless housing back into the car temporarily to see what the lowest point of the housing was. Then I bored a drain hole. This may seem extreme, but at this point I don't feel like I've much to lose. My housings already leak, and I already killed one ballast. In the event that either these drain holes or the new vents I drilled to allow the introduction of pressurized air become problematic they'll be relatively easy to seal with epoxy (indeed I'll be able to plug the upper ones without removing the bumper/housings).
My polishing compound arrives in a couple hours, at which point I'll cleanup the lenses and rebake to (attempt to) reseal. Wish me luck!
Last edited by feralcomprehension; 01-21-2020 at 08:43 AM.
Reason: video links not working as intended
Yes, the outside was worse than the inside, and was easily dealt with. Basic routine is 400/600/1200/2000 sandpaper followed by polishing compound (I use a buffer).
The inside.. I don't think I'd recommend that. It seems like there may be a coating on the inside, and my attempt to polish the interior lens surface caused coating failure. *I'm* not too flustered by it, as again, I didn't have much to lose, but after seeing that on one side I didn't bother with the interior on the other side.
No issues to report. If I had to do it over I think I'd drill the drain holes and see if that solved the issue before tearing the headlamp housings apart.
Sorry, to butt in but my 2008 RDX has had the drivers side low beam out for ages. Finally got around to replacing it today and it still doesn’t work, I’ve seen articles about ballast. How do I check to see if that’s what it is??
Sorry, to butt in but my 2008 RDX has had the drivers side low beam out for ages. Finally got around to replacing it today and it still doesn’t work, I’ve seen articles about ballast. How do I check to see if that’s what it is??
thanks
cheapest way is to swap it from the passenger’s side to rule it out
How much did you pay I found eBay to be the cheapest just fyi
well, to be honest, a previous post had a link to Amazon and I didn’t look anywhere else. It was $50 plus tax and will be here tomorrow, Wednesday.
I didn’t look on eBay and I just wanted to get it quickly because it’s my wife’s car and I want to get it fixed so she can drive it back-and-forth to work. I did not also buy the igniter. Since the other headlight worked, I figured just get what I needed in that replace everything. That may have been a mistake but either way.
Since this thread popped up I'll report again: No issues, no further water accumulation. If I had to do it over I'd drill the drain holes, replace the ballast, and be done (except maybe for polishing the outside of the lenses).
well, to be honest, a previous post had a link to Amazon and I didn’t look anywhere else. It was $50 plus tax and will be here tomorrow, Wednesday.
I didn’t look on eBay and I just wanted to get it quickly because it’s my wife’s car and I want to get it fixed so she can drive it back-and-forth to work. I did not also buy the igniter. Since the other headlight worked, I figured just get what I needed in that replace everything. That may have been a mistake but either way.
thanks
Amazon sells a lot of counterfeit ballasts... hope it worked out for you
I replaced both headlights ballasts bulbs and ignitions because I had the whole front of the RDX off so it was a preventative thing for me no problems since
Well, on Sunday I ordered a ballast from Amazon that was supposed to arrive Wednesday evening. Because of a mail carrier issue, it didn’t come until Thursday evening. So, I installed it Thursday night and it worked. Then put the rest of the bumper back together. I am grateful that on the Amazon page for the ballast, they suggested I buy those plastic rivet clips. I would’ve never thought to look for those on Amazon. I am so glad I did because it may put a bumper back so much easier with those new clips.
now I got to figure out why my car is vibrating around second gear at 2500 RPMs. I’m starting to wonder if it’s the driveshaft or transmission. I guess it could possibly be something in the engine.
Thank you for the common sense reply and suggestions. However, just from the nature of the shaking, it definitely happens under acceleration and between second and third gear more than anything. I would assume, that it’s a front axle, or possibly even an ignition issue. On a previous thread some months ago, I mention that prior to replacing an oxygen sensor that had gone bad, the car was shaking a good bit under load. After the oxygen sensor was replaced, The shaking got better but never went away completely. Now it seems worse and has a different pattern to it. Going to go take it to my mechanic this next week and have him look over it.
tires or three months brand new. Not sure about the rotors.
Axle, probably...
some have had good luck with the non-oem on rockauto...oem is pricey.
Confirm it's that but usually ghost vibrations under light load until you get up to
speed is that.
it's doable...
first time you'll get frustrated...but with the power of the internet and some basic hand tools and a pair of trouser beans you can knock it out.
Probably there's a thread dedicated to axles/axlenoise that would love some fresh input... The latest conversation here is entirely unrelated to drilling drain holes in your headlamps to keep your ballasts free of water.
Last edited by feralcomprehension; 10-30-2020 at 01:21 PM.
Reason: Added cross references
Probably there's a thread dedicated to axles/axlenoise that would love some fresh input... The latest conversation here is entirely unrelated to drilling drain holes in your headlamps to keep your ballasts free of water.
It won't necessarily be the ballast. I let an idiot who was lazy and didnt take the time to properly diagnose the issue, tell me " oh its a bulb. So i bought the hid bulb, didn't work, then he goes its the ballast, and I said yea ok I agree because most of the time it is the ballast. Bought NEw ballast from Acura, now it comes and and goes out every once in a while, and we checked the ignitor its not, so I believe its the moisture that is getting in the headlight that is causing a short somewhere.
If i had spent the time to check it first instead of rely on a trained licenced tech lmao at chrysler,.. then I would've saved myself a decent amount of money.
I'm going to drill some holes and apply a heat gun to try and resolve this,
If it doesn't work I will be either taking it apart ( the bumper) to look at the ballast to see if its getting wet, OR I'm gonna say fuck it and cut all this factory shit off, Wire in a whole new LED kit for Low beam headlights and be done with it.
Might have to do those or dry it out then put better sealing gaskets on the bulbs. I changes the bulb, ballast, and igniter all from eBay super cheap it works great also!
01-21-2020, 08:37 AM
