It has not happened to me yet but eventually one of my headlights will burn out. My questions are the following:

1) With HID headlights like the TSX has, when your headlights first go out, will they turn pink and remain pink or turn off or will they just go out and turn dark like regular headlights do without turning pink?

Has anybody here had to replace one of their HID headlights? Does it act like a regular headlight or does it have a unique brakedown process?


2) How long in terms of years do these HID headlights last? Do they have a longer life expectancy than regular headlights?

 

I've read many times of members seeing pink first.

The life expectancy of a Xenon bulb is about 3000 hrs. A typical Halogen bulb lasts about 350 hrs.

 

1) The headlights usually do start to turn pink and begin to die down although on some occasions I have seen them merely go out, rare though. Usually they'll change color and warn you that it's time to change them. You will want to change both bulbs at the same time to keep a consistent color and beam. If you only replace one you will see a change (even if they're the same power, ex 4300K) since the bulbs life goes down with luminosity.

2) Time frame depends on usage as far as turning on and off as that will shorten the life span. If you continually turn them on and off then it will die out quicker opposed to usage of time. But they do give it a life span of time which vary from maker to maker but 3000 hrs sounds about right. It should last you for some time regardless. I would suggest against what I see some ppl do which is run it all the time and even leave them on and let the car turn it off automatically.

 

Wow!

The HIDs last more than 8 times as long as regular headlights?

I did not know it was that much of a difference.

So if I averaged 2 years of life with my previous cars with regular headlights, and I have maintained the same driving pattern, hypothetically, these TSX headlights can potentially last me 16+ years?? Do I have my math right?

 

don't hids turn purple?

 

Based on forum posts, all I know is that if they turn pink, then they are about to burn out. This doesn't imply that they always turn pink before burning out. I've never had a burn out yet, so I wouldn't know for sure, but I can imagine there are cases where they just go out. I think I remember hearing a while back about one turning a different color than pink too.

 

I had an 01 CL-S that I sold earlier this year. It still had the stock hid's in it. I love HID's. I believe every car should come with them.

 

do the bulbs ALWAYS show a sign that says the lights are wearing out? ex: turning pink as most mentioned above.. my headlights one day started to come off and on.. for example when i would hit a bumb it would either turn it off or back on, but not always.. but now they are completely out.. and never comes back on.. would that itself be a sign that it was wearing out or do they all turn pink? ive never noticed my lights turn pink before they went out.

 

just for clarification, not both my lights just my left side.

 

my pas-side HID went-on-off-on-off couple of times, then it died 11/09. replaced bulb. driver-side still on original.

 

From this compared to your other thread sounds like it may be also be a wiring issue as a possibility. Check the bulbs like mentioned first. From there you can run the process of elimination.

 

My D/S just turned pink after 6 years and 100k miles. Bought new 4300K bulbs, but now I'm scared by the installation hassle. Do you really have to take the bumper off and the hearlight assembly? Sounds crazy to me, but there is indeed very little space to work on those stupid HID housings. Who came up with that design???

 

7 years, 87, 000 miles, and as still bright as ever for me..

 

It's easy to change out the bulb. 2 mins and you should be done. There is a DIY on here somewhere. Just remove the cap covering the bulbs, remove the pin latch holding in the bulb (be sure to not touch the bulbs, wear latex gloves or something for safest install), remove bulb and replace with new one. Do steps in reverse and you're done. Seriously shouldn't take you more than 2 mins if you've changed headlights before in general. Just finding the pin and getting it out is kind of annoying if you've never done it before. The manual should tell you how to do it too. You don't need to take off the bumper or anything for simply changing bulbs.

 

There are pics of the inside of the headlight here and how to get the bulbs released and put back in.
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...8#post11050818

Remember that its a 25kV (25000V) system, not 12V

Before changing, make sure you either
1) disconnect the battery ground from the frame, or
2) unplug the gray ballast connector under the headlight assembly

If not, then at least make triple sure the headlight switch is OFF and the doors do not open/close while changing the bulbs. Remember that the alarm can close the circuit too (if I'm not mistaken- do the HIDs light up with the alarm? I don't remember off hand). Also, remember that if the HIDs auto-off'ed last time without you realizing it, then all it takes is the door opening or unlocking to close the circuit.

Removing the bumper/headlight assemblies only sounds crazy. This doesn't mean its actually crazy. Its actually very easy. The problem is that although you can change the bulbs without removing the headlight assembly, its not systematic at all. Considering the HIDs rarely burn out, its not like you'll be doing this job frequently, so its not so crazy at all. I don't personally see how you can do this soundly your first time without being able to see and reach in there, especially considering the magnitude of potential that can occur across the socket, but that's just me.

Whatever you do, be careful and good luck.