we have a 2005 acura TSX that has a headlight out, we replaced the bulb & still doesn't work, not the fuse either, we bought this car used for granddaughter. Someone said it could be the switch at the headlight and would cost about 600.00 to fix....Is there a switch that cost that much to replace?

 

Please does anyone know what could be the problem.............

 

Old River - I have a 2004 and both my my headlights blew out at two different times. In both cases, they went out immediately after heavy downpours. It turns out the 2004 headlights (at least in some cases) were poorly designed, and allowed water to get into the headlight assembly, causing the whole thing to basically short out and fry.

Luckily for me, Acura picked up the charge for me. Is there any moisture in the headlight casing? Has it rained heavily lately? Just something to think about.

 

first, park your car overnight outside and in the morning check if there's condensation in the headlight. If there is, the seal is not working. Take it to the dealer or have an independent shop reseal the headlight.

After that, since one side is working, use the working bulb on the side that doesnt work. If the bulb doesnt come on .. then you have an igniter and/or ballast problem. you can either buy them sepereately from ebay etc. or buy the whole set from the dealer .. i don't believe they sell them individually. from my recolection, i think the ballast/igniter combo from the dealer is in the $400 in parts alone.

 

I have a friend, his wife has this problem with her 04. We're gonna pull it and reseal it and hope that'll be the end of that. Her headlight comes on then turns off. Hopefully drying the ballast out will fix this.

Good luck old river!

 

I don't want to sound unkind here, but..... I don't doubt that a trip to an Acura dealer (or even a Honda dealer) might be in order here (and might actually be the cheapest way out in the long run. Plus, it's a safety issue). There are some things that go wrong that actually require professional help (and though I'm not finger pointing here, it can frustrate me that it seems like some people will do everything but enlist the right help in the search to save a couple of bucks). So.... I'd have a dealer look at it.

 

It's a true PITA troubleshooting the headlights on these cars.. Good luck!

 

I agree....I think it would be best to just go to the dealer, especially if you have no experience in troubleshooting or replacing these types of things.

IMO, the easiest thing to do would be to have the dealer replace/fix whatever is wrong, and then do the headlight TSB that applied to 2004 and some 2005 TSXs, if applicable. The TSB can be found in the FAQ section (or searching problems & fixes) and is just a clip they install on the headlights. Can't be too expensive.

 

An alternative to the dealership is finding a automotive electrician.