This is my first time posting so I hope someone can help. I have an 05 Acura tsx and for some time now my driver's side headlight comes on pretty much when it wants to. Most of the time it doesn't come on but if I turn the headlight switch off and on repeatedly, sometimes it will come on.

With that said, most of the time my passenger side headlight works but flickers a lot, especially when braking. Sometimes it will flicker and then go out so I'll turn off headlights and back on, it will come back on.

I have read many post that suggest it may be the bulbs (not the bulbs, they are new) or the igniter or ballast. Not sure where to start. Any info would be great. Thanks in advance

 

Sounds like the ballasts to me. Are they OEM or aftermarket?

 

The flickering and having to turn the headlight switch on/off repeatedly to get headlights to turn on is usually a sign of a bad ballast

 

@Costco quit slackin' on your mod duties move this over to TSX land!

 

I'm going to edit post titles to incorrect spelling/grammar

 

 

 

then your ballasts are likely going out. You'll need to replace them.

 

I'll check it out. Any way to test the ballasts to make sure before I remove them and spend the $?

 

swap them from one side to the other

 

Or find someone (family member, friend, neighbor) with a 1st generation TSX you can swap ballasts with as a test?

 

This is the best you guys can do? suggesting the poster find someone with the same ten-year-old car and convince them to let him swap ballasts? wow, I would think there's some way to actually test a ballast (like, with a VOM) to determine proper output. but maybe I'm wrong; that's why I end up taking my Acura to the dealer so often instead of fixing it myself (like I used to do with ALL my other cars.)
I was going to ask a headlight question here, so I've done search after search on this forum but nothing relevant comes up.
It concerns what type of replacement bulbs do I need for my '08 TL headlights. I keep getting conflicting answers from various auto parts sites and bulb manufacturers.
some say I need HB5 bulbs, which is a bi-xenon type, and some say I need D2S type, which is xenon for low beam and a 9005 halogen for high beam.
So confusing. In case you say "pull them and see what ya got" I can't do that because I have to order them by mail, and that takes a week for delivery and meanwhile I'd have NO headlight.
anyway, I will keep looking for the answer to my simple question "What type of replacement bulbs do I need?" thanks.

 

HID: High Intensity Discharge
Well considering a ballast can deliver up to 25 kV (that's 25,000 volts...(your standard outlet is 120 V, meaning about 200 x the power) in order to turn on the bulb, i'd be kind of weary to test it with a voltmeter, but be my guest If it's intermittent, it needs replacing, simple as that.

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You're thread jacking but i'll give it to you anyway.. Your 08 TL needs a D2S bulb. the TL is a bi-xenon projector headlight and only uses one bulb. The TSX (in the subforum you are in, uses two bulbs (low and high)

This place is full of great information gramps, ya just gotta know what you're looking for and make sure the information you find is applicable to your car

 

thanks; didn't realize I was jacking anything;
I was just commenting on replies made to someone with headlight issues;
I assure you I spent a LONG time doing searches here for the answer to my specific question but came up with nothing.
Yes, I was about to post a question in the TL forum ... since I do realize there's a difference.
and hopefully (fingers crossed) I WILL become a grandpa, God willing.
but meanwhile, since I'm new here on Acura forums, I'll have to cheerfully put up with smartasses like you calling me names just because you didn't like where I made my comment about ballasts.

 

the best way to search is to actually do a Google search and use the query term "site:acurazine.com" at the end to limit searches to just this site. Ex: for yours you'd type, "08 TL headlight bulb size site:acurazine.com" and you'd come out with results like this:
https://www.google.com/search?q=08+tl+headlight+bulb+site%3Aacurazine.com &oq=08+tl+headlight+bulb+site%3Aacurazine.com&aqs= chrome..69i57.6941j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
I point you to this specific thread in our Garage that has all this information: https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...-691135/page2/

Specifically this post:


best of luck to ya

I don't care about your comments about our replies to the OP because they're unfounded. Asking the OP to substitute in a working ballast is very sound troubleshooting advice. You've yet to provide something of value here and rather just jumped in asking your own question (which i answered ad nauseam)


It's the Internet, we're all entitled to our opinions, don't take them too seriously and you'll have a happy time here.

 

then maybe follow that advice, thoiboi ... and permit me to express MY opinion, even if you think it's "unfounded" like you said.
Oh, thanks for the tip about searching on Google; that will help me greatly.

 

Is it because it's too hard to change the engine air filter (you spent an hour trying to change it and got nowhere? ) or reset the maintenance required light yourself?

 

Hello,
I'm a new guy here. I just bought a '07 Acura TL for my son and as everyone knows buying a used car you're buying someone else problems. Anyway, the problem is this... the car does not have fog lights, they were removed for whatever reason unknown to me and the high intensity (high beams), both right and left do not work. Low beams are OK. My question is this... are the high beam and the fog lights part of the same circuit and that's why I have no high beam lighting? High beam fuses are OK. Thanks in advance to anyone with constructive feedback.

 

Hi Luis, the 07 TL has bi-xenon headlights so it's the same bulb and there's a projector screen that drops down to illuminate 'high beams' Facing a wall, turn on your headlights and then flick the high beam and you'll see what i mean. The middle bulb is not the high beam bulb. Are you saying that the bi-xenon functionality is not working?

Fog lights are on their own circuit and unless they did something funky, should not be affected by high beams.

 

Thanks for the super fast reply! When I activate the high beam or flash the high beam nothing happens. The low beam comes on but lacks normal intensity.

 

Also the indication on the instrument panel that I am activating the high beams come on indicating that I have done so.

 

[thoiboi] you said..."The middle bulb is not the high beam bulb". I am confused on what you mean by middle bulbe? There are two headlights on either side (left and right), meaning outer lights left and right and inner lights left and right. O O ------- O O.

 

Hello to everyone,
As I said I'm a new guy here and not sure if I am supposed to start my own thread or add to an existing one. Sorry if I am stepping on someone's toes.

 

Thanks for the super fast reply! When I activate the high beam or flash the high beam nothing happens. The low beam comes on but lacks normal intensity. Also the indication on the instrument panel that I am activating the high beams come on indicating that I have done so. You said..."The middle bulb is not the high beam bulb". I am confused on what you mean by middle bulbe? There are two headlights on either side (left and right), meaning outer lights left and right and inner lights left and right. O O ------- O O.