HID bulb question...

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 18, 2009 | 11:17 PM
  #1  
javaddicted's Avatar
Thread Starter
1st Gear
 
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
HID bulb question...

how easy is it to change my passenger side HID? it just turned pink & i am pretty sure that means it is about to die. can i just change the bulb or will i need to get a whole new ballast too?

anyone have a tutorial on it?
Reply
Old Mar 19, 2009 | 07:16 AM
  #2  
gftgrill's Avatar
Racer
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 483
Likes: 1
From: Olathe, KS
the bulbs are super easy to change.

1. turn the plastic cap and remove it. (the big one with the lightning symbol on it)
2. reach in there, turn the ignitor (silver connector) and pull it off of the bulb.
3. reach in there and push the little metal "spring" towards the front of the car and they should push themselves outwards to release the bulb.
4. remove old bulb
5. put new bulb in
6. push metal "spring" towards front of car and push the ends towards each other until they get caught in the hooks on the projector.
7. line up the holes in the silver ignitor with the tabs on the bulb and push it on.
8. turn the ignitor to lock it in place
9. put safety cover back on
10. profit


before doing this, make sure that the headlights are turned off and that the key is NOT in the ignition. if you wanted to you could remove the negative terminal from the battery, but it's not necessary.

there's enough power from the ballast to seriously hurt you, but as long as it's turned off you'll be fine.

you should be able to complete the process in 5 - 10 minutes. once you've done it a few times it can be completed in under 60 seconds.

you do not have to replace the ballast (unless it's bad).
Reply
Old Mar 19, 2009 | 07:19 AM
  #3  
gftgrill's Avatar
Racer
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 483
Likes: 1
From: Olathe, KS
also forgot to mention, when you put the new bulb in, there's a 2 cut outs on it. align the bigger "square" cut out straight up. this will have it so that the brown shield on the bulb is downwards.

do not touch the glass with your bare hands.

don't force the new bulb in there as you could damage it.

just take your time and don't do anything stupid. the bulb is glass so it can easily be damaged if you're not careful.
Reply
Old Mar 20, 2009 | 08:35 PM
  #4  
odannyboi's Avatar
resident asshole
 
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 268
Likes: 0
From: chicago
Originally Posted by gftgrill
the bulbs are super easy to change.

1. turn the plastic cap and remove it. (the big one with the lightning symbol on it)
2. reach in there, turn the ignitor (silver connector) and pull it off of the bulb.
3. reach in there and push the little metal "spring" towards the front of the car and they should push themselves outwards to release the bulb.
4. remove old bulb
5. put new bulb in
6. push metal "spring" towards front of car and push the ends towards each other until they get caught in the hooks on the projector.
7. line up the holes in the silver ignitor with the tabs on the bulb and push it on.
8. turn the ignitor to lock it in place
9. put safety cover back on
10. profit


before doing this, make sure that the headlights are turned off and that the key is NOT in the ignition. if you wanted to you could remove the negative terminal from the battery, but it's not necessary.

there's enough power from the ballast to seriously hurt you, but as long as it's turned off you'll be fine.

you should be able to complete the process in 5 - 10 minutes. once you've done it a few times it can be completed in under 60 seconds.

you do not have to replace the ballast (unless it's bad).
step 10 should follow step 1
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2009 | 10:35 AM
  #5  
gftgrill's Avatar
Racer
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 483
Likes: 1
From: Olathe, KS
Originally Posted by odannyboi
step 10 should follow step 1

step 2 should really be "be happy that you don't own a 2g tsx and you don't have to pull the headlights off to replace the bulbs."
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2009 | 03:17 PM
  #6  
miked8887's Avatar
Mike D from Ohio
 
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 435
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
I was wondering about this too. The manual says that voltage can remain in the tube even after disconnection from the power. So as long as the lights are turned off on the stalk and the key is not in the ignition, it is safe... right?
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2009 | 08:47 PM
  #7  
gftgrill's Avatar
Racer
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 483
Likes: 1
From: Olathe, KS
Originally Posted by miked8887
I was wondering about this too. The manual says that voltage can remain in the tube even after disconnection from the power. So as long as the lights are turned off on the stalk and the key is not in the ignition, it is safe... right?
I've done it at least 4-5 times to test out some extra bulbs. I haven't been shocked. I haven't damaged my original bulbs. And I haven't blown out a ballast.

though when I've done this, the headlights weren't on anytime within several hours before hand.

I guess if you really want to be safe, let the car sit with everything turned off for a couple of hours before doing this.

but I play with xenon bulbs and ballasts all the time and I have yet to damage anything. Even when I test fire a ballast and I forget to connect it to a bulb and the ignitor starts sparking from the short circuit.
Reply
Old Mar 23, 2009 | 10:00 AM
  #8  
litesout's Avatar
Oliver!!!
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,962
Likes: 38
From: Orlando, FL
The posibility of an electric shock exists due to the presence of capacitors in the ballast. That's not to say that there is, but the posibility does exist. You can disconnect the negative terminal of the battery to reduce the chance of electric shock, but as long as you're careful (which you should be any time you get anywhere those bulbs, touching them is an expensive mistake) you should be fine.
Reply
Old Mar 31, 2009 | 01:06 AM
  #9  
I heart your mom!'s Avatar
6th Gear
 
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
how do you adjust the the light? like my driver side light is aimed low...
Reply
Old Mar 31, 2009 | 08:47 AM
  #10  
LuvMyTSX's Avatar
Senior Moderator
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 14,667
Likes: 13
From: NY
Originally Posted by I heart your mom!
how do you adjust the the light? like my driver side light is aimed low...
It's supposed to be like that to prevent blinding of oncoming traffic.
Reply
Old Mar 31, 2009 | 10:22 AM
  #11  
racecarbox616's Avatar
Addict
 
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 223
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburgh
The manual says:

Remove the Torx bolt using a tamper proof Torx T20 bit.

Is this a special tool? Or will a screwdriver get the job done?
Reply
Old Apr 1, 2009 | 12:59 PM
  #12  
gftgrill's Avatar
Racer
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 483
Likes: 1
From: Olathe, KS
Originally Posted by racecarbox616
The manual says:

Remove the Torx bolt using a tamper proof Torx T20 bit.

Is this a special tool? Or will a screwdriver get the job done?
you're going to need a special tool.

Torx screws are star shaped. Tamper proof Torx have a raised center so that you can't stick a screw driver in there.

you can get something like this or similar: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...0P?vName=Tools
Reply
Old Apr 1, 2009 | 04:08 PM
  #13  
racecarbox616's Avatar
Addict
 
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 223
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburgh
Just went out to the car to see what size Torx tool I would need...to my surprise, there is no Torx bolt there! The cap twist right off. Should one be there?
Reply
Old Apr 2, 2009 | 10:39 AM
  #14  
sortudo7's Avatar
Site Lurker, Rare poster
 
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 425
Likes: 2
From: VA
My 08 had one screw in the driver's side and that was a basic philips head screw. Nothing special. The passenger side didn't even have a screw there. I swapped out my headlights in general but that is what I saw when I swapped bulbs and what not. It's easy to change out the bulb.

The cap itself is a sealing cap so shouldn't need a screw there as it locks in there tight like a cap on a jar. Just use any screw if you really want to as a piece of mind.

As for the light being aimed low it depends how low. Our cars have projectors which have the cut off to not blind the on coming traffic. You can adjust the bulbs yourself using a phillips head screwdriver in the respective areas of "U D" and "L R" meaning up/down and left/right. I would suggest you get someone who knows what they're doing to do it for you if you don't know how. Also, just do this if your cutoff is extremely low. You can drive up to a wall and turn on the lights to see where it's at. It shouldn't be above the area of where a car's tail lights are. to avoid the blinding of the driver. If it is at that height then leave it alone but if the cutoff is really low you have adjust higher if you choose.
Reply
Old Apr 2, 2009 | 01:10 PM
  #15  
gftgrill's Avatar
Racer
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 483
Likes: 1
From: Olathe, KS
Originally Posted by racecarbox616
Just went out to the car to see what size Torx tool I would need...to my surprise, there is no Torx bolt there! The cap twist right off. Should one be there?
you don't have to remove any screws to access the bulb.

I bet the part you read in the manual had to do with the ballast.

those are normally held in place with torx screws, though they're normally not tamper proof.
Reply
Old Jan 24, 2011 | 11:18 AM
  #16  
TSX Isla's Avatar
4th Gear
 
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
How do you know if the ballistics is not working

Hows it going guys .New to the forum My xenon is not working and i replace the bulb and still not working Also how can you tell if the bulb is not working.Thank's
Reply
Old Jan 24, 2011 | 06:31 PM
  #17  
TSXGator's Avatar
8th Gear
 
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Test first, before buying parts.

Try replacing the good bulb with the one you're testing. If it works on the other side, it's either the ballast OR the igniter. The igniter was my problem. Both of which were close to $200 from Acura (Check with our vendors for prices.), so figure out which one you really need before buying. You'll need to take the front bumper off to get the headlights out to swap the ballasts to test.

TSXGator
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
hashbrown
4G TL (2009-2014)
37
Feb 18, 2022 11:20 AM
MilanoRedDashR
3G TL Problems & Fixes
25
Oct 8, 2015 10:30 AM
mshipon
2G CL Problems & Fixes
1
Sep 28, 2015 12:14 PM
Ratheruneeq
2G RL (2005-2012)
6
Sep 28, 2015 07:41 AM
AmplifiedDetails
3G TL Problems & Fixes
9
Sep 24, 2015 02:55 PM




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:40 AM.