Hello people... has been awhile, but I have a problem w/my passenger HID and couldn't find my answer searching.

My passenger side headlight only cuts on about 1 in every 50 attempts... When it does kick on it will flicker on and off, only staying on for a few seconds... It seems once I get the motor warm and after a few minutes of driving around I can get it to stay on for the rest of my trip.

I swapped the pass and driver side bulbs today. Nothing changed so I am assuming it is the Ballast. I wanted to confirm with you guys though b/c I am not sure if the ballast was bad if the bulb would be able to remain on for long as it has on occassion. Is this most likely a ballast issue or could a short be the cause. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Same thing happened to me... Passenger headlight was just flickering then would just turn off... Got a new ballast everything is work good again...

 

From the info I gathered on other threads here are the things to check before buying a ballast:
1. Check that the fuse is not blown and has a good connection
2. Check for loose ground
3. Test (or swap) bulb)

There would be more steps but since our car has the ballast / wiring harness / igniter combo unit - the answer is to replace this combo unit.

Anyone ever look at the 06 TL ballasts? They are similar in design to ours but have a rubber cover / barrier over the main set of wires.

I think Acura knows this was a defect in design and fixed it on the 04 cars.

Anyway, I would suggest using some silicone to seal the hole and then some spray on rubber (you can get it at home depot or lowes) on top of that. If moisture is the problem (as opposed to a short in the wiring harness or other problems with the igniter) then this would prevent it.

The 06's have this extra rubber for a reason and it isn't to save money.

 

Definitely check the ground first as colemab said.

But it sounds like the exact same problem I had and it ended up being the ballast.

And unless you have money to burn you're probably going to want to find a used one on ebay. It wasn't too tough to install but taking off the bumper was a bit of work.

You can use a ballast from another car but I'd recommend getting the one from the CL so its easy to bolt up. Otherwise you'll have to do some custom mounting and possibly wiring. The 2nd gen TL ballast isn't the same as the CL ... and by looking at the picture above the 3rd gen TL is different too.


And finally - USE THE SEARCH ... there are lots of threads on this already. A little off topic but you're better off adding a comment to an existing thread on the same topic rather than making a new one. That way when people search in the future the information is all in one spot. I think most people on here check the most recent threads so you're going to get the same response from an old thread vs a new thread - just my 2 cents.

 

Some helpful threads:

DIY Ballast Replacement thread

Helms Manual Pages for Headlight thread

 

excellent info guys, I will check the ground today. Im hoping its just that considering the money im gonna blow on a ballast would be much enjoyed if spent somewhere else

 

Hey where exactly is the ground on the ballast/headlight?

 

anyone know exactly if the 2006 [3rd gen] TL ballast would fit in our CL's? and how much is it different from our OEM? would a lot of changes need to be made for fitment?

 

if it's d2s/d2r then probably. you could do some splicing. aint that hard. i believe they sell the igniter and ballast separately tho.

 

ok thanks, i've been waiting for someone to answer this. it is the d2s/d2r fitment. it is just the ballast and no igniter, but i'm guessing i'll just use the stock one from my car when i switch it out [assuming that isn't the problem of course]. i can already tell the main difference is the screw hole pattern, but thats no big issue.

 

if all else fails

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/XENON...spagenameZWDVW

 

yeah i already replaced the ballast about a month ago... that dang thing costs 240 bucks tho

 

did you get the one for the CL, and where did you find it?

i only found one for a 06 TL. its a little different. i think they'd be fine but i dont want to risk it.

 

OUCH!

 

ebay search for "acura cl ballast" there were an average of 2-5 auctions when i was looking but i lucked out and bought it used but with a 1 yr warranty... knowing our ballasts the fucker went out a week later and i got the guy on ebay to swap it for another one... that was a plus

 

Since there is no such thing as a stupid question, what is a/the ballast? What does it do? What does it look like? I'm still learning about my recently purchased CL-S this summer. I appreciate all that you guys can help with

 

Used one off of an IS300..no problems anymore! =)

 

also known as an inverter, it's the little box on the bottom of the headlight that turns on the HID/xenon bulb (carries 30000 volts at startup i believe). if you've ever see the inside of a fluorescent light fixture (under the plastic), there's a rectangular box. same idea.

they often break at this time (5-7 years) on these cars. you'll notice problems when your bulb flickers or doesn't turn on anymore. otherwise, don't worry about it.

 

you just used one off of a IS 300? plug and play??

 

like the other guys asked, where do i check for the loose ground? coz it could it also be possible when these mechanics who replaced my radiator, messed up up an electrical wire or loosened the ground wire? coz it happened after they replaced my radiator. thanks.

 

Well it's not exactly plug n play..I had to use silicone and the gasket from the orig ballast to help seal everything up and needed ties to hold the new ballast in place, but yes it can be done.

 

Where is the ground point for the headlight/ballast on the driver side? Anyone

 

It is 100% the ballast..
In the 9 years i had my car I had 3 ballasts go bad..
I got lucky last time one went bad and had a guy sell me 2 full headlights ballast/bulb/and case for $100 each so i got lucky..
Serch junk yards cuz acura wants like $300-$400 for just the ballast!

 

Did you have to mount it in a different location? And what year is300?

 

Also, is the IS300 ballast cheaper if something goes wrong?

 

Ok I have a Question, If the fuse for the headlight blows is it a bad ballast or a direct ground/no ground? The passenger light went out so I took the driver's side light out to check to see if the ballast or light was bad on the passenger side. when I put the drivers light in it didn't come on. So I put the light from the passenger in the drivers side(must have touched it) It started to come on then made a sizzle sound and went out. So I put the drivers bulb back in that side, It flickered then went out. Bought 2 new bulbs, put a new bulb in drivers side still nothing checked the fuse it was blown. replaced the fuse and blew it also. So now the car has no headlights. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I have nothing productive to add, but let me know if you need a ballast...my friend has two used ballasts that he would be willing to sell.

 

Loopey dude, sounds like our cars came off the same line at the same time! I ended up buying a new ballast/igniter and all my problems quit. I also had the fuse blow, but it seems when the ballast/igniter goes bad, it caused my fuse to blow. I got the new ballast from Delray Honda and I bought bulbs pretty reasonably on line.What I hate is having to remove the whole bumper assembly to get to everything.

 

Does your buddy still have these ballasts? I need one! Same issue with my CL-S... passenger side light is out (has been for a couple months now) after constant flickering issues.