Do your headlights work?

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Old Jul 22, 2006 | 03:58 PM
  #1  
4ank's Avatar
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From: Philadelphia
Do your headlights work?

03 CL-S w/ HIDs

I noticed that sometimes when I turn on my headlights, one headlight will come on and the other won't. When I turn them both off and on again, it seems to work and both come back on. This has been happening with my passenger headlight and now just started with my drivers side. Is this a bulb issue or something more?

I spoke with my Acura Service Rep who said that it could be a coverter problem (not sure what converter he was talking about) and could be the result of someone hitting the bumper. Ironcially, my step-dad did back into my car a few weeks back.

So is this truly a problem, or just a sign that the hid bulbs need to be replaced?
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Old Jul 22, 2006 | 04:54 PM
  #2  
fuzzy02CLS's Avatar
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From: South FL
Inverter problem. It's the device that converts the high voltage HID use. Bulbs either work or don't. So the problem isn't the bulbs.
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Old Jul 22, 2006 | 08:05 PM
  #3  
Zippee's Avatar
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Mine come on dim, then in a second or two to come up to full brightness.
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Old Jul 22, 2006 | 08:19 PM
  #4  
Black03CL-S's Avatar
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From: Baltimore, MD
My passenger side low beam stopped working a few weeks ago. Last week I was due for an oil change so I asked the dealer to take a look at it. I don't think the actual bulbs are covered under the warranty but I didn't know what the exact problem was, the CL is my first car with HID's. I just bought the car certified back in March. I was told the bulb was fine but the fuse was blown. Every time they replaced the fuse it just blew when turning on the lights. It turns out the inverter was shot, he said somehow moisture had gotten to it. Luckily it was covered under the warranty, but the bill for that would have been a little over $500. I hope you're still covered under warranty. Also, I'm curious how the moisture got to it.
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Old Jul 23, 2006 | 09:04 AM
  #5  
4ank's Avatar
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From: Philadelphia
This doesn't sound good guys -- I am about 150 miles out of warranty

It is not intermitent on the driver side anymore, I can't get the light to come on at all, would it be worth it to change the passenger side bulb to the driver side to see if it is merely the bulb? If so, are there any certain procedures to know before handling an HID bulb?

I did a search and this seems like I am not the only one with the problem, however, I think most people were covered under warranty.
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Old Jul 23, 2006 | 10:55 AM
  #6  
GreenMonster's Avatar
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From: Swansea, MA
Originally Posted by Zippee
Mine come on dim, then in a second or two to come up to full brightness.
That's normal... Lightbulbs need a second or two to warm up to operating temperture...

Ever see the lights at a gymnasium or ballpark power up ?? Sometimes it take 5-15 minutes for some of the older mercury lights to get to full power...

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question387.htm

designers of the headlights had to solve one problem with normal mercury vapor lamps -- the fact that they have long start-up times. Xenon helps solve the start-up problem, as does a special controller.
Xenon helps, but it doesn't completely eliminate the startup time....
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Old Jul 23, 2006 | 10:59 AM
  #7  
GreenMonster's Avatar
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From: Swansea, MA
Originally Posted by Black03CL-S
My passenger side low beam stopped working a few weeks ago.
Black03CL-S's thread is here:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181493
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Old Jul 23, 2006 | 10:40 PM
  #8  
TOPHER33884's Avatar
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From: Winter Haven, FL
ok, how about if the passenger light has a purple hue, and then one day, doesnt come on at all, no flickering or anything, it just doesnt come on.......................Wahts your opinion.
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