The HID unit on the passenger side of my 2003 CL gave up this last week. A new unit from Acura is about $400.00. Ouch. I see a lot of aftermarket kits out there, so I'm tempted to chuck the entire OEM setup on both sides while I have the car apart and install one of these kits. On the other hand, replacing somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,100.00 of OEM parts with a $100 - $200 kit sounds a little too good to be true. Does anyone have an opinion about these kits? Are they really plug and play like they claim? Are they durable? Does anyone have a recommendation for a kit they used that worked out well? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

seriously.. do a search. you're new here.

bulbs can be had online for $50/per, if yours are burnt. you may see performance differences, depending on what type and colour kelvin bulb you choose (currently the 85122+ bulbs are the best in terms of output but are D2S bulbs, that don't have a shield for the reflector housings). you can get a ricer colour too, anything other than stock would be 5000k+. the higher the bluer and higher than 8000k would be purple.

OEM ballasts are more expensive because they fit directly into the headlight. if you buy aftermarket, you'll have to either cut a hole for the new ballast or re-seal the hole where the OEM one sits on the bottom. there will be no performance benefits to an aftermarket ballast, other than possibly durability if you get a hella gen3.

 

I did the search. Few real details from what I could see. Most posts seem more concerned about what COLOR their lights will be than they are about whether the lights will work properly or last more than a week. I’ve been deep in cars and trucks for over thirty years. I got more aftermarket parts lying around my garage that turned out to be crap than I could EVER sell on eBay. Speaking of eBay, there must be at least 14 different vendors hawking their special HID conversion kit as the be all and end all for anywhere from 50 to 300 bucks.

If anyone has an HID kit that truly was a CLEAN install (no grinding new holes in your headlight housing, plugging up existing access holes with a bunch of silicone sealer, hanging boxes off the inside of the bumper, etc.), that workerd properly with the stock headlight housing (putting out the correct pattern of light without blinding oncoming drivers), and that actually lasted a while, I’d love to hear what it is and where you got it.

 

I'm in the same boat myself..OEM drivers side ballast took a shit on me and now I have to replace it. I was going to go through DDM tuning and get a kit..The reality of the situation is, there are practically no plug-n-play kits for CLers like you and I. Kaixen claims to be, I wouldn't know.

What I DO know, is that you can either shell out the $300+ for an oem ballast.
Or you could go aftermarket, and modify your existing setup. Which apparently requires cutting wires, refitting them to correct ballast/harnesses, and lastly, checking volts to make sure everything is working gravy.

Installing aftermarket HID kits on a non HID car is easy as hell. For some reason I thought this would be easier since the car CAME with them. That sir, is not the case.

 

Stay with OEM......then go talk to HID Concepts for some Phillips bulbs!

 

Headlights are important... I stuck with OEM. $325 is not much to see at night.

 

I think I'm gonna be looking for a new ballast pretty soon too... I got new bulbs in June, and one of them keeps going out every 10-15 minutes of driving... but I think the ballast caused it.

 

i had stock brain and changed the buld to 8k know i bought the kit its just a bit brighter plug n play every thing fit perfect u just gatta mount the ballast some where but i would say buy the kit u could get the kit on ebay for as low as 120 both lights

 

If you do go OEM, don't forget to throw a glob of RTV around the wires exiting the body of the ballast.

 

I agree that seeing at night is important, and that $300.00 is not too much to ask. Plus the OEM unit would bolt right to the headlight housing, seal against the nice factory o-ring in the bushing at the bottom of the headlight housing, and I wouldn't find myself back on this page trying to find out how to get water out of my headlights - BTW good tip on the RTV, Allout. I was all ready to bite the bullet and go OEM.

But I've been in comm with a guy selling a SLIM HID XENON KIT. He has been real responsive and so far the kit sounds like a winner. If I decide to go that way, I'll report back and let you all know if it works out or if it turns out to be just more aftermarket crap headed to the landfill.....

 

I personally went OEM. If you're set on going an aftermarket kit, try contacting Excellerate. He's selling the Kaixen kits and they're a quality kit for aftermarket.

https://acurazine.com/forums/sponsored-sales-group-buys-10/kaixen-hid-kit-groupbuy-330409/

 

I ended up just using a ballast from an IS300...spliced a few wires and now I can see again! Tis' a miracle!

 

im in the same boat as you, rockdoc. except i got pulled over and have until jan 09 to fix my headlight or i have pay a fine. Im debating ordering aftermarket. what did you end up discovering?

 

onese1f, did you have to cut/add any holes in the housing? how did you attach the is300 ballast under the headlight?

 

01+TL and CL should be getting pretty common place in the J/Y have you tried that route?

 

nah, not yet. It's damn cold around here.. i was preferring to shop from the comfort of my desk chair. What suggestions do you have?

After forum-troubleshooting, I am 90% sure it's the ballast. Left low beam out, continually blowing the fuse, inboard Hibeam light on. I only wanna take the bumper, etc. off ONCE.

Just had a baby, can't afford to spend a couple days makeshifting an aftermarket kit.... then again, i dont wanna shell out 325 for a oem ballast and have the right side blow next week...

there is not shortage of people reporting their problems and brainstorming out loud.. but can someone give me a testimonial to something that worked? i.e., is the is300 ballast easy to mount? anyone have any ease with the 2/3/4 gen TL ballasts? aftermarket guys.. can you weigh in?

Thanks, would appreciate any help i can get.

 

the basic difference is that OEM is better than aftermarket.

aftermarket is basically a few manufacturers in the east (china) and they are rebranded by multiple "companies" so all ebay kits ARE THE SAME. only difference is that some provide longer warranties. so don't buy into "better" ebay kits seriously. it is illegal to sell aftermarket HID kits in the U.S. and illegal to have them on a car (aka "off-road" use only). and aftermarket kits make u use aftermarket bulbs. all in all, they are fine and cheap.

oem is better but at a much high price, "making" it fit can cause a small problem since the ballast mounts on the headlights HELP sealing the headlights from fogging. you also need to find a way to mount them if the holes don't line up and seal them some how.

this obstacle is the same if u go the aftermarket route.


good luck

 

I ended up buying a new (not used) OEM ballast off EBAY for $205 delivered, took about 2 hours to install but it was my first time replacing one of these things. Beats the hell out of the $800 the dealer wanted to repair it.