This is my first post, so I am searching for help. I have asked 2 Acura technicians who are still not completely sure so I ask you all for some help. I own a 2001 Acura CL-S. I had slight condensation in my passenger side headlight which lead to the headlight going out. The wierd part is, all of a sudden my high beams have turned into some kind of day-time running lights!? I have owned 2 CL's and never once seen the high beams turn into daytime running lights.

So, if the headlights are on, passenger side is out but both high beams are on low running light style. If I turn on the high beams, the driver side will turn onto high beam leaving the passenger side out. After some troubleshooting, we confirmed that every time I turn on the headlight I pop the 20 amp fuse for the passenger headlight. I swapped bulbs around as well to make sure it was not the bulbs. I am thinking it is the ballast. Can anyone offer some insight?

My last question, is it possible to purchase a brand new OEM kit such as Phillips d2r and replace the entire headlight system. My mechanics cost on the single ballast is $300 and I just can't justify spending that with the possibility of the other going at some point soon. Does anyone have any thought on just installing an entirely new HID system?

I appreciate any information you can offer.

 

You can purchase a used ballast try searching car-part.com you should be able to find one for a lot less.

 

Damn I just posted that exact same problem in the general section! I was thinking it was the ballast too. Odd that the ballast would cause a problem such as this, but who knows. I'm stuck right now with just one working...

 

Dave,
Thanks for replying. I tracked down your other post and it was exactly the same problem. I spent time researching ballasts and ended up purchasing brand new OEM Matsushita ballast set with harness/ignitor and a set of genuine Phillips 6000k bulbs for $215. I am replacing this weekend and I was glad to hear that it resolved your situation.

 

Glad to help! Sorry I forgot about this post or I would have come back to post the fix, lol.

 

The headlights on these cars are a f**** nightmare! I'm having the exact same problem as the original post in this thread. At night I'm down to just one highbeam (drivers side). Why does this happen? Where in the car are the low and high beams tied together?

And, another question, I was told that we could just pop in regular 12v bulbs, bypassing the ballast altogether. I tried it with no luck. The bright lights went into that running light mode like you described. And I measured the voltage at the low beam bulb and it was only 5.4v (with the bulb disconnected it was 12.4v). Without replacing the ballasts, is there another solution??

Lastly, does any of this have anything to do with the car's computer?

 

Where did you purchase the replacement HID lighting system?

 

a word of advice..

don't turn on ur lights unless it's night time and u need them,

most ppl turn them on each time they drive the car which is stupid really since we have DRL anyways. IE most people turn them one 4 times and only need to use them once really.

my headlight bulbs have not even had to have been replaced

 

DRL available for Canadian models only I believe, at least the 03's, and considering HID bulbs have a 2-4X longer lifespan than halogen lamps.

I don't see anything with leaving them on during the day, not that I do or anything

 

I have the same situation before where the high beam automatically turned on to low light output. I discovered that my ballast went haywire & blew the fuse. Once the fuse was blown, somehow the high beam light turned on to low output.

I found the easiest way to replace the ballast is to get an aftermarket one like Morimoto Three Five Ballast for $55. Sold by www.theretrofitsource.com; Forget about getting the original ballast made by Stanley since they are way over priced at $300+ & it is a royal PITA to remove the bumper to get to it.

My solution is simply to cut a slot wide enough (cut from the threaded area to the back cap) in the HID bulb rear cap to allow the HID wire to slip through. Route the wire through this slot you just made, & put some GE silicone to seal it. Before applying silicone, check to make sure u have enough wire to assemble the red connector to the bulb & there is enough wire slack for u to twist the cap. And enough wire to where you want to mount the ballast unit.

After all the assembly is done, replace the blown 20A fuse.

Turn the light on, sit back & laugh at the dealer who wanted $850 to replace the ballast.

 

I have an extra oem ballast that I no longer need if anyone is interested..$100 shipped

 

Hi. I have a 01 CLS. The drivers side low beam stopped working severakl months ago. Bought a bulb and replaced it, still no low beam. After finding out about the ballast, removing the bumper, etc. I decided on going aftermarket. Several suggested staying with the 55W
IS there an advantage to the 55W over the 35W? I am trying to decide which supplier to use. Thanks for any info you can pass on.
Joe.C

 

From one of the tech guys from theretrofitsource.com:
A 55W ballast will run hotter than the 35W ballast. HID bulb's life expectancy will be shorter than a 35W bulb.

 

The thread below has alot of good information within it:

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-cl-2001-2003-50/inverter-hid-low-beam-available-after-market-788745/

 

I had to remove the bumper to remove the headlight assembly to remove the ballast. I went ahead and bought a new OEM balast & bulb online from an Atlanta Acura dealer- still much less than the local Acura dealer. I knew the ballast was bad because it blew the fuse.
I don't know if it was designed to do it on purpose or not.
But, I was glad the high beam "took over" headlight duties from the HID light.
Why? Because I passed a highway patrol without getting pulled over when one side of my HID headlights quit working. I would have been pulled over & received a warning at a minimum if the high beam didn't do it's thing.

 

what kind of bulbs do our cls have are they ds2's or or H! i have no idea let me know

 

I know this was a couple years ago.. but im having thesame problem alot of peopel are on this post .. teh HID low beams dont work .. and i think i need a new Ballast...

do you still have yours available ??? or did you sell it .

Kevin -
972-333-0899
Dalas TX