One of my headlights (low beam) went out recently. All other lights still work just fine. I tried swapping the bulbs and it still didn't work with a known good bulb. It looks like I'll need to take it into the stealership for a test of the lighting system and insane quote to fix.

I've done some looking around for the pricing on the lighting components but it seems like there's no common naming convention for the parts that make up the headlight (e.g. ballast, high intensity discharge inverter, etc).

My question is this: aside from the low beam bulb, what are the parts & most importantly what are the OEM part numbers for the more expensive components that make up the headlight?

Thank you in advance. It will make a huge difference if I walk into the stealership knowing a little something about topic at hand!

 

Your ballast went out. Dont bother taking it to the dealer as they will try to charge you $300 at the absolute minimum.

You can pick up used OEM ballasts for pretty cheap and the install is relatively straight forward. Or you can save alot of money and pick up an aftermarket HID kit (www.ddmtuning.com is one company) and use those ballasts. Its simple enough to wire in.

 

2003 CL TypeS. My passenger side headlight has had condensation issues, and now my the headlights are 'shorting out', it still works fine sometimes and sometimes flickers and goes out. My local dealer wants way too much $$$$ to replace. I can find the stock parts (headlight unit, inverter unit, HID system) cheaper on-line, so just wondering how easy it is to replace it yourself? Also, since the HID bulb isn't completely out do I need to replace it?

 

you'll need to swap the bulbs so that you know if its the bulb that needs to be replaced or the ballast.
As for replacing either, you'll need to remove the headlight which involves removing the bumper. All you need are simple hand tools and you can do it.

 

My 2002 CL has developed the same problem. Apparently, the ballast (called Inverter in the parts documentation) is going out. My dealer wants $450 for the ballast and $130 for a low-beam bulb. I have seen online that you can get a bulb for about $80 and the ballast for $330. Still way too expensive though.

 

Search the forum for the aftermarket HID kit DIY. You'll save $370.

 

Hello, I have an Acura 2001 CL Type S. I went to Auto Zone and they quoted me $130 for one light. Ebay is showing 2 lights for way cheaper with this description:(2) 01-03 Acura CL Headlight Bulbs Xenon Halogen HID and I just need to figure out if this will work on my car. Can someone help me figure out exactly what I'm looking for? I know I need low beam but I'm not sure if there is a difference between Xenon and Xenon High Intensity. Also, I was going to ask my dad to replace it but someone mentioned to him that its really high voltage and they recommended I take it a shop. Thanks so much!

 

It sounds like you are looking at the bulb. Swap the bulbs and see if the same light is out. If it is, you have a dead ballast, not a bulb.

 

Check the fuse before you change the bulb, more than likely if the fuse (separate left and right) is bad the ballast is shorted. I replaced my ballast for under 100 bucks with a good ballast.

 

The bulb is most likley a xenon bulb. They use a high-voltage ballast (inverter) to step up the voltage to excite the bulb. The bulbs are about $130 at the dealer, but I've seen them for like $80 at napa auto parts. The inverter is another story. My dealer wants $450 for the inverter. To replace the inverter, the entire headlight cluster must be removed from the car which involves dropping part of the bumper. The same is true for the bulb which is held in place by a cover with tamper proof torx screws (a tool that you might not own.)