Hello All, So my 2003 Acura CL 3.2 headlights won't turn on at all. I've checked all fuses and relays and done a visual inspection on the current HID bulb. Replaced with a new HID bulb and still nothing. I replaced both the ballasts and the bulbs a little over a year ago. It's not just one bulb its both and the high beams don't come on either. Has anyone had this happen before or does anyone know of any kind of fix?

 

you replaced both ballast and bulbs a year ago.

this tells us that it may be your work or the parts you replaced it with.

please, go back over your work and or trouble shoot the ballast.

 

I will double check when I get home from work. The car was garaged for a couple of days and then the lights would not turn on but parking lights, blinkers, and flashers all work. Does the ballast control both high and low beams? Would the ballast cause both to not work at all?

 

I'm unfamiliar with the CL.

if both high and low beams connect to the ballast, then I would think the ballast does control both high and low beams.

Did you use aftermarket bulbs and ballast?

 

yes aftermarket pieces for both. I haven't had any other issues with the headlights after switching to aftermarket bulbs and ballasts. Just all of sudden wouldn't turn on yesterday when I was leaving work.

 

so, then....you might have your answer.

the aftermarket ballast might have failed on you.

what brand did you buy?

 

I don't remember the exact brand off the top of my head but would both of them dying at the same exact time doesn't make much sense.

 

NO, i do not know for sure. you'll need to trouble shoot, as I cant from the land of the internet.

ballast are important.
not all ballast are made the same.
if you bought some after market ballast that doesnt have the same standards as Acura's, that could spell trouble.

but we dont know for certain, until we get in there and see what failed.

 

Fair enough, I will take them apart when I get home tonight to see what may have failed. are there any tests in particular I should do to see what may have failed with the ballast?

 

I would check continuity with a voltmeter to be sure that they still emit power.

 

I would double check your fuses first and start looking at the actual headlight switch inside the car. The high beams and low beams are 2 separate circuits and they don't share the HID ballasts. But, the high and low beams are both controlled by the headlight switch.

 

if everything went out at the same time, i would suspect a fuse or a ground issue. its highly unlikely all the ballast failed at the same time. get a volt meter and check for power at the ballast input, and work your way from there.

 

So after ordering a new headlight switch it finally arrived last night. Did not fix the problem so I decided to dig in a little bit further. I ended up taking apart the bumper and headlight housing to review the aftermarket ballast that was put in. I had a spare ballast lying around and decided to check to see if it was the ballast but that did not solve anything. Not getting any power to the ballast so now I'm lost as to where to start with the wires. Checked all fuses and relays again and none of them were blown to my knowledge. Any ideas at all as to where to start checking to narrow down the issues?

 

do parking lights work? has any custom wiring been done like extra lights or audio upgrades that might have disturbed the factory wiring.

 

Parking lights and blinkers are still working perfectly. No custom work has been done on any wiring of the car. It just was working one day and then not working the next time I turned the lights on, car sat for a couple of days without being started but that was the extent of it.

 

check your headlight fuse that is located driver side fuse box 7.5A. you can use a volt meter to see of you have power at each blade before you remove it.
Edit nevermid the 7.5A controls the auto off

 

here is a TL complete diagram for the headlights, the CL should be similar


Do your HIGH beams work?

 

I've checked all fuses and relays, no fuses blown and swapped working horn relay for others and working horn relay worked with all relay spots. Both high and low beams both do not work at all.

 

i would suggest running a piece of test wire (with an in-line fuse) from the + terminal of the battery to the + input of the ballast and see if you get light. If you do then then the issue is upstream on the power side. If you don't any light then run another test wire from the - battery terminal to the - input on the ballast and see if you get light, if you do remove the temp + power from the Ballast and see if the switch works now. try this for both ballast.