agupta3224

Hi guys,
I am new here but Acura fan. I just bought 2005 RL for my wife. The car is great and drives good. My main issue is the headlights. Here is the problem:

The headlights flicker, and every once in a while one of them will turn off. If I turn them off and back on, they both work fine.

After some research on this site, I found what could be wrong with it:

1. bad bulbs.
2. bad ballasts.
3. bad grounding.

I have already ordered the bulbs. And I can replace them. Hopefully it is not the ballasts. I am thinking it is bad ground.

After all the research I was not able to find where to locate the ground wire.

If any one can help please, I would appreciate it. If any one can post a pic or email me at agupta3224@gmail.com where to find the ground wire and/or any other solutions please let me know.

I really hope someone can help me.

Thank you in advance.

db22

This is a common problem and 99% of the time it's the bulbs. 0.0001% of the time it's a ground. Change the bulbs and get back to us.

253RL

^word! Headlight went bad doesnt automatically mean its a grounding issue.. Hids go all the time!!

DiabloSVRacer

its soo common for bulbs to go bad in the acura rl headlight! i think they don't hold on very tight in the headlight cause when i have a bad bulb and hit a bump that bulb goes off. i feel like i change them out every 6 months.

oo7spy

A headlight bulb is a wear and tear item. Their life is limited to a finite period of time. Every bulb in every car ever made (besides maybe Adolphe Chailet's car) will burn out at some point if it is not broken first. Philips D2S bulbs are rated for 3,000-5,000 hours of life.

A 2005 bulb burning out 7 years later should not be a surprise to anyone.

db22

The hour rating is not as important as the number of strikes it will tolerate before the anode is too poluted to sustain an arc. They will never give you that number because not many people know what it means, everybody thinks that the number of hours is useful. An HID, if left on, will work for thousands of hours. If you only run it tor 5 minutes and turn it off and back on again before it is cold the total number of lifetime hours will be severely diminished.

oo7spy

Is an HID bulb designed that much different than an incandescent? The Mythbusters disproved that theory on incandescents.

db22

An HID does not have a filament it relies on an arc through xenon gas to transfer electricity into light. To initiate the arc, at least in the case of D2S, it requires approximately 18000 volts to strike. Sustaining voltage is substantially lower and the arc in your local theaters projector may require in excess of 28000 volts to strike.

EL19

iTrader: (4)

Hes right oo7. Turning them on and off repeatedly (one of the reasons I dont keep mine on when I turn the car off and dont keep my lights on auto {especially through tunnels}] shortens the life of the bulb

oo7spy

agupta3224

Thank you guys. Waiting for the bulbs to come in. I will get back to you once they are installed. Thanks again.

agupta3224

Thank you guys for the help. Replaced the bulbs and the issue is solved.
Replaced the bulbs with Phillips D2S 35W (Made in Germany). Cost $82 for the pair on ebay. As per many suggestions here, I did not drop the bumper.
Driver side: Removed battery tie downs and the CAI. Removed the plastic cover. Hardest part was the clips. After about 30 minutes I gave up. Then had my wife take them off (her hands are thinner and she was able to take them off one at a time).
Passenger side: Removed the Window Washer fill tube, the plastic cover and then had the wife take off the clips.

After two weeks of driving the lights are working good.