Can anyone tell me what causes the headlights to flicker in my 05 RL? I suppose it could be several things such as something being loose or the lights about to go out. Thanks

 

Most of the time, that means the bulb is about to go.

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-90/headlight-flicker-500412/
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/headlight-bulb-type-501046/
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/igniter-ballast-bulb-500985/

 

Also See the article in the August Acura Service News
http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SN/B070800.PDF

Headlight Flickering? Check for Dying HID Bulb
Revised 9/4/07

Currently Applies To: ’05–08 RLs

Got a vehicle in your shop for a flickering headlight?
Check for a dying HID bulb before doing anything
else.

To check if this is what’s happening, swap the HID
bulb with a known-good one. If the headlight shines
steadily, replace the original bulb. There’s no need to
replace an expensive HID unit.

News Flash! Your dealership will soon be sent an
HID bulb test light assembly (HID checker)
(T/N 07AAJ-S3MA100). This required special tool
lets you quickly check for a dying HID bulb without
the hassle of swapping that bulb with a known-good
one. Watch for it!

 

AFS control module needed to be replaced. Under warranty so that is good. While I was there I found out that the bulbs are $213 each! Thank goodness I didn't have to pony up for those bad boys.....

 

i bought the excelerate kaixen bulbs for 109 shipped in 1 day.
had the dealer install the bulbs today because you have to take off the front bumper AND remove each entire headlight unit in order to replace the bulb.

my flicker was confirmed as due to a dying bulb so now i'm a little lighter in the pocket but with 2 brand new 5000k lights

 

Was that for the pair? Where did you purchase them?

 

answered in my OP dude
excelerate is an acurazine authorized seller
go to the black market
109 for the pair

 

Thanks, dude. Sorry I missed it.

 

I have same problem. I think it's control unit problem. Until 06 they had two types of controller the part # are 33129-SJA-J01 and 33129-SJA-A01 but from 07 they only have 33129-SJA-J01. I think whoever equipped with 33129-SJA-A01 has problem as mine.
What do you guys think?

 

Most likely bulb, not controller
Many previous posts on the subject

 

I have the same issue but hopefully its just the bulbs!

 

I had the same issue in my 07 and the dealer replaced the flickering bulb to remedy the problem. I ended up buying a new light to replace the good bulb so the color matches. Everything has been good a year later.

 

I finally replaced my Driver side over the holiday. It was more difficult than I expected from reading other posts about how to do it. That said, the second time around, I would be able to do it more efficiently.

For me, the most difficult part was getting the replacement bulb into the hole. The bracket that holds the light assembly is in the way of getting your hand back there while holding the bulb. I was going to practice with the old bulb, but I dropped the bulb on first attempt and could not retrieve.
Lesson learned: stuff rags under light assembly to block bulb from falling if you drop it.
The other thing I noticed is that after putting bulb in and repositioning the spring clip as well as reattaching igniter, the bulb is not "solid" in its location, i.e., you can wiggle the igniter/bulb from behind. I did not pay attention when removing, so I was not sure if this was normal or I did not have bulb correctly installed. However, while driving, there is not noticeable movement even when goign over bumps.

The other complication I had was that the replacement bulbs I ordered online were not the right ones. I brought the bulbs on my Thanksgiving trip thinking I would have time Friday to replace. Got the old bulb out and it was obvious I had the wrong replacements. At this point, too late to reorder online.
I was out of town, so called the closest Dealer. They do not carry as a stock item. They quoted $226. for one bulb.
Called local Napa parts and they said they could get overnight for Saturday pick up.
Cost = $79. for one bulb.
That was only option, so got the bulb and replaced Saturday.

So, the price range is:
Dealer $226 per bulb
Napa $79 per bulb
Online (various sources) ~$40 for 2 bulbs

 

How did you get the old bulb out???


QUOTE=getakey;13388679]I finally replaced my Driver side over the holiday. It was more difficult than I expected from reading other posts about how todo it. That said, the second time around, I would be able to do it
more efficiently

For me, the most difficult part was getting the replacement bulb into the hole. The bracket that holds the light assembly is in the way of getting your hand back there while holding the bulb. I was going to practice with the old bulb, but I dropped the bulb on first attempt and could not retrieve.
Lesson learned: stuff rags under light assembly to block bulb from falling if you drop it.
The other thing I noticed is that after putting bulb in and repositioning the spring clip as well as reattaching igniter, the bulb is not "solid" in its location, i.e., you can wiggle the igniter/bulb from behind. I did not pay attention when removing, so I was not sure if this was normal or I did not have bulb correctly installed. However, while driving, there is not noticeable movement even when goign over bumps.

The other complication I had was that the replacement bulbs I ordered online were not the right ones. I brought the bulbs on my Thanksgiving trip thinking I would have time Friday to replace. Got the old bulb out and it was obvious I had the wrong replacements. At this point, too late to reorder online.
I was out of town, so called the closest Dealer. They do not carry as a stock item. They quoted $226. for one bulb.
Called local Napa parts and they said they could get overnight for Saturday pick up.
Cost = $79. for one bulb.
That was only option, so got the bulb and replaced Saturday.

So, the price range is:
Dealer $226 per bulb
Napa $79 per bulb
Online (various sources) ~$40 for 2 bulbs[/QUOTE]

 

hard to explain the problem of holding onto the bulb to put it in there versus pulling it out, but it is more difficult. Also, on the old bulb I was not concerned with touching the glass part of the bulb whereas on the new one, that's a no no

 

I bought the bulb from an online dealership. Took it to the local dealership, and they installed it for $40. Worth it to save the aggravation.

 

My Dealer wanted over $100 in labor to change it. They insist bumper has to be removed.
I would have let them do it for $40.

In Bolivia? No wonder it was cheap.

 

^ Look at the flag in his avi. That is where he is. Like db22, you can't take anything he says seriously. Well, maybe this post you can, but his default text should be perma red and he should have to change it to black when he is serious.

I don't understand why the dealer thinks or wants to drop the from bumper. It will get you nowhere unless you are pulling the whole light assembly out. Move the battery and it is right there. The passenger side can be tight.

 

My understanding is that they do pull the whole assembly out.
"Move the battery and it is right there" - well I guess you could say that, but I found the job somewhat difficult as stated above. It would be much easier if the air intake was not there.

On passenger side, I don't see how you can do it without removing the wiper fluid filler pipe.

 

My saga continues. I had purchsaed what I thought was the replacement bulb online, but they sent the High Beam bulbs. No where on the site did it state high beams. Plus, the site stated "Sold Individually" and the price was $40., so I assumed it was the HID bulb.
I have a Return Authorization, but they will not refund the shipping.

 

the passenger one was the easiest. remove the black plastic cover above the fender (it goes around the wiper fluid filler lid). the wiper fluid filler neck comes off - you need to remove the mounting clip, a wiring harness clip and the washer line snakes thru it, too. now look up inside the open cavity and you'll see the round cover of the headlight housing (it has a yellow sticker and is about 4" in diameter). it unscrews (i used a couple of "taps" on a flat blade screw driver that was against one of the tabs) and exposes the igniter (silver box about 1"). turn the igniter about a quarter of a turn and it will come off of the back of the bulb.

the bulb has a metal brakcet with two metal tabs holding it in place. this was probably the hardest part...on the top of the metal brkt there are two tabs (loops) that are locked into place. feel around and you'll know what i mean. i did the driver's side first so i already knew what i was looking for on this side. the loops need to be pushed together and slightly towards the front of the car. once they are released the brkt will pivot towards the engine and swing down to let the bulb fall out. make sure none of the metal straps from the ingiter get in the way (that was by far the most difficult part).

once i had the old bulb out, i practiced a couple of times putting it back into place (i didn't use the clips) to make sure i was familar with the orientation of the bulb placement. look at the bulb and you'll notice it is "keyed" (so it only goes in one way). the two small notches on the bulb housing face upward.

that's it! my local dealer quoted me $276 each side for the bulb and labor...i saved $430 doing both myself

 

I replaced the driver side
What do you mean by you did not use the clips?

 

when i was practicing installing the old bulb, i didn't snap the clips into place. just was checking that i could put the bulb in correclty.

once i installed the new bulb, i certainly snapped the clips into place.

 

got it
on passenger side, how does the wiper fill tube come out?

 

yikes, it's been many months since i did this. i'll look tomorrow, but i remember it being very easy

 

ok, no problem
I took a quick look at it when I was doing the driver side
I thought there was a bracket holding the fill tube on

 

Ok so I just bought my 05 RL last night. One of the things I noticed in night driving with HIDs on was not a flicker per se, but just looked like the lights were shaking on the very far left and right of the cutoff line when I would hit bumps etc.

Could this be a bulb issue or just typical of these HIDs?

 

Need more details. What about the middle of the cutoff? Both lights?

 

Middle is fine. Both lights shake. As far as the cutoff, seems more left side than right.

http://www.turntableteknicianz.com/c...D/DSC05817.JPG

Just a pic of HIDs I stole off the net for an example: If you were to look slightly off screen to both sides of the picture thats where the cutoff naturally starts to dim and thats where it shakes the most. Hard to explain without a vid unfortunately.

 

are you sober

 

I am drunk on luxury.

PS: My last ride was a 99 escort with 200k.

PPS: Ill take a vid of this over the weekend.

 

I was going to guess a loose bulb or socket, but that would probably affect the center too.

 

Reviving thread for reoccurring theme...

Both HIDs were flickering, mostly on turns and bumps. I finally decided to replace the bulbs and purchased Philips Ultinon bulbs. I am happy with the color, brightness and focus (and a fraction of what the dealer would charge for OEM bulbs).

However, just after turning the lights on, I can see the 'warm up' glow on the garage wall, then each one flickers once. This occurs 2-3 seconds after turned on. After that there is no flickering.

My question is: Is a single flicker on warm up normal / in tolerance? Or perhaps this is also a ballast issue? I have an extended warranty will cover ballasts, but not bulbs. Hence my first step was to replace bulbs. I want to do my research before reporting to my service adviser, as I had to pay for the bulb installations and would request partial compensation should a warranty ballast replacement be necessary.

 

Thought I would write up my experience in correcting headlight flicker on a 2006 RL with 83k miles. Hope this helps someone. Flickering only started in the last 1000 miles.

After doing a lot of research on this website, I bought two Philips D2S 3400K HID bulbs on eBay. Total was $74 shipped.

I went to my independent mechanic with tips from various DIYs I read about on this website ( moving the battery, removing the washer bottle to gain access to each side). He figured the easiest way was to remove the front wheels, open up the wheel well and replace the HID bulbs with the car up on the rack. Total labor $65 including tax.

So my all in cost was about $140. Currently no flicker observed.

Not paying dealer price for bulbs - excellent
Not paying dealer labor for removing the front bumper just to replace two bulbs - priceless

Happy so far - it has been three days.

BTW - similar experience replacing fog lamp bulbs on my convertible - another independent mechanic opened up the wheel well with the car on the rack.