Obviously, I feel ripped off by the dealer -but I needed to switch the bulb out ASAP as I am roadtripping this weekend. Curious if there are better options?!

(dealer charged me $220/OEM bulb and $90 for labor).

 

smh

 

What year and model acura do you drive?
parts@goodsonacura.com
-ray

 

x1,000,000

You got jacked for about $250. Nicely done.

 

ah man that is really sad that the dealer does that. You can replace your bulbs in 5 min or less depending on your experience. A new HID set including ballasts and bulbs wouldn't even be close to that price. I got my bulbs and ballasts for 60.00 bucks from HIDXTRA on this website.

 

whats smh?

 

shake my head.

 

$300 ? Really ? Well if this is true, you will know better the next time . . . . . we hope.

 

Do you have to replace the ballast with the bulb when you change it out? I wonder what the shop flag time is on that job? $90 sounds like it is less than an hour. The bulb is waaaay over priced IMHO.

 

I recall my dealer quoting 120 for bulb and 180 for labor. I ended up getting it free, so I don't have the invoice. They said they have to take the bumper off - that's why labor cost is high.
I know that there are threads here on how to do it without removing bumper

 

$300 for a bulb??? thgat sounds crazy... but on these cars anything can be $$$$.....

i can't imagine Acura would design the car so that you need to remove the bummper to replace a BULB.....

they do charger some BS fees though.. when my car was in for it's last service, one of the items to change out was hte pollen filter... i told my wife to get the part, but NOT let them install it if there was ANY labor charge... they told my wife that they labor charge was $50.... there was another charge to install the air filter... i think it was another $50... craziness... I just bought the OEM parts and had them knock off the $100 in labor and I put them in myself... i did it all in like 30 minutes.. that was including getting my beer from the fridge before I started...

that kkind of stuff is what the dealer makes their easy money on.. $50 to put in a pollen filter... $hit..the dealers bimbo receptionist coudl do it...

 

My dealer quoted me $276/ea bulb installed. I bought both OEM bulbs on Amazon and had them shipped to me on Saturday...for $130 total.

 

the bulb can be had, for bout $60 via amazon and the install takes less than 5 minutes if you know what you're doing. No bumper removal necessary.

Better luck next time.

 

First off, thanks for the replies. I have an '05 RL. Acura Dealer charged me over $200 for the bulb, Autozone would have been $180. I am not aware of removing the bumper, however there is a chassis which needs to be removed under the hood in order to access the headlights. $90 labor was indicated for ~1 hour labor.

Few Questions:
1. What is the make/model for the OEM headlights which I can find on Ebay or Amazon for future reference.

2. For those of you with experience installing HID headlights on Acura RL, what were the steps involved in replacement the headlight? I find it hard to believe that the dealer spent 1 hour on something I could've done in 5 mins (then again, who knows what the dealer actually spent in labor time...)

Thanks in advance, folks.

 

How do you replace the bulbs? How do you know if there is something wrong with the bulb or the ballast? The fog light does come on intermittently but the headlight flicks on and goes off immediately.

 

No experience with the RL HID setup, but with HID's this could either be a sign of the ballast going out or the bulb is going to blow. If you want to test it just pull the bulb out from the working side and plug it in to the ballast to see if it ignites when you turn them on. If it does the same thing then your ballast could be going out. If it ignites then you are golden. Another thing to check would be all of the wiring going into the ballast. A loose ground will do that to you as well.

 

Also, changing the bulbs is typically explained in the owners manual. If not, search for a DIY online and it will save you tons of money from getting ripped at the dealers. You could also look under the hood and get a good idea of how to do it yourself. There is typically a rubber dust cover on the back of the headlight. Once removed all you have to do is unplug the wires, unclip the bulb and pull it out. Repeat the process in reverse making sure that you don't let the new bulb come in contact with your skin or the car where grease or oil may be and then your set. Sometimes removal of a few parts will be necessary as Hondas and Acuras tend to have some pretty cramped engine bays.

 

I replaced both my HID lights last week, it's less than 30 min worth of work if you know what you're doing.

If you don't know...then you'll spend a bit more time and be ready for some scrapes as it's a bit of a tighter fit on the 2G RL's vs 2.5G

 

Ok, driving home tonight and noticed in the reflection off the trunk in front of me that my passenger headlight is out, sucks. After reading the above posts I feel I'm in the right spot but could I plead for one of you to give a quick explanation of the replacement process? What's absolutely necessary to remove to access the bulbs, etc...? Any help appreciated, thanks.

 

remove round plastic cap (21), untwist the power socket from the bulb (33). The bulb (15) is held by a V shaped thingy (13) that needs to be pushed back and to the side on each side. After that you just lower it and pull the bulb out.

A good visual can be had on a diagram...Assuming you can fit your hand in

 

wow you seriously got jacked. I can get a pair of those bulbs for 90 new. Labor is free. lol It takes the tech 10 mins to do but they still gotta charge ya the hour rate.

 

I think you just replied to a 14 month old post...

 

^ damn it its 037 Fault!!! tricked me agian

 

I was replying to a recent post...

 

05 rls require the bumper to be removed

 

negative ghost rider... its easier but not required.

Nice thread revival.

 

I can get you a pair of CBI for less then 200. lol

 

how does the wire clip (#13 in diagram above) fasten onto the bulb?
I took it apart but don't see how it snaps it in place?

 

the dealer should've charged 500 i mean why not people will pay it

 

I got jacked by dealer the first time but not after. $60.00 bulb and 5 min 10 mins on battery side.

 

Any comments that would help in assuaging my fears about the warning label that says 24000 volts can kill you? I'm all for saving a buck but i want to be around for my kids.

If I can pull the Xenon bulb out of the ballast tube from behind i'm going to go for it. ('07 MDX.)

Sorry for tagging on a very old post, but responders seem to be the right people to answer that kind of question

 

I recommend doing the job with the headlights turned off. If you are overly concerned, disconnect the battery.

I'm sure few of us here are familiar with the MDX, but almost every car can be accessed from behind the assembly. In some of the more compact designs this requires going in through the wheel well liner, but that is doubtful on the MDX.

 

Noted, and touche'. If they didn't want me to change it that way, they shouldn't made the cap removable. We'll see how it goes.

 

I am currently looking for a ballast for my Acura 3.2 TL 2003. All places I look on the inter-web it is somewhere between 150 $ - 250 $ U.S - just for the ballast.

So I went an bought a new kit for around $100.00 - however for some reason one the garages nearby my place mentioned that they would not fix the new kit since it involves some re-wiring.


It does appear that replacing the one ballast that is defective alone is probably easier than replacing the both HID light assemblies with the aftermarket HID kit.

Would appreciate if folks can point out if there is a DIY somewhere for fixing an aftermarket HID kit here in these forums.

Cheers,
-S

 

go to theretrofitsource.com . You can fix it yourself its like 3 screws holding the ballast onto the headlight. Might as well change both its 160 new for a pair

 

To go aftermarket you would have to rewire the HID to accept the 9006 plug found on most ballast.

 

That warning sticker made me stop. I don't think disconnecting the battery has anything to do with it because it's not the one providing 24,000 volts, it's the capacitor in the HID unit. Unless you know how to discharge a capacitor, it would probably still have 23,999 volts in 10 years in it. Anyway, here I go removing it. If I come back and post another one, you know I lived because I can't find instructions on where this stupid capacitor is in the unit and how to discharge it.

 

Lol. That's not how it works.

 

Phew 007, thank the lord it doesn't work that way. I am living proof OR I just got lucky and you have no clue what you are talking about. Enlighten us dear genius as to how it does work so I can roll on the floor and laugh with you. Anyway, I have a 2006 RL and here's what I did. I can't believe I couldn't find this documented anywhere, including here.


First, the bulbs (which is documented here). I bough the Philips ones from Amazon.

Philips D2S Xenon HID Headlight Bulb, Pack of 2. They are around $85 at the time of this writing. My bulbs indicated Made in Germany which probably doesn't mean anything these days except that the quality control is better and you don't get rejects. These are 4300K bulbs and from what I can tell, they look stock and I like things the way Acura's nature intended.


My passenger side was pink while the driver's side was flashing, dimming, blinking, the usual symptoms. I did the passenger side first but know that the driver's side gives you more visibility so if you want to see the clips which are holding the bulbs, start with the driver's side first. I did not remove the bumper.


Passenger side, get rid of all the plastic. Watch the video which shows you how to remove everything tell you get to the cap with the 24,000 volt warning label on it. http://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/20...ghts/headlight


Once you get the cap off, you have to remove the connector. It's a short twist CCW and now you are at the bulb connector. Look at the new bulb to see what you are dealing with. It is held in place with a V clip which terminate into two circles at the top on both sides of the bulb. You have to pry the left away from the bulb and towards you on both sides (it snaps out). The bulb can now be removed. Wear gloves or don't touch the new bulb when inserting it into the assembly. Pry the V clip on both sides to hold the bulb in place. Replace the connector, put the cap back on and count your lucky stars you didn't kill yourself. Honestly, I don't know what the fuss was all about but do be careful and don't go prying any more than you have to. Also, save the bulb, it can be used to discharge a capacitor quickly if you ever need to do so one day.


By the way, I did disconnect the battery, fwiw and for good measure. Make sure you have your radio and Nav codes handy else the car will think you are a guest.


As for driver's side, remove all plastic crap. In my case, I also removed the battery and the air filter tray completely (including two hoses). While I was at it, the filter looked gummy so I ran to Autozone and took care of it too. Rinse, repeat.


Hope this helps someone.

 

First, I can tell you are intelligent enough to act stupid for humor. I got a few good chuckles out of your joke, but not everyone on the interwebz is as keen as we are. Hence the clarification provided.

I will admit that I am not familiar with ballasts or ballast ignitors. However, I'll take a shot. The conservation of energy law requires that energy cannot be created or destroyed. The only energy source in a car without a running engine is the battery which is capable of 500-800 amps @ ~7 volts. That is mostly irrelevant since the headlight circuit runs at a maximum 12V and 15A (fused). Since electrical energy is volts * amps * seconds, over a constant time, volts and amps are inversely proportional to conserve energy. That means that if you are going to go from 12V @ 15A to 24,000V, you can't get more than 7.5 mA of current from the ballast ignitor. Considering that it takes 20 mA to stop your heart, we could stop the conversation there.

BUT, it should be noted that the circuit is powered through a relay that is controlled by the switch on the stalk. With the switch off, the circuit has no power. With the switch on and the battery disconnected, the circuit still has no power.

Furthermore, if the circuit was powered (at which point, you deserve a good wake up ) the ballast ignitor only supplies 24,000 volts momentarily to ignite the gas inside the bulb so the salts inside can form a plasma to maintain the arc. Once the arc is established, the ballast only supplies 120V. Thus, for you to see 24,000V at your index finger, you would have to be holding the ignitor terminals while your "friend" turned the system on (remember the well deserved wake up?). At this point, it is worth mentioning that the 120V COULD be capable of supplying 1.5A which could certainly be deadly in a perfect system and highlights that the steady state of the system is much more dangerous than the transient state. However, humans are not really that conductive, and when coupled with your rubber soles and concrete garage floor, you will have a really tough time getting the juice you need to be non-living proof that Acura techs are the only ones capable of changing a headlight.

Now, all of this is about why you shouldn't be worried and not how the ballast ignitor works. IIUC, the design of the ballast and the ballast ignitor is built around the principles of inductors but I will admit your fear of capacitors is not ill-advised. There is at least one capacitor in the system . Some ballast ignitors are built using an LC resonator and an inductor to boost the supply voltage. When you supply the circuit with a pulse wave, the resonator will oscillate its output. The voltage across and inductor is equal to L*dI/dt. If we supply the inductor with the alternating current from the resonator, we will have some dI/dt which when added to the supply will boost the voltage. The faster the current alternates, the more boost and voltage will be supplied, but the current will be limited by the inductor impedance since ZL = jwL. This goes back to the energy conservation law. I was unable simulate a simple system that will boost 12V to 24,000V (I achieved 24V with 2 inductors and a capacitor), but I'm sure a more complex ladder can achieve it. In any case, the capacitor is in parallel to the load (the bulb in this case), so when the circuit is turned off, the charge on the capacitor will discharge as quickly as the bulb turns off, and your precious digits (along with your ticker) will be just fine.