Hey everyone,

So I'm going to replace all the bulbs in the front of my 03 TL-S and the ballasts on both sides of the car. I've been looking around at Ebay and a few other sites people have recommended here for ballasts.

First question. For aftermarket Ballasts, they dont seem to have the bolt pattern of an OEM, how will I mount the aftermarket one? The OEM has 3 bolts it seems from pictures (I haven't taken mine out yet). Also, how much would you expect to pay for the aftermarket HID kit? Do I need a harness kit or not? (I've been looking at the ddm tuning ones and I'm not sure what options to add if I need to add any).

Now regarding bulbs. On ebay I found a seller that seems to have a good rating. philipsxenon is the seller, I can't post links yet on the forum. He sells Phillips OEM bulbs and these german technology ones were are about 20 dollars cheaper for the pair. Should I just stick with the phillips? Or has anyone tried these so called german engineered ones?

Thanks for any info!

 

whats the name of the german ones? kaixen? thats actually S. korean made by a leader in lighting research

why do you want to replace everything--are the ballast fried from water dripping down from inside a leaking lens seal to headlight housing?

places like hidextra have complete kits with harness you can splice in as needed.
have to locate ballast on frame somewhere

color of bulbs 4300k stock 5000k more blue-good choice, 6000k more blue and less white on road to see with,,really bad on dark roads (i have them)
stick with 5k max

for a few dollars differance I go with the azine sponsor- they pay big bucks to make this site free for all of us

 

I haven't noticed any water at all in the housing. BUt I haven't been able to find a definite answer regarding whether the ballast is done, or just the bulb. Right now, I would say the lights will come on about 20% of the time, the rest of the time nothing. This is why I'm not sure if its a ballast problem or bulb.

I figured if I was going to take off the bumper and the front lights, might as well do all the small signal lights as well while I'm there but we'll see.

I'm thinking of going with those Kaixen brand actually, from excellerate. I am just waiting on a response to my email regarding shipping to Canada.

Another reason I was going with the whole HID kit is that I dont want to buy the bulbs, then put them in and find that they dont work cause its really the ballast. It was more to save time for me.

 

swap the bulbs left to right and see if its the same

also point car at a wall and turn lights on- any sign of pink to the lights at startup is a death warning

we all are due for new bulbs by now,,one fails and the other follows

 

Switching the bulbs wont do anything as both are having the same problems. I called my local acura dealership and just asked them if there is anyway for them to determine which is the problem without just doing a swap and try and they said they had a test (wouldn't tell me what it is though), and its 65 dollars so I'm just going to take it in on thursday and see how that goes. Hopefully its just a bulb issue

 

if they are not having IDENTICAL problems then swapping will work
you want to see if one ballast is weak

call an auto electrical place and ask about diagnosis there

dealers want to replace ALL the parts- that way the problem will be fixed...,most of the time
got an engine miss? codes say multi cyl misfire--it must need 6 coils!!!
get the picture???

 

No I understand, but I told the guy on the phone I only want a diagnosis and no other work done. He said they dont do any work unless they talk to me and once I find out the problem I told him I will be doing it myself and he said its fine not a problem lol.

And the problems are identical on both sides.

 

were you speaking with a service writer? or the schedule desk girl?
they make their living ~telling stories~ anything you want to hear to get the car in the door
While the dealer will have good techs- they can also decide the half hour quoted for diagnostic isnt enough- they need more time! surprise
how do I know---take a guess what i used to do and how I know anout the inner workings of the repair industry

a private electrical shop will often have the owner talking to you and working on your car,,,familiar with what goes out and how to test it

IMO-and its only opinion as I am not an electrical expert--just basics:

if the bulbs light and stay lit on the first turn on of switch, but next time you get in the car it doesnt work= its bulbs
If it takes several attempts- or light quits while driving and works again the next day= ballast/ignitor bad,,which usually means time for bulbs too- as those power spikes are really hard on them

most ballast deaths are from moisture inside the headlight lens- drips out the vent/wire access hole on bottem of light --directly onto the ballast! clever~

all gen2 TLs are ready for new bulbs- probably months ago - you didnt notice the gradual loss of output and now the color is off
As mentioned before- pink on startup is a death warning on the bulbs
typical HID stock bulbs are rated at 2500 hours useful time
kaixen claims 3000 hours on theirs

when you think about the many hours on the headlights in commute or trips, night drives
it adds up over the years

 

It was the service guy, the girl didnt know what I was talking about when I talked to her lol. Either way, he can recommend all he wants, but I'm only going to pay the 65 bucks and he said thats the most I will have to pay for this no matter how long it takes.

Regardless, it sounds like from what you said, it will be a ballast/ignitor issue which is going to cost a shit load unfortunately . Both lights pretty much never go on right away. I have found some OEM ballasts + ignitors on ebay for 190 each plus like 25 for shipping... I just dont want to do aftermarket and have to drill new holes and mount the ballast and shit.

 

for the price and your feeling of whats wrong along with the symptoms
just buy the whole aftermarket kit and be done with it

 

Unless you don't want to deal with trying to mount and splice-in an aftermarket kit. If that is the case, stick with the used ones. Of course the downside is that you don't how long the used ones will last since they are likely almost as old as your originals.

 

The prices I put up there were actually for new ones. So I think it should be okay

 

If anyone's interested, heres the quote I received from Acura after they informed me that the igniters were definitely done, and probably the ballasts. 2050 for parts only!$(@&*# lol

So I just went on ebay bought a couple of these (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-O...ht_2459wt_1165)

Also bought a couple of philips 4300K bulbs for about 90 dollars shipped. Hopefully all works out well!

 

That looks like a great deal! It should fit based on the pics. Interesting that those other models share the same setup...even a Mazda. Also interesting that it won't fit CL's. I looked at an OEM Acura parts website, and it is true. The TL and CL use different ballasts...at least for 02 & 03.

 

thats not surprising--acura wants to sell parts, and prevent interchange on models-- to cut down on light housing theft

That happens to the TL-- a prybar and the entire housing with all its parts is gone in 30 seconds--with a nice dent in the hood where they used it for leverage

you will find many parts fit many cars across the makers,,in japan, entire cities are dedicated to making one product,,fuel filter city, bushing city,,,and sell them to whoever wants some

 

Yea and this guy has had pretty good feedback, no negatives and people commenting that things are working well! Just shipped this morning so hopefully I get these parts at the same time as the bulbs, but who knows. But its amazing how cheap this guy can sell these for, I was worried that they would be used but cleaned up but no complaints so sounds good to me.

 

I bought a pair from the same guy earlier today. Great minds think alike......