Buckshot

So like so many others, I had my bulbs start going intermittent these last months on my 2002 TL-S. Swapped left to right and determined that the passanger side bulb was pooched so replaced both of them with a pair of Klassers from my local NAPA ($180 for the pair vs: $450 at the dealer). Helped somewhat but still not coming on with any regularity. My wife is understandably pissed as this is her daily driver. Sooooo... Went by the dealer and asked for a quote for them to fix: $367 per ignitor, $328 per ballast, $225 per bulb, $9.60 per gasket seal and approx. 2 hours' labour. With our 13% HST, hits almost $2,400!!! That's half the book value of my car!!! Besides, I'm of Scottish background.

Found a great DIY for the facia removal and several suppliers of OEM components on EBAY so here goes. Can't imagine both ballasts and ignitors are blown but will at least poke around to see if there is a home fix before I buy new parts.

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

Ah, Scottish background. It's all coming together..

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

that explains it!

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Ahhhhhh....

01tl4tl

please see the many bulb threads for explanation why you have this very common failure

best thing is new ballast capacitor/ignitor and bulbs www.hidextra.com
80 usd to canada!!
eff the dealer on these parts,,or used oe parts
aftermarket is waterproof and compact

smartypants

$2,400 !!! They've got to be smoking something really powerful to even quote that much.

I've got one light that comes on and then goes out after a minute and I've yet to get a reasonable day to do the swapping around to trouble-shoot the problem.

My plan is to determine which part is bad and buy from the US (I have a connection down there) as the prices there are sooooo much cheaper.

If I find I have a bad ballast, I'm going to try a wrecker and if that fails, I'm going to order a whole system from an aftermarket supplier that's recommended on this site. Since you already have new bulbs, I'd order the whole kit, sans the bulbs which will end up being significantly cheaper than going to the stealership just for one bulb !

Good luck and make sure you update your thread with your final resolution !

totaledTL

Did you review the DIY?- Maybe you'll get lucky.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...llast+inverter

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

2,400 is a steal....i would get mine and my wifes car done

01tl4tl

I got the kit with bulbs included since they are so cheap that way (already have Kaixens)
Having backup bulbs for yourself, or another local ziner with a friday night failure,,are worth the few dollars

Dont bother with used oe parts
what happens is: moisture gets inside a weak seal on the headlight housing
seen as droplets inside the lens
that drips out a hole and onto the ballast- corrodes internal circuits and takes out the capacitor/ignitor with it,,often the bulbs too-
but we need new ones just on age/hours by now
Chances of finding a good used part,,very slim

get the kit and be done with the problem

thelastaspec

Did yours ever settle down?
I remember that you were having trouble a while back with the lights working intermittently...

sl33kTL

STEALERSHIP YOU MEAN! Jesus thats PRICEY! I picked up two used OE Ballast w/ignitors for $50, now that's a STEAL! I'm going back to OE but make sure that if you do stick with OE equipment that you SEAL UP YOUR BALLASTS with silicon to prevent as much future failure as you can and DEFIANTLY replace the the gasket seal, a rubber washer of the same size will do from a local hardware store, I paid $4 for two of them.

If you decide you want to go with aftermarket I would HIGHLY suggest The Morimoto Elite HID D2S Kit for $160. Includes two bulbs, two WELL BUILT ballast with built in D2S/R ignitors, and relay harness. VERY well built and turn/warm up quickly just like OE. Either way WAY cheaper than 2.4K and you can do the job in about 2 hours if not less!

MBP_TL

+1 on the Morimoto kit except D2S bulb won't fit but everything else will. Talk about fast warm up time. OEM speed.

Luke7

The Acura Stealership here in the Asheville NC area takes the retail price of any part and adds 25% to it. All retail prices are avialable from other Acura dealerships online and they offer 25% off the retail price. I never grace their doors here except for recalls. I understand they have a high overhead there but GEE!

jamesgh

I just had my whole assembly replaced under insurance, and that sounds about right...

01tl4tl

my prob of light turning off- switching sides etc went away instantly
when just 1 new ballast and bulb was installed, on passenger side,,,from hidextra.
that occured due to time limit on installation that day,,got one done and run~

I still need to do the other side but have been testing kaixen 6k versus extras 5k bulb side by side,,5k wins hands down for visabilty of the road
must be time to pop the nose off again and complete the job

Im guessing the altered resistance of failing parts caused the system to go haywire and have the on off on problem

Buckshot

OK so I did a test run last evening and removed the front bumper facia. It was a breeze and the RH headlight assembly came right out. Removed the ballast and ignitor then took the ballast apart just to have a look. No real apparent water damage; checked all connections and reassembled everything. Absolutely no difference; headlights still come on intermittently and have to constantly turn the lights off and on to get them both operating. Was able to order a new OEM ballast ignitor from Ebay (said 2 in stock but only one available when order completed). The search is on for a second set.. Scotsman at work!!! Happy Robbie Burns day to all

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

This is the result of stupid people who will pay whatever a dealer tells them and assumes all work must be done by the dealer. This and screwing people on trade ins is how a dealership makes its money, not by selling new cars. People will never learn tho.

EL_PIC

WoW !
At that price .. Boom Boom Out go the Lights.
Thats why dealerships are often called stealerships.

Insti Gator

1 - I completely agree!! That is too much to pay to replace the headlights on that car.

HOWEVER

2 - Let's not pretend like dealerships are the motherload of ripoffs! They make normal profit like any other business.

Let me help you understand - here is an Acura OEM parts retailer and their selection on headlight replacement parts : http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...ty19=1&qty20=1

Now if this works, here is the cart I filled with:
33146-S0K-A01 GASKET, SEAL (2) $3.85 $3.85
33109-S0K-A02 INVERTER UNIT, HID SYSTEM $417.32 $834.64
33116-S0A-J11 BULB, HEADLIGHT (D2R) (HID) $108.20 $216.40
33119-S0K-A10 CONTROL UNIT ASSY. $196.16 $392.32
33129-S0K-A01 IGNITER, HID $171.95 $343.90
33145-S3M-A01 SEAL, GASKET $4.26 $8.52

Shipping Information Shipping Method: Ground Comments / Special Instructions:
Subtotal:$1,799.63

*Shipping Charge [Shipping Charge may vary with package size / weight]:
$125.97Handling Charge:$3.95**Sales Tax:$0.00


Total Order :$1,929.55

Now let's add up at LEAST 2 hours (they use their guide book for billable hours) for repair @ a modest $110 / hour = $220 + $1,929.55 = $2,149.55

Hmmmm.. interesting - Acura MUST use Acura OEM parts, they don't have aftermarket availability. That is how much parts cost us, obviously not them as a $250.45 profit may or may not be enough ($2,400 - $2,149.55).

That's the truth of the matter - do you think it really cost apple $499 to produce an iPad2? (excluding R&D cost). There is much worse out there than dealerships.

Just offering a different perspective!

kidduce

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for this. Dealerships will also offer the experience, and the peace of mind that its factory backed. I dont visit the dealership much but I do understand how a business works.

sl33kTL

But sure to silicon seal them up to help against water damage!

Glockgen4

Or you can spend $40 and get a whole new set of ballasts and bulbs and wires. Plug and play....


ddmtuning.com

UA2TLS

Our cars are awesome hands down but the money to keep it maintained blows super bad. My passenger bulb recently blew, I just ordered a new pair on www.ddmtuning.com for 29 bucks with shipping and handling. I know the ignitor and ballast still works because the night before it died. My bulbs turned pink.

01tl4tl

at last! a report of bulb death by age!!

why would anyone buy oe used or new, when we can get better quality aftermarket and DIY the job for cheap
I havnt seen ddm's kit but hidextra's works fine in my 01

While the ballast and ignitor make look good,,replacing just 1 on my car fixed the on off problem instantly,,still have to install other side

totaledTL

Someone correct me if I'm wrong- not plug & play, must splice.

Insti Gator

Make that two! They were both OEM Osram. (Is that the original bulb? Torx screws were unmolested)

That's what happened to my passenger side - I have pics, will upload later today/tom.

Hines57

Exactly what set-up did you get? I went on here but I'm not sure which one I need: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=242

There appears to be a few options from the ballast, to the bulbs D2s (don't we use D2r's?!?!?) and to the wire harness? Any help or recommendations would be helpful.

TLMunchkin37

I'm also curious which of the Morimoto kits to choose? I just found out my passenger ballast is blown. AFTER spending $100 on new Phillips bulbs thinking that was the issue (and $100 at the shop for them to tell me it was the ballast; I had a hard time changing them myself and brought it in for a simple fix) :-(

I have a 3G TL, a 2004. I'm not sure if the 2G's and 3G's take the same? Can anyone help? Thanks!

01tl4tl

try our sponsor www.hidextra.com easy to follow website gets to your years bulbs and ballast needs
the standard ballast is fine,,the $59 `kit` includes all needed parts and works perfect in the gen2

optional buy 1, $16 relay kit for dedicated power to the lights= bypass any potential interface electrical issues--not required but wont hurt

D2-? depends on year r or s etc,, denotes type/location of notches on its base and built in shroud for projector beam use (I think on that part )

Leejahd

Im in need of help two! both of my head lights are out and im only running on fogs at the moment so what kit do we need to get?!

Buckshot

Well I received my new ballast and ignitor a few days ago from Paul Haft in Ohio (bought on Ebay for $189 +S&H and duties = Approx $250 CDN) in less than 10 days. Took the front facia back off my '02 TL-S and changed the ignitor on the driver's side first. I had already installed new Flosser bulbs; the originals were 10 years old and looking tired. When I tried the lights, the driver's side immediately fired up while the passenger's side still had a delay. Tried them again about 10 times and the driver's side snapped on immediately every time while the passenger side would ignite about 50% of the time but always with a slight delay. Conclusion: the driver's side ballast was fine with the ignitor being the culpret. So I went to work on the passenger's side swapping out ballasts first using the old driver's side (no improvement) then the brand new ballast (still no improvement). Installed old driver's side ignitor (still no improvement). Conclusion: need a second ignitor. I ordered another ballast/ignitor and will install both. Old ballasts will be stored in my proverbial bin of things to hang onto; we all have those don't we?

As for the type of bulb to use, Honda/Acura moulds in the replacement bulb part numbers into the plastic covers over the rad and on the front of the headlamp lens on my car. D2R appears on the bottom edge of the headlamp lens. I believe D2S is for a projector headlamp system on later models.