In my 03 TL, the driver's headlight will only come on sometimes. Once it is on, it stays on. The passenger side works every time.

Stock OEM bulbs, and ballasts.

I have done the usual swapping of bulbs, ballasts, and ignitors. Still no luck.

Since the passenger side works every time, I tried the bulb, ballast and ignitor together from it on the drivers side. Same result! The light only starts sometimes. So, the problem is related to the driver's side, not the lighting hardware.

I'm thinking a loose or dirty ground, but don't know where to find the ground for the driver's headlight. I think it's G301.

Any other ideas? Thanks!

 

mine was acting up: first one side wouldnt come on, or would go off in a minute and require cycle the swtch several times before it came back on

then it would switch sides doing it,,finally BOTH went off on the freeway in the dead dark of night and didnt want to come back on,,,4 lanes from a safety lane,,at Ca speeds

(if this ever happens to anyone reading this: pull the high beam stick ON-
you will have lights again to get to safety--this was not something that occured to me in the moment~)

have 4 years on kaixen bulbs, once I installed the passenger side hidextra.com ballast/ignitor-capacitor and bulb = Problem stopped . no more one side, no cycle switch, nothing!!

still have to install other side but doing a 6k kaxien vs 5k hidextra bulb real life driving test,
hidextra claims equal quality to osram or phillips- both industry leaders and oe bulb suppliers

Note: If you want to see stuff on the road so you dont hit it--get 5000k
6000 has substancially less white light on the road- light your eyes need to discern objects that dont belong~

6k only look cool from the outside--running one of each now is a real eye opener (pun intended) on useable light (4300 was stock)

 

you can try swapping same color relay under the hood- pass side
for the headlights
see if thats where the problem starts
some report problem of wire underneath the relay or fuse box
remove box and re-solder connections

Thats my cheap and easy try at a fix

 

I forgot to mention that I did switch relays. I'll check the wiring under the box.

Any idea where the ground is for the driver's headlight? Just want to check it as well. But, I don't know where it is located.

Thanks 01tl4tl!

 

the power and ground cables are together coming out of the connector behind headlight housing
No additional ground wire that I know of, and mine have been out and apart

thats why I would try the relay and fuse box,,raise fuse box and look at connections underneath,,stories on here of a prob in soldered connection

Note- of course you will disconnect NEG cable off the battery before messing with the fuse box,,right?

if all else fails spend the 60 bucks and get a kit from hidextra
I have no explanation for why its fixing such a strange prob- but..thats whats happening
even with 1 setup on mine and other side oe,,
on off issue is gone, no more goes off while turning left,,,
someday I will install the other side~

 

maybe your car needs glasses? lol jk

i know from working with aftermarket HIDs that the culprit in these situations were mostly the harness or wiring. At startup, 22,000v of electricity is pumped in your wires towards the HID bulbs. Any voltage drops or higher than normal resistance will result in failure to ignite bulbs. This is due to old and/or too thin or even too thick of wires.

 

Thanks, yes I will disconnect the negative cable first!

I hope our cars don't start having electrical problems. I really want to drive my 03 a few more years.

 

get the charging system tested,,a prob with overcharging has been happening in low numbers here
the HID issue is a normal prob.. based on the parts they used

new ground wire `kit` with batt cable and several small wire types that attach from engine to frame..acura kit is 20 bucks or assemble your own from parts store bits

 

Found my problem. The igniter on the drivers side was bad. So was the one I was using to test with. It was believed to be good, but wasn't.

I took the car to my mechanic. They noticed that the igniter was slightly melted where the bulb goes in it. A new igniter and all is well.

They told me that they usually have to replace the igniter whenever they replace the ballast.

 

thats correct- one often kills the other,
and at oe parts prices,,most of us go aftermarket, as discussed in many threads