My first post...

First of all, this is a great site that I found just a few days ago researching the low beam HID light problem that I am having. Usually I let someone else do the work for me, but when I heard that the cost to repair the light can go as high as $650, I decided to give it a shot myself.

Following the great advise on the site, I was able to remove the bulb from the housing and it looks like it burst within the housing. I have also read in other threads that ballast going wrong is also a common problem. Can anyone tell me if a bad ballast or igniter can actually blow a bulb that looks like the one in the attachment? I was under the impression that HID bulbs do not burst...


Click the thumbnail to enlarge photo

 

Did you touch the glass part of bulb with your fingers?

 

If you get moisture in the housing- a common problem- it will blow the bulb
Ever see anything dripping inside the lens- in the housing after washing?
Been running it thru a power car wash?

Contact our vendor Excelerate for Kaixen brand replacement bulbs
stock color is 4300K
5000k will be near OE color white with a little blue
The 6000k are blue with a bit of white, better for hi-lighting road markings

 

HIDs most definitely do burst if oil gets anywhere on the glass, they should never be touched or come in contact with skin.

It's possible moisture can cause them to blow as well but that's less likely.

 

If its an original bulb- there more chance its moisture than skin oil from replacement by careless person

 

Thanks for the reply guys. It was an original bulb, so should not have been touched by someone. Besides moisture being a possibility, can a bad ballast or igniter cause this? If this is moisture, I believe I will have to take the housing apart and see if I can figure out where the leak is... right?

 

its highly possible just age or a defect in the bulb is what caused it.

Did you ever see moisture in the housing?

 

Thats what I am hoping that it was the bulb itself considering it has been running since 2001 most of the times even in daylight... :-)

There is no condensation that I can see in the housing and I did not notice any water in there either but I am not 100% sure because it is really hard to look from outside and tell.

 

One important detail I forgot to mention is that I put in the working bulb on the side that had bad bulb and its been a day and that bulb is looking good so far.

Two new philips d2r's on USPS truck on their way to my home right now and just to make sure I will use one new bulb on the side that had good bulb and keep the old bulb in the suspect housing. And maybe if the old bulb runs fine for a couple of months, I will definitely know that it was just the bulb and at that point I can discard the old bulb and put in a new one....

 

It's actually not that hard to tell. The heat from the bulb causes it to evaporate and then it condenses at the top of the housing. It'll be obviously steamed up if it's leaking. My money is on the bulb was just at the end of it's life since you drive with your lights on (which is what I do too). A ballast or ignitor would not be likely to cause that problem. Just replace the bulb.

 

I tried to look again and from what I can tell there is no moisture inside. I think I will keep the old bulb in there for a couple of months to make sure that it is not the moisture ( or something else other than the bulb itself ) that caused the old bulb to blow and after a couple of months, I will put in the new bulb.

Thanks everyone for telling me what I wanted to hear!

 

replace them together or the light output will be way different
If the swap worked- its not the ballast or ignitor
Congrats on using your lights for safety- I wish more people did
If there was moisture getting into the headlight housing- its normally
from the edge seal- its a silicone type stuff and many many ziners find moisture after washing the car, especially if a pressure washer is used aimed at the lights
You would have noticed it by now.
complete pair of replacement housings about 200 on the bay

When you get the new bulbs- make sure to wear latex or rubber gloves to keep your fingers from touching the new bulb
Skin Oil will cause a burned hot spot on bulb and dramatically shorten its life.
Make sure the outer electrode is not damaged during install- put in straight in and slip retaining clip in place
Should last about 3000 hours of use with diminishing light output as it ages.

 

I would run that in there till the new ones come, then replace them in pairs. There will be a big difference in light output and color if you dont. You will want to color shift both new bulbs at the same time

 

01tl4tl and fsttyms1... I will take your advise and will replace both bulbs at the same time.

BTW fsttyms1, I used your excellent DIY on low beam installation (https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...89&postcount=2) to take the bulbs out. Thanks! Just one thing that was not mentioned in the thread was that you have to remove the gray connectors before you can turn the cover at all. I agree that was obvious thing to do but at first I just kept trying to rotate it and it would not move.

 

Put new bulbs in today. Everything is working fine but it just seems like the beam is going a bit higher than what it used to be. Maybe it is just because I have been driving with one bulb for about a week. Could it also be because I did not put the bulbs in there correctly? or I messed up the alignment somehow?

 

you would had to have used a screwdriver on a certain place to change the adjustment
Are the bulbs in perfect?- the electrode is dead center at the top, and the clip went right into place? Other than that- you may need a slight housing adjustment because the shocks are old-you have different rims-who knows- but thats why they have an adjuster wheel for up down and left right
There are shops with a special way to do it right fast
the right side should be farther up/out and pick up the right road edge line
the driver side points more into the center of the lane and down a little so as not to blind oncoming drivers

 

Thanks for the reply. The lights seem fine now after a day of driving. Maybe it was just me overwhelmed with driving with two bulbs again...

 

the dynamic duo yet saves another member
plan on tossing in new bulbs myself. how did you guys align the housings by hand? place it up to a wall and then adjust?