So I got one bulb out. Did the bulb swap and the same side is out. Also did a fuse check. So this should pretty much for sure be a ballast issue right? They seem kinda expensive. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just get an entire HID aftermarket kit? Any problems with going this route?

 

Yes it would be cheaper to buy an aftermarket kit than to replace an oem ballast. you shouldnt have any problems

 

Are they just as good (visibility/reliability) as oem? If so, what brand does anyone recommend?

 

yes they are just as good if not better. go to our vendor Excelerate and buy from him.

this is what i am fixing to buy to replace my headlights with. There are cheaper kits but my rule of thumb is that you get what you pay for.

http://store.excelerateperformance.c.../i-236451.aspx


i will also suggest you go with a 5000K kit

 

Cool. I appreciate your reply. I just did the ballast and igniter swap to find the problem. It ended up being the igniter of all things. Im gonna hunt for one at a cheap price first before I take the hid kit plunge. Thanks for the info and link.

 

go to ebay and type in 2003 acura tl ignitor. I just did and it pulled up one for 35 bux


you have a PM

 

hmmm how much brighter is it than the oem one?! i have 6k hids

 

5000k is roughly about 7% brighter than 6000k

 

Should be the same or slightly less bright than oem if its 5000k. Oem is 4300 or 4100 (cant remember exact #). Come to think of it, oem has the best VISIBILITY but im not sure if that means it is the brightest. Some say they can see roadsigns better with 6000k, but overall visibility is less than oem.

 

oops misread his post my bad.

here is some info from another post i made earlier


Color Temperature Explained:

Color Temperature: 3000K
3000K emits GOLDEN YELLOW color and offers superior penetration power during adverse weather epically in dense fog. The applications of the 3000K kit aim more towards secondary lighting apparatus such as high beam and fog lights. This is the color temperature that will catch all the attention on the road.

Color Temperature: 4300K
The light appears fairly white, and has light yellowish hue when reflected off the road identical to the OEM HID equipped vehicles. It is ideal for customers who does a lot of back road or canyon driving and need the optimal visibility.

Color Temperature: 6000K
6000K emits pure white light with very slight and barely noticeable tint of blue and purple. This color is for customers who is looking for pure performance white while improving the looks of their headlight.

Color Temperature: 8000K
ORACLE 8000K has an approximately 3000lm output, which is about 3x the light output of the traditional halogen light and slightly less light output compared to the 6000K. While it has a bit lesser light output, it emits bluer light than the 6000K.

Color Temperature: 10000K
ORACLE 10000K has an approximately 2800lm output, which is more than 2x the light output of the traditional halogen light. 10000K produces a deep blue light output approaching violet and the blue is noticeably deeper than the 8000K.

Color Temperature: 12000K
This color temperature puts out a deep bluish violet light and is deeper colored than the 10000K. It is for customer who is looking for the most extreme and most exotic looking light output.

Common HID Misconceptions:

Higher the K (Kelvin temperature) the brighter it gets- Not True, the Kelvin Scale measures color not brightness. The brightness is actually inversely proportional to the light output. 4500K HID is technically the brightest and the further you increase or decrease from 4500K the lumens (visible light) will slightly decrease.







What is color temperature?

Many people believe that the higher the color temperature the brighter the lamp. This is totally wrong. The color temperature is purely a scale to measure the color of the light output. It is a reference purely for color and could equally be called White, Green or Blue. The reality is the higher up the scale the lamps are the less bright they become. 5200K lamps are approx 10% brighter (measured in Lumens, not degrees K) than the 7000K.

Degrees K = ONLY COLOR
Lumen= BRIGHT

"It should be noted that halogen technology is not comparable to the Xenon discharge technology, fitted as original equipment to more and more of the world's finest cars." - Philips

Definitions
Candela (cd)
The international unit (SI) of luminous intensity. The term has been in use since the early days of lighting when a standard candle of a fixed size and composition was used as a basis for evaluating the intensity of other light sources. This unit is used in measuring headlight output; basically the higher the number is, the brighter the light is.

Lumen (lm)
The international unit (SI) of luminous flux (quality of lights). For example, a dinner candle produces about 12 lumens and a standard 60-watt incandescent bulb produces 830 lumens. The higher the number is, the brighter the light is

Kelvin (K)
A basic unit of thermodynamic temperature (color temperature) used to measure the whiteness of the light output. The higher the number is, the whiter the light is. When over 5000K the light begins to turn to blue as daylight.


hope this helps you a little

 

yea dude go with 5K...and dont be cheap and buy one of those ebay ones for 60 bux...that link that ArTL-S posted with excelerates site is a dman good price considering its the whole kit as where u will pay close to that used and even more if u go to the stealership for 1 part...

 

I'm lookiing into 5000k or 6000k to replace my OEM bulbs soon, there are going (turning pinkish). I just found the oem to be terrible for bad weather driving.

 

Maybe yours aren't oem? The oem is supposed to be the best for visibility as stated above. Going with a higher Kelvin increases blue and decreases visibility. Maybe you should get an HID conversion for the fogs to get some more visibility.

 

sounds like ur bulbs are jus too old already....once u get new ones u will take ur statement back and be like WOW this is awesome...go with 5K at the most to stay withing OEM specs..

 

My suggestion would be OEM 4300K if you don't care about a bluish tint, 5000K if you just have HID low beams, and 6000K if you have HID low beams and HID fog lights.

That's just my personal opinion.

 

They are oem as far as I know, I've never changed them. But trust me, in the rain, I can't see much. Lights seem so dim, like the water sucks the light away.

As for fogs.....I've debated that too...but I don't want to be doing any extensive fabrication to the front end ie civic fog mod or accord fog mod.

 

I think so, they pinkish thing is just nasty man...

I like 5k..just so hard to find. I'm worried 6k will be too blue.

 

Nah you don't have to do any extensive fabrication for an aftermarket HID kit. I think most if not all are plug and play. The HID conversion replaces the bulb in your foglight, not the entire housing.

Also, maybe your headlight lenses could stand a freshening (wetsanding)? Walmart sells a kit for 20$ that can remove the hazyness of older headlight lenses. If nothing else it will look way better. I think its called crystal view headlight restore.

 

http://store.excelerateperformance.c...s/g-56591.aspx

5000k bulbs

 

I don't have fogs tho it's a 99 so i'd still have to fabricate a housing...they get the H.I.D kit. Don't get me wrong tho, I've seen some sexy H.I.D fogs on some 99-01 TL's.

I was actually looking at the lenses today....I'll look in to this. But new bulbs are still a must.

 

Ah I see. Well maybe some factory fog housings with aftermarket HIDs? Or one of those cigarette lighter spotlights. Its an automatic afterall.

 

u mean like this..:theghey:..lol....but yea man i see some 2nd gens runnin around with some pink ass headlights..

 

lol excatly. I'm grabbing 6000k Osrams today...So no more pepto bismol on the road. I think that's a happy medium over just the plain stock lighting.

 

I hope they aren't purplish. My old 6000K Philips bulbs were purplish, but my current 6000K Kaixens are white with a slight tint of blue. They are perfect IMO. And since you only have low beams, I'd suggest Kaixen 5000K.

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...dont go with Osrams....go with Phillips or Kaixens man...u wont regret it....

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-8...1345QQtcZphoto

I'm thinkin bout replacing the bulbs in my TL and was wondering if you guys had any comments bout the ones in this link. I'm always apprehensive bout buyin stuff online and I don't wanna get jipped with fakes.

Also, are there pics of 5000k and 6000k TLs anywhere so I can see kinda what I'm gettin into. I like stock color but Im interested in 5000k

 

And one last thing, my fogs are cracked and really dirty and Im gonna take em out and clean em if they can be cleaned and replace lens with lexan but I was wondering if you guys knew of any good 9006 bulbs that look like HIDs that I can use. I dont really wanna go through the pain of instlling an HID kit but I dont really want the "yellow" fogs..

 

I have to say the 6k is good but i have to agree that having a h.i.d upgrade on the fog lights would be great because i have them and they over power the fog lights to the point where its like not having them on.

 

Im assuming you NEED new bulbs? A different bulb is not worth it unless yours have burnt out. Don't waste $160 on the philips. Get the Kaixxens (sp?) from the excelerate. $100 I believe. Just as good if not better.