lilgee28

My passenger side low beam is out and that is because my headlight assembly is letting water get in and my ballast or inverter(been told so many names) has went bad. Acura Dealership told me 1200 for everything.............I was like ok let me find out another way, so i bought the ballast on ebay for mad cheap and the headlight assembly............Would anybody suggest changing the assembley and ballast themselves or take it to Acura to do it.....................And another question.........If i change the ballast on the passenger side, should i change the bulbs on the passenger side also.............somebody please help

MurkyRiversTL

You can change it yourself. It's nopt that hard and it would require removing your bumper, which also is not hard. A long as you are mechanically inclined. I would first change the ballast and see if the light works, if not the go ahead and buy a new set of bulbs, because you dont just wanna replace one, youll have different output colors on each light. There is a set of 10k D2R HID bulbs for sale in the black market for 40 bucks. There is also a DIY to remove the headlights in the DIY section.

fsttyms1

on every thing but the 10k bulbs. Why would you suggest/recommend a bulb that high?
I would stick with the oem 4300k to 6k tops

myTaLizaS3.2

dude, do some searching on ebay for the ballast. I've seen single tl ballasts on there for no more than 120 bucks. Just like Fstty said, you can do it yourself. What the hell is the dealership thinking? 1200? haha, that's funny. Check your ballast first, take the bulb from the working one and put it in. If it doesn't work, then your ballast is messed up. Then, also check to see if that bulb is messed up too, buy putting it on the working ballast. 4300k to 6k tops -- i'll agree with that.

MurkyRiversTL

I only recommended taht because its super cheap. I know the output is bad, but its better then no headlight at all. If hes trying to save some cash then he can have som workin bulbs for 40 which is a quarter the price of new ones.

I guess I should have said that the 4300k-6k is preffered.

lilgee28

aiight good lookin............i knew i could do it myself so thats wat im gonna do.....

AMGala

iTrader: (4)

I'm selling a pair of used OEM 4300K bulbs for $50 shipped, let me know if you are interested. I tried PMing you but you don't have enough posts for PMs yet.

laidback93

I just fixed my passenger side light yesterday. It was pretty damn easy, but this was the second time I had taken the bumper off. It only takes about 15 minutes to get the bumper off and another 4-5 to take the headlight assembly off. You will have to get your hands on a torx security bit.

Also, make sure it's not your igniter. I bought a brand new ballast only to find out that my igniter was defective. So I have it for sale. I want to just get what I paid for it. $190 shipping included. It's the updated version with the rubber washer.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck!

lilgee28

I dont know wat i need but i really need to know something........all my lights are workin except my low beam on passenger side and i have alot of water that has entered my assemby which looks really bad........Only thing i havent done is take the bumper of and assembly.............I need step by step directions on this please.....i will attempt to take it off this weekend

laidback93

I didn't have any water leakage problems. I believe it was just a short in the igniter. If you have a water problem it's a good chance it's your ballast. If you have time and the resources I would highly recommend swapping over parts from the good headlight in order to find out the real problem. Otherwise you should but a new ballast and igniter. The former will save you some cash.

Just my

lilgee28

aight thanks for the help.............

Korinny

Yo that's crazy! I got the same problem on my drivers side & the dealer was like $600, I was like your crazy as hell!!

DomerTL

I also have a front passenger side HID headlight out, and I am wondering what I should check on my own prior to bringing it to a mechanic for an estimate. If the diagnosis procedure is simple enough for me to do on my own (I am mechanically inclined for the most part), what are the main causes of a low beam light being out? And where can I find a DIY manual to replace my headlight bulb?

Thanks,

DomerTL

laidback93

It's always one of three things.

1. Bulb
2. Ballast
3. Igniter

Do a search and you'll find multiple threads.

Korinny

Serioiusly, Im not taking it to the dealership to get fixed. I love my Ac, and 99% of the time its straight Acura dealership for anything else. But $600 for a headlight? Come on man, and they are saying that only my inverter is covered by my warranty but the lens and bulb arent....BS!

DomerTL

Thanks for the tip. I'll be checking the bulb first, and I hope it is just that. I think I can handle replacing that on my own.

If it is the ballast or igniter, are those much more difficult to repair than the bulb?

Thanks,

DomerTL

laidback93

They are simple to replace. The only downside is that the parts are overpriced. I bought a brand new ballast from Acura and ended up not needing it. Of course there is no returns on electrical parts. So on it ebay it will go. I need to recoup my expenses!

DomerTL

For the bulb replacement, I quickly looked outside at my car under the hood and it appears that there is hardly any room in there to get the bulbs out. Is it just me or is there some trick that I am not aware of? There are all sorts of things in the area near the bulb assembly and I am wondering if that is enough space for me to work.

Also, do I need to take my bumper off to swap the bulbs? Or is that only if you need to replace the igniter or ballast?

Thanks again. Feel free to PM me any time today. I'd like to start diagnosing today or tomorrow at the latest.

Your help is appreciated.

DomerTL

laidback93

You don't need to take the bumper off to get to the bulbs. You will have to move things out of the way though.

To get to the ballast and igniter you will have to take off the bumper which is pretty easy. A lot easier than my Accord bumper was!

GreeneggsandHam

same thing happened to me before...turned out to be a bad ballast but I replaced the bulb also and everything came out to $800 from the dealer.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

My passenger side one went dead a while ago, too. It does involve taking off the bumper cover and the housing, but it's just a few bolts and nuts.

It wasn't a water problem since it went out on a dry day.

DomerTL

What exactly should I move out of the way to get to the bulb housings? As a novice, I will need explicit details about which parts I need to move and how to do so. I don't want to break something or kill myself, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

DomerTL

Bob_F

The factory service manual includes instructions to disconnect the car's battery before replacing the bulbs. Be aware that you want to have your radio's security code handy after reconnecting the battery.

Some people leave the battery hooked up but you should be aware of the caution. (When I changed the bulbs in my TL a few weeks ago I did disconnect the battery.)

Here are some additional tips.

On the driver's side you need to pull out two black plastic vent pieces. No tools are needed but on the top piece there are two "push fittings" that you can pull back by hand. Nothing requires large amounts of force so be careful not to break anything.

There's a little more room on the passenger side but you still might want to pull the nearby fluid reservoir housing up out of its retaining bracket and over to the side. No tools are needed for this step either.

Now remove the Torx screws on the back of the housings with a tamper-proof Torx T-20 bit. (A standard Torx T-20 will not fit.)

Once the Torx screws have been removed, you'll be able to rotate the housings and pull them back. There are sping loaded clips that hold the bulbs in place.

Use latex gloves or the like when handling the bulbs as the oils from your skin can cause premature bulb failures.

Bob

DomerTL

Thank you Bob. I'll use your tips for sure and hopefully it is just a bulb problem. If it is anything more, I might be forced to go to the auto mechanic. But perhaps even those fixes would be possible for me to do if I read up on this forum a bit more. I don't like working with electrical parts and so the ballast scares me a bit.

Best,

DomerTL

raster

Bob,

How many torx screws are at the back of each housing?
I'm having to do the same as DomerTL

00 TL 3.2

Bob_F

There is one Torx T-20 screw on each housing.

Bob

raster

OK,

Thank you for the quick response.

Any advice as to where to pick up a Torx T-20 tamper proof bit or driver?

If I can find one today, then it seems just a matter of swapping the bulbs to see if it is my drivers bulb that is the problem.

raster

Local auto parts has a set for $10.

Bob_F

I found a set of four Stanley tamper-proof Torx drivers at my local Wal-mart for something like $7. I had earlier checked my local Sears and they didn't carry any inexpensive sets.

Don't forget to wear gloves when you handle the bulbs.

Bob

raster

Picked up a set over my lunch hour, ran home and swapped the bulbs. That was it!

Bulb is bad.

Back at work called quite a few auto parts places for a price quote. Some didn't even carry it.
Some ranged from low $84 to high $239 for the same bulb!

Advanced auto parts has a policy to match any lower price than they quote, including internet businesses, as long as shipping is figured in. Their quote to me was $137.79.

I found an ebay company that would sell me a bulb, exact oem replacement, for $46.88 and free shipping.

Advanced auto parts matched the price and it will be in tomorrow morning!

Bob_F

That's good news.

If you're not buying two new bulbs you might want to consider that. The bulbs change color over time and replacing just one bulb can result in a mismatched set. You can then keep your current good bulb as a "don't give me a ticket" spare.

I found a pair of brand new Philips 4300K D2R bulbs on eBay for $68.49 with shipping a few months ago. But $46.88 a bulb is a decent price. What's the bulb brand?

Bob

raster

The bulb brand is Phillips

I thought about changing the pair, but the other looks new, and besides, if I bought a pair then one burns out, I'd just use the spare and then have a mismatched set anyway.

Thought I could use the extra $$ for plugs, air filter, and a few odds & ends to make sure she's going to be safe for the family.