ukemasta

Hey Guys I need some help. My passenger side headlight flickers and then sometimes goes out. This mostly happens when I turn, but it has been happening recently when just going straight. I might hit a little bump and the headlight flickers then goes out.

Any ideas?

Thanks for the help!

Mr. ShawnJ007

Interesting... I thought I noticed the same issue when turning, but wasn't sure if it was just my eyes playing tricks on me.

Passenger side, only when turning. I'm going to check the connections now to make sure they are in tightly.

3.2TLc

Yeah, check the connections. It could be condensation starting to kill your ballast or ignitor. Look for signs of moisture. Be careful not to touch the bulbs unless you have latex gloves on....you may want to try swapping sides to move the problem.

If moisture is present, consider replacement with newer style units which are less expensive.

01tl4tl

this is the death warning of the hid system,,same as mine did

get a new `kit` with 2 modern ballast- ignitors and bulbs for only $59!!
www.hidextra.com is one of our sponsors
there are even 10% coupons around

suggest 5000K bulbs for closest to stock with a little more blue to pick out road markings

good parts- many of us use them,,they sell on ebay too,,they sell to other resellers who mark the price up

if a part happens to fail- a phone call gets an immediate replacement,,they are in California

easy diy, a little thinking and custom remote mounting of ballast may apply~
its been well covered in threads on headlights

01tl4tl

the stock hid system is from the time of the dinosaurs
new ones are mini sized,,epoxy sealed electronics, water tight connectors on the wires etc

thewrangler99

I also had the same problem with my car! My bulb would flicker and sometimes go out when making a turn. In my case it was a bad hid bulb!

01tl4tl

dont worry--your ballast will quit soon enough

always replace headlight bulbs in pairs,,the color and brightness will be way different

thewrangler99

it's been over a year and i did replaced them in pairs!

01tl4tl

mine went a long time before failure
had new kaixen bulbs,,finally no more light,,kit fixed the prob

past history of moisture in headlight housing, replaced housings and bulbs 2 years before ballast failure, and it did have crud inside

I always mention replace bulbs in pairs- so noobs get info they need

ukemasta

So if I buy that HID kit. is it just plug and go? Or do I have to connect the new ballast to the battery? Did this happen to you? Thats why you replaced?

01tl4tl

my ballast died
after flikking switch several times to get light restored while driving, having it run one side off -then the other,= time for the kit,
new bulbs in there 2 years already were not the answer

the hidextra kit is almost plug and play
you cut the connector to ballast off and splice in the 2 new wires (per ballast)
then some zip ties can be used to remote mount ballast to outside of the frame rail

loop the extra length of wire from new ballast to bulb- underneath the light housing
slide it all together like a puzzle--its easy

the real trick is knowing about the hidden screw from rear bumper cover edge to fender
turn wheels for access- its vertical

ukemasta

http://www.hidextra.com/9005/6000k/

Thanks for the reply. So is 5000k or 6000k more blue? Also, Is this the kit you were talking about? plug and go, with the slicing of the 2 wires per ballast? is the splicing wire the wire that connects to the battery?

01tl4tl

stick with 5000k bulbs
I have run them side by side on my TL and 6 is WAY more blue,
and and a lot less white that you need to pick out objects on the road!!

otherwise thats the right kit

the leads to cut are for the old ballast at its connector to ballast

all power runs thru relays now,not direct to battery

You can buy a connector to match the ones on the new ballast wires- they dont provide ones for car side of plug but any parts store can hook you up

then no splice required- crimp install end connector and slide them together- wrap with electrical tape or shrink wrap tape if you have any

ukemasta

Cool, I think I will buy the connector at the local autoparts store here. Does our TL's require the slim ballasts? I was thinking of getting the 55w instead of the 35w. What do you have?

miwa

hey 01tl4tl,

was this your new ballast from hidextra or the old original one? I had an issue last night where I had to flick a few times to get the bulbs to ignite. I went through the carwash so I thought it was that but it was fine right after. Only after I stopped somewhere, then it didn't want to turn on. First both, then fine. Next stop, one didn't want to come on but after several flicks it came on. Thereafter, both were fine. Haven't tried today yet.

01tl4tl

the oe ballast had suffered moisture in the headlights and eventually did the flick to turn on--dies while driving stuff,,

since install of hidextra kit no more problem

their regular size ballast is smaller than a deck of cards,,the oe ballast about the size and weight of a brick

mine are ~racer style~ mounted to the outer frame rail,,thats a long zip tie or 3 together, and some gorilla tape
you can use their bracket and mount in several ways-locations too

miwa

hm. curses. this is my new kit from hidextra too. I wonder if it's some grounding issue that you mentioned in another post. It hasn't happened again yet but I'll see what happens when it rains. I guess this is what I get for going against your advice and mounting it back into the same place in the assembly.

01tl4tl

run a ground wire from new ballast to a screw or bolt on the frame area

ignore my advice at your own risk....made enough mistakes to share insight

duran492

SAME thing happened to me .. i installed my new kit last year, then about 3 weeks later the passenger side went out .. the fog lights work fine, the driver side is working great, its just the passenger side thats dead! .. im so frustrated with my headlights ..

do u think running a ground wire would work???

3.2TLc

Hey Duran492, need you ask ? If 01tl4tl advised this.....I'm sure it was from experience !....'nuff said.

duran492

haha ok .. very true!! .. let me see if i can find a screw on my ballast box thinga-ma-jig .. i'll give it a shot tonight!

duran492

so I wired a wire to a bolt connected to the frame. Where on the ballast do I connect the ground wire to? Please help ur boy!

01tl4tl

remove 1 screw holding the cover on ballast,,need a very small connector to fit
attach your ground wire there

are you using the double stick tape under ballast--between it and frame?

or you may have an actual ballast failure,,things happen~ bad connector or weak solder etc

hidextra is really good about warranty for a year (maybe longer if you ask nice)
or will do super cheap on a replacement ballast if needed
mention acurazine when you call

duran492

Well here's what happened. I did call hid and got a replacement ballast because of the current problem in Janurary. i swapped ballasts and it still was a problem. So I put the other one away. Now 11 months later, I swapped ballasts again and then both lights worked. I drove around for 15 minutes and no problem. Once I shut the car off and flipped the lights off, the driver side went out now. But the passenger works. FML right. Haha. I'm friggin goin crazy here.

duran492

so when i left for work a little bit ago .. i flicked on my headlights and now only the driver works again .. i flickered the headlight switch about 3 times and they both go on now .. when i got to work, i turned them off and tried turning them back on and only the driver is on .. so there must be a wiring or that grounding problem . . . .

soria

Go put a ground wire in.

01tl4tl, you mentioned double stick tape. Is that not recommended for attaching the ballast? Thank you.