Hello fellow Acurians,
All of the Reviews here have been helpful, I am a not-so proud owner of a 2002 TL-S type . The question I have however is a common one and I hope there are some new solutions for this issue and if not new maybe somewhat inexpensive . My Driver side Lo-beam headlight is not working the "Acura" dealer says it is the Inverter ( Ballast) would you guys suggest: A) buying it for 5 Bills at the dealer plus the $175.00 installation B) Finding if possible after market and installing myself or C) Selling the car and buying the 2005 Honda Accord EX-L which is comparable to the 2002 Acura TL-S that I am having this issue with . I truly Love the Acura however it has become a boon to keep repairing it in this economy and I keep thinking ok get the Driver side fixed and BAM The Passy side goes out . I guess I wanna know if there is a simpler easier to live with solution to replacing this inverter .....Thanx in advance

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-03...Q5fAccessories

You can DIY. Remove front bumper, remove the headlight assembly, then replace the ballast.

 

Check out the threads on Temporary HID Fix, and Fixing a Wet Inverter/Ballast. It took me two weeks of agonizing over the $1000 head light repair quate from the dealer, and three weeks of turning 10mm bolts trying a few things. It was help from others in this forum that found a grounding issue that finally got me past my HID wows.

Good Luck
JeffersonTL

 

Fix it w/ aftermkt. parts and carry on, whilst saving big $$...

 

OMG !!! do u know where I can find this Ballast as an after market part ?? Every where I turn , it is listed at $500.00 + dollars , I've seen one for $288.00 on Ebay seller wasn't trust worthy so I moved on .........let me know , thanks

 

check out this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-03...Q5fAccessories

 

Maybe I'm just overly paranoid when it comes to stuff like this, and yes I have trust issues, but it might be a good idea to try switching the bulbs to confirm that the bulb just didn't die. If, when put the passenger side bulb into the driver's side bulb, it works, then all you need are new bulbs.

When you confirm it is the ballast / inverter, then spend the money on it... aftermarket.

 

Yea, that's true. Also, you may want to check your fuse. Last time mine didn't work, and it took me a few days to realize I had a blown fuse.....

 

Start first by checking your fuses. If they look fine, your problem could be the ballast (the larger metal box), the igniter (basically the cord from box to bulb) or the bulb. Troubleshoot by swapping them out between the driver and passenger side, and eliminating the problem part. Remember to wear clean cotton gloves when handling the bulb, as they can't have any contaminants on them.

I also recommend that you seal the connection were the ignitor hooks into the ballast with clear silicone caulk when you install your new ballasts. The biggest killer of ballasts is moisture, and this is the most common point of entry. If you look at the part re-design in 2007, Acura put a HUGE rubber grommit on this connection to keep moisture out.

 

cHECK jUNK YARDS
I got mine for $50

 

After months of agonizing over paying a good deal of loot for the Bal/Inverter One night I was driving and while behind a truck I noticed both lights were on ..........don't know what happened but it has been working for three months now .......thanks for the info Now My hood won't stay up on its own, any one know what causes the hydraulics to go out ? If it is fluid where the heck is the entry point to replace it ?

 

Got mine off ebay from HIDStuff $150 brand new oem.

Great seller and on this forum^^^^^^

 

how much? how diff. to fix?

 

hey tainted do you still have that bllast? if so how much are you looking to get for it?

 

go to the vendor directory up on the top of the page and look up wholesale parts guy

talk to Kaleb

i got mine for 54 shipped

 

Thanks man

 

will a 2002 ballast fit the 2005 TL ??? if yes, i might buy it from one of u guys on here....throw me some offers !!!

 

FS, WTB threads go in the black market-

 

I never knew ballast cost that much to replace.

 

now that's funny lol. Now I just bought an 8000k hid bulbs for my 08 TL but does that mean i have to buy the ballasts or will my OEM ballasts work with these 8k bulbs that i bought? I don't want to try it out and then to only come to find out i did all the work for nothing.

 

No

 

hey guys i have a 2002 TL - first acura i have owned and i love it. in the two years i have had it i have had only one other problem.

the right side lo-beam not working. bulb works in the side so i know its not the bulb - now looking into the ballast.

does anyone have more detailed instructions on swapping this thing out? on a level of difficulty for a novice wrencher or guy unfamiliar with acuras would you say give it a try? not sure if i feel comfortable taking the bumber off and head casing out.

thanks guys!

 

also - can someone explain the fuses to me?

lo-beam is out. hi-beam works, turn signal/yellow lights work... could that still be a fuse or do they all run off one fuse?

 

Buy the aftermarket kit from http://www.hidextra.com/d2r/5000k/
It's the cheapest route in my opinion!

 

Hey Schwag27, the low beam headlamps are of HID design and are independent from the conventional high beams and the parking lamp/turn signal circuit.

So, for the low beam headlamps......starting at the underhood fuse box from the battery, the main power fuse is #41(120A), then the headlamp relays #43(20A) & #45(20A).

If the one side low beam is out, check the HID components for moisture or corrosion. If the unit and wiring connections appear good, try a known good bulb. After that, if it still doesn't work ...... there may be a bad ballast or ignitor ?

Many Ziner's will opt to replace the old units with the newer compact replacements for under $100. These are a complete water resistant kit and can be installed following the site's "DIY"s.

 

had same problem my ballast didnt work so i didnt want to buy cause its expensive so i bought some HIDs and save money....its an easy fix

 

I have a 2002 Acura tl types s and my headlights gone . Need a ballasts help for less expensive repair

 

Check out the site's Black Market and sponsor vendors with deals less than $100 for aftermarket HID replacement kits. There's a lot of helpful info in the "DIY" sticky and also many previous threads on the "HID" issues and fixes.

Happy reading and welcome Quintyne.....good luck with finding what ya want to do !

 

Hi
My passenger side ballast went out on my 2002 TL type-s. We were able to use the newer style ballast and ignitor, made for 2006+ acuras that I got on ebay. iPaid $140 for both from http://r.ebay.com/XflQ3y

All the connectors are the same. The ignitor is exactly the same. The ballast itself is physically a smaller size meaning the screw holes are in a different place so we needed to make a bracket to adapt the screw holes to mount the ballast to the car/headlight.

Other then that everything was easy, all the connectors just plugged right in, and the color and brightness is the same as the driver side light that still has the original ballast. And now I have the newer, more reliable, (water sealed) system so I shouldn't be having any further problems.

I did this back in Sep 2013 and its still working great. If(when) the driver side one goes I will be doing the same retrofit over there.

 

Driver side light would go out when starting the car but by flicking the lights on and off for a while it would turn back on, so I swapped the light bulbs from left to right and it's the exact same problem, does this sounds like faulty wiring, bad bulbs, or is it my ballast please help it's driving me insane.

 

ballast.


Replace with aftermarket ones and NEVER look back!

www.theretrofitsource.com

 

I know this is from an old thread but I'm hoping to get some help! I replaced the ballast in September with an OEM part off of ebay and it solved the problem of my passenger side low beam headlight going out intermittently, then completely. When I replaced it, the problem disappeared and all was well. Well...a couple weeks ago it started shorting out again. If I switch the headlights off, then on, it turns back on. Sometimes it stays on for a while, sometimes just for a couple minutes. It is only a problem with my low beams on the passenger side and it isn't the bulb. I've replaced those without it helping. Do you think it is water getting into the ballast? Would it help if I put the waterproof, retrofitted "We were able to use the newer style ballast and ignitor, made for 2006+ acuras that I got on ebay. iPaid $140 for both from http://r.ebay.com/XflQ3y " ? I am so sick of this car. I have had more problems with it than any other I've had. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

The OEM ones on these cars have a horrible tendency to fail due to water. Get aquality aftermarket kit like this: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/ma...epair-kit.html


and be done with it.

 

Thank you for the quick response. Did you send a link of the exact kit I would need for a 2007 Acura? It says it's a Matsushita/Mitsubishi HID repair kit, it looks like Mitsubishi is interchangeable in the Acura, right?
Is there a way to troubleshoot to see if only the ballast is bad or if I need to purchase the whole kit? Do I need to disassemble the whole front bumper to troubleshoot? I've read that I should check to see if water is getting in the ballast. I thought the 2007 and older had a new design that does a better job at keeping the water out. The fact that it's on sometimes and not others leads me to think it's a short in the wiring. The low beam will go out, I turn the lights off and on and the light usually turns back on.
Sorry for all the questions. I hate to spend more money than is necessary on this car. I'm a woman that doesn't mind getting my hands dirty, I grew up on a ranch, but I really hate the idea of taking the whole bumper apart. I loved the ease of just changing the bulbs but that didn't solve the problem.
I also read that some people just convert over to LED's and don't even mess with the ballast. Thoughts on that?

 

Ahh.. you're posting in 2G TL, that link is best for them. For 04+ stick to OEM.

No to LEDs the 3rd gen TL has one of the best HID bi-xenon projector on the market so putting an LED in there is sacrilege and would not even give you good results.

 

quick question, if the light is out and I know it isn't bulb is it even worth messing with or just buy the HID kit and call it a day? Also I have installed plenty of Aftermarket HID kits, never on a car that already was equipped... is this plug and play?

Thanks

 

Yeah, Is it plug and play?

 

JohnWilson,
What year and model are you talking about? HID or LED? You pulled up an old thread need a little clarity for people to respond.