Here is the story. I was kind of feeling that my headlights were not very bright, but they were still fine. And passenger side used to flick from time to time. This was the situation until recently.

Yesterday morning, when I want to the parking lot, I found my car with the horn beeping, most probably since midnight. And the battery was death. It was a very humid night, I am not sure whether it has anything to do with this.
Anyway, I did a jump start, car worked fine.

I drove car almost all day, and at night on my way back, when I turned on the headlight, they came with normal white intensity but both dulls down to weak pinkish in few seconds.

When I tested again today, I decided that something is wrong.

I first turn on the headlights, they both come on at full white intensity. After about 20 seconds, the both side dulls down to a weak pinkish light. Any suggestion whether it is bulb or or some other thing. Since it is both went bad, I guess I cannot swap the bulbs to test it.


Thank you.

 

It could be ballasts, igniters, or bulbs. I guess the cheapeast route is to get a new pair of bubls, you can save them for later use if they were not the bulbs problem. Second is the ballasts, hard to believe both ballasts die at the same time. It makes more sense that both bulbs die at the same time than ballasts.

 

Do you think jump start may have anything to do? Made ballasts to fail maybe?
What is the cheapest way to get bulbs? And can I replace them myself?

 

Jump start can cause problems depending what electrical stuffs you have in your car. But, you didn't jump start with the headlights on, did you? so, I don't think jump starting would ruin your ballasts.

Not sure where you can get the new bulbs, but I think our vendor here has them. It is very easy to replace by yourself, do a search and you will find diy for it.

 

Thanks for the reply.
Who is that vendor you mention?

 

excelerate or heeltoe, you can also find our size bulbs at a bunch of sites online for good prices, all different temps as well

 

Ok, they have it on ebay for $35 each.
I did not know that a HID bulb dies like this, does not go off but just dims intensity.
And 2 bulbs going bad at the same time is also interesting.

 

Today is another rainy day here. And I just went outside to check around and saw my car in panic mode again, beeping and flashing the lights. I do not know why the panic mode kicks in for the last few days.
But I just realized that headlights are also flashing and most probably that made the bulbs to die.

 

Surely, if you headlights flash long enuf, they will die prematurely.