I have a 2002 TL Non-Type S and occasionally, my drivers side lowbeam will not come on. Then it will work fine. Then occasionally my Passenger Side will not come on. Occasionally they both won't come on and I have to drive with my high beams but by the time I get to where I'm going (usually 30 minutes or more away) Either one or both lowbeams have came on. Back in September, my wife was driving the car and ran over a median and busted the oil pan and some other things. This is when I can pinpoint back to about the time this started so I don't know if it is related or not. I have had the car since 2004 and I know that it had some body work done to it prior to that so I am not positive if the lights are OEM or aftermarket. I have never replaced the bulbs since I have had it.

I've replaced both HID Fuses as I read on a previous thread to do that before addressing the bulbs or ballasts. Originally, I thought I just had a burned out bulb but when they both started giving me sporatic problems, I knew there might be something else. Additionally I have not noticed any type of "Death" color when they come on. It is so sporatic that it if I go to a shop to get them to put a tester on it, they both work and we can't replicate the problem. Any thoughts on this?

 

Hey Fellglenn, the best thing to do would be to get into the headlamp assemblies and check all of the wiring connections and grounds. It's possible that something is either loose or corroded causing the intermittent issues. There are DIY's for replacing the bulbs and also the entire ballast/ignitor system.

Also try swapping the relay for the headlamps, but more than likely there's some moisture present......and playing games with the lights ! Best of luck !!!

 

Thanks for the advice. With both lights all of sudden giving issues, my thought from other things makes it sound like it could be something central since the ballasts and bulbs are specific to one side. In 10 years of the car and 190k miles, it is hard to think that both ballasts or bulbs would start acting up within weeks of each other. Your advice on the relay might have some really good merit. I did notice that there are two lighting relays in the fuse panel. Do you know which one would be the appropriate. I have to order them in and they are not $5 bucks like other standard relays so if I only have to get one, just need to know which to get.

 

Hey Fellglenn, The low headlamps have the extra "HID" specific components, while the highs are just regular design.
I think that there is an individual relay for each side. It's unlikely that both relays would go bad at the same time, IMO.

With a bit of further thought, I'd suggest checking the grounds for these HID headlamps. The wiring connections could very easily cause the sporadic situation you've mentioned. Moisture and corrosion can really mess with these components.

 

So I have just been procrastinating on working on this. The car has just been sitting and only been driven on sunny days that I won't need the lights. I've been driving my jeep when I will need some headlights. I am about to get on fixing this as I am selling my jeep and my sell the car so want to have everything back and working. Can you tell where I might be able find the ground for the lights?

 

Hey Fellglenn,

I am having the same issues. My driver went out, after replacing all the front bulbs I noticed that the passenger ballast has what looks like brown residue in the plug. Lights would change sides/ etc... I have not taken the relay route, instead I am trying to hunt down a ballast. ... any updates??

 

Hey Sallendtp, the residue may be corrosion which would inhibit good contact.
Try some electrical spray cleaner available at Radio Shack to clean the plug, then apply a bit of dielectric lube on it.

Does swapping sides with a known good bulb do anything ?

 

I swapped bulbs and put on a new ballast to the effected side. The only thing I did not try was flip-flopping the ballasts. Can you PM me with links to the sprays you are talking about please. I googled electric spray & the little can is about $150...

 

Try your local Radio Shack or most any specialty electronics shop.
Last time I bought some electrical cleaner, it was about $5.oo @ Walmart for the CRC brand.

But if ya swapped sides and the problem persists, it could be better to consider replacing the OEM setup with an aftermarket HID kit.
These are less than $100 for the entire kit available from HIDextra.com. , one of the site's sponsors in the Black Market.

 

$59 - 10-15% coupons = 55$ for total kit to fix our problems
www.hidextra.com
the symptoms and conditions noted above are classic moisture inside lens drips onto ballast failures
that wont be a prob with the new modern compact sized Waterproof parts!

suggest 5000K color bulbs