So about four months ago, I had 8000k bulbs in my TL and then one day out of the blue, the passenger side goes out. I turned my headlights back on and then the passenger side came back on. But unfortunately five minutes later, it went out again. I figured the bulb was bad and put the stock bulbs back in... Everything worked fine after that. Last week I installed some brand new 10,000k bulbs and the same thing happened as before: only the passenger light goes out after 20 minutes or so. Anyone know whats going on? Do higher Kelvin temperatures also affect the wattage of the bulbs, not just the color? Any ides as how to fix it. I NEED HELP!!!

 

Well from what you stated, the problem clearly isn't the bulb.

I'm pretty sure your ballast is acting up; you should get it replaced.

 

Thats what I was afraid of... anyone know off hand how much one of those would run. Car unfortunately is 6,500 miles out of warranty.

 

You're looking at roughly $100 for just the ballast, and around $150 for the ballast and ignitor.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/06-09...Q5fAccessories

 

sounds like cheap aftermarket bulbs are the culprit- as stock bulbs worked without issue in between sets of replacements- is that correct OP?

4300 is stock color- 6000 is considered highest you can go and still see the road
5000k is an excellent alternative- more blue to see road markings with (it picks out the reflecto stuff in paint) but still plenty of white to see the road surface and obstacles like animals

kaixen brand are well liked at ~100 per pair- see vendors excelerate or one of the hid lighting people for those

cheap bulbs wont do well in the TL, the car seems to have a taste for expensive things,,premium gas,,great tires and brakes...

 

could it be that the aftermarket bulbs get hotter than the stock ones and there is a cuttoff built into the ballast when it reaches a certain a temp? I have no clue though.

 

For anybody who has this problem in the future...

It turns out I was sent a bad bulb. I switched the bulbs in the headlights to test if the ballast truely was the culprit and when that was done, the other headlight went out, ie... BULB WAS THE CULPRIT! Thanks to all that helped out! I dont know how anyone with a TL does without this site.

 

im having the same problem as u...i sent u a pm about whats going on with my bulb except its the drivers side...

if anyone else has had this problem what shud i do?

is it the bulb thats causing the problem?