Acuramon

Okay, I've had my TL since late November but have put off looking into this. Whenever I turn my headlights off then try to turn them back on immediately either nothing happens or only one light comes on. Sometimes only the right and sometimes only the left, it doesn't seem to matter. I have to wait about one to two minutes to try again and then both lights work fine. It's really weird. Has anybody had this problem before? Is there some switch that's going bad or something? Please tell me this isn't normal.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

the bulbs, ballast, or igniter, might be going bad.
to trouble shoot, switch a known good bulb into the side that keeps going out.
do this for the ballast as well.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Yeah something is going bad, but for what it's worth I don't recommend turning HID's on and off like that. Besides the fact I'm not sure why you even do that anyway, but doing that puts a lot of strain on the bulbs and ballasts.

Jesstzn

He doesn't have that option .. both are doing it.

EvilVirus

iTrader: (8)

^ I think what spaceman is getting at is if OP tries new bulbs first (regardless of which side its doing) and the issue proceeds; then it will rule out the bulb not being the problem. OP can next move onto the ballast and igniter.

Acuramon

It's one of those things, for me anyway, that a person does without paying much attention unless the lights don't work as they should. For example, the first time I discovered the issue, I parked the car at night and turned it off only to discover that somebody was pulling out of a better parking spot so I started the car back up to get the spot and tried to turn the lights on. It can also be a problem if I run into a convenience store to grab something quickly only to find I have to wait about a minute before the lights will come on. Lastly, sometimes on my way in to work in the early morning, I pull up next to my wife's parked car to retrieve something I left in there. Normally, I would stop the engine and turn the lights off but don't want to now because of the wait before I can get the lights working properly again. Just little things that are starting to become more of an inconvenience to me as time goes on.

Acuramon

Worth a try although I'm fairly certain it's not the bulbs. I was thinking something electrical (and more expensive). Thanks justnspace, I will give it a try tomorrow.

ez12a

something is going bad,

but turning the headlights off and on without letting it rest isn't helping either.

My rule of thumb and it works great on ebay HIDs, 5 minutes to warm up before turning off, 5 minutes before trying to turn them back on again.

there's a reason why caddy's took "flash-to-pass" out when they moved to HIDs.

bla8291

I was under the impression that you were turning them off and on immediately. But in the case of turning them off and running in the house to get something, that shouldn't be a problem. So I'd say you have some kind of electrical issue in your headlight assembly.

GKinColo08TL

I have an 08 with the auto headlight option on my car. So everytime I start the car in the garage the lights come on because it is dark enough in the garage, or going through a tunnel they will turn on and then when I back out of the garage they will go off or at the end of a tunnel they go off. I've never had an issue. If there is an issue with HID bulbs then why would there be this auto headlight option?

dcmodels

The first note is definite - not sure about the second (or why). Besides, I never drive for more than an hour at a time anyway, and certainly not for 3-hours non-stop - I need to gas-up and pee.

NOTE: Follow the 5-minute rule. If you must power on the system, let it run for at least 5 minutes. This ensures that the salts [inside the glass bulb] reach their optimal operating temperature. Short usage times will severely decrease the useful life of the salts, meaning [Kelvin] colorshift will occur much more quickly. If you turn the system off, keep it powered down for at least 5 minutes so the salts can properly return to a powder. Also, do not start or stop the engine with the HID system powered ON.

NOTE: Never run the HIDs for more than 3 hours at a time. After 3 hours, let the system stay powered off for 5 minutes or more before you turn it on again. This may make nighttime road trips more tricky, but it will give you a chance to pull over and rest.

dcmodels

My 2009 RDX has no such option (auto-on), and the RDX DRL and flash-to-pass is on the high-beam Halogens, not on the Low-beam HIDs. Are you certain that those features are on your 08 TL HIDs??