The day I bought the car I tried to go to the store at night and noticed my driver side headlight wasn't work. If I turned it on and off it would eventually come on. So I came here and read some and was told to switch the headlights using the other ballast and it seemed to work. So I figured the ballast was bad. I guess I didn't try it long enough because its not the ballast. I read here its cheaper and more cost effective to order an after market kit from hidextra. I got them yesterday and got them installed today. Everything went smooth.

Guess what, the driver side is still only working when It feels like it. So since everything is new, HID kit with ballasts, igniters, bulbs I figure its wiring somewhere.

Is there a ground somewhere that can cause this? It seems to only ever be the driver side. Ill check to see if power is supplied to the new ballast every time the switch is turned on tomorrow. Was just hoping someone would have some incite.

I guess I have 2 good OEM ballasts and igniters tho lol.

 

I was about to ask if you actually changed out the igniter(sp). Did you swap over the bulbs an ballast to the other side to see if the problem followed? It could be a wiring issue, but im just naming off some things to do first.

 

Well I put new parts in both headlights today, a whole aftermarket HID kit. Since its doing the same thing it has to be a wiring issue id think. Just wondered if there was grounds for the headlights or something. I didn't see anything while it was apart. Just the wire harnesses might have one back in the body per side.

Was hoping someone would know.

 

em....I wouldn't have used an aftermarket kit.. i do have some used OEM ones for sale..but yes there is a ground on the projector..

 

Yea but its doing the same thing with OEM and Aftermarket ballast, bulbs, etc....

I know about the ground strap going from the igniter to the bulb, what about back up in the body tho? Something has to be causing this to happen.

 

Today the headlight was working fine, on off on off on off works good. I left them on while I was driving around. I got to a store and checked them and the driver side was out. Now it doesn't come on at all!

The fuses under the hood are fine. I checked the connection to the ballast of the new HID's and its getting power everytime the switch is turned on.... Just the light doesn't work anymore at all!

 

Well I just went outside and tried it after about an hour, it come on once and doesn't work again...

 

Just went out again in another hour and it came on about 5 times in a row, then it came on and immediately went out. What are the coincidences that the driver side would be messed up with OEM and after market installed? Like I said it does get 12 volts to the ballast connector.

 

ive been having the same issue, i actually had to put my low beams in my fog light spot to get them to work for now until im able to mess with it again

 

Did you also try to buy aftermarket HID's to try and fix it? It makes no sense since it works sometimes, yet is always getting power to start the ballast.

 

i had a similar issue and it was the ballast on its way out. would work when it wanted to but a used ballast fixed the issue without hurting the wallet. would never install an aftermarket hid kit unless it was for fogs or something else. just step by step eliminate all the culprits till u figure it out

 

Well hidextra sent me a new ballast and its doing the same thing. Last night I decided to go on a trip and that wasn't fun. The driver side kept going out. Id pull over and flick them off and on till it came back. Normally it would last about 5 minutes.

Well I guess it died and doesn't work at all now. This is the messed up part, BOTH headlights stopped working going down the highway in pitch black dark!! I pulled over and manage to get the pass side working again, drove it for a bit to try and get home. It happened 3 more times! I coulda died, could thing no traffic was around. Could you imagine driving and a car coming at you headlight's go out? They could have been freaked out and crashed as well!

I don't know what to do about this crap.....

 

I don't know if the TL is wired different, but this same thing happened to my Nissan pickup. First high beam went out on one side...new bulb didn't fix it...then low beam on the same side...Out of desperation, I wired the lights directly to the other side that still worked for a few days till i had time to work on it more. When I had time to later trace the problem down with a wire diagram and a multimeter, I discovered that the switch has separate contacts for high and low beam divided left and right. So basically left high, left low, right high, right low, and tail/park were each separate circuits (5 circuits total) off the switch and the switch had gone bad one leg at a time. I ordered the inexpensive replacement switch from rockauto.com and problem solved.

 

Does anyone have input on the relay harness? hidextra has been really helpful and understanding. They have been sending me all new parts for free! But I haven't tried the relay harness yet. They swear I don't need it in an acura tl...

I dunno, Im sick of this and don't feel dying because I have to drive at night.

 

no one? This is sort of important.

Thanks.

 

Check the grounding point behind the bumper under the L.Side headlamp. I came across a problem similar to this where the lamps would work intermittenly. I wish i had a picture, but when you remove the bumper,you will see what i'm talking about.

The problem in this particular case,was that the aftermarket intake was strapped to the same bolt that the grounding strap was attached to, and vibrated the bracket off the intake,therefore,leaving the ground loose and unable to make proper contact.

Worth a shot.

 

Under the pass side headlight? I actually read your post when doing a search lol. It has to be something other than the lamps, ballasts or igniters because I changed them all. I will look for the ground strap your talking about, hopefully is ripped off or something lol.

 

Oh you said intake side. Are these what your talking about?

 

I have a similar issue to this day going on couple months now. I swapped bulbs, ballasts, ignitors, checked ground, relay, etc. My next step is to check the CPU controlling the whole bad boy. Has anyone tried this route? If so, what is the part number so I can check prices for a replacement to determine if it is worth experimenting on. Thanks in advance.

 

That is the grounding location i was talking about.

The MICU? That usually causes problems more-so with interior electrical. But,if that's your route. Sometimes just a simple disconnecting the battery for a while and touching both cables together for a few seconds drains the power enough to "reset" the MICU. I posted about this somewhere else on this forum too,just can't remember why. But honda themselves have this procedure as one of their "diagnosing" steps.

 

I took it all apart today and those ground connections were covered in junk. I thought yea that's my problem. I took the off cleaned everything up like new and bam, it still didn't work lol.

I started switching things per side and just trying to wrap my head around it. I proceeded to change the bulbs and noticed inside the igniters that they looked a little burnt. The connection that touched the bulb prong. I cleaned them up and bent them down some so the connection would be stronger. Guess what? They both seem to be working perfectly now.

I haven't tested it much but it might be something to look for with headlight issues. Ill post back in a couple days of testing.

 

I thought you had brand new igniters?

 

I do, they obviously are made like ****. I am going to call HIDextra today and explain. I cant complain about their customer service tho. They sent me all new ballasts, 2 new bulbs and a relay harness for free just to help troubleshoot. I guess they should have sent 2 new igniters.

 

Nitro, I am having a similar problem. I have a 2nd Gen and the same HIDextra kit. Did you ever have any issue with your fuses? My fuse blows a second after I turn them on.

 

none of my fuses ever blew. Id check your ds2 connector. The metal in the center is pushed back to far and barely touches the prong on the bulb. It causes a short and burns the connection. That's what was going on with mine. They haven't messed up yet cross fingers.

 

Just a last update incase anyone reads this a year from now. Everything is ok still. So if you having headlight probs check your ds2 connecter.

 

I'm troubleshooting a similar issue, wondering if someone knows if there is an actual HID relay on the 2005 TSX?

I've replaced the Ballast, Igniter, and Bulb, and the headlight still will not come on.
The Fuse is good.
I'm not sure what else to check, I've been searching for a wire harness as a last ditch effort.

I actually had a pretty gruesome fight with having both HID out at once, I was troubleshooting the Pass and swapped ballasts with the battery connected, which cooked them both. So two ballasts later I'm right back to square one. :/

 

I had the same issue going on now and I found out that the aftermarket intake was obstructing the ground points on the left hand side. Everything in the left of the car didng want to work. I took off the intake and connected to another spot, tightened all the ground points back to normal and Boom solved!!

 

nice! I have the same thing going on too! Ive been scratching my head over it but I think this may be it. My car is low, I hit a pothole on that side then I noticed afterwards my shit was flickering all the time

 

Hey All. I am reading this 4 years later. I just purchased an 06 RL A-aspec and an having this problem. Thank god for Acurazine and NitroViper. I’ll check to see if it’s the DS2 connector.

 

did you find the problem , my car is doing the same thing

 

 

Does anyone know if the ballast and/or igniter share the same part numbers with other Acura’s or Honda’s?

i have an 07 TL who’s pass side is flickering and failing more frequently. I want to buy a used set but want to expand my options and see if another make/model will fit.

thanks in advance!!