Flicking Headlights !!!

Old Oct 28, 2009 | 08:20 PM
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Question Flicking Headlights !!!

My passenger side headlights been acting up for awhile after I got new 6000K bulbs installed. A month after I got it installed I noticed it flick once in a blue moon but nothing serious and it didnt bother me too much, but now a year later it started to flick everytime I drive. It flicks pretty fast at times and than goes back to normal and starts flicking again and sometimes the entire bulb just goes out and I would have to turn the headlights off and on again to get it back up.

Any ideas what could be wrong? someone please tell me its not the ballast
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Old Oct 29, 2009 | 12:17 AM
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that's kinda what it sounds like to me.
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Old Oct 29, 2009 | 10:15 AM
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Move the bulb over to the other side and see if the trouble follows it. If it stays on the passenger side then i would say ballast, if it moves you know you have a bad bulb. If you are using non phillips or osram bulbs my guess would be the bulb, but ballast is still definately a possibility
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Old Oct 29, 2009 | 10:24 AM
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Higher kelvin bulbs have different level of salts present in the bulbs to produce the color in conjunction with the xenon gas present in the bulb, the flicker is normal. You will notice most of it right after you turn the lights on.
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Old Oct 29, 2009 | 11:02 PM
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lolz..this isnt normal, it flicks all the time now
I noticed a new thing today, when I turn it on the bulb doesnt shine with its full power, it shines less bright but gets brighter after about a min or two, while the driver side bulb is all good and bright right from the beginning.
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Old Nov 5, 2009 | 02:38 PM
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I have the exact same problem with my TL-S, passenger side flicker, a year after installing 6000K's i got from woodbine acura in toronto...! Where did you get your bulbs from? I still haven't had time to troubleshoot the issue, however its becoming really annoying. The bulb might start to flicker then eventually come off, in which case i turn off and on and they work normal until the next spontaneous flickering session...Let me know if you discover anything....
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Old Nov 5, 2009 | 04:37 PM
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lolz to be honest I bought some cheap things from my buddy who sells these things here and there..I can get these replaced with him as they have lifetime warranty but im hesitating cause I have to pay someone to remove my bumper and all that..I aint too good with stuff myself. Im really starting to think its just a loose connection, but yea if i find out whats wrong with mine ill let you know no problem.
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Old Nov 5, 2009 | 05:31 PM
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Its not the ballast, trust me. I replaced mine, and it worked for a week and then eventually my 6K Kaixen bulbs went out. Decided to pull the bulb and the connector arc'ed and cause some of the plastic to melt and short out the bulb, did some clean up and put new bulbs in. good to go. Check the connector on the bulb, most likely thats what your issue is. Don't drop 200-300 on the ballast without checking. Trust me!
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Old Nov 9, 2009 | 09:16 AM
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So i went ahead and pulled out the bulb, checked it out, it looked fine...Checked the connections, looked fine. No signs of melting of any plastic pieces, all clean...Still, later on that evening the flickering commenced.

My next step is changing the bulb. The passenger side was honestly easy being a rookie, once you locate the torx screw on the actual plastic cover its literally a 10 minute job. I wonder how hard its going to be changing the driver's side as i have to change in pairs...:S I hope the problem is simply the bulb. I'll let you know what happens once i change it.
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Old Nov 9, 2009 | 09:58 PM
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Try putting the passanger side bulb on the driver side and see if it flicks on that side.
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Old Nov 9, 2009 | 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Fulani has a TL
Its not the ballast, trust me. I replaced mine, and it worked for a week and then eventually my 6K Kaixen bulbs went out. Decided to pull the bulb and the connector arc'ed and cause some of the plastic to melt and short out the bulb, did some clean up and put new bulbs in. good to go. Check the connector on the bulb, most likely thats what your issue is. Don't drop 200-300 on the ballast without checking. Trust me!
had this same thing happen to me when i replaced my headlights. after constant flickering and smoke from the passenger side headlight took car to the dealer only to find out i didnt connect the bulb properly.
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:44 PM
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Just wanted to update you all, I changed the headlights and problem solved!

With regards to all the write ups on changing headlights, ANYONE WITH a Cold air intake(way more space to work with having a CAI vs stock airbox) and enough experience to know how to remove the wheels and get the car on jack stands, it is a very STRAIGHTFORWARD job and can be done by ANY lamen.

I can't remember how much space there was on the stock air box however all i did was remove the wheels, the inner wheels well guards and the most difficult part for me was locating the torx screw on the most outer cover of the HID bulb. Please note i DID NOT use a specific torx key however both a mini screw driver flat head and an allan key of the right size was able to turn it without damaging it. Once you spot the big plastic cover, (pics can be found by using the search engine) and locate the torx screw which is at the edge of the most outer black cover, its downhill from there...The post on DIY HID w/out bumper removal is the icing on top, it doesn't get much more easier than that and the best 80$(CDN) labour i have saved!

What would i do without this forum! Thanks guys and hope my 2 cents gives you the motivation to go out and do it on your own!
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