For quite some time my driver side HID has not been working. It started as moisture in the headlight which over time turned into a small pool of water. Eventually the headlight bulb stopped working, low and high beam. I’ve since had my headlights cleaned and re sealed, and replaced ballast and igniter. Ive tried 3 bulbs. Everything else functions fine on the lights except the hi and lo beam. What else could’ve been water damaged resulting in this issue? Appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

If bulb, ballast, and igniter are new then there's not much left. You sure that ballast is getting power? Did you check the fuse?

 

Yes I checked fuses, everything is hooked up I don’t have a multi meter however which I’m sure I’ll need to further diagnose. I plugged opposite headlight in to test and it worked perfect so it’s definitely the headlight that’s the issue not the wiring on the car. I also should’ve mentioned at first the headlight flickered after changing ballast and igniter a few times upon switching lights on, now I get nothing.

im strongly considering trying LED bulbs as I hear that they don’t require any ballast igniter etc. I’m tired of headlight issues and have spent a lot of money having these resealed and fitted with RGB halos. If anyone has used LEDS I’d appreciate input from you on that as well. I need something reliable and bright enough that won’t be a ton more work!

 

There are D2S LED bulbs but there is no chance they will even approach light output of good quality hid bulbs. If opposite headlight works when plugged to non working side connector then start swapping things between the headlights. Is ballast new? Aftermarket?

I mean at this point it should be 5 minutes to figure out what is bad. You did all the work already.

 

any light output is better than none at this point LOL. New ballast and igniter both aftermarket from Amazon. I’m interested in the LED approach just wondering if those will work properly given the issues I’ve been having with HIDS or not.

 

you got fake products son!

no, LEDS will not be good.

 

What did you buy for bulbs and a ballast?

 

Yeah I cheaped out, got some cheap crap ballast, igniter and bulb combo for 50$ on Amazon LOL. Chinese brand. Yes, I’ve heard all over forums about how “LED is a downgrade from our amazing fantastic HID setup” however - if it is not functioning it is of no use to me. I’m over the HIDS at this point and not interested in spending hundreds of dollars on new OEM ballast igniter etc. I just finished replacing a clutch and flywheel and various other joints mounts & components so I’m trying to keep the cost down considering. Plus I got my headlights fitted with halos so they’re already looking great I just need a working headlight bulb!

I respect everyone’s opinion about keeping HIDS but from my research it seems i can get LEDs that are D2S fitting and have their own cooling built in. These run without use of the ballast and igniter. Positive and negative for power and they should be ready to rock. All for 100$. So that being said, does anyone have personal experience or knowledge using this kind of setup?

 

If you want leds then go for it, but if money would be tight I would prefer to look for used OEM ballast. Check out ebay or car-part.com for junkyard listings.

 

yeah, used parts are very difficult for me. Very few wreckers in my area and they usually only have one base model that has been picked apart already. I will have a look though, thanks for the input. I’m also wondering if something besides the bulb, ballast or igniter could cause the issue but I didn’t see anything else that seemed to be related.

 

Not surprised the Chinesium parts off Amazon didn't work. But you should recognize that's not an inherent HID problem, it's a scammy aftermarket parts problem. I think by going LED you'd be inviting new problems and your best outcome is reduced output vs stock.

eBay has tons of junkyard sellers with working OEM headlight components, so there's no reason to rely on a local junkyard. I'm speaking from experience: in January I replaced my driver side headlight entirely, and this month I'm doing the passenger side.

 

Thankyou for your input! I had a day off today and ripped apart my front end once again. After swapping the ballast and igniter from passenger side to drivers side I have concluded that my issue is indeed a faulty ballast and / or igniter. I have ordered the proper preowned OEM replacement from eBay which surprisingly was $73CAD shipped! In about a month I should receive my part and no longer worry about being stopped for a headlight out lol.