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i have an 07 Type S that was in an accident recently and had some repairs done. The shop has been helpful and quick to respond to my questions and concerns.
They had to replace quite a bit on the passenger side (Whole front bumper, headlight, fender). I noticed the passenger side light (the one they replaced) is significantly dimmer than the stock light on the driver side.
Im not incredibly savvy on the HID setup in general but to me it looks like one they replaced is dying or exhibiting what I would think and older bulb would do. The tricky part is I'm not sure what the problem could be or how to explain it to the repair shop.
Can you guys recommend any solutions or possible causes for this issue? It is something as simple as they installed the wrong temperature bulb or could it be the actually light behind the projector lense is not aligned correctly?
Any insight and help is greatly appreciated!!
Passenger(left in picture) was replaced after an accident. They said it was an OEM headlight. It the light output and color don't match the stock one on the drivers side.
this could be a number of possibilities considering you just had your car repaired on the same side thats causing the issue
do you know if the shop that replaced your headlights are brand new or used? its very common for shops to use, used oem parts.. so its possible the bulb itself needs to be replaced.. a lot of times a bad hid bulb will start turning light pink.. as the bulb gets worse itll turn from light pink to a very pinkish color and you'll very easily notice decreased light performance aka dimming
another possibility is the shop installed the bulb wrong.. i recently just replaced both hid bulbs because one caught pink eye.. i made a mistake and didnt line up the tabs in the projector when i replaced my passenger side and this caused the bulb to provide a weird light output.. the passenger side cutoff/beam pattern was all out of whack and it appeared the bulb looked dim because it wasnt seated correctly.. once i went back in and adjust the bulb to sit correctly it fixed my issue
if you decide to DIY this is what you can expect just to replace a pair of hid bulbs
[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/qkaYVG0.png)
it's also very possible your passenger headlight assembly just needs to be readjusted aka needs to be aimed properly.. you can find out if this is causing the issue by placing your car 25 ft away from a flat even surface pointed at a wall... make sure both cutoff beams are leveled and if they arent you'll notice it right away when you see the wall your projecting the light at How to Aim Headlights ? Driving Lights or High Beam Only Headlights
lastly you can try swapping your left and right bulbs from your headlights and see if it does the same thing.. process of elimination will help narrow the issue!
also just a tip so you know, 3rd gen TLs have the worst design flaw when it comes to replacing the low beams.. there are several ways you can replace the bulb without pulling the bumper off and you can find those methods on youtube BUT space is extremely tight going this route AND if you still have the security torx screw still holding the back seal together and you will have to pull the bumper off to get to it... i got quoted $250 to replace the left and right hid bulbs at a local acura specialty shop
i laughed at the price and went home and did it myself but it took around 2 hours to remove the bumper, remove both headlights, and reinstalling everything back
if you're planning DIY, this is what you can expect just to replace or swap a pair of headlight bulbs
Last edited by champaned_out; 06-28-2017 at 12:55 AM.
to sum it up:
- shop may have used aftermarket DEPO headlight which has a poor projector.
- shop may have used an old bulb.
- shop may have not installed bulb correctly.
- shop may have not adjusted headlight correctly.
so, at this point...you need to confirm with the shop, which headlight they used (DEPO or OEM) and which bulb they used...(new, used, OEM, Aftermarket?)
then, need to check to see if bulb is installed correctly, with the tabs in their correct position.
this could be a number of possibilities considering you just had your car repaired on the same side thats causing the issue
do you know if the shop that replaced your headlights are brand new or used? its very common for shops to use, used oem parts.. so its possible the bulb itself needs to be replaced.. a lot of times a bad hid bulb will start turning light pink.. as the bulb gets worse itll turn from light pink to a very pinkish color and you'll very easily notice decreased light performance aka dimming
another possibility is the shop installed the bulb wrong.. i recently just replaced both hid bulbs because one caught pink eye.. i made a mistake and didnt line up the tabs in the projector when i replaced my passenger side and this caused the bulb to provide a weird light output.. the passenger side cutoff/beam pattern was all out of whack and it appeared the bulb looked dim because it wasnt seated correctly.. once i went back in and adjust the bulb to sit correctly it fixed my issue
if you decide to DIY this is what you can expect just to replace a pair of hid bulbs
[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/qkaYVG0.png)
it's also very possible your passenger headlight assembly just needs to be readjusted aka needs to be aimed properly.. you can find out if this is causing the issue by placing your car 25 ft away from a flat even surface pointed at a wall... make sure both cutoff beams are leveled and if they arent you'll notice it right away when you see the wall your projecting the light at How to Aim Headlights ? Driving Lights or High Beam Only Headlights
lastly you can try swapping your left and right bulbs from your headlights and see if it does the same thing.. process of elimination will help narrow the issue!
also just a tip so you know, 3rd gen TLs have the worst design flaw when it comes to replacing the low beams.. there are several ways you can replace the bulb without pulling the bumper off and you can find those methods on youtube BUT space is extremely tight going this route AND if you still have the security torx screw still holding the back seal together and you will have to pull the bumper off to get to it... i got quoted $250 to replace the left and right hid bulbs at a local acura specialty shop
i laughed at the price and went home and did it myself but it took around 2 hours to remove the bumper, remove both headlights, and reinstalling everything back
if you're planning DIY, this is what you can expect just to replace or swap a pair of headlight bulbs
Thank you champaned_out for the detailed and insightful response!
I did verify with the shop that the headlight and housing are OEM when I picked up the car but the service rep I had been working with was not in on the weekend. The gentleman who was there didn't have as much knowledge on what was done with the car so I need to check on the bulb and verify if it is OEM, used, etc. I am going to try and get it down to the shop and have them take a look at it today. At the very least they can verify if everything is seated correctly and maybe swap the bulbs to see if that is the issue (fingers crossed it is something that simple).
I did attempt to adjust the headlights thinking that the passenger headlight might have been aimed too low but it matched the specs and measurements listed in the post you shared, it does show that they "aimed" the headlights on the summary page so at least they did that right haha. One thing I did notice is that the light being projected from the dim side doesn't look as crisp, if that makes any sense haha. When you look at them side by side on a wall the dim one seems to be blurrier than the driver side. Interestingly enough I decided to look at both headlights (probably shouldn't have looked directly at them haha) and it looks like the bulb or ballast behind the passenger projector sits higher than the driver side. Maybe the light is hitting the lens at a different angle? I am wondering if it might be an incorrectly seated bulb or ballast causing the issue, is that something would also cause the drastic difference in brightness and color though?
Oh man! I think I am going to try and see how much I can get the shop to troubleshoot before I have to go the DIY route like you did.
look at the outter lense if there "Stanley" logo stamp then its OEM, other will say something else. Other member here had similar experience and his body shop used depo headlight instead of OEM.
what you are describing is an improperly seated bulb! stick your hand in there and twist it out, then twist it back in...properly!
err.. I wouldn't twist it.. that's not how D2S bulbs seat. There's a little spring that keeps the D2s bulb in the holder. Undo spring, make sure it's seated and positioned properly with the tab and then re-apply spring.
Here's a link to the thread in the Garage that details the proper procedure:
Okay, just ran out and verified that the replacement housing does say "Stanley" on the housing. This confirms at the very least the headlight assemble should be OEM right? Hopefully it is just an issue with the way the bulbs are seated and they can take a look and make sure the tab and spring as you mentioned.
As "easy" or straight forward this job is to check and fix, don't bother. It's not your job to fix something someone didn't do right.
yes, but if you have the skill and knowhow, it's silly to bring it back to the shop for a simple twist of the bulb. (the notches have to line up, thus why I keep saying twist.)
yes, but if you have the skill and knowhow, it's silly to bring it back to the shop for a simple twist of the bulb. (the notches have to line up, thus why I keep saying twist.)
Sure, but since you have to take off the bumper and the headlight to do everything it's easier for a guy who doesn't know bulb apart from ballast to just drop it off to the shop and get it fixed for free.
Silly to go back to the shop would be because they forgot a bolt to put in under the bumper, or mis-aligned the headlights. Getting down and dirty for 2 hours, not silly to go to the shop in my eyes
Last edited by guitarplayer16; 06-28-2017 at 03:19 PM.
sound like you got OEM part, however I wouldn't want to mess with it just because insurance already paid for the work. I would bring the car back to them and have them do whatever to get it proper realigned.
sound like you got OEM part, however I wouldn't want to mess with it just because insurance already paid for the work. I would bring the car back to them and have them do whatever to get it proper realigned.
Okay...I am starting to wonder if the bulb is bad or they didn't handle it correctly. I took it in and they could tell the bulb and controller didn't properly align and reaimed both of them. I could see an improvement in the light output and uniformity but it was daylight out.
However as as you can see in the picture below the bulb is still slightly pink and dimmer than the driver side. I was able to confirm after getting it home and looking in my garage that it still wasn't the correct color. I called them up and asked if they used the old bulb from the damaged headlight and they said yes... The only new parts they ordered and installed are the main headlight assembly and ballast (they called it controller). They then told me to drive it for a week and come back in if it's still an issue...
I know that HID bulbs don't have filaments like normal bulbs but if it was mishandled or slightly damaged in the accident could that explain the dim light and color difference? I don't think it makes sense to reuse a bulb from a damaged headlight (see picture of damage below).
Is the bulb bad? Damaged headlight
It's quite clear now that the bulb is bad. Before your accident the bulb was functioning properly; now the same bulb is much dimmer and slightly pink. Hoping it matches the driver side bulb (which I assume has gone through the exact same amount of usage) after a week of driving would be wishful thinking.
Their job was to restore your car to like original condition. Have them change it out to a new bulb and you should be all good
Don't worry, you're not being anal. This isn't a case of one being marginally brighter than the other, it's very clear in your pictures that the passenger side bulb is much dimmer.
Edit: I agree with truonghthe. If you can drive around like this for a week (it shouldn't be that bad), and then return to the shop and tell them the bulb is still the same. That way you can stay on their good side At least you know what the problem is, though.
Last edited by guitarplayer16; 06-29-2017 at 10:29 AM.
its possible your old bulb damage from the collision, and its hard to tell if that is the case. I would drive for whatever time period they recommend and bring the car back to them so they can fix the problem.
Their job was to restore your car to like original condition. Have them change it out to a new bulb and you should be all good
Don't worry, you're not being anal. This isn't a case of one being marginally brighter than the other, it's very clear in your pictures that the passenger side bulb is much dimmer.
haha thanks! I keep feeling like I am being a jerk or irrational for wanting to get this headlight fixed. During the daylight, when the repair shop is open, you can tell the passenger side is slightly dimmer but it isn't nearly as drastic in comparison to low light conditions.
Originally Posted by truonghthe
its possible your old bulb damage from the collision, and its hard to tell if that is the case. I would drive for whatever time period they recommend and bring the car back to them so they can fix the problem.
Absolutely, my worry is that they are going to try and say that it's the best they can do which I would understand if it was slightly dimmer. However, the passenger side is noticeably dimmer than the driver side and I am not sure what my options would be if they try to tell me they are done working on it.I suppose I could take the issue and pictures to my insurance company and see where it goes from there.
I find it odd that they think the issue will be corrected over a week but I don't want to put myself in a situation where they won't fix the issue. I am going to try and remain patient and cross that bridge next week, fingers crossed they are willing to do some more troubleshooting and at the very least install a new bulb or even swap them to see if the issue is with the bulb or not.
Thank you guys for your input, it definitely helps me work through this nonsense
Now this may be a dumb question/observation but I was wondering if the bulb is going bad would it only be pink at certain angles or all?
If I get down low enough the dim light will be a similar color to the good bulb, does that eliminate the possibility of a bad bulb? Is it possible for the hardware behind the projector lens to be so far off that I would have to be on the ground to get a similar light coming out of it?
Yeah if it's misaligned then yes. Or if the bulb is defective and the electrode is crooked. Tons of possibilities but again, the shop didn't get your car back to its previous state. Why don't you just take it back rather than try and troubleshoot yourself
Yeah if it's misaligned then yes. Or if the bulb is defective and the electrode is crooked. Tons of possibilities but again, the shop didn't get your car back to its previous state. Why don't you just take it back rather than try and troubleshoot yourself
I couldn't agree more and I definitely want to take it back into the shop to have it fixed. My fear is that they are going to try and tell me that it's the "best' they can do. I figure if I have some insight or ideas on what might be causing the problem I can have some knowledge on my side if they try to do that. They already want me to drive it around for a week (next Wednesday) before bringing it back in. Clearly this issue is not something that is going to correct itself but I want to make sure I am playing by the rules to stay on their good side.
Now this may be a dumb question/observation but I was wondering if the bulb is going bad would it only be pink at certain angles or all?
If I get down low enough the dim light will be a similar color to the good bulb, does that eliminate the possibility of a bad bulb? Is it possible for the hardware behind the projector lens to be so far off that I would have to be on the ground to get a similar light coming out of it?
A bad bulb or a bulb thats going bad will change to a pinkish color all around, meaning no matter what angle you're looking at it, it should look pink.. i think what's happening is you are looking at the top of the cutoff which will color shift and as you go lower the color return to normal, that's normal if you are looking at the light output from the front of your car and slowly lowering your eye level
our TL's dont have nearly as much color at the cutoff like this one does in the picture but this should show you the reason why the color shifts and returns to the normal when you are eye level with the cutoff and then continue to lower your eye level
it's possible you might not have a bad bulb, probably more of a bulb alignment problem, its a easy fix if that is the problem, however getting to the bulb is a complete bitch if your projectors still have the security screws locking the cap in place
ask the shop to double check the bulb and see if its seated properly, its very easy to misalign the bulbs in the projector because even with a misaligned bulb you can still lock the tabs to hold the bulb in place and the cap will fit without a problem, you'll only notice its misaligned once you fire up the bulbs and you see the beam pattern, which is exactly what happened to me
Last edited by champaned_out; 07-10-2017 at 06:16 PM.
06-27-2017, 11:08 PM
At least you know what the problem is, though.
