I purchased some replacement bulbs Philips 85122 for my 05 acura tl after my left bulb started to get really dim /purple and then went out after 8 years of use. I installed the bulbs right when I got them, the install took about 1.5 hours which I was not happy about but i made sure to use extreme caution and cleaned off with the alcohol pads provided. The bulbs worked great up until this past Saturday I pulled up to the store and noticed that the bulb was out but this time it was the right side. I was extremely frustrated and was convinced that the bulbs I bought were faulty or at least one of them were. I ended up swapping the bulb out with the old one that still worked and the bulb came on.

I was planning on getting a hold of my retailer and get another one sent out but then last night I got in my car and the right side bulb went out again. I was really about to lose it, until I got home and got out of the car I enabled my keyless entry which turns off all my lights normally and then right after I unlocked the car to get something out of the car (this normally turns on the lights back on) only to notice that the light was back on, I was the what the hell I enabled the keyless and disabled and the light was out again. I was looking online for ideas on what it might be and there is a lot of info out there but nothing solid. I ended going back outside to see if I can hear the lights engaging (buzzing sound they normally make) and right when I got to the car I unlocked my car too check and boom the light was back on. I turned them off and back on and the light was off again it appears that when its off a for short while the light comes back on but if you try to restart them right away the right one continues to stay off. No flicker, no nothing its just off. I compared sounds when the left one that works and the right one that doesn't and as stupid as this sounds the working one starts up and you here the bbzzzzzzzzzzzzz all the way through as its on, the left side you hear the same sound only shorter (a slight bzzzzz and then nothing) no flicker no light of any kind nothing.

I was considering taking the car to the dealer but labor on a job light that will be expensive not to mention dealer pricing on parts. The last thing I want to buy is parts for it like a ignitor or ballast only to find out its something simple. Is there any way you guys might know what this can be or perhaps help me trouble shot this. I want to make sure I know what it the issue before I buy those parts are expensive as you guys obviously know. I want wondering that perhaps its the connection between the bulb and the harness I'm not 100% sure but looked inside and saw a bit of dark grime like right at the socket but it was minimal I didn't think much of it at the time.

Im not sure if the bulb I purchased is burnt or not I haven't had a chance to reinstall it and test it planning on doing it when I'm inspecting the system / trouble shooting. Is there anyway to tell if the bulb is good by looking at it? just wondering

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

The problem seems to be consistent, I just tried the lights out after a night of not being on and both lights are on and stayed on until I turned them off (about 10min). Then I tried them again right after turning them off and the right one didn't turn back on. I'm starting to rule out the igniter because they turn on but I can be wrong. As for the ballast i'm not sure what the exact signs of a bad ballast are.

 

take the bumper off and swap the parts from the left to the right side one at a time! This will help you figure out if it's the ignitor, ballast or bulb! You already said that you put in the old bulb in and it still continued! Try swapping out the ballasts and see if the problem moves to the other side.

 

Sounds like your igniter is going bad....take the igniter off the left side bulb and look at the contact points on the igniter where back side of the bulb will go. If it looks burnt or melted then you need to replace it. Btw they are around 260 at the dealer

 

Yeah that's the way it seems like to me all eyes seem to be on the ballast which I understand why but I would like to avoid that purchase unless I absolutely have to.

I remember seeing grime and possible melting on the socket part but not really noticeable. Thinking about picking this one off ebay because if I were to buy new I would just get a whole ballast and igniter asst from retrofit.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...eqjH0lDrNa7cvw

 

Perhaps this one because it comes with the rubber piece that connects to the ballast, not sure if I will be able to reuse the one that's on my car.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...W_URlf_5mnihgw

Also is it possible to unplug this thing without removing the bumper? Just wondering how much time this will take.

 

Quick update problem was the ignitor, swapped it out today and problem solved. Sadly bumper needed to be removed to access the connector between the ignitor and the ballast but I did not have to remove the headlight assembly. After bumper is off the ballast is assessable from underneath the head light housing.