DurgyNess

Was driving around last night , and i've noticed the flicker
then all off a sudden both bulbs go out, so i turn the lights off and back on and they both came back on.

Then the left one turned off when i parked. So i turned the lights off and on again and it came back on

This would be a ballast problem right?

DurgyNess

you can close found the links relating to this.

Thanks

Blazing GT

common problem...i must have change these bulbs a zillion times..

stevesrl

Even thou you stated you found the links to this subject, I thought I would respond as to help you as best I can with what I have experienced. I hope other will appreciate this as well and can gain from this response. It is clear, concise, and worked for me.

1) I had one headlight which would flicker and when the flickering headlight would go out, it caused the other one to flicker and sometimes even go out too. So I would have on occasion no headlights.

2) This literally scared the $%(& out of me and would not even let the wife drive the car at night. When I drove at night I kept one hand on the switch ready to respond in case a light went out. As you know, a simple off/on would bring the light/s back on.

3) The igniters are fine if when you turn the switch off and then back on results in the lights re-illuminating. Igniters do just as they are named-they ignite the salt contained in the HIDS.

4) The reason the headlight flickers is:

(A) The bulbs are near the end of there life cycle and will not stay lit.

(B) The ballast is not working properly and an interruption in constant voltage is occurring. Ballast take low voltage and convert it to extremely high voltage (12 W to 25,000 W). An interruption in output ballast voltage (not constant) causes the HID's to flicker. If the output is significantly out of normal, the headlight will flicker/go out. This is why simply turning the switch off and on turns the lights back on. Doing so reignites the bulb.

5) I believe when one bulb goes out this decreases the system load and induces a significant change in the system voltage. Henceforth, the other ballast can't compensate for the system change and it causes the other light to flicker and/or go out.

So what to do to fix.

1st: Remove the bumper.

2nd: Take the flickering light and swap it out with the non-flickering light. If the flicker follows the bulb it is the bulb. If the flicker still occurs on the same side it is the ballast.

3rd: Change bulb or ballast depending on what the swap test indicated.

Notes:

When I did mine it was the ballast. After changing the ballast, my light would still flicker but only 10% of what it used too. After about 10 hrs of being on, the flicker totally went away. I believe the bad ballast somehow changed the bulb (Uneven burning of the salt) but once a good ballast was inserted the unevenness in burning self adjusted (evened out). They have been flicker free for 3 months.

If you have high mileage 75K or greater or drive a lot at night, I would strongly consider changing the bulbs too (even if they test good). It is a PITA to change the bulbs and it also gives you the opportunity to upgrade your lights while the bumper is off.

You have to take the bumper off to access the ballast. Some say you can change bulbs without removing the bumper. Those who can have greater skills than I, for the driver side is extremely hard to access. I remove the bumper (It is not that hard).

The headlight enclosures have a black plastic frame piece on the bottom. Remove that frame piece before you remove the enclosure. Doing this makes it very easy to remove and reinstall the enclosure. If you do not remove it you will have difficulties getting it in and out. There is one screw on the bottom that you will need to use a close ended wrench on. You can remove it but you will have to hold the wrench at a slight angle because the screw is recessed (Only a fraction of an inch of the screw sits above the hole it is recessed in). When you see it you will understand what I am talking about.

Follow my procedure and you should be able to fix everything. Ballast cost $179.00.

Get some spare fasteners too. When you remove the bumper fasteners some will break for it is inevitable. You will need probably 10 extra total fasteners. There are more than one size. Acura will charge you a fortune for them. Once you remove the bumper take the different size fasteners to NAPA, Autozone, etc. and they can match them up and sell you a bulk bag of ten for cheap.

rmjse

^^^^

Great info Steve. Thank you!

getakey

steve - nice post! I had a huge argument with my service manager about the headlight flicker. The flicker on mine was very intermittent and they did not want to replace bulb until they observed it flickering. I asked if he was going to have someone sit in the car for hours to try and observe it or rather believe what your customer is telling you. Plus, its a safety issue. After an ugly argument, they finally changed the bulb.

TampaRLX-SH

Candidate for the Garage.

If anyone get's Bob's attention....he is likley singing Kum-Ba-Yah on the CTS forums.

getakey

^I agree - promote to garage.

stevesrl

I made a couple of errors in my post.

First Error:

The ballast converts 12v to 25,000 volts. I previously had used units of watts. Let's analyze this significant error. Power (Watts) equals Volts X Amps (W=V*A). Therefore, if it were 25,000 watts; A=W/V=25,000/12=2,083 AMPS. This would be the result... .

It is actually 12 volts coming into ballast at 5-10 amps and 25,000 volts leaving ballast at low amperage (0.006 amps based on 150 watts).


Second Error:

When one bulb goes out, it creates a significant change in the system load and thus the amperage/wattage is effected. The ballast incoming voltage is always 12V from bat.

It's not that I am anal but if I read this post, I would be cautious to believe anything that was written by someone who believed the ballast outputted 25,000 watts. This is an enormous amount of energy that could power 300 plus lights.

Because I am a proponent of root cause analysis, I suspect this very common problem is due to internal corrosion from water infiltration into the ballast. One day, I will open up the ballast I replaced and inspect. If it is corrosion and not not too bad, one could conceivably clean it up and possibly fix the ballast. In any case, the next time I remove the bumper, (change HID's) I will seal the seam of the 2 part ballast housing. Before I do, I'll research a suitable material that is noncombustible and can withstand the heat the ballast produce. The heat can't be too much since, they are mounted to the plastic housing which is probably ABS, HDPE, or PP.

wcoy

Have an 06 CPO that is at the dealer for a new battery and side mirrors for warranty. Also told them that my drivers side headlight is flickering, will let you know what they say. Great information and hopefully I can get them to pay for whatever they think it is bulb or ballast.

stevesrl

wcoy

Dealer replaced the bulb, igniter, and ballast without a fight! Just called me to tell me it's all ready to be picked up, all covered under warranty.

TampaRLX-SH

OBP always gets special treatment.

I want to see pics with the spoiler you added. I am on the fence.

wcoy

Yeah I love the color more and more everyday. In my mind it's the best by far. I let my wife drive it today, I was thinking about you though. I will take a pic tomorrow AM and put it up before lunch I promise!

rmjse

This sucks!!!

My driver's side started flickering and now goes out after about 30 secs. I am out of warranty. Went to the dealer and they quoted me just over $1000 for the igniter and the bulb.

DurgyNess

I wonder if you could just replace the entire thing with after market bulbs and ballast. Theres a shop here who sells kits for 55 for bulb and ballast.

I installed it on my 06 civic and my 03 accord works great.

nyctl

excelerate has great bulbs at a fraction of the cost
plus there is a dude that has new ballasts for under 200 each on ebaymotors

stevesrl

WCOY

I am glad you got things fixed.

However, this is a pathetic display of competence of the dealer. They simply changed out all parts that had anything to do with the flickering light. If I were you, I would never go back to this dealership unless it is for warranty support. I bet they are reimbursed and charge back at full price: parts (plus crazy markup) and time to change all these parts. IMO this is blatant theft! They have displayed what there tactics are...Once your warranty is up they will charge you to be parts changers too and of course they don't care if the parts are good or not they simply change all of them.

On the slim chance all were defective, I apologize to the dealer. Albeit if this was true, I would wonder about the engineers who have designed a system that all components fail.

stevesrl

If you can turn the switch off and back on and this re-illuminates the light, I seriously doubt the igniter is bad.
If you would like to fix your problem with OEM parts for less than $180 and 2 hours of your time, then follow my instructions. I posted the instructions to help everyone. Acura quoted me $700 to fix my flickering light and this was unacceptable. I chose to learn how the system worked and fixed myself.

stevesrl

This is an option but I do not recommend based on multiple reports of inexpensive systems failing after short periods of time (particularly inexpensive bulbs). Honestly, if the parts were easily accessible I would consider this route. Unfortunately, you have to go through great pains to access everything. SO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

stevesrl

Acura has them for $179.00 and oemacuraparts.com will sell them for $179.00*0.75 (75% discount). That dude is profiting from simply ordering them for you.

stevesrl

Typo meant 25% discount.

FYI TO ALL...Go to local Honda or Acura dealership and tell them about on-line purchasing of OEM parts with 25% discount (Local guy will probably match). My local Honda dealership get's all my parts for me. 25% discount on anything and no shipping fees! Takes couple of days to get Acura parts if they don't have in stock.

db22

The RL is not the first car that I have owned with HID's but it is the first that has had so many issues with headlights flickering. My ballasts were changed (to no effect - warranty) and they told me that the lamps were not covered under warranty. I find it strange that 1. The lamps have so many problems. 2. Dealers have different interpretations of what is a warranty repair. BTW. The replacement bulbs come in a Honda box with "made in Germany" written on it.
I would like to know, with the forums experience, if the RL is typical or do all cars with HID's have flickering issues?

wcoy

Steve,
I do agree with you on that notion and will cross that bridge when I come to it.

nyctl

i dont even know the ebay seller but honestly,
i don't have a bone to pick with anyone that was selling the ballasts for US $169.00 shipping included when the dealers I called were quoting me 300 each ballast...so rather than making assumptions of what people are or are not profiteering,
it would've been better to just offer the alternatives that you had without the negative commentary.

briny319

I had this problem. My extended picked up $800 in parts and labor and I had to pay $200. Factory extended warranty...

DurgyNess

So im looking to change out everything ballast and bulb for peace of mind.
Found someone on ebay selling new ballasts for 124+12shipping for one


Is there a particular brand of HID-D2S bulbs i should buy?

DurgyNess

Anyone heard of XenonWorks ? This local shop has D2 bulbs for 30 a pair and says its life time warranty and he sells to all the local dealers her in ATL from lexus, bmw , merc etc

30 for a pair is pretty good..

DurgyNess

Changing out my bulbs and fogs for 3k hids
Will put up pictures later

poppintec

personally i would put a nice yellow halogen in the fog because the hid projects yellow light, but in the housing it almost looks stock........i learned this not to long ago lol

EM2typeflex

This is just what I was looking for. Passenger side bulb doesn't turn in sometimes. I'll turn on and off the lights and then it'll turn in. I guess I'll try switching out the bulb first.

oo7spy

Turn in or turn on?

EM2typeflex

on, damn fat fingers using cell phone keyboard