relaxed83

Obviously like 75% of the people who own an Acura TL in this generation we have issues with moisture and seals on our headlights. THus causing the ballast to fry and poof no headlight. Well I want to go with an aftermarket ballast now since they OEM used ballasts start at 150 dollars. I can get an aftermarket ballast for 40 dollars ish .

However I did receive this one time and took the time to take the whole bumper off to find out I have to splice wires because the power connector does not connect to the aftermarket ballast. I see they sell harness kits to resolve this issue but I don't understand how a person would turn off their headlights normally with this installed harness directly to the battery.

THis is a direct link the harness I was interested in buying but I don't quite understand how it would allow me to turn off my headlights normally. AFTERMARKET BALLAST HARNESS click HERE

The following is the aftermarket ballast kit I was interested in getting but as is does not connect to the acura tl 2003 HID low beam power connector from what I can see and experienced. Aftermarket HID ballast 2003 click here

Any help would be appreciated in explaining how this works and diagram if possible. Also I want to stop this from happening in the future what sort of epoxy would be recommended to reseal the lenses so they don't leak and cause ballast burn out?

Torok

The relay is just like a switch, when you turn your headlights on the power goes into the relay instead of a ballast. When the power goes into the relay it basically flips a switch inside the relay causing power from the battery to go directly to the aftermarket HID ballast.

01tl4tl

you are over-thinking the issue

you cut the 2 power wires at their connector at ballast= remove the connector

New ballast has 2 wires,,may have a connector installed- buy matching side at parts store
you splice the new wires to old...red to red- black to black,,
use matching blade or other type, or solder--seal with shrink wrap

you never wire direct to the battery!!!!
all power goes thru the fuse box then to a relay then to the object needing voltage
you are just replacing the connector as far as the car is concerned

you may find the new ballast must be mounted somewhere else, like side of frame rail
some creativity and use of zip ties is required
being waterproof, its not as bad as stock part if you mount it in same place

www.hidextra.com is a sponsor here and has an excellent kit with 2 new bulbs (suggest 5000K color) 2 new ballast -sealed, and waterproof connectors on all the wires linking ballast -ignitor and bulbs,,new heavy duty power cable with ignitor inline from ballast to bulb
usually 59$ for kit,,look for 10-15% off coupons and sales on their website
call and mention acurazine!

you dont need any extra wiring harness or relay with hidextra kit

lens: reseal on the cheap with silicone on the outside and avoid car washes-
no high pressure water at lights
or difficult method= heat and remove lens- remove old seal material - reseal
not for the faint of heart- can destroy the housing!!

or replace housings with new from ebay 250$?

relaxed83

Okay I resealed my headlight lenses with silicone.

Of course you can wire directly to the battery they call it a harness relay. I actually bought a relay since I'm completely done with the OEM setup and want to by pass it all.

But I am having a major problem, I had my bumper off headlights pulled out and I tested the new ballast with the wiring harness. Relay click here for example But I couldn't get the new headlights to turn on my car and lights. I noticed on the wiring diagram that you connect the harness remote turn on plug to the HID OEM power plug? I think that might be my error, you're supposed to connect the remote turn on plug to the fog light oem ?mm

Here is the picture of the harness:

HairyMonkey019

iTrader: (7)

Is it me, or did you make an easy job difficult...........
I have am HID lowbeams, I just spliced the power connectors together, made a hole in my housing for the bulb to go throught, and sealed em.

Idk why you chose the difficult route. There was nothing wrong with the oem setup, only thing wrong is water getting into our ballasts which later got fixed in the newer model acuras.

01tl4tl

some acuras have a prob with the soldering under fusebox/relays
and continue to have headlight problems after kit install
Thats when you go to the relay kit and bypass acuras wiring

you still use the OE switch system,,just running power from dedicated source to light
not direct from battery= goes thru a fuse and relay like it should

those with install prob should see wiki or the tube for more help

Sandy Roe

I had new low-beam bulbs replaced by auto mechanic, trained, paid, etc., but the low beam now randomly works - so it is not burned out. I am wondering if there is a wiring diagram anywhere for the lighting assembly? I have read that wires inside a clip can be loose possibly causing the problem. Please help - I don't want to pay the mechanic a few hundred dollars more to test putting the bulb on the other side to see if it is the bulb or not - It is on the passenger side, fyi.

3.2TLc

Welcome, sorry to inform ya ....but your mechanic apparently wasn't trained very well with the HID low beam headlamps used on our TL's.
If there was any moisture present, the HID components and connections may need checked.

There has been tons of posts on this, try a simple search for more info. Also check the "DIY" sticky.

01tl4tl

you need the same thing we all eventually need
a replacement hid kit with 2 new ballast- 2 capacitors and 2 new bulbs 5000k color suggested
never replace 1 bulb- they will be way off in color and brightness ...and the other one wears out soon after

try www.hidextra.com a sponsor of this site, 59$ gets you all the parts we need to fix the problem
dont trust used acura parts- they have the same water go in the ballast problem

as noted above, see any of the low beam threads on the main list- where you found this thread, for more details
Welcome to azine and thanks for using an existing thread!

AcraAdi93

It's just useless getting a whole new hid kit. Oem is the best way to go. Get some Kaixen HID D2C bulbs which basically are like D2R but better replacements. I paid $107 for a pair and they are worth the price. Shipping took 2-3 days. I got the 8500K bulbs and love em

HairyMonkey019

iTrader: (7)

How is it useless getting a while kit?
Our OEM ballasts are pretty shitty since a majority of us get problems with moisture in em.
The way I see it, it is way better going after market so this problem won't occur again.

As for your bulbs, you wasted $100+ because 8500K will give you piss poor visibility and attract too much attention

3.2TLc

Yeah, as our TL's age, the HID system is prone to many expensive issues. Moisture is the #1 killer and the new aftermarket kits offer much improved technology and durability at great prices !

But perhaps some prefer to be looked at, rather than have the most effective lighting to see others on the road.

HairyMonkey019

iTrader: (7)

Getting looks for the wrong reason and losing visibility isn't something to boast about.

01tl4tl

stock color 4300K
a kit is the smart way to go to solve our problem
I ran kaixen 6000s for 3-4 years, then did a side by side test of hidextra 5k vs the 6 on other side

the 5k bulbs with the kit are working fine and have way more white in front of the car = on the road to see objects of destruction ahead and avoid them

8500? must drive where there are lots of streetlights~
look from outside they are almost purple! gets cops to look at you!

I thought 6k was awesome until the 5 went in,,can see more things I need to see
6k does pick out lane lines and road signs at a distance, that was cool

D2 is the bulb type, S C etc are the base of it and vary based on year for us

3.2TLc

To each his own !

LECKEY73

I purchased an HID slim kit from ebay 4 $35 shipped for my car 4 years ago and it is still working well.

HIDXTRA

iTrader: (1)

Hello Relaxed83,

Your 2003 Acura TL bulb types & HID Conversion links are as follows:
Lowbeam: D2R http://www.hidextra.com/d2r/?sort=bestselling
Highbeam: 9005 http://www.hidextra.com/9005/?sort=bestselling
Foglights: 9006 http://www.hidextra.com/9006/?sort=bestselling

Since you have factory HID our aftermarket HID Kit doesn't plug and play into your vehicle power harness. If you are only replacing the bulb you can simply swap the bulb but if you are changing the ballast you will need to cut and splice wire in order to hook up our ballast to your vehicle.

We just launched our NEW STEALTH Series Ballast.Want to know more? Read this another great blog --> http://blog.hidextra.com/hidextra-in...th-series-v-2/



Thank you.
HIDeXtra

AcraAdi93

I see perfectly fine with 8500K. I have an 03 so I get color and visibility. Thus hence the 99-01 TL-P has glass lens which you get more light out of it compared to the 02-03 TL-P/S. Attention?? Naw not at all. Yes I know you like the stock HIDs to blend in and that's fine but the 8500K is nice in my opinion

ashleel

so as i'm reading, i'm finding out this isn't just a problem i'm having. i purchased my 03 TL in July and in some flooding we had in September, my headlights burnt out, low and high. i went to walmart thinking all bulbs could be purchased there, nope. just the high beams, so we got those. then went i started my car, my drivers side light popped on and proceeded to continue coming on every time up until about a week ago when it finally went out for good. so now i'm on the hunt for ballast for both drivers and passengers side and i'm not having much luck with ebay. all i keep finding are conversion kits for like $50 and single OEM ballast for $150. whats up with that?? is $150 a ballast what i'm looking at or are there any cheaper? i don't know what i'm doing here and have a 3 month old daughter and do a lot of night driving, so it needs to be done ASAP!

thanks!

3.2TLc

Welcome Ashleel !!!
Our TL's are getting old and so is the HID technology which was originally used when the car was new. Moisture, corrosion, and vibration cause problems with the "OEM" low beam HID's. Parts are very expensive to replace, so the most popular and cheaper aftermarket HID replacement kits are the way to go.

Smaller in size and water resistant, the kits can be easily adapted to replace our old system by splicing the wiring. Check the "DIY" sticky for more helpful installation tips. If ya aren't able to install the kit yourself, any automotive specialty electronics shop could fix ya up for less than $200 for the kit and install. This would include everything new for both of the HID low beams.

snehal

Hello
I have an Acura TL 2003 and its driver side headlights are not working. I have taken it to multiple auto repair shops and each one is telling different reasons like hid light is not working or ballast is not working and they are quoting more than 200$ for the repair. Also earlier only the low beam light was not working but after these multiple checkups the high beam light as well as the passenger side high beam light is not working as well. I see a little moisture inside the headlights on the driver side. I am very bad with cars. Please advise whom can I approach to get the perfect advise and repair.

ashleel

3.2TLc, thanks for your response. I'm afraid I don't understand what type of kit I need to be looking for. I'm trying to do this as cheap as possible, but also with something that will work and not be so expensive down the road to replace. if you could provide examples via ebay, that would be extremely helpful! I want to make sure I am ordering the correct item once and for all!

ashleel

nevermind! i did some more research and found hidextra.com. i'm going to purchase the kit there. that is all i need, right? i dont need to purchase any other things to help convert??

HairyMonkey019

iTrader: (7)

I'd go with ddmtuning. Cheaper and less problems. The only good thing about hid extra is customer service.

Misha322

Has anyone installed the HIDEXTRA ballast and if so which one? How has it been working?

I am considering HIDEXTRA, DDMTUNING and THERETROFITSOURCE.

Any thoughts?

If we are replacing the original lowbeam ballast will we need any sort of additional harnesses or adapter cables?

cincinattlguy19

Many people are running HIDextra kits on here, in part due to their value. I have 4 ballasts from TheRetrofitSource (ThreeFive DSPs) and they have all worked flawlessly for the time I have had them (roughly a year for two of them, and 9 months for the other two). TRS is the best quality out of those three brands, but is also the most expensive.

If you are replacing the OEM ballasts, a relay harness isn't needed but can never hurt.

Misha322

Any idea what is the difference between the HIDextra and XenonHIDs? They look identical and the price is the same. HIDextra is one year warranty and XenonHIDs is Lifetime....

HairyMonkey019

iTrader: (7)

I highly recommend DDM tuning if u want less problems for a good price. HID extra is ok, but u'll be paying for customer service. If you do go hid extra, wait for them to go on sale because they occasionally do.

JasonLively

I've had three bad sets from DDM now. Thinking about trying HIDxtra. Is the Volt Canbus (Premium) worth it? Or better options?

cincinattlguy19

Refrofit Source FTW!

JasonLively

I went with Retrofit and there 4300k bulbs. I will let everyone know how it goes

EnzyteBob

I also went with retrofit. Here's how my install job went:

1. I used a 1 1/2 inch hole saw to drill a new hole into the headlight unit, but the connector would not fit. I called the experts for help (my dad) and with a little bit of filing we were able to get the connector in there. The hole ended up not being an exact circle, but the rubber grommet that comes with the new ballast still works.

2. I cleaned out the inside of the unit by sloshing around some Heet inside. I rinsed the unit several times with Heet, one bottle per rinse.

On another site, they say to slosh around some 99.9% pure electronics grade Methanol (aka Methyl-Hydrate - racing fuel). I couldn't find any so I called a local oil distributor and he told me to go to a local race track. Then I mentioned one of the boards said to use Heet, and he told me to save myself some grief and just go and buy the Heet.

These sites warn you not to use anything other than Methanol (Winshield Washer Fluid contains Methanol). Anything else that is alcohol based could potentially eat away at the reflective components inside.

3. I changed out the side marker bulbs in case they go out. (Who wants to take the bumper off again?) I was too cheap to replace the high beams which have barely been used over the years.

4. I sealed up the old hole with a couple of plastic disks using Permatex black automotive silicone sealant. Supposedly it is rated at over 400 degrees F.

5. I mounted the ballast using the metal bracket that comes with the unit. I screwed it into one of the screw holes from the old ballast with the harness pointing perpendicular and away from the new hole. I cut some metal strapping (for plumbing) that I screwed into the other two holes to hold the rest of the unit in.

6. I wind the harness around the back of the ballast and thread it through the new hole.

7. I covered the harness with a rubber hose and glued it with silicone just under the metal strapping so the sharp edges of the strapping don't cut through the harness.

8. I stick the grommet into the new hole and seal it with silicone.

9. I reinstalled the headlight and ....... it didn't work.

10. After some fiddling around, I determined that the bad OEM unit ended up blowing a fuse. I replaced the fuse and believe it or not, it works!

=======

My only complaints so far are these: After splicing the wire, I first tried to solder it together and cover it with shrink wrap. Big fail because my soldering skills are not always consistent.

I bought some butt connectors with shrink wrap and crimped the wire. They hold pretty well with the OEM wiring, but they don't hold as well with the pigtail adapters I bought from retrofit. They that use a thinner gauge and they don't hold as well. If I had to do it over again, I would make sure I bought a 9006 connector with a heavier gauge of wiring.

My second complaint has to do with my messy caulk job. Working with those squeeze tubes isn't exactly the neatest thing to do, but nobody will see it. If I had to do it over again, I would buy a big tube to use with a caulking gun so my job wouldn't look so sloppy.