brettallica

OK, so as many of you know, I am getting a bunch of stuff done on my TL today:

• Installing chrome grill trim pieces
• Having the lower grilles painted
• Installing the cleared headlights I had cleared out by Retrofit-Source

The body shop guy just called me and said "hey, man, I'm sorry to tell you this, but your headlights don't fit. They bolt on to the body just fine, but the HID won't mount to the back of the housing" or something to that effect.

I bought these headlights off eBay (here is the auction) a while ago. As you can see in the title and description, the headlights are for 2004-2006 model TL. Obviously, and you can see this in the picture, they are the same looking as a standard 3G headlight....on the face anyway.

I don't know WTF is going on here, but I have an inclination that I somehow purchased headlights that came off a TL from another country; perhaps Canada?

Needless to say, I'm ultra-pissed/bummed at this whole thing, as now I'll have to get rid of those headlights and find myself another set to be cleared. Either that or have my original OEM ones cleared. Regardless, it's just more time, money, and headache I have spend on this whole ordeal.

Man, what a crappy day. I was supposed to be excited about all this stuff finally being done; now I'm just pissed.

johnny--2k

oh man, that sucks.

Did you try contacting the seller to see if these are USDM lights? Otherwise, if you have the part number, call a dealership and try to cross-reference them to a US part #

brettallica

I did not contact the seller (yet). Unfortunately I have a feeling that I'm SOL in that regard because I already had them cleared out and I've had them for several weeks. It sucks that they didn't know what they were selling, but at the same time I should have been more thorough when asking them the questions for the answers I needed to know....although I asked them so many questions, they were probably getting pretty sick of me.

Assuming these are Canadian -- I'll check the part number when I get my car back -- I'll be putting them up on the Black Market for sale, as obviously I have no use for them.

I guess it'll just go down as a lesson learned.

bluenose

Yes, they are probably from here in Canada. Everyone (read US citizens) knows that everything we have here is sub-standard compared to the US. Despite the fact our TL's are built in the same plant in Marystown, Ohio, Acura obviously puts odd ball parts in our cars.

LKLD

You said he called you, I would go down to the shop and see for myself what he is talking about. Didn't you compare the new and old headlights? Are the grill pieces different? There's too much that could be the problem. Go down and get pics. of the problem area and post. Based on the info. given would make it difficult to give detailed advice.

Either way...good luck with it

brettallica

Sorry if that's how my message came across, but I was not intending to say that Canadians are sub-standard to Americans. I was simply trying to express that they don't fit on my car, which is an American version.

My guess is that, if they are Canadian housings, they put some sort of different HID in there from what the US versions use.

brettallica

I bought the headlights off eBay, so "comparing" them with the ones that were already installed on my car wasn't really an option. I went off the auction's item description ("2004-2006 ACURA TL" yaddah yaddah) and assumed they were the ones I needed; I had no reason (until now) to think otherwise.

The housings themselves mount to the car's body just fine (perfectly), but the HIDs don't mount to the back of the housing. I'm just going to take the guy's word for it that they don't. I'm now gonna try and force the issue; the last thing I want is a couple of ruined HIDs and be out even more money.

The trim fits just fine and the guy told me that it came out sweet, so I guess that's the silver (chrome? ) lining...

Hype

Sorry to hear they didn't fit man. However, if you do decide to part with them PM me or something b/c I'm in Canada and was looking to get my headlights cleared also.

brettallica

Thanks. When I get them back (later today, like in a few hours), I will post the part numbers in this thread and PM them to you. I'm hoping the part number is actually on the housings somewhere. I need to sell these bad boys as quickly as possible so I can buy a US set! I really want to finish up my front end project and just be done with my car for a while...except for getting some new rims, which should be happening soon.

By the way, I got these cleared by our official vendor, Retrofit-Source, so all warranty issues should still apply. He's a really cool guy and will take care of you should anything go wrong. I'll be sending my next set to him for sure.

rbf351

just so you know the 2004-2005 are 33101-SEP-A02 and 33155-SEP-A01
the 2006 is 33101-SEP-A11 and 33151-SEP-A11

and of course the 2007's are completly different

the seller is wrong in stating they are the same for 2004-2006, in 2006 they changed the HID components.

next time do a little more research then trusting some person selling an item on ebay

nfnsquared

Dude,

He stuck you for $55 shipping? That should've set off an alarm. What a rip off.

shayan

iTrader: (1)

That sucks brotha

I know you dont want to spend more money, but can you possibley get some HID's that you like? I know alot of people like the more bluer lights or more purpler lights, so why dont you do something like that? Just a thought, so you dont have to go through that hassel of selling these and getting new lights

datmrman

That sucks man!

Don't worry, you shouldn't have an issue reselling them in the Black Market/eBay.

You'll get there eventually... just keep trying. Looking forward to pics of your car when its all done.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Brett,
What year is your TL?

Hit me up if you think those are 2006 TL headlights...

Edit. Nevermind, I see you have a 2006... So these are obviously for a 2004-2005

aznbo187

iTrader: (1)

I had the same problem. I have an 06, and due to some complications with retrofitting my stock headlights, I had to buy a new pair, which I bought of ebay. I bought a pair of 04's I believe and the ballast didn't fit on the bottom of the headlight. All you need to do is do a bit of improvisation with a dremel or any other available tools. Just make sure the seal is air-tight.


This is how the fitment looked, obviously the holes didn't line up. you just need to do some improvising.

brettallica

nfnsquared, they didn't technically charge me that much for shipping. We agreed on a "total price" prior to them setting up the auction. They then set the shipping at that rate so their sale price -- and therefore their dues to eBay -- could be lower, but that the total would still be $340, which was our agreed sales price.

Thank you for your candid input. We can always count on you for one of those.

brettallica

I'm not 100% positive about the part number for the headlights, and since it's starting to get dark I wanted to get inside and cleaned up after work and stuff. I did take a picture, though, that should be a pretty good indication:

(click on the picture to open high-res picture in new window)

darksom1

That's fucked up! Damn ebay! I might've gone that route myself if I had to so now I know though. You were so close too huh man? Keep your head up!

brettallica

Thanks. I'm trying! I guess I learned my lesson. Next time I go that route, I'll just have to be more thorough.

vww253

Have you installed the chrome trim for the front yet? You got those from ebay right? I was looking at those the other day and thinking of buying a set but dunno about the quality? Can you help me out? What seller did you buy them from? Thanks.

brettallica

I have installed the chrome trim for the front. I actually had it done today. I posted pictures of it in the Photograph Gallery. Click {here} to check out that thread.

As far as where I purchased the trim pieces, I actually purchased the standard brushed aluminum trim pieces (NOT CHROMED) from Acura of Escondido and then sent them out to Chrome Pros Plating to have them chromed. It was not cheap, and the turnaround time was super long, but they do great work. I bought the extra pieces and had them chromed so that all of the work I did is reversible. A little more expensive that way, but also a little more reassuring.

onsknth

FWIW - I know very little about the exact details of HID housings, but I'm a pretty good slueth when it comes to figuring out oddities when the information is clearly printed in front of me... In your pic it states: "For Canada DRL At 6.4V HB3"

More than likely what this means... In Canada they have DRL on 06 (at least and earlier?) whereas my US 06 does not have DRL... So, on the housing (which is the same for US and Canada) they label this as needing an HB3 type bulb rated for 6.4 volts for the DRL (6.4 volts is approximately half a 12V bulb which make sense for a multi use fog/DRL basically DRL just "dims" the light with less voltage).... It doesn't mean the housing is for Canada only, otherwise it would say that. Consider the legal implications of using that type of verbage to specify DOT or "The Queens Tansportation Proclaimation" (whatever oversight committe there is up there) regulations and requirements?

I think what you're really up against is the need to retrofit a couple of ancillary parts like the ballast or other that's hooked to the housing (as was presented prior)... This makes sense because parts like ballast aren't "universal" like bulb sockets are.

vww253

Very nice, but the white grill looks weird IMO. Could definitely use a chrome stripe on lower grill. What was the total for the grill?

brettallica

When you say "what was the total for the grill?" which piece (or pieces) are you referring to? There are several pieces that I had to buy to do what I did. Let me know which pieces you're talking about and I'll let you know.

vww253

Basically, I would like my front grill to look like yours. But I dont make that much and not willing to spend my whole paycheck on it. Is it cheaper to have Chrome Pros do the chroming or just buy the chrome grills?

brettallica

Well...it's not quite as simple as just buying the grill in chrome. See, the grill for the base model TL doesn't come in chrome, so what you're going to have to do if you want it chromed is have your pieces sent in for chroming. I've heard that people are fitting the 2007 TL-S chrome grill pieces on their pre-2007 models, but I haven't actually seen it. For example, one guy claims that the wing piece for the 2007 TL-S fits in the earlier models, but then he says you have to modify it to get it to fit. I wasn't willing to do that, so I went the route I went. That way I could ensure a proper fitment.

rodneyc77

iTrader: (1)

hey bret... sorry to hear about your issues... I had the same problem in the summer of '06... I basically had to just mount my '06 ballasts (smaller) onto the '04-'05 housing... no big deal at all... it's been months with no issues...

Good Luck...

brettallica

Thanks. I've got a few ways to go about solving this.

The first is I could sell these headlights to someone with the model year with which these will work. I'd then buy a new set (2006!!!!!!) and have them cleared.

The second is I could get a new set of ballasts to match this set.

The third is I could just grow a pair of juevos and have my originals cleared. The thing that worries me about that is that they're so expensive to replace and I always like to have all my originals for "just-in-case" purposes.

PPLAPW

Fixed....

rodneyc77

iTrader: (1)

the second option would be the most economical way to go... unless you grow the huevos ...

brettallica

Thanks, PPLAPW. It's been a while since I've had to spell en Español.

I just put them on the Black Market, so we'll see what kind of interest there is. I really don't want to use ballasts that are different from my originals, as I have a feeling that some warranty issues would come up if I did...but then again this whole mod screams "no-no" when it comes to warranty-related issue.

MTVtec

Ahh man that's a piss off. Sorry to hear about this. Looks at it this way...Once it's done it will all be worth it.

Matt

ACTROS

iTrader: (7)

Hey bro I've been looking for 06 ballasts (smaller sized ballasts), I have a post in the black market somewhere, anyway I can give you my larger ballasts from my 04 for your cleared 04/05 headlights (that's what I think you have reading the thread). I hope we could help each other out! Let me know soon!

brettallica

Are you talking about a straight-up trade: your 04/05 ballasts for my 06 ballasts? I'm seriously considering that, so let me think about it a little.

I don't know too much about lighting, so I definitely don't want to get jobbed on this one. What will I gain or lose by changing out my ballasts? Also, what else will I need to buy/change/modify in order to get the 2004 ballasts to work on my 2006 model? I really don't want to do anything else if possible, so if it's as simple as a straight swap -- like plug-n-play -- then I'd be even more interested.

ACTROS

iTrader: (7)

That's right, straight up trade, I'll explain-don't worry no tricks. I gather that you own an 06 TL but have purchased and cleared 04-05 style headlights which are the same for US and Canada by the way, only Canada uses different bulb and half the voltage for DRL cause it's mandatory there, in US we get the FOG lights instead hence different bulb and 12V. The headlight housing is the same in US and Canada.

In 06 Acura slightly altered the headlight housing because they came up with smaller sized ballasts (and probably smaller igniters with different plugs too to go along with new smaller ballasts, I see that the part #s for the igniters are different too from 04-05). Thank god they left the HID and FOG and other bulbs alone, so those are the same from 04-06. Because of the ballast changes in 06 you noticed that 04-05 headlight housing is a little different from your 06. Now, I have an 04 TL with it's orginal headlights and internals (ballasts, ballast brackets, igniters, etc.) everything is in great condition and never been taken out or damaged.

I will trade my ballasts and anything else you will need to make your cleared 04-05 headlights work in exchange I will need your 06 internals. Hack I can even send my complete pair of 04 heads with all the internals and everything for your complete set of 06 heads, if you want. This way we'll have all the needed component we need and everything will fit just right for you and me. Also this way we won't have to guess what other smalls things they might have changed. It's a win-win. The reason I'm doing this is cause I have the same dilemma, only I'm coming from 04-05 style headlight to 07 heads I recently got, and you see 07 heads use 06 internals. You on the hand coming from 06 heads to 04-05.

Have I known that I would have so much hassle with these 07 heads I would never have done it, well I found out too late, couldn't return the heads so now I have to finish this project and go on. So 2006 TL people, if you want to get 07 TYPE S heads then get 'em if you want, all the internals are interchangeable for the most part, not so much for 2004-05 TL folks, I personally wouldn't recommend it, too much trouble.

What I'm saying is let's help each other out in a straight up trade so that we don't have to buy anything to make our new heads work, the internals are very expensive, a pair of ballasts and igniters alone will cost about a grand from the dealer. Plus if we'll trade with each other we won't have to hack anything, it will be a plug and play. All this may sound confusing but in reality it's real simple because of the little fricken changes Acura made in 06/07 you will now need my 04 head internals and I will need your 06. So let's swap!

giants8058

i just ordered a pair of headlights to get cleared out and blacked out and I had the same issue. The balast didnt match up with the holes in the headlight but i was able to fix this problem. All you need to do is clamp the balast to the headlight to have a good seal. So i used used a retanglular clip on all the holes and it fixed the problem.
So first you have to cut and remove the plastic at below indicated area. You will need to adjust the balast at a slight angle where the holes won't be covered by the balast.

[IMG] C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\My Pictures\balast.bmp[/IMG]

Then once you have enough clearance use the clips to screw the clips onto the ends of the balast which will give you a good seal.
You can buy these clips at any local hardware store.
[IMG]C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\My Pictures\clips.jpg[/IMG]

Select_TL

If you guys trade the whole headlight and everything it's plug and play... then I can buy the 06 headlights from you "Actros" once you take out the balest and bulbs...

ACTROS

iTrader: (7)

^good plan, you hear that Brett, the folks demand the swap haha...jk...
Unfortunately it didn't work out, oh well...

darksom1

Soooo...Brett...where are you on this project now?

brettallica

Still kind of waiting for either the right pair of headlights to come along (not seeming likely at this point since I have an '06 and there probably aren't too many '06 headlights floating around out there), or for me to grow some ballz and do the damn mod myself. I have a nervous feeling about modifying my original lights, so that's why there's that hesitancy. ACTROS and I almost had a deal worked out where we traded light setups (his 2004 headlight housing complete with ballasts for my 2006 headlight housing complete with ballasts), but I was just too much of a pu$$y to do it! Something about changing the equipment that came from the factory just made me too skeptical about maintaining any sort of warranty clout if the need for factory repair to the electrical system per warranty every arose.