soundmike

iTrader: (6)

Anybody here know the best way to diagnose headlights? I just noticed coming home that my driver side HID is out.

I replaced the bulb with a known good one and still no go.

Which leads me to think it's the ballast. But before trying to find a new one, i want to be sure.

On that note, is eBay the best place to find a used ballast?

Thanks guys!

p.s. A ballast is a ballast for these cars, right? That is, it won't matter if the car is AFS-equipped or not?

Weiboy718

iTrader: (10)

do you still have your stock bulb? if so try that out first and if it still doesn't work try checking out your fuse located inside your battery box. if checks out it should be your ballast that's out. since you will have to drop your bumper anyway to get to the ballast you might as well try swapping the ballast to be sure.

yup, a ballast is a ballast. makes no difference between cars equip with afs or not. also, the ballast for the Z's will work too.

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

Thanks, Weiboy!

Yep, i just tried the OEM bulb which i knew worked. Still no go. The fog/clearance and turn signals all work. It's just the HID that won't turn on.

The fuse for this is behind the battery, right? Would you know offhand what kind? I may just pop by Autozone before heading home tomorrow and get some before tinkering with the fusebox, just so i can fix it right off the bat if it's hopefully just a case of a burnt fuse.

Weiboy718

iTrader: (10)

The fuse is called micro fuse, it's the smallest fuse available but idk what amperage it is though.

Btw, do you have modded lights or has the car been in a big rain storm before it went out?

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

I guess i'll pick up a few different ones, never hurts to have 'em.

The housing has been painted and yes, actually, it's been raining quite a bit recently. Thoughts?

Thanks!

Weiboy718

iTrader: (10)

I would try removing the ballast and open up the cover of the ballast to see if it's wet or not and then blow dry it out. This happened to my friends car and I did just that and worked. It's worth a try!

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

I'll give both the fuse and blow dry tips a shot. Thanks again Weiboy!

Weiboy718

iTrader: (10)

NP buddy! Check back in on what you find.

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

Weiboy, looks like you're on to something. The fuses all seem to check out fine so i went ahead and removed the ballast (on a sedan, accessible by removing the wheel well cover).

Lo and behold! The ballast was holding water, it literally spilled. I opened it up and the inside seems to be covered in some type of gel, and was damp. I'm starting to dry it out now and *HOPE* that it works afterwards. Wish me luck!

Weiboy718

iTrader: (10)

Yeah. The gel is like a silicone pad of some sort correct? Its there to protect it from water going into the electronics. You can speed it up by using a heat gun or blow dryer.

Good luck Mike and hopefully that is it!

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

Weiboy, you sir are a genius!

Although i ended up getting $15 worth of fuses, and have committed to buying a spare ballast from a member here, I am so happy and relieved right now! I did use a blow dryer and kept it inside a small ziplock full of silicone beads for a few hours, then took another pass with the blow dryer.



Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Weiboy718

iTrader: (10)

Haha! I am really glad to be able to help and you are very welcome!

If the ballast is cheap enough, won't be a bad idea to have a spare on hand.

Steveoh187

iTrader: (2)

This is the beauty of forums, lending a helping hand when need be. Great job Weiboy.

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

^ Indeed! You can't get this kind of help with most service centers.

Just an update. I think my housing may be compromised. This fix worked out fine for a couple of days, now it's out again and there's a lot of large drops of water in the lens housing -- i'm sure the ballast is drowning again.

I am starting to think someone bumped into the housing and cracked it somewhere - it's happened in the past on an old set of headlights. It has been raining a lot again and it just looks like the water is almost literally pouring in. It's not just a thin film of condensation, but actual water droplets.

Hope to just take the headlights out completely on the weekend and assess what the problem is.

Weiboy718

iTrader: (10)

Oh yeah! You def need to fix the condensation first or else it will keep happening. Let's say you can't find the crack anywhere my advice is to remove all bulbs, screws and ballast then throw it in the oven and bake it at 250F for 7 mins then compress the housing together and install everything back.