[fastsoup]

Hello Guys,

So a very funny scenario for all the chaps on this site. When I bought my car back in March, the driver side headlight flickered one day and then went out. I did what any smart man would do and swapped the bulbs first; not my problem. Then I swapped the ballast and bingo! At this point I left them as is so my drivers light was now working and the passenger was out. I ordered a ballast, installed it on the passenger side and all was well.

Until this past weekend. My driver side bulb began to flicker!!! I couldn't believe it. Then it went out for a few mins and then lite right back up. I instantly turned off the headlights and thought of an experiment that needed to be done. I thought that there was no way the wiring could be the culprit here, could it?

Yesterday I swapped the ballasts, turned on the headlights and no flickering. I drove to work today with the headlights on and they worked flawlessly.

My question is, could the wiring on the driver side be softly killing the ballast?

 

[Mango]

Check the red plugs. There's a little tab that may break over time causing an intermittent connection. In other words, can the plug be simply pulled straight out from the bulb? It should lock into place.

 

[fastsoup]

Check the red plugs. There's a little tab that may break over time causing an intermittent connection. In other words, can the plug be simply pulled straight out from the bulb? It should lock into place.

Red plugs? I am assuming it's one of the four connectors for the headlight assembly? If so then yes, they all clicked closed. This issue is far deeper.

 

[Solidjake]

The red plug he is talking about goes to the xenon bulb to light it. That plug goes to the ignitor which requires taking the entire headlight apart to get to.

 

[STORMER]

The red plug he is talking about goes to the xenon bulb to light it. That plug goes to the ignitor which requires taking the entire headlight apart to get to.

OT but I like the new sig!

 

[fastsoup]

The red plug he is talking about goes to the xenon bulb to light it. That plug goes to the ignitor which requires taking the entire headlight apart to get to.

Yeah but that wouldn't make any sense? The night before it was flickering on and off and eventually going out completely for a few seconds. Then when I just switch the ballasts it ends up working flawlessly for a couple of hours? Could it be that by taking the whole headlight assembly out I accidentally "reconnected" that red clip?

 

[Solidjake]

As mango stated, the connector in the ignitor wire is bad

 

[BeMyWhip]

check the bulbs themselves as well. I had a bulb in my corner light which had the end which makes contact with the socket half broken off!
A friend told me thats common from the heating up.
Just unplug things and look around, never know what you'll find.

 

[Mango]

Red plugs? I am assuming it's one of the four connectors for the headlight assembly? If so then yes, they all clicked closed. This issue is far deeper.

Xenon bulbs require an extremely solid and secure connection to stay lit. This is not something to be turkeyed around with. Be certain that you aren't touching these wires while the lights are on. One wrong move and the xenon system can kill you. And I'm not kidding.

Just remove the headlights, remove the plug and make sure the red fastener is unbroken. I had a broken fastener once and my xenon light constantly flickered while driving down the road. I replaced the igniter (which is one piece with the plug) and the problem went away. The problem was the tab on the plug that locks it onto the bulb was broken. It broke due to trying to replace the D2S bulbs WITHOUT removing the headlight. The tight space makes you knock things around.

Just check it to be sure. If not, we'll move on

 

[fastsoup]

Xenon bulbs require an extremely solid and secure connection to stay lit. This is not something to be turkeyed around with. Be certain that you aren't touching these wires while the lights are on. One wrong move and the xenon system can kill you. And I'm not kidding.

Just remove the headlights, remove the plug and make sure the red fastener is unbroken. I had a broken fastener once and my xenon light constantly flickered while driving down the road. I replaced the igniter (which is one piece with the plug) and the problem went away. The problem was the tab on the plug that locks it onto the bulb was broken. It broke due to trying to replace the D2S bulbs WITHOUT removing the headlight. The tight space makes you knock things around.

Just check it to be sure. If not, we'll move on

Ok well if it is the ignitor connection you are talking about which latches on to the back of the D2S bulbs then it is as secure as can be with no broken connectors.

Let's try and move on and I will see how long it will take for the driver side bulb to start flicking again.

 

[fastsoup]

Ok so this morning on my way to work I noticed the driver side headlight go out and then seconds later it fired back up again. I am now going to assume that the original ballast was toast, but this isn't a ballast problem. I am guessing that when I tried to remove the bulbs while the headlight was still attached to the car I may have "loosened" the ignitor connection inside the housing. Any ideas how I can pull out the headlight and make sure that connection is solid?