So it started to rain/snow again for some odd reason here yesterday. No big deal, I'm used to it. Then late in the afternoon it became really sunny and nice outside. So, since I got my car dirty from the rain/snow in the morning, I decided to go for a car wash. Hey, while I'm at it, maybe I'll wash the engine bay quickly. So I sprayed a little in the engine bay, got it cleaned, and dried. No problem, went to start the car, notice something wierd. One of my HIDs went out, great...

So since the car wash wasn't busy, and I have a friend who was working, I went into the back and grabbed some tools. Took off the engine plastics, opened the fuse box, blah blah blah. Everything was fine, except some of the connections were a little wet. So I took the air blower (they have it in each bay) and dried the connections on the outside, and to be safe, inside too. After 30 minutes of trying to figure it out...I've come to a conclusion that it's done, burnt or something went terribly wrong. Might've been my fault, but whatever, I don't need this crap.

Then this morning, I go to the car and drive my GF to work. As she got out of the car, she said, "There's gum on the floor." At first I thought she meant where I parked but it wasn't, it was on the carpet. She must've stepped in gum last night after work and got it into my car.

Great, so I still have gum on the carpet I can't seem to get off and I have one bad HID. What a bad night, sorry for the rant.

 

its a rant but this is a place for you to vent so i understand. I feel bad for you. My friend got a new Imprezza last week, the 2nd day he had it we were putting a blow off valve on and the hose clamp he was cutting flew across the shop and chipped his paint. After he installed it he noticed the car lost power so in the end he didnt keep the BOV on. Now hes got a paintchip and is out 260 dollars for the BOV....how much does taht suck?

Do you have floor mats in your IS? Also you should be able to get your headlight fixed at the dealership, isnt it all covered under warranty? Bring your car to a professional, they should be able to get the gum out of your carpeting...i have some gum on my carpet in my house on the stairs but im too lazy to attempt to get it out

Good luck!

 

The gum is on the floor mat, I'm going to go put it in the freezer and try freezing it off.

The HID is aftermarket so the dealership won't do jack for me for sure.

 

try using lighter fluid to take the gum off -- like zippo fluid

 

I would try lighter fluid first, also, as it will be less messy than my next suggestion. But, if it doesn't work, use peanut butter. The peanut oil will dissolve the gum.

 

Hi Shox,

Sorry to hear your encounters. One thing seems strange to me. How did you get your HID wet? Did you open the cover at the back of the light while doing the car wash? If not, that could hint that the back covers of the headlights were not re-inserted properly during the aftermarket HID install. If that is the case, water would soak up the inside of the headlight and eventually you have the wires shorted. That happened to me once when I attempted to change some light bulbs. Though I felt the covers seemed to be tight enough but actually they weren't re-inserted properly and after a few heavy rain, the headlights got soaked up.

 

Well this wasn't the first time I washed the engine bay. And no, I did not remove the dust cover from housing and for sure they were on tight other wise it probably would have happened earlier. It could be my bad luck, or too much water in the engine bay or just manufacturer defect on my particular set. Not blaming the company at all, nore am I blaming myself, it just happened and I wish it didn't. Haha, oh well I guess...

 

Throw down son


That just sucks I knwo what you mean.