When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
this is where im confused, i thought the square device is the ballast and the ballast is integrated inside the headlight so the only way to replace the ballast square device is to rip apart the headlights or just buy new headlights with new ballast inside?
Actually the ballast is attached to the bottom of the headlight with four screws (see photo). The cap is attached to a wire that goes onto the bulb, however, it's practically impossible to get out without taking the cap apart. You don't have to take the headlight apart if you remove the cap from the new one before you put it on. Just take your time. At first I was like "how am I going to get this through enough to see the wires?" But if you look down from the other side and keep messing with it you will see them. Once I was able to grab the wires I put the cap back on and screwed the ballast in.
As previously mentioned I started with OEM bulbs so I knew it had to be the ballast. That and it was only my passenger side giving me a problem...the drivers side has been fine.
I think this photo will help. This is after I fished the wires through (on the bulb side) and started to reassemble the cap on the new ballast. There is only one way for the red and white wires to go so you can't reassemble the cap the wrong way. As you can see space is very limited! But if you take your time and use something to grab the red and white wires you can pull them through. Remember the ballast is on the bottom this is looking through from the other side. See the video about disassembly of the cap and it will help.
Here is another video I found for replacing the ballast. I feel like I'd rather replace the whole thing before I go through this and doing a lens restoration... The joys of having an IS...
I need one. I thought it was the grounding like many YouTube videos said and same with a mechanic friend. Cleaned the **** out of it and put it back together. Still not working. I’m thinking about getting g the vlands as I’m a little worried it’s not the ballast as other commenters stated.
Originally Posted by kevin3344
I ended up purchasing the ballast from Amazon for $49.99 and replacing it myself. Took about an hour to remove the front bumper and the headlight pulls right out. The ballast comes with instructions for removing the connector and I fished it through and used the end of a coat hanger to grab it. Everything went back together in about 30 min. It's not hard at all just take your time.
