Swishh

Hi All,

I noticed last night that my drivers side headlight was out. The next time I was driving I noticed that it was working again... it went out right after. When I turn the lights off and then back on, the light in question works for a few minutes and then turns off. My question is... is the Ballast the problem or can it be the Bulb? Do HID bulbs die intermittently?

cyberlexus

iTrader: (2)

sounds like ballast problem

inscents41

Had the same problem. Turned out that the little plastic box that the ballast went into was cracked and water got in. Caulked it with silicone, all better.

playa3uhh

I had the same problem. It's definitely the Ballast.

IS3_FTW

iTrader: (3)

Cheapest way to find out which is which. Pull the passenger bulb out. Plug it into the driver side. If it continues to have the same symptoms, its the ballast. If not, then its the bulb. You can also plug the driver bulb in the passenger side and see if it has the same symptoms.

Ive done it a couple times. Does your bulb flicker and turn a dim purplish blue? Like it wants to light up, but cuts out instead. If so, then its definitely a ballast issue.

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

Did it rain recently? Sounds like my Christmas lights like Chevy Chase...when it rains water gets into my connection lines and shorts the whole thing out. When it's sunny and dry...no problem. Sealer and caps fixed it for them...maybe inscents41 has a great idea!

Swishh

Those are some good points. I just had my car washed the day of the issue so I will check to see if water got in. Thanks also for the tip to switch the bulbs to different sides... I didnt even think of that. Thank you all!

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

That's exactly what my car did about a year ago. It turned out to be the bulb. I replaced it and it's worked fine ever since.

Harold57

It could also be a bad connection, but most likely the ballast.

lexsc4

Had the exact problem with my 2008 Avalon Touring driver side. My mechanic switched the bulb from Driver to passenger and passenger side is now flickering. Ordered two Philips D4R from Amazon.com last week at $55 each should arrive this week.

Jack
08 Avalon Touring

Swishh

Hi All. Just wanted to post the update to the problem. After months of procrastination and not wanting to take the front bumper off to change anything I finally did, lol. It turned out to be just the bulb that went bad and not the ballast. Im glad that its a cheap fix! Thanks for all of your help.