Hi guys,

I have a question for the electric experts here. My driver side low beam went out a couple days ago. i know there could be a few reasons for this so i checked here and most of the people with my problem narrow it down to the Ballast.

I dont think my actual bulb burnt out since its a reletively new HID. Also, i dont think its the relay because one relay runs both headlights, so if that was the case, both would be out..Which makes me think that, like everyone else, something may have happened to my ballast or maybe the wiring came loose.

My big problem is that i live in Rapid City and most of the Auto people hear get scared when i tell them i own an Infinit. Clearly most have no experience with our kind of cars, which narrows me down to just the Nissan Dealership. Im not dumb, i know if i bring it to them, im looking at $400+ to get that headlight working again. However, a knew pair of kick@$$ headlights would run me around that much and most shops should be able to swap them out (if i cant figure it out myself).


So my question is this: If my problem is something complicated like wiring, or my ballast (which looks hardwired in), is it smarter for me to get the new nice headlights? Would they come with their own ballast (or wiring)? Or will i just have 2 cool headlights that still dont work...

Sry for the long post. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

 

Generally, when you get new headlights, they do not come with ballasts. So if the ballast is the problem, new headlights will not fix it.

The ballasts are not hardwired in. They are just screwed in.

 

Yes, the ballasts are not really difficult to reach or access, but an aftermarket ballast won't simply be plug-n-play... Not sure how to go about your business, but just providing a tiny bit of info...

 

If you know and find out for certain its your ballast, just buy another one (oem). They go for ~$80-100 in the marketplace. Much cheaper option than all the ones you have right now.

 

You want to rule out all possibilities before even considering taking it to the dealer or spending a lot of $$. Swap the bulb that is working into the light that's not. If it works you know it's just the bulb and order you up another pair, I don't recommend replacing just one even if they're relatively brand new. If that doesn't work then swap ballasts minus the igniters (the braided cord that connects the ballast to the light). If that still doesn't work, then swap the igniters. If all of that fails you have either a fuse or wiring issue.

The ballasts are super simple to get to, jack up the front of your car, take off your underliner, and you will see them on the bottom of the light assembly. They're held in with 3 small screws, just remove those and the ballast will pull down. Unplug the igniter plug and replace.

HTH