Greetings and happy new year friends,

I have a 2004 G coupe with approx 85k miles. A couple of days ago I left work and noticed the driver side low beam was out. I stopped at Autozone and bought a HID bulb (sylvania D2R) and went to my mechanic. He took the old bulb and told me that the old bulb looked ok but tried the new bulb. The HID light would not come on, so he informed me that it was the ballast. He tried swapping the bulb and the ballast from the passenger side but the light would not come on.The dealer wanted $800 for the ballast so I bought a used ballast from a salvage yard for $80 today. The mechanic tried the new ballast but the light would not come on. He is now clueless and wants an electrician to check the wiring. He has checked swapping the bulbs and ballasts but no light at all. Is there a fuse or relay for each side low beams?

Anyone knows whats going on the car? The car has never had an problems, no modification and has factory HIDs. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Aamir

 

When the ballast was swapped side to side. Did it work on the passenger side? If so, no point buying an extra ballast or bulb. I would start by removing the main connectors on both headlights and checking the voltage in each pin. doesn't take long and it'll help you diagnose it.

 

The mechanic can't check electrical wiring himself? All he needs to do is verify power to the ballast with a digital multimeter.

It's possible you have a ground issue or corrosion with the wiring in that corner.

Has the car been in an accidents that you know of? Pinched wiring could also be a culprit over time, especially if water gets in.

 

Some cars do come with fuses for each head light check your electrical boxes, and get a voltage reading aswell

 

The problem was confirmed as a bad ballast. Is there an aftermarket ballast that is interchangeable with the OEM ballast. The dealer wants an outrageous amount for a new replacement. I am reluctant to get a used one off e bay or a salvage yard. Any suggestions for an aftermarket replacement that is plug and play?

 

The salvage yards (either on eBay or otherwise) will usually guarantee the item. I bought one that was used off eBay from a yard. It was tested and guaranteed. No problems since.

 

No aftermarket plug-and-play ballasts.

Either go new, or source a used one.

 

i had the same thing happen with my driver side low beam and tried everything and it just didn't work.. only way to get it to work was to take it to dealer which was asking crazy prices

I ended up going with aftermarket HID kit, 4300K is about the same colour as Stock. be sure to replace both sides because the old bulb will look different colour as it has aged over the years

 

^^^^^This^^^^^ Do not go higher than 6k on the bulbs.

 

Definitely either the ballast or wiring that connects to ballast. There is no separate fuse for each headlight. I would also go with less powerful HID if possible.

 

worse comes to worse you can try to find a full headlight unit on the side that yours is broken on.