Driver's side HID headlight keeps burning out
 

I've had to replace my driver's side headlight twice now in the past year. I used a Phillips D2R 4300 (whatever is stock for a 2005 X sedan) the last time, and I can't remember what brand it was 12 months ago. My passenger side bulb has been fine though. What do you guys think? The car has 165,000 miles. And I think my driver side front upper shock mount is bad, clunking noise. Ball joints are all good, endlinks are new, bushings are all good, so that's all I can think of that is bad. It's possible that causes extra vibrations that caused the bulb to go out? I haven't pulled the bulb out yet to look.

I can't imagine it's common to replace these bulbs every 5,000 miles/6 months. Would a bad ballast cause this?

Could be a ballast issue causing the high side output voltage to be out of spec. As a small experiment, you could swap out ballast left and right if they are interchangeable; not sure if they are.

Did you use the same vendor for both bulb replacements? Could be a bad batch of bulbs from the vendor.

I'm still on my OEM bulbs on my 2006 sedan with 121k miles.

Not the same vender. Different brand, different vender.

I have the same problem but with the passenger side headlight....it seems the aftermarket ones that I get blow out fast but when i put the oem bulbs back in there fine....crappy quality bulbs I suppose?

I would switch your ballast from one side to the other to see if it's an issue with the factory components.

Nick C.

Remember, those bulbs, like a high powered Halogen, must be PERFECTLY clean when installed. No dust, fingerprints etc. That causes a hotspot and poof!

The cheap aftermarket bulbs being sold these days are just that...check bulbs. Phillips is an OEM and should be better quality.

Still, burning out one side 2 times in a row is either coincidence, or signs of an issue.

Does this headlight housing allow moisture inside? Foggy lenses, or anything like that?

You can try swapping the ballasts and see if the problem switches sides. If it does, you can assume the ballast is the issue.

That's awesome, but you might want to think about replacing them.

HID bulbs colorshift and lose intensity as they age. After about 6 years, you should replace them.

Not any moisture in the lamps as far as I know. I polish them every once in a while and all hazing is removed, so I think the insides are still sealed well.

I wore nitrile gloves last time I installed the bulb, but I'm pretty clumsy, so it's possible I got dirt on it.

I'll try switching the ballasts and see what happens. Thanks guys!

Good idea, mine are eight years old now. Recommendations that aren't frickin' Blue?

4300K bulbs lol

They do get a nasty color when they start to fail

Nick C.

4300K will have that stock yellowish hue and 5000K will be pure white with no blue. You start to get the blue tint at 6000K.

Listen to what Tim...^...advises and install/handle them while wearing rubber gloves, oil from your fingers shortens their life considerably!
Gary

Now that I thought of it I went through (2) 10k bulbs that both took a crap on me...matter fact they would turn on for like 6 seconds then go out? can't be the ballast because I put the oem blubs on it was fine and I never touched the bulb with my hands I know better any thoughts....has this happened to someone else? Sorry OP for asking my problems on your thread kinda the same problem.

Know where to get a good quality set of 5000k bulbs?