I have a 04 sedan and I purchased my current HID light bulbs 4 years ago. When I turn on my headlights they still output more than decent lighting Obviously not like when the bulbs where new but they still look good. Recently my driver side head light has begun to start suddenly shutting off/ flickering off on me while the right (passenger side) side stays perfectly on. I simply have to flicker the light switch on/off and it starts to work again without issue.

Sometimes it does this issue 2-3 minutes after I turn them on and some times it does it 15 minutes after I turned on the lights.

Im wondering If its time for new bulbs or maybe its just a cable issue.

any ideas ?

 

new bulbs. i've had the same thing happen several times.

 

Did you check the cables by chance though ?

I'm pretty sure its the bulbs as well but wanted to check first

 

More than likely t's not a wiring issue. Your car is showing symptoms of either a bulb starting to fail or a ballast doing the same. Quick way to check is to swap your bulbs from side to side, if the problem moves to the passenger side and the driver's side is fine it's the bulb. If the problem stays on the driver's side swap your ballasts (They're under the light assembly and easy to take off) and see if the problem moves back to the driver's side. More than likely it's a bulb issue.

 

 

Replace bulbs and ballasts

Telcoman

 

Do you guys recommend any specific seller.
I am thinking of getting a pair from Diode Dynamics (mods Im not promoting) which are listed at $40. I also seen a few with great reviews on amazon for $10-$15 but some times you get what you pay for.

what do you guys suggest ?

 

DD makes great stuff. Before you buy stuff, try swapping ballasts and swapping bulbs (do these separate) and make sure it's actually what you are trying to replace.

 

Update: So I finally had a chance to work on this issue. (been swamped with work and out of town).

I swapped the light bulbs last weekend and the issue swapped as well. So it is confirmed that the bulb is going out.

I will be purchasing them from Diode's website since I have not seen any other vendors offering them besides the Chinese versions on Amazon or ebay.

Do you guys have another vendor you can recommend that sells quality and beats DD price ?

 

 

I like The Retrofit Source for lighting components. Morimoto is good quality in my opinion.

 

Second that. Got their bulbs/ballasts in my Accord (yes, proper retrofits) and 3 years with zero issues.

 

I went with DD and purchased the 6000k bulbs.

Local auto parts store has the stock 4300k color in stock for $50 for the pair so it go me
wondering if for a second pair to have on hand (just in case) should I purchase the 4300k or stick with 6000k for looks and performance ?
Also I appreciate all the feed back I have received.

 

 

Quality HID bulbs have a fairly long average lifespan. You should not need to replace them very often unless you have moisture or something else in the housings which will cause them to prematurely fail. If that's the case, then you have another issue that needs to be addressed. Personally, I think 5000K-5500K is the sweet spot for color and performance.