Hello,

I've been having this problem recently. I searched the threads but most of the threads are not the same as the issue I am having. Most of the issues on the threads I've read are that the HID bulbs flicker and then go out, but mine is a different scenario.

My HID's have been flickering at times when I am driving. My bulbs will turn off for like ten milliseconds and then fire back on by itself.

This happens to both my headlights, and when I also hit a bump, my bulbs will also turn off for about ten milliseconds and then fire back on without any input.

Does anyone know what issue could this be? I hope it isn't the ballast since it happens on both my headlights...Could the cold weather do this? The weather in Boston has been reaching below freezing recently.

Thanks in advance.

 

At first I thought this would be a ballast issue, because I had the same symptoms, but with only one headlight. If its happening to both, you should inspect your wire harness to make sure you dont have corrosion (or something like rats chewing on it). Work your way backwards from the headlight to your fuse box with your lights on, and move the wire harness around to see if you can replicate the flickering.

Also, could be something as simple as a loose ground somewhere...

 

I am having the same exact issue with my car. I just started noticing it a couple weeks ago. It doesn't do it every time I drive but it seems to do it if i go over bumps. Just curious do you have any aftermarket audio equipment installed? I was thinking mine was due to running too much power off of the alternator. It seems that the HID ballasts don't have much tolerance for voltage droop on big bass hits.

 

Had the same issue last winter. I have a 2007 X. Daily I go over 3 speed bumps entering work. Noticed some flickering one morning while still dark outside. Didn't matter if I hit the bump slowly or fast, they always flickered for a millisecond. .

As tekno said. Map the wire from ballast to fuse box. Mine wasn't properly connected. Snapped the wire back in place and voila. Haven't had any issues since.

Hopefully it's the same for you. Cuz these aren't cheap to replace.

Cheers

 

Can someone show me where the connector to the fuse box is? I'm a noob when it comes to these things. A picture may be very useful.

Thank you very much for your help and suggestions.

 

Long story short, I just bought a '08 g35x (sedan) off my dad (gave him trade in value of $4800 ... there's 195k miles on it). He side swiped my old car backing out of the driveway, damaged the headlight. Small crack, and it flickered for a few days then went out and wouldn't come back on except rarely and for minutes at a time.
Dealership wanted $3k, he wouldn't pay that much for it, so a mechanic offered to sell him JUST the ballast, no warranty or anything as if it was craigslist kind of deal.
Worked pretty well, but it started doing the same thing last night to me (so about 3 weeks after the install).
We had some snow, I've done some light drifting, and we've had ~7-25 degree weather for 2 weeks (Philly area). Tomorrow I'm going to work on tracing the wiring back, but I figured I should let you know that a brand new ballast did NOT solve the problem. I'd recommend not bothering. Perhaps wiring problems are the cause, or connections (in the assembly?).

Good luck

 

Well, my left driver's side headlight went out this time, and would come back on when I turn off the switch and turn it back on.

Does it sound like a ballast issue this time? Is it possible water got into the ballast?

 

I had similar issues...I simply ended up changing the bulbs and that solved the problem.

 

My bulbs are new from last year- Osram 66240 CBI so they shouldn't go bad this quickly...

I will try to swap bulbs left and right and see if that fixes the issue. I haven't seen it flicker today however.

 

Good luck! I've actually had the same issue happen two weeks ago. Sometimes one of the lights doesn't fire up (unless you manually turn them on after you start the car).
I've found a cheap source for OEM ballasts if anyone (including myself) needs a replacement.

http://store.ijdmtoy.com/Genuine-Mat...s-p/aa1079.htm

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/com...l#.UyCA5rHD9aR

As far as i can tell, these are genuine parts, none of that fake Chinese ebay crap!

as for the fancy stuff:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/d2s...l#.UyCBFPldVu1

 

I changed the bulbs out and I still get the flicker. All signs point to the ballast going bad!

However, my headlight doesn't completely shut off like it did with the Osram 66240 CBI. The frequency of the flickering is much less with the OEM Koito bulbs.

I ordered a used OEM Matsushita ballast from theretrofitsource for only $30. We will see what happens.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.
I'll be changing out the bulbs 1st (I have ebay Philips 6K fakes).
If I see any flicker after that (probably won't due to warmer weather), then i'll use another ballast I have lying around.

 

I have concluded that the bulb is the issue.

Once I changed out my bulbs to the OEM Koito ones, I'm happy to report that I have not seen any flickering lately. The Matsushita ballasts in our cars may not like certain brand/types of bulbs.

I will change them out to brand new Osram 66240 CBI's I got from retrofitsource for $142 and report if any flickering happens.

EDIT:
New Osram CBI bulb, no issues.

 

Thank you mathnerd88!
I'll be looking forward to putting in my Osram CBIs next weekend.

 

having the same issue but hasnt been acting up recently, was close to replacing the bulb but it went back on