Driver's Headlight went out and makes strange noise
 

I have a 2006 G35 Coupe with stock HID high/low beams. I noticed the driver's side wasnt working on low so I tried high beams and that didnt work either. Not only did it not work, but I can hear a clunking sound (for lack of a better description).

I tested this with the car off so I'm wondering what the issue is... any ideas? Does my car have 2 bulbs (low/high) or is it a 2-stage single bulb? Also, what is the stock part #?

More info. It's a dual stage bulb, and that's not the issue. I replaced the LH fuse behind the battery and the lights started working again. A day later the fuse blew again. I just replaced it again and lights work. What could cause the fuse to keep blowing?

Everything worked fine until a couple days ago when I left my lights on, drained the battery and had to jump it. Any idea? This is the tech section right?

That "single click" you hear is a cutoff shield moving out of the way and allowing light in all directions.

It is a single filament bulb that light is blocked by until brights are activated.

As for the fuse popping, might be a wiring issue of cut wires or a loose plug. Any work on the headlights or bumper recently? Do you have the fended plastic covers above the wheels or the one under the car?

Nope, no work on the headlight or anything like that. I believe it had to do with jumping the car as everything worked before that. It would be extremely coincidental if it were something else. My guesses right now are a bad ballast (I ordered a new one) or a melted wire. I think the melted wire is a very low probability, .

I'll see how long the light works today. Yesterday it worked for my drive into work, then failed sometime on the drive home (30min trip). I know its not the bulb. Shop manual days to replace the HID controller (ballast) next, followed by the whole headlight. Hope it doesn't come to that!

There are tons of wiring diagrams in the manual, but I'm not well versed at finding shorts.

EDIT the fuse blew after 5min of driving. How does one find the short? Could a bad ballast cause this or am I heading down the wrong path?

I figured I'd post the solution so a future searcher can use the knowledge.

I swapped out the ballast for $75. I left the original igniter in because it would have been a pain to change. Everything appears to be working. Will update if something fails, but so far so good.