So it started with the issue that my driver side HID would shut off after about 2-3 minutes but it would always come back on when I turned the lights off and back on. Then it stopped coming on entirely. I figured it was a ballast issue. Bought a replacement ballast and installed it last night but no joy. The light would flicker a few times and maybe once in a while come back on but wouldn't stay on for more than 30-40 seconds if it did. I swapped out to the original bulb which I kept as a spare (I replaced both bulbs due to dimming last year with Philips D2S). Had the same results with the stock bulb although oddly enough the Philips had broken and maybe I it was my fault but it was something I noticed.

I thought about it for a few minutes and rigged up the spare ignitor with the ballast I had just removed. Light came on, worked fine and didn't give me any trouble all night. This morning I start the car and the bulb doesn't come on at all. On top of that my passenger side high beam won't function. I confirmed last night that the driver side high beam worked fine.

I have a second ballast and ignitor coming today in the mail but at this point i'm running short on ideas. Does anyone else have any thoughts? The only thing I haven't done is to swap the drivers/passengers ballasts to rule out the battery wiring harness and i'll do that tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

thanks - Bob

 

When I replaced my stock HIDs (still functioning) with aftermarket bulbs, one of them was problematic in that it did not turn on in one try all the time. Like you said, I had to flip the switch on and off sometimes. In my case, it was just the HID bulb.

Also, all the high beam does is remove the cutoff effect of the HIDs. Both use the same bulb. If yours is malfunctioning this may mean some kind of electrical problem.

 

Well my passenger high beam is the one giving me trouble but yeah I need to pull the IPDM and check if the high beam projector fuse is blown.

Unfortunately I put my old stock bulb back in and have the same problem. I ordered a new philips bulb which should be here today but I may bite the bullet and buy some nissan hids online.

Yesterday I went back to the aftermarket ballast and the stock ignitor and the bulb would come on and constantly dim and brighten. I suspect the issue is with the stock ignitor or the aftermarket ballast, or possibly both since aftermarket ballasts are known to be crappy I may have thrown another bad piece of equipment in the mix. I have a replacement nissan ballast and ignitor now so i'll try those today.

 

So just an update for anyone interested. I installed the new ignitor and original (factory) ballast and everything worked just fine. I didn't bother troubleshooting the aftermarket ballast or the original ignitor because the weather is too crappy here to be outside all day.

As for my high beam issue, I pulled the IPDM out (which i'll make a post about later) and all the fuses were fine so it appears the mechanism in the headlight is the issue. That's a new headlight too that I had put in last year after I hit a deer so i'll have to dig and find out if there's any parts warranty. If it's a matter of replacing the headlight I probably won't bother since the driver's side works, which is more important. I'll just have to see what New York State requires for the yearly inspection.

 

Good you got it somewhat sorted out.

I almost never use high beams tbh.