I've read that having the headlights turn on/off frequently is bad for either the bulbs or the ballasts. In the past couple of weeks, because of the weather, my lights will turn on and off (from the Auto setting) multiple times. They'll also turn on/off from driving under an overpass as well as when I pull in my garage. With previous cars, I actually drove with my headlights on 24 hours a day but because of the cost of these Xenon bulbs, I'm not doing that currently. I have adjusted the 'sensitivity' setting in hopes of increasing the delay before they 'auto' turn on as well.

Is this the case with these bulbs and/or ballasts ? Or is what I'm describing nothing to be too concerned about ?

Speaking of the cost of the bulbs, what do people use for replacements ? I see D2S bulbs, from Phillips, that cost $60+ each and other bulbs that are even more expensive.

 

If it's cycling BOTH lamps at the same time I would rule out the ballast and start searching for a problem with the physical switch, wiring, ambient light sensor, headlight relay at the IPDM, or issues with the grounding.

Each headlight is grounded inside the engine bay on the wheel well just look for the single bolt with aa rin terminal on it. The IPDM relay would be my starting point, I think it's the same type of relay as a couple others so you could just swap them.

If just one lamp is cycling then it's probably a ballast. Lamp failure doesn't usually cause cycling when they get old they just turn this wierd dim reddish-orange color.

The ballast themselves can overheat which trips the thermal reset, this is usually what happens when they are old and beginning to fail. Sometimes the failure is.so severe it melts wire on the inside and they.just won't turn back on at all.

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear - nothing is "wrong", it's just that I'm trying to determine if the lights turning on and off from the "Auto" setting is something to worry about. They turn on because of low light conditions just like they should. I just don't want the bulbs to fail sooner because of this. The manual actually indicates it's the bulbs, not the ballasts:

The life of xenon headlights will be shortened by frequent on-off operation

What do others do ? Use "Auto" and not worry about it ? Anyone drive with their headlights on ALL the time ?

 

I don't use the auto lamp feature for this very reason. Manual operation all the time. When I need them, I turn them on. It's better for the long term health of the battery too not having them burn after shutting off the car at night. I don't need the light when walking away from the car.

 

Ahh I see what you mean, personally I leave mine on auto and just let them do their thing. It's fairly dark by the time the ambient light sensor turns them on. What you don't want to do is flash your lights on/off at people without their headlights on and stuff like that. I honestly don't think it will make any substantial difference though if you do.

The life expectancy of HID lamps is pretty long usually in the range of 8-10k hours. I personally only spend about 4 hours per day driving with my headlights on (yearly average estimate) so I would expect to change lamps every 5 years or so which is totally acceptable to me.

 

What's the consensus on replacement bulbs ? Which aftermarket versions are people happy with ? I'm not concerned with brighter bulbs, different colored bulbs (from stock), etc. Reasonable cost and long-life are highest on my priority list.

I plan to polish and seal the lenses when the weather warms up and replace the fog light bulbs around the same time. For those, I would like to get some the color-match the headlight bulbs a bit better. Thinking that these might be a fairly good match.

 

So to save a few dollars for bulbs every few years you would rather risk an accident or a ticket?
Are you one of those drivers that refuse to put your headlights on when using the wipers in rain,snow, fog, and dark days?

You might notice that most new vehicles automatically have the headlights on all the time. Canada is ahead of the US in this regard.

I save a few dollars on every fill-up by using regular 87 octane but drive with my headlights on all the time.

Telcoman

 

You can run CN light bulbs for the cheapest, Morimoto for the best budget bulb, and then Osram CBI/CBB for best night vision.

Bulbs are max like $120 and last 10 years or so? I will always put money in headlights. Can't put a price on having good vision at night tbh.

 

If they (typically) last 10 years, I'm not going to worry about it that much. I've tried many different bulbs in other cars over the years, including Silverstar, Nighthawk, and similar bulbs and they usually lasted a year at the most (my wife and I drive with our headlights on day or night). They weren't worth the added cost and neither of us could definitely say they were "brighter". I just stick to 'standard' bulbs now - they last much longer, have good light output, and don't cost $40/each.

 

It almost seems like you didn't read my post that you quoted....

 

 

Like these ? Found some Philips (sticking to name brands) but they were a different color (4300k) which wouldn't be the whitish-blue like the existing bulbs, if I'm not mistaken.

 

Yeah. Most HID is white no matter what becuaeHID.

 

Yeah, you definitely have to go through the wheel wells. If you look at it from 'inside' the hood, there's no access at all to the light assembly. I have the FSM at home but don't think I've looked at that section. I've seen videos that show access is through the wheel well - no bumper removal necessary.