Unknown Headlight problem

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discopete88

Member
 Den Helder
I originally posted to query what the problem might be with my passenger side headlight as it had gone dim and purple.

My initial thoughts and my response from the forum was that I needed to change the headlight.

I decided to replace both headlights at the same time and I went for Philips X-tremeVision D2S', as these seem to be the best available. Ordered 2 from amazon for 100GBP each; pretty steep for headlights but only the best will do!

Finally got round to changing them today and, as you can tell from the tittle, it hasn't gone to plan.

Changing the drivers side headlight was a piece of cake and the new bulb is noticeable brighter, great news!

However, after changing the bulb on the passenger side I now have no light at all! I have tried the lamp and ballast from the drivers side on the passenger side and still have no light?

Can anyone please advise where I should look next, it's not the bulb or the ballast?
 
Additionally, some notes on headlight changes.

As long as your hands are small enough and you have the dexterity of a surgeon, i'd advise not fully removing the notoriously difficult cover from the back of the headlight unit as it makes things much simpler when reassembling.

The rubber ring inside the ballast which holds the bulb can turn inside the ballast during removal, if this happens it will be virtually impossible to get the ballast back on.
 
From your description of how the bulb moves inside the "ballast" I believe you are actually referring to the igniter, the squarish box at the rear of the bulb. It sounds like this part is fine since switching sides did not change the side with the problem. This means your problem is possibly the true ballast, a flat rectangular box separate from the headlight assembly. It usually has a high voltage warning sticker on it.

Sorry I can't give you a better description of the location, I'm currently separated from my Zed by some distance :(
 
To correct and clarify some terms

- box on back of the lamp fitting is the igniter

- ballast is also known as the control until and is attached to the underside of the headlight housing as described above.

From your troubleshooting- this sounds like the latter.

To remove the ballast/control unit you need to remove the bumper and headlights. If you search through my recent posts you will get links on how to do this and also a link to the correct replacement control unit. Once you have the bumper off and lights out, you can complete your troubleshooting by swapping the control units to be fully sure that is the culprit.

Cheers

Jamie
 
Thanks,

I tried, changing the fuses last night, just on the off chance. But no luck, naturally.

So it looks like I'll have to remove the bumper and swap, what I now know, is the ballast/control unit with the one I know works to confirm that is the problem.

I've never tried anything as big as taking the bumper off before, so I am a bit hesitant. But on the other hand I do love all that you can learn by tinkering with your own car. It also means I'm not paying garage time for it either.

I've had a look online to see how much they're going for and it looks like a can get a used OEM control unit for 80 euros at the cheapest. I found that by searching the product number from RealOEM.

Does anyone know where to potentially find a cheaper one? (Did think about having a quick poke around my local scrap yard, to see if I can salvage one, although I think that's a long shot)

Also, if anyone has any instruction/hints/tips on how to remove the number I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again for the information above.
 
discopete88 said:
Also, if anyone has any instruction/hints/tips on how to remove the bumper I'd appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Search is your friend :P Several threads and video links in this forum. It's mainly finding all of the many fasteners and pulling out the clips on either end. Once you've done it once you can have it off again in less than 10 minutes.
 
Planning to do this work on Sunday and since I don't really have time to wait for the delivery of a control unit after Sunday. I've ordered an OEM one, which I managed to find on ebay for 60GBP, which should arrive tomorrow. So hopefully, by Sunday evening I'll have two working headlights!
 
60 quid! Real good price AFAIK. Good luck on the swap, hope it all goes well.
 
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