Xenon Headlight Failure - Bulb Or Ballast???
- Thread starter Kern47
- Start date
Liverpool
The ballast is a known failure point on these as any water dripping off the headlight sits nicely on top of the ballast - and the seal on the ballast eventually gives up.
Mine had about 200ml of water in and the board inside was rusted to f**k.
Got a new Hella one online for about £40 (example link, but same ballast is used on lots of marques). Not worth paying £20/30 for a 2nd hand unit.
Mine had about 200ml of water in and the board inside was rusted to f**k.
Got a new Hella one online for about £40 (example link, but same ballast is used on lots of marques). Not worth paying £20/30 for a 2nd hand unit.
An update on my lighting issues.
The initial problem I had turned out to be the angel eye bulb (must have thrown the warning before it actually blew). So I got that bulb changed once I finally saw that it was out. While I had the back off the headlight with my car sat on the drive awaiting the new bulb, it bucketed down with rain and filled my headlight :thumbsdown:
Soaked up most of the water and dried with hairdryer, no condensation, job done
until I was driving home at night and the main beam failed, throwing up a warning :thumbsdown: Thankfully I had the spare igniter from my previous fault diagnosis, so swapped that and it was fixed
Until about 2 weeks later when I noticed the same headlight flicker and die
Just taken the headlight out to get to the ballast and there is corrosion on the connectors and inside when I came to open it up. Cleaned it up and put it back together. Same problem. Tried swapping the igniter again just to be sure but that didnt do anything.
So the light comes on for about 5/10 seconds, then starts to flicker, then dies and I get the bulb light on the dash. So I'm guessing this rules out the bulb itself? Meaning theres some component that's fried in the ballast. The Hella ones are about £160, but has anyone tried any of the cheaper alternatives from Ebay and can vouch for them before I splash out?
Hopefully no one has this same issue. And let it be a lesson... Dont get lazy and keep the headlight sealed whenever the car is left!
The initial problem I had turned out to be the angel eye bulb (must have thrown the warning before it actually blew). So I got that bulb changed once I finally saw that it was out. While I had the back off the headlight with my car sat on the drive awaiting the new bulb, it bucketed down with rain and filled my headlight :thumbsdown:
Soaked up most of the water and dried with hairdryer, no condensation, job done
until I was driving home at night and the main beam failed, throwing up a warning :thumbsdown: Thankfully I had the spare igniter from my previous fault diagnosis, so swapped that and it was fixed Until about 2 weeks later when I noticed the same headlight flicker and die
Just taken the headlight out to get to the ballast and there is corrosion on the connectors and inside when I came to open it up. Cleaned it up and put it back together. Same problem. Tried swapping the igniter again just to be sure but that didnt do anything.
So the light comes on for about 5/10 seconds, then starts to flicker, then dies and I get the bulb light on the dash. So I'm guessing this rules out the bulb itself? Meaning theres some component that's fried in the ballast. The Hella ones are about £160, but has anyone tried any of the cheaper alternatives from Ebay and can vouch for them before I splash out?
Hopefully no one has this same issue. And let it be a lesson... Dont get lazy and keep the headlight sealed whenever the car is left!