samihaque

Hey guys,

When I start my 2006 IS350 the headlights turn on but after a few seconds both turn off. Had dealer check it out during my last recall visit and he said it's the ballast. He quoted me at around $900 so I said no thanks.

Can you recommend a shop in the LA area that you like? personally, wouldn't mind a good recommendation for all future car work as well.

many thanks.

Nelly

iTrader: (11)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-OEM-2006...VVgjf~&vxp=mtr

You can also find a used OEM one on ebay. I'd recommend buying a pair of ballasts and maybe a new pair of bulbs while you're at it.

MWIS350

You can get ballast for $100 each from Amazons.com and get a friends to help you install. There's also YouTube VDO for installation.

WORKD250

iTrader: (1)

Both headlights go out at the same time?
Is there evidence of moisture in the headlights?

You can try getting a new set a bulbs first to see if that fixes it before commiting to replacing the ballasts, make sure you get D4S or D4C bulbs D2s wont work

In my experience when one of my ballasts died that side didn't light up at all, if it lights up briefly then the bulb is dying.

samihaque

No evidence of moisture. From my research and from the dealer quote - since the bulb turns on but then turns off, its the ballast not the bulb. Dealer said if it was the bulb, it wouldn't turn on at all. this has been happening for months, so if it was the bulb, it would have died by now.

also, i have xenon bulbs, another reason why i want to fix this instead of replacing bulbs.

Bichon

Your research and what the dealer told you are both wrong. One of the most common failure modes of Xenon bulbs is that they come on initially, and then go off a short time later. If only one side was bad, it's easy to troubleshoot because you can just switch bulbs from one side to the other, and if the problem follows the bulb, it's bad, otherwise it's the ballast. But since both sides are bad, you can't do that. I'd be asking what tests the dealer did before condemning the ballasts, since it's far more likely to be the bulbs, especially if they are 10 years old, or were replaced with low quality counterfeits or cheapies.

See5

+1 I agree with your, it is the bulbs and I experienced it in my IS350 and an LS460

samihaque

Thanks guys. any recommendations on new bulbs? not sure i want to invest in xenons since the car is old with high miles. the bulbs currently on my car are OEM, never changed them out.

WORKD250

iTrader: (1)

the bulbs you would need to replace them with would be Xenon (HID) you cannot put halogen lights as replacements.

Philips are probably the best but make sure you get the actual Philips not counterfeit , they are also on the more pricier side

Garrax are another choice

I have used Morimoto bulbs with some success they are more reasonably priced.

Bichon

WORKD250 is right, halogens won't work in your headlight housing, so you should be looking for a pair D4S Xenon bulbs. Counterfeiting is a huge problem, and many of the bulbs sold on eBay or Amazon are Chinese knockoffs of questionable quality and durability. If it were me, I'd buy either Philips or Osram from an authorized dealer like XenonDepot or TRS (the retrofit source). Lexus switched vendors from Philips to Toshiba; that's what you'd find at a Lexus dealer, and I'm sure they are fine too, although likely even more expensive than the other options.

rnav1007

Are the Philips D4S Xenon bulbs plug and play? Or would I need a kit to install them in my OEM headlights? Thanks

WORKD250

iTrader: (1)

If your car came with factory HIDs then yes they are plug and play

rnav1007

Thanks for the response. My car didn't come with factory HIDs so I'll look into a kit.