Replaced the RH Ballast
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Replaced the RH Ballast
My RH bi-xenon headlight was blown. At first I thought it was the bulb but after swaping it with the left one I knew it had to be the ballast.
I bought an used one on ebay for just $39 (including shipping
) and went about to replace it myself yesterday. I read that I had to remove the bumper and the headlight assembly. but all I really needed was to remove the wheel, and partially remove the splash shield (glad I did not have to remove the bumper or the headlight). Afterwards the ballast is at plain sight and within reach. After removing the three torx screws (and loosening a black metal bracket that is on the way) I replaced the ballast with the new one. I still had to get underneath the car and get all dirty and took a couple of hours.
I was curious to see how the old ballast looked inside so I went ahead and opened it. Turns out that that moisture had got inside and fried it. It still smells like burnt plastic/electronics. The two metal halves are sealed inside with a silicon type adhesive that I can tell was the culprit as it is very dirty on one area (there are grains of sands on it) and was no longer doing its job keeping of the unit waterproof.
Here are some pics of the inside of the burnt ballast and the dirty seal on the lid. The headlight now works great!
I bought an used one on ebay for just $39 (including shipping
) and went about to replace it myself yesterday. I read that I had to remove the bumper and the headlight assembly. but all I really needed was to remove the wheel, and partially remove the splash shield (glad I did not have to remove the bumper or the headlight). Afterwards the ballast is at plain sight and within reach. After removing the three torx screws (and loosening a black metal bracket that is on the way) I replaced the ballast with the new one. I still had to get underneath the car and get all dirty and took a couple of hours. I was curious to see how the old ballast looked inside so I went ahead and opened it. Turns out that that moisture had got inside and fried it. It still smells like burnt plastic/electronics. The two metal halves are sealed inside with a silicon type adhesive that I can tell was the culprit as it is very dirty on one area (there are grains of sands on it) and was no longer doing its job keeping of the unit waterproof.
Here are some pics of the inside of the burnt ballast and the dirty seal on the lid. The headlight now works great!
Last edited by hdsalinas; May 2, 2014 at 05:54 PM.
