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SOS 2nt day in shop trying to figure out headlight ballast issue
Hello, I have a 2009 GL550 4Matic, the xeon headlights recently stopped working, i concluded the issue was the ballast as swapping the oem (known working) bulbs between headlights did not fix my issue. I have ordered a new set of ballast and now i’m on day 2 with my entire front clip off not being able to have 2 lights on at the same time. passenger side it ballast is removed the driver side light works. if passenger side is mounted all the way in the driver side will not work. i can shimmie the passenger side out cycle the lights then plug it in and both sides will work until the lights are cycled again then the passenger side is the only side that lights up. If anyone can get ahold of me asap via this forum to help me solve my issue it would be greatly greatly appreciated.
i have concluded all electrical systems regarding headlights are functioning properly. i am aware that sometimes these ballast need programmed, but don’t believe it’s the case for these as a mix of the oem ballast and the new ones also replicate the same issue. i know i’m forgetting a lot of information here please ask if you need any clarity on anything.
yesterday i did find a position with the passenger ballast not all the way plugged in which allowed both lights to be powered. i put a piece back together and checked headlights all the way until the entire clip was back on then only one worked. I have tried shimming the ballast on the passenger side with washers to find a sweet spot to get it back on the road as this is my DD, but cannot find a replicable position where everything works as it should. there isn’t too much information on this topic so not sure if i’m missing and key information here.
the known bad ballast can be put in with a combo of the new replacement, but just flickers, but will let both run momentarily while it does it’s flicker. if i swap the other oem ballast which to my knowledge works fine again the same issue where only the driver side will light up.
i am able to get both lights to run by preforming this sequence. take both ballast out, cycle key, put ballast in driver side, cycle key and lights instantly powers on, put ballast in passenger. boom both lights. as soon as i key off key on again only passenger side comes on. it’s also obvious the passenger assembly has been replaced at one point, could the entire driver side unit be bad causing this issue ?!
I just went throught hsi with my BMW. One side was dead. A new blub didn't work. You have a bad wire. These wires are very thin gauge. As they age they chaff from the heat and cold. The best-case scenario is to rewire an entirely new aftermarket HID kit. That's what I did.
I just went throught hsi with my BMW. One side was dead. A new blub didn't work. You have a bad wire. These wires are very thin gauge. As they age they chaff from the heat and cold. The best-case scenario is to rewire an entirely new aftermarket HID kit. That's what I did.
what tests did you run to come to this conclusion, they both work independently so i’m not sure how wiring could be my issue ? any advice on where and how to check.
what tests did you run to come to this conclusion, they both work independently so i’m not sure how wiring could be my issue ? any advice on where and how to check.
I had clear evidence the wires were bad coming off the ballast. Trying to splice them together was a futile effort because they were so thin and degraded.
I had clear evidence the wires were bad coming off the ballast. Trying to splice them together was a futile effort because they were so thin and degraded.
my ballast has a connector inside the headlight assembly, i’ll post a picture shortly if you can lmk if it’s similar
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