maxspeed96ct

iTrader: (3)

One of my low beam bulbs is dead, its raining like hell so i didnt get to look into it much.


(drivers side )

But I just searched and it says you have to remove the bumper to access them ?

is this true??


Can i get to it from the inside next to the intake?

tony tone

yes, you have to remove a ton of nonsense to simply get to the ******* bulb. it's stupid. there are a ton of instruction you can find online.

maxspeed96ct

iTrader: (3)

damm, ya I found the instructions but just couldnt believe it..
I thought maybe there was a easier way....

I was thinking maybe its reachable by just removing the black fender plastics and reaching behind the bumper .. I guess not huh?


BTW whats our bulb number? same as reg CTS ? 9006?

CORNER CARVER

Part # 25735603 ac-delco # D1S

Retails at $293.83 OUCH!

tony tone

i'm sure you can find some aftermarket HID bulbs (not kits) that are sold. i've seen them cheap.

nikon

iTrader: (2)

Are you sure its not the ballast?? I've seen them go bad more often then the bulbs....only way to check would be to get the bumper off and swap bulbs.

-T-

iTrader: (2)

OR... you could just take the bulb out and make sure you have voltage on the plug. No reason to tear both sides apart.

maxspeed96ct

iTrader: (3)

yikes.... any aftermerket ones???

maxspeed96ct

iTrader: (3)

Update, the fuse keeps poping for the left low beam, each time i put a new one it pops again.....

it looks like alittle moisture got inside my headligh as i looked close, it has been raining hard out my way, im alittle worried


i was able to get to the bulb after removing the intake and etc ... got the bulb out and it seemed ok. alittle white in the middle but seemed like the insides were good.

With the bulb out and unpluged .. fuse still poped when i turned the lights on.... NOT GOOD


Then i disconnected the main wire harness that plugs into the headlight and fuse was fine.


Seems to me like its a balast?

nikon

iTrader: (2)

^^^ I'd have to agree....they're not cheap though...try swapping from side/side see if it still pops the fuses.....and for future reference I'd be extremely careful checking voltage across the output of a ballast...they're in the neighborhood of 20k volts.

maxspeed96ct

iTrader: (3)

... ya it seems like its not the bulb.... Im gona just pull the bumper this weekend and swap parts and go from there

maxspeed96ct

iTrader: (3)

BUMP, any one else have and ideas. this is realy kickin my but

nikon

iTrader: (2)

Have you pulled the bumper yet?? I THINK the ballast is on the underside of the headlamp housing...you could try running a fused power source directly to it and see if it pops that fuse, if so go buy a new ballast, if not possibly a wire in that main harness you disconnected is shorting out...question, is it just the low beam that's not coming on?? Or is it all the lights in the housing? Could be something else shorting out in there....I only say this because I've had a set of HID's that I took from one vehicle to the other, they ran fine for seven years before I sold them with the car they were in...they're pretty damn reliable.

maxspeed96ct

iTrader: (3)

ya everything else in the light works , high beem etc..

Im gona pull the bumper tomoro night and do the real test .

but my question is
- should i replace the ballast with a HIGH $ oem ?

-or for around $100 i could by a hole new HID kit bulbs and ballasts.
( i know they say aftermarket dont last as long but man new ballasts are big $$$)


......

nikon

iTrader: (2)

only problem with buying a new hid kit is the bulb type, and getting one of those aftermarket ballasts to fit in the stock location...otherwise it's a good time to switch the color of your headlights if you want to.

-T-

iTrader: (2)

20k volts you sure? What is the wattage on the hid bulbs in our cars?

Typical HID bulbs are around 35-40 watts... ballast rating gives 2 Amps for accelerated warm up (brightness immediately).

40W at 2Amps is only 20VAC. The ballast will convert DC to AC due to the gas charge internally. The AC will also make the arc much more stable.

nikon

iTrader: (2)

http://faqlight.carpassion.info/hl-hid-ballasts.htm

that article says they're 23k volts....I got the 20k figure off the warning label of the last set I installed....warning you not to open the ballast due to the extremely high voltage of 20k+ volts....either way I don't really understand what you said (I'm no electrical engineer)...I just got the figure off the warning label.

-T-

iTrader: (2)

wow i am thoroughly impressed. I did not know the ballast was combined with an igniter circuit. I stand corrected.

The theory i stated was electronics 101(ohms law Voltage= Current/Wattage)... in the case where the ballast JUST converted the DC to AC and regulated the voltage.

Thank you for my lesson

-T-

iTrader: (2)

The following was in the article. We use D1S correct? If that is the case, the ignitor is part of the bulb assembly and there should be minimal risk. This should mean you have AC voltage from the ballast going to the the bulb assembly. I would have to look up the specs on our ballasts though to be sure it actually does some voltage conversion rather than just voltage regulation/trans....


What is a D1S ballast system?
The defintion of a D1S system is that HID bulb and ignitor is one part. This is a safe system. High voltage does not have to pass through a connector. Downside is somewhat higher cost to replace if bulb break: The added parts cost for the integrated ignitor would be around 20-30% of HID bulb.

mlr

yeah test with caution they will make you skip a beat or two