Hey guys,

I've been having issues with my right side headlight bulbs this weekend. It starting flickering out last night, and I thought that the connector was loose, so I pushed it right back in to help solve the problem, but it soon just stopped powering on. I checked on it again this morning, trying to get it to work, but then I noticed a burning smell. I took out the bulb and saw that part of the bulb and the connector was burnt:




It looks like that I'm going to have to replace some very hard-to-reach parts under the fender. Would getting part #12 in this diagram be the one to replace? Or will I have to replace the ballast entirely?



Thanks guys for your help.

 

Yes, you should replace #12. PM me if you're interested in a used one.

 

Have you taken your headlights apart before? I've encountered this with a number of headlights I've bought used in the past. I think the cause of it is water/condensation getting into the headlight allowing more current in but I haven't confirmed.

I actually used an AP1 ballast with the same burnt igniters and it worked fine for the year following. I think you should determine if the problem is indeed confined to the igniter and/or the wiring. Use the igniter and bulb from the other side and test if it is working normally. (use the ballast you already removed, and bring it to the other side so you don't have to uninstall/remove anything.)

If the ballast functions normally, then start by replacing the igniter. If you'd like a temporary bulb, I have one you can have for free. It's an 85122 from an AP1 and isn't as bright as your AP2's 85122+ but it'll work reliably.

 

How is the igniter connected? Will this part swap require removal of the bumper or fender liner? I already know it's tough to reach as is already. I'm hoping that it's not too complex.

 

Is this an OEM bulb or after market?

 

I know 'EXACTLY' what the cause of this is...having experienced myself on my cars, friends' cars, customers' cars. Basically, the primary reason why the base of the HID bulb burned is because:

1. Generic Ebay aftermarket HID bulbs are not made with precision; therefore when you plug in your brand new aftermarket HID bulb in an OEM S2000 housing, sometimes it may be very hard to twist perfectly/completely into its lock-position. If you don't fully twist and lock the bulb(approximately 7-15% from all the way locked-in), then the high-voltage current will try to connect but sometimes causes a flicker(turns HID on/off aka flickering of bulb and leads to FAIL).

2. This can happen with OEM bulbs as well but less likely. Make sure when inserting a brand new OEM HID bulb, to fully lock-on the base to the base holder. It should be like a 90 or 180 degree position. No slightly off degree angle lock-in.

If the HID connectors plugs from the wire is messed up, it will be advisable to obtain a new one, so you don't waste your money damaging a perfectly new bulb.

Baron, let me know when you are free so I can help you check out what the problem is, or help with installing your HID bulb. You may not need a new HID ballast, or connector. I have both AP2 ballast + connectors as well! Thank-God that burned smell didn't burn your whole car. I remember smelling burned plastic and seeing smoke coming out from underneath my front hood. Luckily, I turned off my headlights right away, yanked out the hot, melted, black $12 generic aftermarket HID bulb from ebay and threw it away!! Bought some new ones for $100+!!

I think what you did here was install a brand new OEM Sylvania Osram Xenarc Bulb but did NOT fully locked the bulb in; therefore causing electrical current burning. Those very rarely happen. Yes, it is hard to install HID bulbs onto the car without removing the headlight housing/front bumper itself, not not impossible. Since I have smaller hands, I can barely reach into the back of the headlight housing unit.
Good luck!

 

It's advisable to remove the bumper. The igniter is the #12 in the diagram you pictured (wire and the bulb base) and is behind the ballast inside the headlight housing. You simply pull the igniter out of the ballast (the plug) and put the new one in the same way it came out of the headlight.

 

The easy conclusion here is that you had an "arc" develop and that caused the heat and melting you see.

Never use cheap bulbs, this is the result.

I would definitely remove the bumper, remove the headlight and do all the repair work on the bench and do final testing with a bench power supply before re-assembly. I do this stuff all the time, it's easy but does require some labor. If I were you I would replace everything.

 

I agree w/ Rick

 

The likely result is that the bulb was not secured all the way in. These bulbs I got from Amazon were supposed to be the Slyvania Osrams, but now that I think about it, these didn't fit as well as the OEMs I had. They were a lil loose, and I tried to get them to fit as best I could, but it looks like Amazon sent me a bulb not inductative of its description. They lasted about a couple months, and we're never really the blue I wanted to get out of these supposed Osrams. It's quite possible these were replicas.

Thanks to all of you for your help!